Mothers, Be Honest

[campy]

Originally Posted by DudeEMETIB

Once again I am glad I was born with a penis.

Thanks Campy for both making my face go and sharing some truths about this baby having thing you women do.

It makes me wonder why people with 5+ babies ever go through with it THAT many times.

I know....I can't imagine......no fucking way. I don't have enough time for one and feel guilty about that all the time forget about 5!

[jorjo]

Originally Posted by marina

The KATG clan is usually very open and honest about everything, so I figured that this would be a good place to settle a question that's been on my mind.

It seems like all I ever hear about child birth is that it's the most amazing miracle ever, except for the episiotomy, and the increase in dental problems due to bone loss, also possible urinary incontinence and loss of sexual desire or enjoyment for the rest of your life.

Women who have had children, what's up? Obviously your child is a miracle, etc. but what physical effects have you experienced post-children?

hmmm ... the memories of the bad stuff fades or, at least, becomes insignificant. If it didn't you'd be hard pressed to convince any woman to go through pregnancy and child birth a 2nd time.

Thinking back ... my pregnancy was uneventful and kinda weird and fun when the kicking started. I don't remember much morning sickness - just feeling a bit faint, I never vomited. I ended up unable to even look at pizza, I couldn't eat anything that came out of a microwave and had to wait for my food to cool down before I could eat it because I couldn't stand the smell wafting up from hot food.

About a month before I was due I was diagnosed with toxemia (though, to be honest I didn't really notice the effects). I ended up in hospital a couple of weeks before I gave birth because of it.

One thing I'll say is that giving birth HURTS. It starts out feeling like really bad period cramps and gets worse from there. I remember screaming from the pain at some point. There was talk of an epidural (an anaesthetic that basically makes you numb from the waist down), but the anaesthetist that was on duty was called away for an emergency and there wasn't enough time to call someone else in to the hospital. I did have nitrous oxide (laughing gas - didn't stop the pain, but did make me incapable of thinking about it) and an injection of pethidine (demerol).

God Damn but it hurts. I hate watching birth scenes on tv to this day because 98.99879% (actual confirmed stat - look it up) of them are sooo unrealistic it makes me mad. That said, once it's over and the baby is out - it really is over - there was no ongoing residual pain.

As to physical effects - I don't remember anyone telling me I'd bleed like a stuck pig for a couple of weeks. That was frightening. The jelly belly is kinda funny (though it staying softer than before and now having stretch marks is not so funny). Boobs become giant sized (I went from a C to at least a double D (yes, a double D is giant sized to me )) and when all the milk is gone they do end up slightly ... lower . Oh, breast feeding hurts too, but eventually you toughen up.

With regard to the issues you mentioned - I didn't have an episitomy and taking calcium tablets will help with any possible dental issues (babies tend to leech any available calcium out of their mum), I'm not incontinent and the only complaints I've heard about my sex drive are that it's too high.

All in all, it was definitely worth it. For me. Everyone's horror stories are different (my sister in law suffered from horrific constipation throughout her pregnancies, developed new food allergies during each one, she even broke her coccyx giving birth to her first child and ended up with horrific dark, wide stretch marks - she went on to have FIVE children, at one point she had 3 under the age of two).

My son was a lovely baby, a great child and is now a wonderful young man. Having him as young as I did was certainly a mistake, but one I would absolutely repeat if I was given my life to live again.

[jorjo]

Oh - a couple more slightly related, but not really, points ..

1. I understand how child abuse of babies can happen - I honestly believe that if I was less sane I could have done something really bad. I remember one occasion in particular when I looked down at my still awake, crying, newborn and thought how easy it would be to just loft him out the bedroom window.

2. If you think the sleepless nights you have with babies are bad, just wait for the the 2nd round that happens during the teen years when they're out at parties and the like. I think I had two years of not sleeping during the weekends. I had an arrangement that I'd pick my son up from anywhere, at anytime, no questions asked - which meant I was often running his friends home as well. Plus, he had to reply to text messages from me if he didn't want me calling the police. At least when they're babies you know where they are and that they're safe. When they're teenagers you have to hope you didn't raise them to be stupid.

[campy]

Originally Posted by jorjo

2. If you think the sleepless nights you have with babies are bad, just wait for the the 2nd round that happens during the teen years when they're out at parties and the like. I think I had two years of not sleeping during the weekends. I had an arrangement that I'd pick my son up from anywhere, at anytime, no questions asked - which meant I was often running his friends home as well. Plus, he had to reply to text messages from me if he didn't want me calling the police. At least when they're babies you know where they are and that they're safe. When they're teenagers you have to hope you didn't raise them to be stupid.

I'm dreading this...

Are we posting pics of our kids too...goody!!!

here's my guy,

[Medium Brumski]

2 cents I gleaned from my mom years ago, she said that after the first two kids the rest of her pregnancies and births (6 total) were pretty routine and easy. She feels kinda bad for women that only had 1 or 2, and thus only have really bad opinions about the experience. And physically, my mom has always been a very petite women, so all those kids didn't blow her figure.

[BrianAlt]

The fam:

[TeddyPicker]

My mom pees a little whenever she sneezes or coughs to hard and she makes me apologize to her every time it happens when I'm present.

[Cretaceous Bob]

I don't know why I keep clicking on this thread. Maybe I thought TeddyPicker was going to say something sexy or something. This thread is gross.

[marina]

Originally Posted by Cretaceous Bob

I don't know why I keep clicking on this thread. Maybe I thought TeddyPicker was going to say something sexy or something. This thread is gross.

Pays to be educated about the human condition, whether you will suffer it directly or vicariously.

[marina]

Originally Posted by TeddyPicker

My mom pees a little whenever she sneezes or coughs to hard and she makes me apologize to her every time it happens when I'm present.

Yeah, see that's the kind of loving mother/daughter bond I had with my mom.
She used to constantly bitch about how my c-section scar made her ugly.