It's not just labour pain you suffer
So the theme for One Born Every Minute over on Netmums this week is pain, now the moment you hear pain you instantly think about the pain bought on from going into labour. I don't want to write about that kind of pain in this blog post. Of course I experienced pain, how can you not when you're squeezing out a baby through your pelvis? Or as I remember it and how I described it in yesterdays blog post - squeezing a rugby ball out of your bottom sideways.
I experienced other pains right from pregnancy until after baby had been born. With my first pregnancy especially towards the last few months I repeatedly kept having excruciating pain in my tummy. Of course it was the kind of pain that saw me going into hospital, I was always thoroughly checked and baby was always ok. Heart monitors were put on and I myself could feel him kicking away. I was scanned as well and we could see him kicking away and looking perfectly healthy. We never did find out what that pain was until after I had a normal labour and a baby of a couple of months old. It turned out I had developed gallstones during pregnancy, so every time I munched on a burger or fulfilled my craving of curry and cookies it set the pain off. Have had my gallbladder removed now so no chance of them coming back this time!
Next lot of pain came after Oli had been born, he was born in the afternoon and I wanted to go home, I couldn't until someone had seen to Oli and he had his check up. I became quite hysterical, especially once I found out that the man had to go home. I didn't want to be alone in a hospital with my new baby, I know I had midwives on hand and we did get that check up but I was guilted into staying that night. All I can remember about my first night with my son was crying because I didn't want the man to leave, I wanted to spend our first night as a family. It was painful to me. Guess this is one huge reason why I want a home birth this time around.
The next really isn't a pain but any parent will understand what I'm talking about when you have this unconditional love for your new child and you instantly want to protect them from the horrors in the world. I guess I'll call this a 'parental pain'. Wrapping them in cotton wool just wouldn't be enough, especially after keeping them so safe inside of you for the last 9 months. Right from the moment he was born I've been feeling parental pain, from watching him suffer teething pain himself to the first time he fell over and cut himself. I guess this is what labour pain is preparing us for.