Top ten things no one tells you about post-delivery, childbirth or recovery

Almost seven months after the birth of my son, as I sit down today and think, by think I mean "think sanely" in a proper frame of mind without getting emotional or yelling at every other person, I am amazed at the number of things that have happened which no one ever tells you before the baby is born.

Disclaimer: Men and women who have not been pregnant before, you would not want to read this.

1. No bladder control : For some weird reason, this tops my list. I can't blame LG for doing susu in his shorts because for a few weeks even his mamma didn't have one. It was hard to hold on for more than 5 minutes. Who the hell knew about Kegel exercises. it took quite a few Google searches to find out what it meant. There I was looking for step 1 - lie on your back, step 2 - lift your leg sort of thing until I figured out its an internal exercise for the muscles with no steps -10.



2. Post-labor pain : That post pregnancy pain is worse than labor. Despite having a normal delivery, my back and b* ached for days. To this day, when I sit down for more than an hour and get up, I find my muscles crying out of pain.



3. Weight loss : That it will take a good deal of exercise on one's apart and diet control to get back into shape. I look a little slimmer than when I was at 9 months but can still easily pass off for being called 5 months pregnant.



4. The color to hate will be red: That you will bleed for a month and sometimes more post delivery.



5. Change of taste in food: I find this a little weird and I don't know if it is just me. I never had a huge craving for anything particular while I was pregnant. But now I like the foods that I never liked before and for some like chocolates I've developed a huge liking.



6. That your bones get weak: Now again, I don't know if all the women experience this. But excessive physical work or lifting LG for 30 mins takes its toll on my back and my wrists ache like I have carpel tunnel syndrome.



7. Night outs: Why doesn't anyone tell it as it is? I was always told that babies sleep for 18 hours. This was SO misleading. No, they don't. They keep you awake and at times for 20 hours because you can't sleep when they sleep as they can sleep even at 10:00 a.m. but your body clock wouldn't cooperate. LG slept only 9 hours a day until he was 9 weeks old. Sleep patterns establish well somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd month of a baby.



8. Mommy-baby bonding : It did not happen the moment I saw my baby. To tel he truth, I started loving LG maybe only after 5 weeks or so. Sure, I cared for him and all but the affection that is there for him now was definitely not there then. Call me a uncaring mom or whatever, but being sleep deprived and in pain doesn't do one good.



9. Goodbye blues: your mood swings of good ole regnant days don't disappear the moment the package is delivered. They haunt you in different forms. Who would have known what post partum depression meant until I went through? Yes, I did but I will save it for another post.



10. Relationship with your partner: There is a lot of hype around this one. But no it doesn't change drastically. It is natural. There is a new person in your house so you just become sensitive to his existence. He can't take care of himself, not just yet. So as caring human beings who is a part of you, you work around your lifestyles and your schedules to devote time, effort and energy to bringing up this little one. His happiness and well being makes you happy. what changes is even if you both did not have energy for each other earlier, you will be amazed at how much you have now, all for the baby