Postpartum Trouble Zones — Episode 124

So often we think once the baby is out, our health issues are over. BUT there are a few trouble zones that you need to watch for (and it’s hard not to get so wrapped up in the baby).

This episode was inspired by my post on Postpartum Recovery Tips

Big thanks to our sponsor The Online Prenatal Class for Couples — it has two FULL chapters on what to expect AFTER the baby to get you totally prepared {plus a new bonus video on newborn care tips!}

In this episode

Bleeding — what to watch for

Fever — what to look for

Emotions (this is Stephanie’s episode on postpartum depression)

Other things that might interest you

Preparing for your postpartum stay

Postpartum Recovery Episode

What to have on hand after baby

Producer: Drew Erickson

Check out my other pregnancy podcasts:

Transcript

[00:00:00.250] – Hilary Erickson

Guys, you are in trouble. Let’s untangle it.

[00:00:15.450] – Hilary Erickson

Hi, I’m Hilary Erickson. The Curly Head behind the Pulling Curls podcast. We untangle pregnancy, parenting, home and even travel. We know there’s no right answer for every family, but hopefully we can spark some ideas that will work for yours. Life tangled just like my hair.

[00:00:38.710] – Hilary Erickson

Okay, before we get started, the tips in this podcast could 100% save your booty after you have a baby. So just head on over to itunes and give me a little love for these kinds of tips that can really help you out post baby.

[00:00:51.390] – Hilary Erickson

Okay, you have a baby. All of the attention shifts to the baby, which is totally not fair because you’ve had a total medical event as well, but it just happens. So today I want to talk about some troubled signs that show you need to get help for yourself after you have the baby because things can happen, especially usually your first baby like everything is hunky Dory.

[00:01:12.100] – Hilary Erickson

But on 2nd 3rd 5th babies, you really need to watch out for these things, so let’s talk about them FYI they will probably review these things with you in the hospital before you go home as well. I always try to make sure my patients were very aware about what they should be watching out for themselves before they went home because you’re going to see a pediatrician quite a lot for your baby and they’re very available over the phone versus your OB a lot of times people only see them once.

[00:01:35.750] – Hilary Erickson

Although I am hearing that a lot of people are getting two visits with their OB after they have the baby, which I think is awesome. We totally need more care after we have the baby for mom. But let’s talk about some of those trouble zones and what to watch for.

[00:01:49.670] – Hilary Erickson

Do you feel prepared for your delivery in just three short hours, you can be prepared for the confident, collaborative delivery you want, you’ll know what to expect and how to talk with your health care team. And there are no boring lessons in this class. I’ll use humor stories from my 20 years in the delivery room to engage both of you. I love how Alyssa told me that she found herself laughing at things that used to sound scary. Most of all you guys are going to be on the same page from bump to bassinet. Join the online prenatal class for couples today you can save 15% with coupon code UNTANGLED. You can find the link in the show notes.

[00:02:24.810] – Hilary Erickson

Okay, the first one is bleeding, so it is natural and normal to bleed quite a lot after you have a baby. Most people I think bleed about three weeks, maybe even just two weeks on their first baby. But on each baby it usually gets longer and more bleeding and more annoying because it’s annoying. So one of the things you’ll notice, especially after the second baby are on you’re going to start to have some more blood clots come out, and they can be kind of big. Now, if you have a blood clot that’s larger than a golf ball, that’s kind of the size that we watch for.

[00:02:54.120] – Hilary Erickson

You need to call your provider that shows the blood is kind of pooling and not stopping, and you need to probably get some help. But if they’re smaller than that and you just notice them in the shower or the toilet after you pee, it’s not unusual. Just keep an eye on those sizes. It’s not fun, though. I’ll agree.

[00:03:09.830] – Hilary Erickson

Now How’s your bleeding? It will slowly taper, right? It’s not going to be like, full fledged bleeding, and then faucet turns off, and there’s no bleeding the next day, it’s just going to slowly taper. But if you find that all of a sudden, your bleeding jumps up, that shows that you’re doing too much. And I have so many friends who are 2nd, 3rd, 4th time moms who call me, and they’re like, my bleeding was almost gone, and then all of a sudden today, it’s back, and it’s like, a lot.

[00:03:33.540] – Hilary Erickson

And I’m like, oh, that sucks. What did you do today? And they’re like, nothing like I just did, like, a trip to Costco and Target. And I’m like, Whoa, Nelly. Costco almost always involves lifting things.

[00:03:43.500] – Hilary Erickson

You shouldn’t be lifting things. You should be having your feet up more. So initially, when you see that blood increase, you really need to think I am doing too much. I need to put my feet up and rest more. I had a friend who mentioned that she was planning on basically just staying in bed for the first week by the bed for the second week.

[00:04:00.600] – Hilary Erickson

And like, around the bed the third week, which is almost true. Now I am a believer that we need to get up and move and not just be chained to the bed. But I also think we are like, I should be cleaning the toilets by day four. That was totally me, and it wasn’t a good choice. Like, rest more.

[00:04:15.590] – Hilary Erickson

Your body needs that you have that giant scab where your placenta was. And as you lift things, that scab pulls up because you’re using those AB muscles, and you can bleed more. So if the bleeding increases, that is a huge sign that you’re doing too much. You need to slow down, drink more water, not liquor, and just chill out. Love that baby a little bit more.

[00:04:35.100] – Hilary Erickson

Try and get more rest. Okay. The last thing is the smell. If all of a sudden it starts to smell different or look different. I mean, it’s going to taper, so it’s going to be, like, more Brown.

[00:04:44.280] – Hilary Erickson

But if you notice any greenness or mostly it’s the smell that you’re going to notice, that’s the reason why you’re going to need to call your provider. There is always the chance of an infection from any tearing or whatnot that went down there at the delivery. So it is something to watch for. Along with that, you’re going to make sure that you don’t have a fever. Now, you’re not needing to check your temperature, like every few hours, like we check the baby after you have a baby.

[00:05:05.760] – Hilary Erickson

But if you’re starting to feel feverish where you get those hot, cold sensations, just check a temp really quick. You can get those crazy night sweats, which can sort of feel a little bit like a fever. But just make sure that you don’t have a fever. Because if you’re starting to get a fever and we recognize a fever as anything over 100.4, then you would want to call your provider and just let them know and see what they want to do. Okay.

[00:05:26.530] – Hilary Erickson

Now, along with bleeding, your pain should slowly be getting better. Yes, you might have, like a big cramp. Cramps get worse with every baby FYI the second, 3rd fourth, the third one. By the end, I was like, now is when I need the epidural, not when I was in labor. It was painful.

[00:05:40.430] – Hilary Erickson

So if you’re noticing, though, that the pain is getting worse, the cramping is getting worse. Those kind of different things are getting worse. It’s not tapering off. It’s getting worse. Call your provider.

[00:05:50.020] – Hilary Erickson

That could be a sign that something’s up, or it could just be a sign of natural healing. You never know. But it would be something that would trigger a phone call for me. Okay. Any bladder infection type symptoms, frequency.

[00:06:00.300] – Hilary Erickson

I mean, you’re going to pee a lot after you have a baby, just because we give you a lot of fluid in the hospital. But if you’re peeing really frequently, you feel like you need to pee all the time you go to pee and nothing’s. There things like that. Call your provider. You might just want to pop in and give a urine sample.

[00:06:12.850] – Hilary Erickson

There is a chance of a UTI after you have a baby, which would be miserable. So it would be something that you’d want to catch early on and just make sure that you’re taking care of fever can also be a sign of a UTI. So that’s something to watch for as well. Okay. And then finally your emotions.

[00:06:26.430] – Hilary Erickson

If you find that you’re having full days where everything is down and there’s nothing that’s, like perched you up, that’s something to watch for. And it’s something for partners to watch out for. You guys have probably listened to my episode with Stephanie where we talk about the postpartum trigger signs. I’m going to link to that in the show notes, and it’s definitely one that you guys should check out, but just be watching. It is very normal to have very high highs and very low lows during your postpartum period, especially those first couple of weeks.

[00:06:52.750] – Hilary Erickson

But if you’re finding that you’re just staying in the lows and you’re not able to have any highs, no bouts of love or crying with happiness. Then that’s something that I probably want to talk with my provider about. And it’s something that partners need to be watching for, too. And you also should be watching your co partner with us as well. Birth can be really difficult on dads and moms and all those different kinds of things.

[00:07:12.650] – Hilary Erickson

I have to say that I love the idea that both partners should be getting at least 4 hours straight at some point during the day, so that’s something to strive for. It might not work for every family, especially if your partner has to go straight back to work. But hopefully they could maybe take, like, maybe they take the eight to one time frame and they watch the baby during that, and then they go to sleep before work and then from one to whenever. Then you’re up with a baby.

[00:07:37.470] – Hilary Erickson

But honestly, if you can just get those 4 hours, a lot of those emotions subside and you’re able to tolerate it all a whole lot better.

[00:07:44.120] – Hilary Erickson

So those are my postpartum trouble signs. I go over these in the online prenatal class for couples and a few other things, so definitely jump in there. My postpartum section is something that people just love. I’m so open and honest about what postpartum was like for me and what to expect and how it’s so different than you would probably have imagined. So jump inside there.

[00:08:01.840] – Hilary Erickson

Actually, when I took over teaching classes from my hospital, their postpartum section was just, like, so bad. It was like half an hour of teaching, and I ended up making it like two full sections, and I just think it needs that because we’re just not prepared for it. So jump in the online prenatal class for couples. I’d love to see you in the postpartum section.

[00:08:19.310] – Hilary Erickson

Do not miss next week’s episode. We are talking about how to organize for your new baby. So it is definitely an episode you are going to want to tune in for next Monday.

[00:08:27.310] – Hilary Erickson

Thanks so much for joining us on today’s episode. We know you have lots of options for your ears, and we are glad that you chose us. We drop episodes weekly, and until next time, we hope you have a tangle free day.