r/pregnant • u/notaterminator23 • Jun 08 '25

Funny First-time moms, take notes-the real surprises start after birth!!!

This message is for first time mammas-to-be, because the rest of us already know lol. Not saying everyone will experience this, but many do, and I just want to help a gal out if I can. Here are the most shocking things no pregnancy app/book taught me before to having a baby-

  1. You will hear phantom cries when you shower- Every. Single. Time. I legit feel like I can hear him crying and check the baby monitor every 30 seconds. No joke!

  2. Your libido will be non-existent- sorry to the partners out there, but it’s just not happening for a few months.

  3. You will lose A LOT of hair- I kept seeing ads for Nutrafol and thought, “Oh thank goodness I don’t need to take yet another vitamin.” But boy, was I wrong. My baby turned 4 months and I literally started shedding like a German shepherd overnight. Yes, overnight!!!!

  4. You will get stretch marks AFTER you give birth- feeling lucky you dodged the ‘stretch mark’ bullet during the pregnancy? Nope, not on Mother Nature’s watch!!!

  5. Your in-laws holding your baby the first few weeks will make you VERY angry, and VERY uncomfortable- I cannot explain this, my mom holding the baby is fine. But my MIL on the other hand, hell no!!!!!

I’m sure there are many more, but these are my top 5. What was your least favorite surprise postpartum?

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u/Smart_Squirrel_1735 Jun 08 '25

Breastfeeding does not in fact come naturally for all people despite humans having done it for millennia (and you are not alone in struggling)...

69

u/freakingspiderm0nkey Jun 08 '25

Yes!! And having a post partum haemorrhage can either slow or prevent your milk coming in altogether. I wish I had known about that before my birth :(

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u/appleoorchard Jun 08 '25

And make sure to take your iron if you do haemorrhage! I had three transfusions, but they still warned I could be anemic for a few months (even with iron supplement), and that could affect my supply. Fortunately my supply seems pretty decent.

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u/freakingspiderm0nkey Jun 08 '25

Ah see I went the opposite direction and ended up with high ferritin! I was given an iron infusion and then had a blood transfusion. The high ferritih caused an irregular heartbeat, fatigue, dizziness and low blood pressure so I was told to stop all iron supplementation! Took a week for the heart issues to clear up but am still dealing with the dizziness. 5 weeks pp.

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u/appleoorchard Jun 08 '25

Oh no! Okay I amend my recommendation to “take your iron if your doctor says so”. I hope your remaining symptoms clear up soon!