The following advice was given in response to an email from PJ, who’s going into her last month of pregnancy. Hopefully this makes sense in the context it is given.
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The crying doesn’t end once you give birth either. I’ve had more problems with my tear ducts since Ian was born than prior. It’s nuts.

The episiotomy is still a little sore, but only if I overdo it. You do have to do something to keep it clean, but they’ll tell you about that at the hospital. Basically, if Oakwood does it, they’ll have you wear ice packs for the first day or so (which are pads that had water put on them and then frozen) which may sound weird, but god did they feel good. They also have some other stuff that they’ll say to put on the pads as well, and they do help to some extent. I stopped using the ice packs and the st. john’s wort (I think that’s what it was) once I got home. Motrin will be your best friend. Was there a bandaid on the episiotomy?! Babe, you get stitched up where the sun doesn’t shine and the only person who will ever get close enough to see it will be Chris.

Make sure you have some lanolin cream. I use it probably about once a day and I should be using it more. The only glitch is that you can’t breastfeed again for three hours after you put it on and Ian’s feeding has sometimes been every two hours, so I usually put it on at night and then give him a bottle or something. The lanolin helps with the moisturizing (I think, at least it’s been helping), so I haven’t had any cracking and bleeding (yet, knock on wood). You can’t pump for two weeks after delivery, but I’ve really only pumped twice since I’ve been home and both times were because I HAD to. Trust me when I say this, you won’t feel the urge to pump right away because you’ll be wanting to spend your time doing other things. It takes just as long to pump as it does breastfeeding and if I don’t have to do it, then I don’t. Once Ian’s feedings are reduced a little more and I feel like I can do other things and still keep an eye on him (he likes to be held right now, a lot) then I’ll probably start pumping more often. I’ll definitely be pumping once he gets his teeth….no more breastfeeding at that point. :)

Make sure you get some nursing tanks as well. My wardrobe at home as been as comfortable as I could make it and my nursing tank has been a godsend. I’m comfortable, I’m being held up, and Ian has easy access. I’ve only been able to find one and I would love to find more, so if you see any, let me know. Make sure you get more than two bras, because if you forget to put on any nursing pads, you’ll regret not having more. And make sure they are a cup size bigger than what you normally wear. I tried getting a bra that was my normal size and when they are filled with milk, the bra is just a bit too tight for comfort. Did you take a breastfeeding class? One thing to do before you go in to deliver, take a shower and let the water pour on your chest. Because once you have Chrispy, you won’t be able to let the shower touch your chest. If you do, you’ll be more likely to get engorged. It’s like a nice massage. Plus you can’t use any kind of soap on your chest either…Chrispy won’t like the taste of it much. :) I’ve been wearing yoga pants and a tank every day. You’ll still be wearing some of your maternity shirts even after delivery, so don’t pack them away just yet. I can’t wear all of my old shirts yet, some of them, just not all of them.

Do not count on the baby sleeping through the night prior to being 6 months old. You think that he will be and it’ll drive you crazy when he isn’t. Trust me on this. And sleeping through the night for an infant is only 5 hours at a time. It’s nothing like it is for us. And make sure you get a copy of that “No-Cry Sleep Solution” book now. Start reading it. The first four chapters are just basic common sense and a lot of it will help you once you get Chrispy home too.

Oh yeah, make sure you have a bunch of frozen dinners on hand. You’re not going to feel like cooking and neither will Chris. I spend all day with Ian, and not doing much of anything else, so when Jesse gets home, I like to pass Ian off to him and do things I either need or want to do – aka laundry, dishes, picking up, checking my email, etc. Making dinner is not one of those things. If you go in the frozen food section, there is a brand called Contessa. They are quick and easy to make, plus they are on the healthy side (compared to others). Plus if you have a crock pot, there are some crock meal in a bag stuff in the frozen food section. I know you may not like this idea, but trust me, you won’t feel like taking the time to cook. Also, clean out your fridge now. People will bring over meals for you, that all you’ll have to do is stick in the oven and bam it’s done. Mom was with us for a couple of days and she made extra of everything, so there were leftovers for us to eat. Plus she made some dinners and stuck them in the fridge so all we would have to do is cook them. So clean out your fridge now. You won’t get much of a chance once you bring a newborn home.

Whatever your preconceived notions of a newborn are, toss them out the window and don’t expect anything. If you expect it, then the opposite will happen. If you anticipate the worse, it’ll still happen but on a much grander scale just to piss you off. :) Expect the first week to be hell and you’ll survive it. I’m not saying it’s going to be hell, but if you expect that, and then if it turns out good, then you have had a positive experience.

Make sure you have a lot of one-handed foods to snack on. I don’t eat a lot during the day because it’s hard to make something while tending to Ian. Jesse says to tie one hand behind your back for a day and then you’ll get an idea of what it is going to be like.

And whatever you do, DO NOT GET IN THE HABIT OF HOLDING CHRISPY WHILE HE’S SLEEPING. Trust me, this will turn out bad. We made the mistake of holding Ian at night while he was sick and now we’re having trouble getting him to sleep in his bed at night. He only sleeps on me and I can’t sleep if he’s sleeping on me because I have to make sure I don’t roll over him or smother him or he falls off or etc. Plus, the first night, he won’t like sleeping in his bed, so expect a long night. It’s a new environment and Chrispy won’t understand so he’ll be frighten and will want to be held.

I’m told that babies can be spoiled and that they can’t be. I would say the truth lies somewhere in the middle. If you hold them too much, then they’ll expect to be held all the time. Yet, you can’t hold them enough (or set them down all the time) because you need to develop the bond (well, more so than you already have). You bond with the child while you hold them, but they can get to a point where they expect it all the time.

Also, don’t be afraid to kick people out of your recovery room. Take advantage of the nursery. I’m not sure how Oakwood does it, but Crittenton had the babies sleeping in the room with Jesse and I. We had them take Ian into the nursery the first night so we could get a full nights sleep. That will be your last night of solid sleep, so do it. Plus, if you delivery in the wee hours of the morning like I did, having a bunch of people in the room soon after can be exhausting. Jesse and I had been up pretty much 24 hours when Ian was born and then we were up for another 15 hours because people came to see Ian and hold him. It was one exhausting day and if you don’t get any rest, then it’s going to be bad once you do take Chrispy home, because you’ll definitely won’t get any sleep then. If you have to, tell the nurses to kick people out of your room if they notice that you’re getting exhausted.

Make sure you pay attention to Chris as well. You’re going to neglect him a little because you’ll be dealing with Chrispy or you’ll want to leave Chrispy with Chris and go and do something. It’ll get better with time, but he’ll be feeling neglected for a bit.