The 24 Hours After Giving Birth

Great story and very honest. Thank you very much!!

thank you for your wonderful story! I am due in 4 weeks and now i know what is really coming! i am very excited!!

Wow! Thanks for your honesty and for sharing this story. Not many people talk about the after, it's always about labor and delivery. Even I haven't even given thought to the after until now, it's my first and I'm due in 4 weeks. Thanks again.

This was awesome! I don't want people to sugar coat the situation... I want to know what I am honestly in for! And the tips for what to pack were also helpful!

Great story and thanks a lot for it. It helps calm my nerves as I get closer to my due date. Knowing something about THE DAY and those following after is better than nothing. Also, thanks for giving all the details although a bit scary, still very good info.

I loved this story, reminds me a lot of what I went through with my first baby. Expecting my 2nd baby in about 5 weeks give or take, and plan on spending more time at the hospital, with my daughter I went home within 12 hours of having her, and this time feel like it might be a good idea to have the nurses nearby to help with any problems as well as be able to bond with my newborn.

Great Information and "walk through" of those first days of mommy-hood!

I enjoyed this story! :) it made me understand what it will be like for me.

i really enjoyed this story b/c alot of info i look for doesnt go into detail like you did. im 37wks today and was very curious as to what happens during the stay after delivery. thanks so much for your helpful insight!

I enjoyed this story it was very interesting. When I had my first child I was on IV drugs and the epidural. I took the pain medicine when they offered it to me because this was pain I had never felt. My daughter weighed 9lbs 2.75oz and was 22 1/2 inches long. I am thinking this new baby will be smaller than her but we will see in 5 weeks. :)

Wow, that was great. I love reading your full desciption, sounds like something better than I was expecting. I feel I could actually go through with it all and it is not at all so bad after all. Thank you for sharing your story. Gives a real good idea of what to expect.

i had my first baby what will be 7 years ago april 23rd i was 16... now im having my second baby at 23 and im now 35 weeks along and very much over being pregnant. i just cant wait to see my baby girl.. honestly before reading this story i had forgotten about the aches and pains and sleep deprived stupor i walked around in for a solid 2 weeks following delivery with my 1st. my stomach knotted up a bit while reading this story... scary yes but o so exciting all at once.

Thank you! I am pregnant with our first child and have been having a lot of painful contractions. Im only 35 weeks along though so im really nervous about actually being in labor. My midwife just kind of tells me to wait it out..but how much waiting could you do when your in soo much pain. I unfortunately cant get the epidural due to spinal problems so im stuck having to go all natural.

An epidural CAN help speed up labor (due to ur ability to sleep/rest through contractions, and stop fighting against ur body (as somebody else put it, very well in my opinion))...this is according to my postpartum nurse at the hospital very shortly after my second child was born...it's amazing how much u forget between pregnancies/deliveries...thank you for this article, it was a total REALITY check/dose and reminder for me of what to expect :)

THANKS YOU FOR SHARING it been six years when i had my fist bron and everthing was a daze for me i been a little nevers about this one but now i feel a little better what im in for.

That was good to read because I've been trying to remember how it was when my first was born 4 years ago - and it's really all a daze - reading that reminded me of some of the real things - I feel more prepared now - Thanks!

It's true pitocin is what speeds up labor... however an epidural allows the body to relax from all the pain and do its thing. So in some cases... it(an epidural)helps the labor along. :)

And also what one of you wanted to know about after giving birth. To me that was the ugly part... you deliver the placenta then if you tore your self while pushing or if you had an epsiodomy where the Dr cuts you down there so the head can pass. The Dr has to stich you up. Then later in your room a nurse will come and push down hard on your sore stomach to make sure all is out. Your given pain meds. You have to rinse after you pee with a squirt bottle you have to take a bowel bfore leaving home

I am pregnant with my 3rd child , both of my previous pregnacies were a breeze. With my 1st I was induced at 42 weeks since that was my first baby my Dr said I was given 2 more weeks. I had my water bag popped, the poticen was given, contractions started I quickly went from being dailated 1 to 4 in an hour. I asked for an epidural and in 3 more hours I was able to push. I pushed 4 times and my daughter was born. I would give birth any day for me that was the easiest part.

Thanks a million for the gross & gritty details...and I'm not being sarcastic. I'm thankful for the information because in a few weeks I will be giving birth to our first one. I'm not looking forward to some of it but at least I know what to expect now.

Am 30-days away from my due date & everything is pictured in my mind since this is my 3rd. pregnancy & what I've been through in the both previous pregnancies is just the same as this one is & the difficulties are the same, so I lknow what is't feels like in the second after the baby comes to life it feels like I did not suffer neither during the pregancy nor in labor room , for real all the pain goes away .

i want to say i really appreciate your story Jess because for once it didn't focus on all the cramping and discomfort but the actual details and feelings that went with the birthing process. Right now i'm about 30 weeks and i needed a person (besides my mother) to tell me from beginning to end what labor was like. the part that made me think was when you talked about the blur of things, i could imagine that it would be like that due to the rush of not only hormones but the need to stop the pain.

Thanks for this article. My biggest fears are not what is labor going to be like but what happens to my body immediately after. Now I have an idea of what to expect.

I wish I was still in the states, in belgium, i stay in the hospital for 4 days, and my hubby is only allowed during visiting hours.. : ( this article was really helpful though, helps to know what to expect!

Sounds like you got to stay in the hospital for two nights. Everyone I know only stayed for one. What's the norm?

Thank you so much for this article! There are lots of articles on what labor is like but not much about afterwards. It helps me to feel a little more prepared.

Actually an epiduaral can speed up labor because it causes you to relax and to stop fighting against your body

This is a great help to me so I will have an idea of what the postpardum stage will be like.

OK, Epidural is a drug AND does NOT spped up labor it is proven to slow it down, you must be thinkin of Pitocin

I really appreciate that you told the truth but it didn't sound so horrible or impossibly, like some of the stories I've heard lately- I'm wondering if people realize that I'm in this for the long haul - there's no going back now - so why try to scare me to death??!!

Thanks!! Its nice to have a real idea of whats going to be going on.

Thank you so much! It gives me an idea of what it will be like!

This really helps understand what I'll be in for.... thank you:)