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    Unexpected Symptoms: Postpartum
    Unexpected Symptoms: Postpartum
    Unexpected Symptoms: Postpartum
    Ebook62 pages53 minutes

    Unexpected Symptoms: Postpartum

    By Alexis Donkin

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Why is it that no one tells you about all the weird stuff that happens to women's bodies after childbirth? Postpartum is a complete unknown to most first time moms. Most women are so focused on birth, they forget to think about all the changes that will happen afterwards. Even if you've been pregnant before, it's hard to know what will happen this time around because your body is different and this pregnancy and childbirth were different. For all these reasons, Alexis Donkin wrote this book to give you an overview of some of the things you can expect your body to do, how to cope, accept, or even embrace the changes all with an easy humor. Postpartum seems like a scary weird place full of secret pitfalls but it doesn't have to be. Embrace the changes and let them carry you to a new stage in your life - motherhood.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAlexis Donkin
    Release dateMay 10, 2014
    ISBN9781310098499
    Unexpected Symptoms: Postpartum
    Author

    Alexis Donkin

    Alexis Donkin is passionate, purposeful, and prolific. If Margaret Atwood and C.S. Lewis had a lovechild, it would be her.Alexis currently lives in Southern California with her family and real-life familiar. She has lived many places and studied many things. Between writing, speaking, and chasing her kid, she paints, sings, and dances. Sometimes she does it all at once. Be sure to connect with her and sign up for her newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/btmIPD

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      Book preview

      Unexpected Symptoms - Alexis Donkin

      Unexpected Symptoms: Postpartum

      A Raising An Alien Book

      By: Alexis Donkin

      Copyright 2014, Alexis Donkin

      All rights reserved.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Chapter 1: Birth and After

      I don't know what it is about popular culture, women, and the obstetricians that care for them, but for some reason, we do not tell one another what will happen after birth. Instead we have these crazy myths about pregnancy (unicorns and rainbows if you'd believe my mother) and childbirth (72 hours of hell for every first time mom according to popular television and cinema). Then on top of that, the truth finally comes out about halfway through pregnancy.

      So you thought you'd keep your perky breasts?! Ha!

      You thought you'd get back into your pre-pregnancy jeans two weeks postpartum? I'm still carrying those 20 extra pounds five years later!

      My husband and I didn't have sex for years after we had our first kid because I just didn't feel right after...

      I heard and read similar things during the last trimester of my pregnancy and it was frankly terrifying. A first-timer doesn't know what to expect at all, and a been-there-done-that mom doesn't really know what to expect because every pregnancy, birth, and baby is different.

      What a cluster.

      Rather than let another woman suffer the ignorance I did, I decided I would shed some light on some of the less pretty, less fun, and less discussed parts of the postpartum mom.

      Let's be clear – this book is written from the perspective of natural birthing. That means it is slightly crunchy, because I'm slightly crunchy. I'm writing from my own experience which was an entirely natural birth with no inductions of any kind (no sweeping of membranes or anything) or medications with the exception of a shot of pitocin after my baby was out to stop my bleeding, and then some anesthetic while my perenium was stitched in the hospital.

      I prepared myself a great deal for childbirth and it went largely how I planned.

      The morning of September 2, we woke up and Christian made breakfast. As he did, I got dressed as we had a prenatal appointment. I went to the potty and I thought maybe I had a trickle of amniotic fluid down my leg, but I wasn't sure. After all, it wasn't that much and pregnant ladies are known to have pee issues. I didn't worry about it because I figured it would become clear one way or another.

      We went to our prenatal appointment at 9:30 AM. I had a good amount of energy. My blood pressure was in a good place. Everything seemed pretty good. We even got the paperwork for placental encapsulation.

      We left the appointment and went home. We were hanging out and I felt like I had to pee (a really unusual sensation for a 39 week preggo lady). I went into the toilet and felt something similar to a menstrual cramp, but intense. Then I felt like a drain that had been unplugged inside me (including the twisting water sensation, but inside). I wiped. There was bloody show and a whole lot of amniotic fluid.

      Christian! I just had bloody show!

      Is it time?!

      Maybe. I think so.

      So what did Christian do? He conked out. I called my mother (about the appointment, but then I started having mild pressure waves/contractions on the phone), texted Christian's mother, and texted the midwives to let them know what was going on. Then I played the Fear Clearing track of HypnoBabies while Christian napped. Then I put on Birthing Day Affirmations and Hypnotic Childbirth #2 (For those of you who have used HypnoBabies, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, they're pretty much what the titles sound like.).

      Christian woke up and started getting last minute things (and we still forgot a ton but that's pretty much how it happens). He handed me his phone to time my

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