Questions / Answers

Some questions and answers about pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, parenting etc

Some will be mine, some somebody else's

The first version of this page will have questions in blue, if I remember or get some more, I'll add them to the end with different colour and change it to blue maybe in 2 weeks time to keep truck what's here for longer and what's new without too many colour types.

How did I deal with morning sickness? 

I ate small portions, often, tried not to get hungry. Also ginger tea supposed to be good, but I didn't like it, so I didn't drink it and a few days ago I found out too much of it could bring your labour forward.

Hands/Legs tingling?

During the pregnancy my hands and fingers started tingling. I mentioned it to my doctor and was told that it's carpal tunnel syndrome. That's when your nerves in wrists or hands get squashed. He recommended me some gloves to wear during the night as it's when it happens the most, because you are not moving that much, but I didn't buy them. It wasn't that bad, but my friend had it worse than me and had to wear the gloves. I was lucky, it disappeared after the pregnancy.
The legs tingling usually happened to me during the night or before I woke up. It depends on the position you sleep and the weight of your baby I would say, because the baby could cause pressure on the veins and the legs could get let amount of blood than required. It usually went back to normal when I change the position in the bed.

Ligaments/hips pain?

Yes, I had it sometimes and I do have it again. I need to change my position or chair more often to get comfortable. It got better after my 1st one was born. Also my physio told me to stretch more which helped. I found out recently, that everything depends on the chair you use the most. I'm a few days back to work and my tail bone is killing me. I tried variety of chairs there and have to say I'm sitting on the most comfortable one, but still it hurts a lot. The body is getting ready so some pain here and there is normal. Everytime I mentioned it in the hospital, they say it's OK and to do some stretching and exercises for lower back discomfort. 

Bloated?

Yes, I was but I was boated even before pregnancy. It got better when I stopped using dairy products, especially milk. During second pregnancy I found out that it was the light milk, the full fat milk was OK for me.

Tiredness

I felt tired a lot during both pregnancies, the reason was iron in my blood, I didn't have enough. Once I started to take iron supplements it got better. That's why they do all these blood test in a hospital to check if you need anything.

Incontinence?

It's normal, nearly everyone I talked about it to had the stress incontinence after the labour. Mine was bad for a few weeks. Had to do some Kegel exercises, but found out stretching for women DVD which helped a little bit too. But the time was the most important thing in this matter. It's better to start with the pelvis exercises during the pregnancy, so the muscles get stronger and they will heal faster after the birth of your baby. I'm doing the exercises nearly every second day during this (second) pregnancy.

Some stuff I wouldn't survive without in a hospital?

Shower cap - you probably want to take shower more often and not to worry about drying your hair all the time

Instead of maternity pads I bought Tena Pants, I know they are for incontinence, but they worked great.

Good nursing bra - I had one for nights, but was told it's not good as it doesn't have proper support.

Plastic bottle with sport lid - after using the bathroom I usually cleaned myself with warm water from this bottle. I didn't always have time to take shower and that way I felt clean.

Earplugs, Eye Mask - both helps you sleep during the day or visits or when somebody doesn't switch off the light or TV

Can you wear contact lenses during labour?

Everything is up to the hospital, some will let you have contact lenses during the birth, some will not. I didn't have them the 1st time, and I didn't asked. I had my glasses, but I took them off, because they wear uncomfortable and falling down, so as I need strong glasses. I didn't see when the baby was coming out. I felt the head when the midwife helped me to find it, when it was half way out, but even so, I had my eyes closed most of the time.

Heartburn

I had heartburn first time around and this time as well. They say that the baby will have a lot of hair when born. The heartburn is horrible feeling, I call myself a fire dragon when I get it because it feels like a fire coming from my stomach up. I tried to eliminate certain food which I though could cause it, but lately it seams like everything I eat starts it. When it's at the beginning a glass of full fat milk helps, otherwise I have to take some tablets or syrup for it. Usually ask in the pharmacy.

Stitches

I had stitches after Alex was born, they we kind of OK during the first days, got very stiff after about 3 days and it hurts a little, not much, or I didn't realize it so, but the nurses told me to take paracetamol for the pain. When the stitches got tight I was afraid I will break them or something and hurt myself even more, but that didn't happened. I used the water bottle with the sport lid and warm water with drop of tea tree oil in it to clean it after each use of the bathroom. If you'll have stitches, you'll get a leaflet how to look after yourself, use the bathroom properly, so you don't hurt yourself more etc. 

Eyesight changes

I wear glasses or contact lenses, I have to, otherwise I can't see much, but my eye sight got better during the pregnancy. There is so many hormonal changes in the body so sometimes it helps with other issues. I'm glad it helped with this a little, but still can't go without glasses.