Postpartum Hospital Stay

One thing I was not prepared for after I had William was the hospital stay in the Mom & Baby unit after the birth. I spent all my energy preparing for labor and delivery that I went into postpartum completely blind. I was lucky that since William was very healthy, the recovery was really only for me. Immediately after giving birth I had to learn how to breastfeed while also going through physical recovery. Because I had a third-degree tear, I had a lot of bleeding and pain. I had to take care of my bleeding and stitches while also attempting to breastfeed and caring for the baby. I think between all of that, I only got an hour of sleep in two days. I am glad the postpartum nurses gave me and Wesley the freedom to room in and take care of William ourselves. However, we both were exhausted and could've used some help to get some rest. I also struggled with breastfeeding. When I asked one nurse about pumping, she completely shut me down. I developed anxiety around breastfeeding and already felt so guilty over whether William was getting enough nourishment. I made it less than a week with breastfeeding because his bilirubin levels shot up at his first pediatrician appointment. When we started getting giving him formula, his weight and jaundice immediately got better. There was a lot of unnecessary anxiety that I think developed during my hospital stay. If I were to do it again, I would put that I was breastfeeding and using formula. That way the nurses would not be so strict about breastfeeding. That would have removed a lot of the anxiety. I would also have asked for a lot more help so I could actually get some rest. It was all worth it for William though and I will write about him next week.