Stupid Questions From 1st Time Mum to be

[CupcakesHay]

Hello

Ok... i have a few stupid questions, which are niggling me at the moment - so I hope someone will take pity on me and answer them!

1. Will I be able to wear pyjamas after the birth - or are bottoms not advisable?

1. When will my period start again after the birth?

1. If everything goes normal - with no complications - when will they kick me out of hospital?

Thanks... and sorry if they sound dumb - just things going through my mind!

Hayley x

They are not silly questions! You will be able to wear pjs i put tracksuit bottoms on straight away, but don't wear anything you like as you might bleed on them. Not sure about the period only had dd1 6 weeks ago. I am pretty sure they let you go the next day or the same if your baby was born early morning, but I am sure if you wanted to stay a night for security they wouldn't mind x

1. PJs - black probably best

1. who knows. anything from 4 weeks to months to years.

1. 3 hours, 6 hours, next day.

1. yes
2. how long is a piece of string? If you bf, maybe not until you have stopped. If you are me, 14 weeks no matter what you do.
3. they'd probabaly keep you overnight to check the baby is feeding fine (I know they say 6 hours often, but that seems to be more normal with second or subsequent babies). If you feel you need to stay longer tell them. IME when you get out also depends a lot on when the paed has time to come and discharge the baby.

HTH

Def fine to wear PJ bottoms and big, big knickers to keep the towels in place. Buy cheap and chuck after as you will get blood on them (sorry!).

Period - depends if you breastfeed. Mine came back when I dropped the night feeds. If you don't bf I think it comes back within a couple of months.

You'll leave hospital within 24 hours if all goes to plan.

Good luck!

I recommend black 'bucket knickers' from Asda in a size bigger than normal - a pack of 5 did me fine, plenty of space for ginormous maternity towels (you can bleed for around 6 wks after the birth) and don't show the stains (nice image, sorry!). In fact I am still wearing mine now if I have run out of normal ones (poor DH ).

Good luck with the birth and congratulations on your baby!

1. Pyjamas fine. you will need to have maternity/breastfeeding ones though..you might find firstly, regular ones won't fit for a while and if you have a c.section, the waistabnd might cut in, so get big roomy maternity ones. you should also get really big cotton knickers instead of paper pants. they are far comfier , won't cut into you and feel nicer

2. depends.. anywhere from 6 weeks to years. if you exclusively breastfeed , then 6 months i would say is about average

3. 12 - 24 hours with a first baby.. if you are breastfeeding , they will want to see the baby is feeding well too.

good luck !

Super! I'll get hunting big knickers and PJs.... and planning to BF so hopefully no period for a little bit longer... one of the blessings of being pregnant.

And yeah, i was kind of expecting the big giant maternity sanitary towels, but not looking forward to them..!

Thanks for the advice. I love this website - everyone makes me feel less silly and calmer.

1. Yes. Although you might want to something with a high waist line in case of CS (ditto knickers - think Bridget Jones!)

1. When it wants to. DD1 BF till > 2yo, 1st period at 15 months. DD2 not BF, 1st period at about 7 weeks.

1. Do you want to be kicked out? For a 1st they often seem to prefer you to stay in for at least 1 night and if you're having issues with feeding they may suggest staying a bit longer. But you can discharge yourself (and your baby) at any time if you want to leave sooner - and most GP's are happy to do a newborn check if that means you miss the paed's rounds.

(and they don't sound dumb at all )

PJs are fine but may I recommend you pack a nightie as well - if you have a c-section and have a catheter in then the catheter/ tube/ bag/ PJs combo is NOT a good one. I speak from experience

Good point Robino - it's all a blur but i must have been wearing a nightie when there was a tube coming out of my fanjo!!!

Also wore nighties throughout labour.

OOOOh - I hadn't even thought about what to wear in labour! So nighties then for that... how many? A couple. Of courase, I have til next January to worry abour this....

Don't panic just yet then!!! I had two maternity nighties from mothercare, they seemed to do me ok. Ended up giving birth in a hospital gown so they didn't even get dirty! Well, maybe a bit of amniotic fluid...

My mum went to Peacocks or somewhere similar and bought me some nighties and pjs in a huge size to wear after the birth and they were invaluable. Also big pants from Primark. V comfy. Nighties easier for the catheter as Robino said above.

And (this is the advice I've given all my pregnant friends since), however many packs of maternity towels you've bught, buy more..and more. Naively I didn't think I'd need many as I thought there'd be a bit of leakage but hell's teeth there was loads of goop. And it goes on for weeks. I truly wish someone had told me that.

Also, get yourself a water bottle with a sports cap. Saves you flicking straws all over the place when you're trying to drink during the contractions (cos you won't have one drop of spit in your mouth!!)

I was taken in on the Tuesday night and released the following Monday. But I did have to have a c-section and had high bp so I'm not normal.

Good luck - you'll be great!

Don't worry about what to wear during labour. If you're anything like me what you wear will just annoy the hell out of you, I'm very self conscious normally but mostly laboured naked. Even my hair was annoying. If I could have got hold of clippers I'd have got DH to shave my head.

Agree about waistbands on pj's/knickers if you have a c section.

My period came back when DS was 19 weeks. But bled (lochia) for 4 weeks iirc.

Don't feel rushed out if you're not ready. I wish I'd stayed at least another day as it might have helped me bf for longer if I'd stayed till I was sure I was doing it right. Hard to tell till your milk comes in. As it was I had to stop at 3 weeks.

Take a couple of nighties just in case, had catheter with DD2 so nightie much easier, but with DD1 I was so glad for my jammies. Just felt normal again if you know what I mean!

Time in hospital differs from person to person and hospital to hospital.

My SIL and I delivered within days of each other, she had forceps and was home within less that 24 hours. I was at diffent hospital and girl next to me in ward was forceps and was in for 2 nights (3 days).

I was in for 3 nights with both DD's, 1st was straightforward delivery, 2nd had complications. so it all depends. Don't feel rushed out, if you feel you need to stay longer then say but also, don't feel you need to stay, if you want to go home say so! Plenty of time though, don't worry about that just now and just enjoy the pregnancy!