Were you on complete bed rest for? i need to know the rough timeframe for both scenario’s Normal Delivery and C-Sec ?
Also, I was thinking yesterday.. how important is all this Head shaping thing? heard alot of ladies talk about this and some even give tips half of which I dont understand .. so when do you start the process with the baby? whats the aim usually, getting a round head? sorry , might sound dumb, but hey this is my first baby so I gotta ask what I gotta ask !
How do you shape the head? I tried looking for specific pillows that ladies told me .. couldnt find one .. the key problem is I dont know what the actual aim is in head shaping , whats considered a good shape?
Mine was a normal delivery and I was up and running right after I came home .. I don’t think I was ever on bed rest.
And about the head shaping thing … matttt pooocho People gave me SO much grief about my kids head shape. My MIL was constantly trying to shape it by putting pillows on each side of her head so that she couldn’t move it, DON’T DO THAT!! It’s completely unsafe and you end up with a flat head from the back! So I had to tell everyone off and remind them that she’s my kid and I’d do it the way I wanted to. So this is what I did. When ever I felt it started getting flat from one side I’d just move her head so that it rested on the other side instead .. and so on. Eventually we ended up with a normal looking head BUT even if you don’t do the whole head shaping thing, a lot of tummy time when baby is a little older will fix any flat spots, it did for my daughter.
complete bedrest will not do any good it will make you more depress imo…a little walk around the park or mall or even little work in house is ok i guess…
as wendy said…dont use pillows! its better to keep the head on flat surface alongwith the back…
headshape will improve when baby will start to sit inshaAllah!
dont listen to people…do whats good and comfy for you and baby…
Unless you are under doctors orders and have a sound medical reason, there is absolutely no reason for complete bed rest after delivery!! You need to up and mobile, carrying out normal and daily tasks! There are precautions you should take in the case of a c-section obviously (no heavy lifting, avoidance of stairs etc) but don’t consider yourself an invalid!
Even after my delivery with the twins (one was a vaginal birth and the other c-section, in the same delivery!), when I was hospitalized for 5 days, as soon as I was released, I was back to absolute normal activities!
And yes, as far as the head shaping thing, I am not on that bandwagon! I did as Wendy said…turned the head from side to side to avoid flat pressure on one side, and I used a “rai ka takya” that my cousin’s MIL made for that purpose, but other than that, I don’t believe in head shaping.
What? The back side of the head starts flattening out?
Thats really creepy .. can I not make a tiny little pillow that has a head rest , like its U shaped for the baby and use it on him from day one , to prevent that flattening thing?
Also, someone mentioned that if I can make a little cloth sling for the baby that will help keep his head shapely What say to that?
Hmm, so you guys could walk around the same day after delivery.. do the stitches not hurt? also, I have multi storey home so have to go upstairs and downstairs alot .. can stairs ruin the stitches? I am scared of stitches getting infected , thats why looking for precaution in advance ! Will cooking be possible after one week of delivery?
Thanks so much Khatti .. Question : whats rai? I was thinking of using a pillow stuffing to create the baby pillow , I hope its as good as Rai? .. do you have the picture of that pillow by anychance? I want to see what a pillow looks like ..
The vaginal stitches or stitches from c-sec?
I had a vaginal delivery and ended up tearing and had a few stitches. You’ll be a little sore. I was given this spray from the hospital that helped with the pain. It hurts to sit down sometimes but isn’t that bad at all. You’ll be able to walk around like you normally do in no time.
“Rai” as in mustard seeds!!! In Hyderabad (or at least in my family!) we make these small head pillows using mustard seeds as the stuffing! It makes it firm yet movable, if that makes any sense?!?
ohh I get it now , thanks Khatti, so I guess I can use rice then maybe? that seems to be the closest to Rai that I can get my hands on ..
so what shape is the pillow usually? I guess no part of this pillow will come under the baby’s neck hai na? it would just remain on the sides .. so maybe I can keep the center part of the pillow soft and cushiony , while the sides can hold his head
i didnt have bedrest! Everyone was nagging me to go lay down but i just went with my normal routine..i never slept in the day with baby 1 and even throughout my pregnancy i didn’t, i find it so odd, body cannot get uses to it. Saying that, mashallah did have a natural easy delivery with no stitches but even then the wound inside needs to heal so loads of relaxing for at least 2 weeks. I went out on day 2 and regretted it as had bad lower tummy pain after walking too much too soon…don’t be a hero. Rest up.
I did not go on bed rest but I did rest as much as possible which means let your husband take charge of the home for a while. You don’t want to exhaust yourself going crazy after house chores, cooking etc. Breastfeeding is pretty exhausting, make sure you are having frequent small meals, your body needs relaxing so yes, REST! but that doesn’t mean you are in the bed 24/7. If you have a c-section avoid using stairs, bending, and lifting weight. But make sure you are moving, go on a walk, put the baby in the stroller and go out for a little walk. You don’t want blood clots forming in your legs so yeah it is important to move around. Don’t act like a super women, you will not get any rewards for that. Glive your body a break, relax, take good care of yourself but don’t get yourself glued to the bed 24/7.
My MIL had send us a little round pillow, both her and my mom insisted we use it regularly, we didn’t, when we felt the baby uncomfortable with pillow, we would just remove it. We told everyone that we were using it but we rarely did, his head seems fine to me, i love his head the way it is. Oh and I was visiting my mom couple weeks backs, few aunties commented that he has a nice round head so I am not sure if the pillow thing is all that necessary.
Thanks so much Lusi, I am relieved to have read the comment .. so that means I can relax on the pillow front for now and it the head starts flattening up , then i can make a pillow to fix that
They made me walk within 24 hours of c section..I took shower on the third day and went down to the hospital gift store. I also walked home the sixth day and was driving the very next day. I wasn’t on bed rest at all but I wasn’t doing house work either.
Head… Lets say my parents n in laws hate me for not making his head flat and I have no issues with that. I love his oval head
I also was able to walk just fine after few hours of giving birth. My son was in NICU so from my room to NICU was a good 15 mins walk.. and I had to go each time he was hungry to breast feed him. I walked, wasn’t wheelchaired. I was fine. So yes unless a doctor tells you you need to be on bedrest, you should be okay doing daily tasks.
My son had a pretty messed up head.. very messed up because he was a forcep baby. It was bent from one side from the pressure. I bought boppy noggin nest pillow which is meant to support baby’s head and make it round and prevent flat head.
Two or three days is enough to rest if you have a vaginal delivery without stitching. Otherwise some more days…you should listen to your body… If you feel weak then try to rest. Please don’t use a pillow filled with rice… I think it’s really uncomfortable for the baby… What I did is that I placed my daughter (6/8 weeks old)on a rag… She moved her head a lot coz of the colourful toy I placed above her… Everyday I did it for about 15/20 minutes… Within a month her head was shaped perfectly…there are a lots of aunties who give me compliment about her headshape…
i started walking a good 6-8 hours after delivery. the nurse tried to get me walking 2 hours after the surgeon put in my stitches, but i sort of passed out and had a seizure. i have no recollection of the incident. so they made me rest the whole day. the epidural’s effect was far too long. i couldn’t feel my legs properly till late night, and i had had my baby at 9:30 in the morning. but the next day i carried the baby in his car seat myself to the hospital parking. i was uncomfortable walking for a fe weeks, but i could do it, so it wasn’t an issue. i took the baby out several times to the doctor’s and dawats in his first few weeks. i did rest though, more than usual. extensive standing made me feel uncomfy , so i would lay down on my side and it helped.
As for the head, he was born with a slightly oval head , the paed said it was because he got stuck while coming out ; but his head became nice and round in a few days on its own. i never did anything .
I started walking around as soon as my epidural wore off… it was sore and I was wobbly the first time…but other than that, it was cool. By the time I went home I was walking around normally.
LOL - my mom got so pissed at me that I wouldn’t let her shape my son’s head hahaha. He was born with a really pronounced cone-head haha so she was always poking me to shape his head. When I finally gave in, all she really did was the rai ka takya thing, and one was filled with rice. =/ He doesn’t have a flat spot (been to two doctors appointments)…but everyone says his head is gorgeous lol.
Ok mine was normal delivery… But I gor 3rd degree stitches… ““Ouch””
n it’s was kinna difficult to walk even move… N I left hospital 3rd day… But on 2nd they they advised me to walk …
i tried but was v difficult .when I got home I was on kinda bed … Coz of pain n unconfortableness ..but I tired to walk n move … N it was like tht for like 1.5 week but then it stand to get ok…but almost a most I use to feel uncomfortable…
Ok head shaping … My baby got a bump I mean on one side his head got big… We were scared there was some blood there but dr said its normal n will go…n it eventually went away n Alhamdulillah he has roipund head now… Plus I have that traditional JHOLI .. I think that cloth sling u r talking about..
Ok it does help my sister I laws daughter had some kinda uh leVeled head … N she did use that n by the time it got round…mso yeah it helps… But with the negative. Thing of babies getting habit or that JHOLI…
please dont shape his head, I dont know why natural shapes and features are not acceptable by desi parents we didnt do that and my sons head is JUST FINE!!
I was in the hospital post birth for really long time(more than a month) the nurses and my husband used to make me walk everyday at least twice almost from 2nd day of birth and I had c section, it helps when you move your body, with blood circulation and healing. Do rest more than usual, take frequent naps during first few weeks for sure, you will need rest due to lack of sleep because of baby’s schedule and not your own health.
As scary as the delivery/birth looks/feels like, remember 99.9999% are safe and heal very quickly. Ask me if I remember anything from 5 years ago even though I almost died, NO I dont and if I could, I would do it all over again. Staying calm and reading your fav duas will help, remember to breath and meditate if you can, inshallah your delivery will go by like a breeze.
People gave me SO much grief about my kids head shape. My MIL was constantly trying to shape it by putting pillows on each side of her head so that she couldn’t move it, DON’T DO THAT!! It’s completely unsafe and you end up with a flat head from the back! So I had to tell everyone off and remind them that she’s my kid and I’d do it the way I wanted to. So this is what I did. When ever I felt it started getting flat from one side I’d just move her head so that it rested on the other side instead .. and so on. Eventually we ended up with a normal looking head 
BUT even if you don’t do the whole head shaping thing, a lot of tummy time when baby is a little older will fix any flat spots, it did for my daughter.
What say to that?
we didnt do that and my sons head is JUST FINE!!