Let’s talk postpartum.  It’s cute, it’s fun, it’s stressful, and it can also catch you off guard!  All of that beautiful hair you gained during pregnancy – GONE!  It just falls right out.  Breastfeeding?  How do those chapped, bleeding nipples feel?  AWESOME!  Remember that glow you had during pregnancy?  How about some dry skin instead?!  Okay, okay, I know those are all of the negative things that happen after having a baby, but someone needs to prepare you for this!  As you’re reading below, remember ladies, this is all TEMPORARY and the outcome is so beautiful.

1. Breastfeeding

There’s no greater feeling than being able to breastfeed your child.  The bond that a mother and a baby share is out of this world amazing and breastfeeding is so relaxing and peaceful for mom and baby.  BUT not everyone is able to breastfeed.  It can be very hard in the beginning and sometimes newborns have a lot of trouble latching on and just simply won’t do it.  The hard part in the beginning?  Your nipples will HURT, they will bleed, they will feel extremely dry, and your boobs will explode.  Luckily, the female body is amazing and it adapts to your baby’s schedule and his/her needs.  I know it’s 2020, but for a lot of new moms it can also be embarrassing to do in public.  Some women will look at you with disgust and men will stare at you because they are hoping to see your boob.  I’m just being real.  It happened to me so many times, but you honestly get through it and you stop paying attention to who is around you and worry about feeding your baby!

2. Hair Loss

OH MY GOD!  This was a fun one for me.  I had never experienced it before and it completely caught me by surprise.  I was four months postpartum and went to my hair stylist for a haircut.  Everything was going as usual until she brought me back to the chair to brush my hair after washing it.  She starts brushing and I saw a big ball of something black (my hair is black) on the brush.  I grabbed the brush from her and quickly realized it was MY HAIR!  I’m not even kidding when I say it looked like thousands of strands of my hair.  No joke.  I knew that I was losing some hair in the shower, but never really paid attention to exactly how much.  I lost it all around the front, the middle, the back, EVERYWHERE.  The regrowth was frustrating because it would just stick straight up so I had to learn to embrace it and make fun of myself.  Here I am, a year out from giving birth to Lleyton, and it’s STILL a problem.  The good news?  IT GROWS BACK!

3. Excessive Sweating

Oh – you don’t work out when you sleep?  I sweat a lot during the day as it is because of workouts, running around, getting hot, etc.  But the last thing I want is to sweat excessively at night to the point where I wake up freezing cold, wet, and thinking I just peed in the bed.  That happened almost every night for the first couple of months.  I had to wash the sheets ALL the time because it was so gross.

4. Dry Skin

The pregnancy glow is amazing and you get so many compliments about your flawless, glowing skin during pregnancy.  Just wait until you pop that baby out and have dry skin and break outs.  For a while, I felt like I couldn’t keep applying enough lotion on my body and moisturizer on my face.  Unfortunately, I had Lleyton in January which is one of the “coldest” months in North Carolina, so that didn’t help.  I just had to stay hydrated and keep on keeping on.

5. Loss of Bladder Control

Do you need to wear your baby’s diapers for a while?  The loss of bladder control has everything to do with your core and pelvic floor after pregnancy.  There is a lack of control in the beginning because your muscles are weak, but the good thing about exercise is that you can regain strength in your core and retrain yourself not to pee when jumping!

6. Sex Isn’t Your Friend

I’m going to get personal for a minute.  The sex after having a baby is weird.  Your uterus, vagina, and cervix are still healing for a LONG time after giving birth.  I mean, you just pushed a human body out!  Your hormones are going to be all out of whack which means you’re going to be dry and it will feel very uncomfortable.  The truth?  As much as you may love having sex with your significant other, it won’t be a priority in beginning – sorry, momma!

7. Postpartum Body & Exercising

IF you exercised routinely during pregnancy, it is not as hard to get your pre-pregnancy body back, but it will still be hard.  Hopefully, if you’ve already made fitness a priority in your life by this time, then you’ll continue to make it a priority after having baby.  You will have to take it easy in the beginning and focus on your core strength and stability rather than just jumping back into lifting weights.  It will feel SO WEIRD performing lunges or squats because – remember – your body is still healing.  It won’t be easy by any means, you will have to get creative sometimes, and YOU have to change your routine to your baby’s routine for a while.  Be nice to yourself and have grace.  Rome wasn’t built in a day.  One year out and I’m still not where I used to be with my fitness, but I’m getting there and I’m getting stronger every day.  You can do it, momma!

8. Postpartum Depression

If this is your first baby, or even if it’s your fifth, postpartum depression can still happen to you.  Personally, I have never truly experienced postpartum depression, but I know people who have and it can be very hard.  You just had a baby, your entire life has completely changed, you thought you were prepared, but you’re not, and you don’t know how to feel like yourself anymore.  DO NOT feel ashamed if this happens to you.  Being a mom, especially a new mom, is hard as hell.  You can rarely ever get anything done, you barely have time for yourself, you can’t keep up with anything, and you’re losing sleep day by day.  Seek help from your physician and support from your family and friends. Just remember that face that you get to look at every single day is absolutely adorable and he/she loves you very much and thinks you are doing an amazing job.