The 5 Postpartum Symptoms I Was Totally Surprised By

Postpartum is a wild ride, and while I tried to prepare, these were the postpartum symptoms that totally caught me by surprise!

Is it possible to totally prepare for postpartum symptoms? I’m not quite sure. I thought I had done all my research and knew what to expect, but still I was caught off guard by certain things. Sharing below my 100% honest experience and specifically the symptoms that surprised me so you can be even just a little more prepared than I was.

Trust me, every bit of preparation helps make the postpartum experience easier to handle!

This post is all about the postpartum symptoms I was surprised by.

1. Temperature Swings

I had absolutely zero idea this was a thing, but your hormones cause your body temperature to be completely out of whack. Before we were discharged, the nurse informed us to not go by me in terms of baby temperature or room temperature, and let dad make that call because of it.

I noticed it the most when I woke up. I’d wake up usually absolutely freezing and shivering, then a few minutes would pass and I’d be overheating and sweating. It was the weirdest thing! It was usually accompanied with an emotional swing as well.

2. Bleeding

While I knew that postpartum bleeding was something to expect, I didn’t realize how long it could last and how much it varied woman to woman.

I had heard anywhere from 2-12 weeks was normal. For some it comes on strong and ends quickly, for other’s it’s no big deal at all, and for some it lasts and lasts. It seemed like I had read the most common experience was it ending around 6 weeks.

I was surprised though because for me it lasted quite a long time. There were a few times where it stopped and started again – I thought it was my period but it wasn’t. I don’t remember ultimately how long it lasted but it was much closer to 12 weeks than 6.

Felt like I was bleeding for forever!

3. No Appetite

For around the first month or so postpartum I had absolutely no appetite whatsoever. I’m not sure if this is postpartum specific, or more related to the baby blues, but either way, eating was tough.

Eventually it came back, and with a vengeance, since I was breastfeeding. Things have leveled out though!

4. Baby Blues

The baby blues was probably the hardest thing I want through between pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. It was incredibly hard, and I was unprepared for how hard it would be. I shared more details in the post below, but essentially your body goes through a serious adjustment period hormones wise after birth. It doesn’t always hit everyone hard, but it does for some people.

For me, it looked like huge emotional swings, and period of uncontrollable sobbing. I was very very sad. I was anxious. I would occasionally go totally numb and catatonic. Luckily, this only lasted a few weeks, and was totally gone by 3 weeks postpartum.

I have heard there are supplements you can take that can help with this, I’ll definitely try those next time.

RELATED POST: What I Wish I Knew About the Baby Blues Before they Hit Me

5. Brain Fog

I had no idea postpartum brain fog was a thing, but it really is. Of course, the sleep deprivation doesn’t help, but it’s beyond that. It felt like my brain couldn’t form memories or something, very strange. But was gone by 6 weeks postpartum.

6. Body Odor

Expect a whole new body odor once you are postpartum, and a much more intense one at that. You are seriously stinky! If you’re a natural deodorant gal, you might want to switch after labor. It did fade away eventually, although I don’t remember when.

RELATED POST: The 2 Essentials You Need to Survive Postpartum Body Odor

7. 6 Weeks to “Recover”

You typically have a 6 week postpartum appointment to ensure everything has healed up nicely. At this appointment they will double check everything and let you know if you are good to go in terms of exercise, using tampons, having sex, etc.

I had a 3rd degree tear, but had a relatively easy recovery from that. At my 6 week appointment, my doc told me I was all healed up and good to go, but sex might be a little “uncomfortable” the first few times.

HA.

Make that for the first few months following that 6 month appointment. And uncomfortable doesn’t cover how it felt the first few times.

Don’t expect your body to recover in 6 weeks beyond just sex no matter what your labor and birth looked like. You grew a whole human! It takes a while to feel back to normal.

I’m 6 months, almost 7 months postpartum, and a lot of things feel back to normal, but somethings still don’t. I’m in no rush though, and just giving myself and my body grace. I encourage you to do the same!

While there is a lot more that goes on postpartum, looking at you postpartum poop, these were the things I felt unprepared for and surprised by. I hope this give you a glimpse into what to expect so you can be a bit more prepared than I was!

This post was all about the postpartum symptoms that surprised me.