sorry about this one but........

[notsoslimnow]

can i ask with regard to the bleeding after birth.....how heavy is this normally? is it like a period and how long does it last? so sorry if anyone is eating etc......

Dont forget though that the more you do the heavier the bleed.
If you exert yourself the bleeding is heavier for a while. And lighter if you have a quiet day.

Take a water bottle with a sports cap with you into hospital. After the birth you can use it to squirt water on yourself as you pee, and afterwards.
I bled for 8 weeks. Was just starting to really worry when it stopped. It was only really heavy for the first week then was just like a period that went on and on and on.
When I was in hospital, the midwife told me to use two maternity pads, one of top of the other. I thought she was joking, but no...

I was completely clueless about bleeding too. I thought that it would be like a heavy-ish period. It is much heavier and mine lastest for over 6 weeks ()! Thank goodness I found out through MN that it was normal. Another thing that was really useful to know - if the bleeding is heavier or redder than usual then it's probably a sign that you're doing too much. The blood should still smell like a normal period though, if it smells at all weird then you should get it checked out as it can be a sign of infection.

starlightmckenzie- hi ! yes im due september 21st.im niki,we both agreed we are a bit nervous about the actual birth on here! are you ok? can you believe i was so worried about the birth, i forgot to find out about the next part!!!hope your feeling well ( btw thought i ought to get a better nicknameinstead of my real name!)

This thread has just come up in threads im on and cant remember posting on it - teach me to leave pages open with DD around - sorry!

Notsoslimnow, when my bleeding was heaviest, I put a night-time ultra pad in my pants, then put a maternity pad on top. If I soaked through the maternity pad, the pad underneath absorbed everything.
I was shocked by the bleeding as I didn't know what to expect. If you've been sitting still for a while you'll get a bit of a gush when you stand up. Scared the living daylights out of me.
I had a forceps delivery & had stitches which were painful. Maternity pads are really thick, and were like sitting on cushions - much comfier to use if you end up needing stitches.
Also, get a couple of multi-packs of cheapo knickers from Primark or Asda. Then just bin your pants instead of washing them.

Notsoslimnow, when my bleeding was heaviest, I put a night-time ultra pad in my pants, then put a maternity pad on top. If I soaked through the maternity pad, the pad underneath absorbed everything.
I was shocked by the bleeding as I didn't know what to expect. If you've been sitting still for a while you'll get a bit of a gush when you stand up. Scared the living daylights out of me.
I had a forceps delivery & had stitches which were painful. Maternity pads are really thick, and were like sitting on cushions - much comfier to use if you end up needing stitches.
Also, get a couple of multi-packs of cheapo knickers from Primark or Asda. Then just bin your pants instead of washing them.

I used disposable pants for the first week - don't know if they were more or less cheap than primark/asda ones, but I was binning them with the maternity pads every time I went to the loo.

The maternity ones are great as they are like a cushion and I defo noticed when I went onto normal ones!!

If you normally flush your pads please don't try it with the mat ones DP won't be happy unclogging that - use a nappy bag to wrap and dispose.

Also along with your disposable knickers and cushion sizes pads please remember to take some antibac wipes in your hospital bag, If your using the toilet and beeding remember everyone else is too sorry if tmi

I used some lovely incontinence pads for a couple of days, they are like a huge nappy almost, very good re peace of mind as didn't have to keep getting up to check. No way anything could escape
After that it just dwindled really. Normal ones were fine.

I was recommended Always Ultra Night Time and I'm glad I took the advice. The maternity pads are like wearing a bolster between your legs

And yes, it's really heavy to start with and eases off. I think mine took about 6 weeks to stop last time.

I bled heavily for a week after dd. I am bottle feeding though and it stopped after about 3 weeks. It got very light after the first week but would go heavy again if I over did it. I have just had my first period - dd is 7 weeks old now and it was very heavy and painful so be prepared for that!