Bounty feature

All about you

All the attention may now be focused on the baby, but you’ve just been through a life-changing event, too. Taking care of yourself is important, so here we focus on you.

We look at

• Recovery time
• Your emotions
• Eating well
• When to worry about bleeding
• Q&As – breastfeeding diet; plus, when will my periods start?

Recovery time
It takes between four and six weeks for your body to return to its normal state. If you had a caesarean, it will also take you a while to recover from the effects of the operation. It may take you up to a year to get back to feeling ‘yourself’, both physically and emotionally. If there’s anything that bothers you about the birth (why you needed an episiotomy or a caesarean, or any other question) talk it through with your midwife. Sometimes we don’t give ourselves permission to enjoy our babies if we feel we’ve somehow ‘failed’ at the first step, bringing our baby into the world. If these questions concern you months later, as they sometimes do, talk to your health visitor or your partner.

Your emotions
You’re so tired you can hardly keep your eyes open. You were going to get dressed but then your baby’s nappy needed changing. You were going to have some breakfast but your baby needed feeding. Then there’s all those milk-stained sleepsuits to wash... Even if you’re still full of joy and delight at your baby’s arrival, parenting is a 24-hour responsibility, and some days it can feel overwhelming. While new babies sleep a lot, they need very frequent feeding in the first few weeks. Gradually, babies will sleep for longer at night, will be able to take more milk at a feed and feed less frequently. Until then, though, your own sleep is bound to be disturbed; broken nights and lack of sleep are a fact of life for new parents.

Here are some ways of coping:

• Put on hold everything that doesn’t absolutely have to be done and simply enjoy your baby.
• Get as much help as possible, from your partner, mother, or friends. Ask people to: cook a meal; do some washing up; get some shopping in; do the laundry...
• Try to use some of the time when your baby is asleep to catch up on sleep yourself.
• Get a little exercise every day; take your baby for a walk and get the benefits of fresh air.
• Don’t let visitors overwhelm you; tell people when they can visit and when they can’t.
• Talk to your midwife or doctor if there is anything worrying you. This will help you to relax.
• Accept that this phase of your baby’s life won’t last forever. It may seem like it will never end, but it will. Things will gradually settle into more of a pattern.

Q&As

Helen from Dalesbury asks, ‘I’m breastfeeding. Does what I eat affect my baby?’

Our breastfeeding expert, Chris McGregor says:
‘On the whole, as long as you are eating sensibly, your baby will adjust to whatever you eat. But you still need to be careful eating some of the foods you avoided in pregnancy: try not to have more than two portions of oily fish a week (such as fresh tuna, mackerel, sardines) and no more than one portion of shark, marlin or swordfish a week. You may find that too much caffeine could upset your baby, and it’s best to limit alcohol to an occasional glass. If there’s an allergy to peanuts in your family, try to avoid eating them when you are breastfeeding so as not to “sensitise” your baby.’

Donna from Hull asks, ‘When will my periods start again?’

Our midwifery expert, Allyson Williams says:
‘You may continue to bleed for two to three weeks or more after the birth. After that, your periods could return as early as four weeks. If you are breastfeeding, however, your periods may not return until around six months, when you start to wean your baby. Remember, you can become pregnant before your periods have started again. So unless you want your babies extremely close together, use contraception as soon as you start having sex again.’

Eating well
It’s easy, when you’re so concerned about looking after your baby, to forget about looking after yourself, too. If you don’t have time to make a meal, try to eat nutritious snacks such as:

• Sandwiches and salad.
• Soup.
• Bowl of pasta or rice.
• Crackers and cheese with tomatoes
• Boiled egg and toast.
• Bowl of cereal with a piece of fruit to follow.

Drink when you are thirsty. If you are breastfeeding, remember that you don’t have to drink milk to make milk, though you may find you are thirsty when feeding. Have a glass of water or juice to hand.

When to worry about bleeding
If you suddenly start having bright red bleeding again, after the lochia loss has stopped, you could have started regular periods again. If the discharge smells or is greenish in colour as well, let your midwife or doctor know. If you pass clots of blood bigger than a 50p piece, tell your doctor or midwife straightaway.

For the next chapter,Baby Skincare, Click here