rest or stay active after vaginal birth?

[Huni_b]

so my MIL said I should have complete bed rest for a month after baby's birth and get up only to feed it. she also said I should employ a midwife to bathe it. she says it will help my tummy and uterus get back into shape.

I said I'd rather learn from a midwife right away how to bath my baby myself and do it soon as I am physically able to. and I wanna be active as soon as possible in order to lose the pregnancy weight and get back to routine soon, not wait for a month. I only want my mom's help for cooking and cleaning. my mom said that complete bed rest can lead to deep vein thrombosis and can be dangerous.

I also thought that baby shouldn't be bathed for the first week, only wiped with a wet cloth. MIL disagrees.

what do you ladies think? Please help.

[GeekMom1213]

Seven days in the bed, seven days on the bed, seven days around the bed. Many midwives and doulas still advocate for this period of rest after a baby is born. It can seem overwhelming to consider keeping yourself confined for that period of time but from what I've heard it's an excellent way to start a tightly bonded relationship and a positive breastfeeding journey - but it requires that the new mother have a lot of help. Family and friends often offer late in pregnancy "if there's anything I can do to help..." and they get thanked and then forgotten - but what moms need to say is "yes, I would love your help... here's what you can do to help out." And stay in bed, and rest.

[Tanjat]

That's ridiculous.   My mil was telling my the same thing but I didn't listen cuz my dr said otherwise and I her advice didn't make any sense to me.  Is she from a different culture?

[camerinj]

goodness gracious! a whole month! how would anything get done? I went back to work when my second was twelve days old (oldest was fourteen months) so I did not get much rest but recovered just fine from a vaginal birth-no pain meds during or after birth. not saying I wouldn't have preferred more down time, but we have to do things we don't like sometimes. in most cases, pregnancy, childbirth, and recovery don't limit us as much as some people think. listen to your body and do what you feel you should!

[tigereyes19806]

I've had 4 vaginal deliveries and I was always up and active right after delivery. I think it takes the body a lot longer to recover if you aren't active. I don't think it's realistic to stay in bed for weeks after delivery. Things still need to get done around the house. As long as you're not doing anything strenuous you'll be fine.

[cecilia_morgan]

I mage my babies homemade flannel washcloths :-) super soft. My 3 year old still uses his and loves them. But no a baby really regardless of umbilical cord or not does not need a reg bath everyday. Their skin is sensitive and dries out easily and it is not necessary. As for activity after vaginal birth obviously don't do anything crazy. But walk, dust your house, do laundry little things you know. You don't have stress yourself out or overdo it you'll probably tire easily anyways just do what you feel up to :-) and you don't necessarily have to massage your uterus so you dint hemorrhage haha I've never heard of that. I did breastfeed though so maybe I wasn't told to bc of that. Then again I'm just starting to think some people are crazy haha then some doctors are crazy also and ppl listen to them unfortunately so who , knows what crazy things people are being told to do lol. Good luck dear but plz don't feel like you can do anything that's not good for you.

[Jsyska]

A month of bed rest would give you a blood clot!    Get up and get moving!      :)

[mizsluna]

I was out of the hospital a day later after vaginal birth. I was up and about getting things done when I was home. There is not one thing for me to do laying in bed. The faster you get active, your body will start to get back to normal.

[ns85164]

Active! I was up, ready to go a day after giving birth to my first. Stay active. It's the best thing.

[LadyBeeley]

The hospital told me with my daughter you can even put your baby in the baby tub. As long as the cord stays free from the water you can bathe them that way with a rag and soap. I think a sponge is a little rough for babies skins. Also the dr at the hospital will tell you the best way for yoir uterus to jump back is to not be lazy. Dont go overboard with work, but most activities you can resume. The blood loss is no danger, and being active certainly doesnt put you at risk unless otherwise advised by the delivering dr. The hospital will also tesch you how to massage your uterus to help it shrink back quickly. You have to do it anyway so you dont hemorrhage. I just had my daughter 5 months ago, so this is the most recent direct-from-several-doctors information I have to share (you will see several drs while at the hospital along with the dr you saw, unless youre lucky enough to have your private dr be the on-call as well as the dr on morning rounds the next day to three days postpartum).

[rosealie23]

I have never heard of a woman needing a full month of bed rest for vaginal delivery. I never knew a woman to stay in bed a month after c section, I know They are ment to take it easy but bed rest is a little too much.. your body will tell you what is right for you. Trust your body not advise from people who are not you...

[Huni_b]

thanks ladies. I guess I'll just have to wait to see how much rest I'll need and how much activity I can handle. but I definitely wanna avoid a full month of complete bed rest.

[chloegc1023]

When I first had my baby (vaginally) everyone said to sleep when baby sleeps, however I was unable to just sleep at any time of the day.  I was up doing things around the house, and no one could believe I wasn't complaining of exhaustion when I had to wake up 2-3x a night for feedings and diaper changes.  It's just a personality thing I guess.  You'll know what ur capable of once baby comes out.  And as for wiping baby down until umbilical cord stump heals its the smartest thing to do so as not to risk getting the stump infected.  The baby doesn't get so dirty that they need to be bathed everyday or every other day.  A good wipe down will suffice and they will still smell like a clean lil baby..

[GxoK]

If ur worried about weight and ur uterus, breastfeed. That's one surefire way to help fix that. And honestly, I think it would depend on how U feel afterwards. If u feel like moving around, then move. If it gets to b too much, relax. Plain and simple. I wouldn't suggest running a marathon or moving furniture lol but doing alittle house work or taking the baby for a little walk ain't gonna hurt u. I went for a family walk about two days after I left the hospital. When it started getting rough, I said we needed to go home. Only u will truly know if ur doing too much or not. Listen to ur body. U'll b alright.

[rosealie23]

It is not a suppose to do type of thing. Hospitals and drs advise you not to because they do not feel you can properly bathe your baby while keeping the cord dry. I have asked many drs on the subject and was told it was great to actually bathe the baby as long as cord did not get wet.

[3babyboyz]

For the bathing part ur only supposed to give them a sponge bath till their umbilical cord falls off then u can bathe the bb every other day cuz infants r so clean anyway unless they throw up on themselves.

[kittyLora]

Don't listen to your mother in law, your mother know best!

[Huni_b]

Thanks for the advice ladies. I'm a ftm and have so much confidence in y'all  :-)

I hope I'll be active soon after her birth. I wont do strenuous house work, but I wanna handle all the baby related stuff like feeding, burping, diapering,  bathing etc. when baby rests is when I plan to rest.

[rosealie23]

I had vaginal births and was up and back to normal activities same day. I think babies should be bathed in tub everyday or every other day. It is thought not to bathe a baby because of umbilical cord but an experienced mom knows how to bathe a baby in tub with out wetting the cord. I use about an inch of warm water in a baby tub to bathe baby. Cord does not get wet if you do it right...

[Emilee99]

Oh and yeah baby should not be bathed til umbilical cord falls off. Just wiped with wash cloth

[dorothy701]

Oh Emmie your so right I didn't do any house work or any thing strenuous for like two or three weeks and didn't start working out till 8 weeks after giving borth

[Emilee99]

Oh heck no! You'll want to take it easy for a week or two because of blood loss. My baby was in the nicu for a month so I was up, around and going to and from hospital and walking a lot. I got light headed and would bleed a little more when I over did it. So I'd just make sure to rest. Breastfeeding tightens the uterus right back up too and fast. You won't want to do strenuous exercise probably for awhile. I tried doing some rigorous interval training at about 2 months and  I felt ok but not 100%. I did a lot of walking instead til I felt good. But that's just me. You might feel great. I also gave birth on a Thursday at 4:30 am and was discharged on the next day afternoon so I could follow my baby to the hospital.  You.definitly don't want to drive right away but definitly you don't need bed rest unless doc says so!

[dorothy701]

And your right on the bathing your baby for the first month or until his or her umbilical cord price comes off then you can put the baby in the Lil tub you have ready for him or her.

[dorothy701]

No way. I had a vaginal birth with both of my sons and was up right away with my first one my hubby tried to baby me and if you ask me it took longer to recover. With my second one we already had the first one so dad took care of our older one completely so all I really had to do was take care of the new baby and even then I still was up with my 2 ur old witching movies and changing diapers. Its all up to you and your body. But one of the perks of a vaginal birth vs a csec is your recovery is sooo much faster.