Alleviate postpartum pet peeves: how to demystify life after birth

It was 5 pm and Chris picked me up from the zoo where I had walked with Jenn in a desperate attempt to get out of the house with my newborn.

“Eurgh, Kara! You smell awful. Jenn must need a new diaper” Chris said as I unwrapped the baby from the wrap (what seemed like 25 feet of fabric at the time).

“Nope, that’s me.”

“There’s no way,” he continued in disbelief. “It smells rotten.”

“Yes, it’s me. I have been sweating. Just accept it. I have.” I adamantly replied trying to shut down the conversation.

I was a first-time mom, just learning the ropes of what to expect and not willing to accept how awful some of them were.

Sometimes getting peed on. Sometimes peeing on myself. And sometimes smelling so bad I could hardly stand myself.

Now, on my third baby, I am still appalled by the crazy things our bodies experience and the little annoyances I have with postpartum life.

A quick look through old pictures and in those early weeks of having my first baby I see right past the pictures. That cute one at the zoo only reeks of a need for deodorant. The selfie in the department store? Not as cute when it was taken five minutes before an unforgettable episode of urinary incontinence.

But they’re secrets I carry with me.

Hopefully I can spare you from having to have some of those secrets of your own.

5 facts about your postpartum body for and solutions to fight the struggle

Thousands, if not millions, of women are looking answers and for cures to their most burning questions about their bodies post childbirth.

You might be googling things like “Is loss of bladder control normal as a grown woman?” or “Am I already pregnant again? I’m so nauseous!”

To be honest, it’s one of the must beautiful, but also most disgusting times in life. You get to watch a tiny little life grow and marvel at the fact that you grew such a small, gorgeous human. But it’s also a time of not understanding the body you once knew and at least somewhat understood.

It’s like a whole new, mysterious body that wasn’t yours yesterday but is yours today. How did it even get like this?!

Skin has stretched…
Muscles of have sagged…
Your hair didn’t fall out in pregnancy but now the drain is filled after every shower…

Hair Falling out

After my first, fist fulls of hair would come out of my head. I just knew something had gone horribly wrong because I didn’t know it was a normal part of the hormonal changes that come after baby is born — just a typical postpartum body fact no one seems to talk about.[color-box]

The Solution:

Although there is no tried and true way to stop your hair from failling out since all hair falls out eventually, make sure that you’re getting enough B vitamins, including Biotin. Try to comb your hair instead of brushing it and try to avoid eating sugar as it can have a detrimental effect on your hair (and health as a whole). [/color-box]

Urinary Incontinence and Bladder Leakage

It’s not until you have had a child literally sit on your bladder inside of you or until you’ve felt a head pressing so hard in between your legs that it makes you waddle to understand why the older women around you complain about the sneaky leak caused by laughing and sneezing.

Although uncomfortable and somewhat humiliating, loss of bladder control is a fairly normal postpartum pet peeve. It’s ultimately an unavoidable after multiple kids.

The Solution:

Once you’re given the all clear to exercise, typically around six weeks, it’s time to work on training the pelvic floor daily, just like staying active keeps you healthy. You can start with an over-the-counter pelvic floor device to start a simple, painless routine twice a week for three months and allows you to take back control of those uncomfortable and embarrassing moments.

Instead of treating the symptom by turning to incontinence products like pads, go after the root cause by working on the muscles. This can be Occupational Pelvic Floor Therapy or some sort of at-home device to help strengthen your muscles again. Pushing out a baby is a huge source of stress and trauma for the body to heal from! You can help the problem by providing active resistance to the muscles to contract against, thus creating the perfect environment to strengthen and train the pelvic floor, making incontinence a thing of the past.

Smelly Momma Syndrome

I will admit that after I have my babies I tend to smell like a trash heap. From bad gas to sweaty armpits, my body oozes out all the unlovely smells as it tries to detox and as my hormones shift and swing with the wind. And honestly? It’s normal.

It’s hard to admit publicly that I am the most disgusting person on earth after each birth, but a few quick web searches and you’ll discover that many, many other pregnant women have admitted the same thing.

(Some even fearing that their baby would be traumatized from how much their mommas passed gas!) [color-box]

The Solution:

You can’t actually detox while breastfeeding. So on the bad days, make sure that you have some activated charcoal on hand. It will help absorb all the yuckies in your stomach and intestines, curbing the gas you actually pass.

And for the smelly pits? Not only can a clean, healthy diet help, but taking some liquid chlorophyll in water helps as a natural deodorizer and a side benefit is it give you iron to help stop postpartum bleeding while also boosting energy levels. [/color-box]

Nausea

Hormones, man. They’ll getcha.

And because every woman fears having Irish twins, you’ll probably think you’re pregnant again. But never fear: You’re (most likely) not. [color-box]

The Solution:

Keep a pitcher of water in the fridge with slices of citrus, ginger, and cucumbers. It works to both reduce the swelling in your body as well as kick nausea out the door. [/color-box]

Larger Feet

During pregnancy, a lot of time the added weight coupled with loosened ligaments means feet stretch and get larger. And they typically don’t go back. [color-box]

The Solution:

Darn, I guess you’ll just have to go shoe shopping. [/color-box]

Alleviate postpartum pet peeves: how to demystify life after birth