A friend is having a baby this September and I was trying to think of all the important stuff to warn her about. There were so many things that I was unprepared for, if it hadn't been for PB I would have freaked out about it! I don't know why these things are told to expecting moms more often. I thought you guys could help compile this list for all future mommies. I'll start

You will be bleeding for much longer than you think. I had no idea that post pardum bleeding could go on for 6-8 weeks! Thank goodness you girls here let me know that was normal

About 3-4 months PP your hair will start falling out and who knows when it will stop

this is for c-sections: your bowels will be wrecked for a while. There's a reason they don't let you eat any solid foods until you have farted. Your digestive organs get seriously screwed up in the c-section process. It took months for me to get back to somewhat normal. I had no idea this came with the territory

You will be more hormonal than you realize those first months. I still apologize to my husband all the time for the way I treated him the first couple months. I knew I was hormonal but I totally underestimated the severity. Looking back at my reactions I can't believe I thought I was acting sane! Let him know he will have his wife back in a few months and try to keep this in mind for yourself that maybe you'll feel differently about things when your hormones settle a bit

Along those same lines, your marriage is going to take a big hit like a bomb went off. I was totally unprepared for this one. Yes, there will be plenty of ooey gooey moments where you will be arm in arm, gazing lovingly at this miracle you created together. You will feel special camaraderie when you both get excited over the contents of a diaper. But there will also be plenty (if not more) moments where you will ask yourself why you never noticed how stupid/lazy/selfish your partner can be. You will both be more frustrated, exhausted, and stressed than ever in your lives and since you can't take it out on the innocent baby, you end up turning on each other. You will find new ways to work together and relate as a couple, getting there is a rough road though. In the end, your relationship will be stronger for it all so don't panic when you can't understand how you can get so angry with the father of your baby at when all you want is to be celebrating. It's normal, you'll get through it.

sleep deprivation HURTS more than you could have imagined.There is no way to prepare for it. But you will survive

Everyone please add your "I wish they would have warned me.."

I wish that someone had told me that after giving birth I wouldn't be able to tell when I needed to pee for at least 2 months after.  That 'oh my God, I've got --to pee!' feeling...gone!  I had to remember to pee every few hours.

I thought that the instant that i saw DD I would feel that all consuming love--don't get me wrong, i absolutely adored her.  It's hard to feel an instant bond though with a teeny baby when you're totally sleep deprived.  Also, she would not look at my face--it was like i wasn't there.  It all combined to take a little longer for me to have 'that' feeling.  I know that sounds horrible, but it's something that no one warned me about and caused a lot of guilt.

I wish someone had warned me about back labour--yes i had heard of it, but nothing could have prepared me for how much it hurt.  Epidural?  Yes please!

Thankfully someone did warn me to put a mattress protector down on my bed, which i did at 36.5 weeks.  At 37.5 weeks my water broke while I was sleeping.  Thank you mattress protector!

You might feel a huge gush of blood when you try to sit or stand up after giving birth. It feels like you peed yourself, but you didn't.

Breastfeeding is really hard! I had no idea how difficult it could be and that most people have a few issues with it. 

You will most likely cry over lots of dumb things due to sleep deprivation and hormones.

Postpartum hormones are no joke. 

If you need stitches from tearing or an episitomy, going #2 is incredibly scary and it hurts. Even if the Dr. tells you you will not bust your stitches, you will still worry about that.

The first 4 weeks are the hardest.

Everything is very overwhelming, but it will pass and you will get the hang of everything.

Don't let a lot of people come visit the first week home. I did and will never do it again with future babies. Way too many people and way too much for me to handle.

You boobs and body will NEVER be the same

totally agree with the digestive system and c section thing. i remember sitting on the toilet trying to go #2 (cuz they said i had to before i could go home) for over an hour. the nurse kept coming in and talking to dh wondering where i was and if i was okay. i had horrible constipation even though i was popping colace several times a day. my insides STILL arent right at 6 months pp. 

Ah yes, the pooping. How could I have forgotten about that?  No one warned me that pooping on the delivery table (yup, I did that...twice) could cause you to tear in a place no one should ever tear.  It will make pooping absolute agony for 2 months pp--seriously, I would rather give birth med free before going through that again.

Oh and even with a c-section, PP sex will hurt the first couple times. It will take some time but it will feel good again

Loves yours Tracy! Btw, I still feel like I'll never sleep again. Do you promise that i Will??

Oh and don't let people make you stress out over cuddling your baby too much. I do not understand this one at all. I didn't expect to be made to feel guilty for being an affectionate mommy to a new born. But I guess the real warning here is that people will start trying to make u feel guilty no matter what you do. Try to get a thick skin now!

All of the books say that if you are EBFing that your body will make enough colostrum for your baby and that you should never supplement with formula. My baby screamed for the first three days because he was starving (he stopped the first feed after my milk came in). In my gut I knew he was hungry but I was obsessed with doing the "right thing", which in our case was the wrong thing. You can give your baby a couple ml's of formula through a syringe while he is latched on. Formula does not have to equal bottle. (My LO was 8 days late.)

Take Colace.

Even if you feel like you don't have a single maternal bone in your body, you spend more time with your baby than anyone. Trust your gut.

DH won't do everything exactly the way you do, but you have to step back and let him figure out his own way to do things.

Oh, and colic is cruel, but it is temporary. Even if it feels like it is going to last forever.

Another one for Colace! Take it in the hospital and take it when you get home for awhile!