Pregnant again 5 months postpartum

[rubbersoul]

Hi there. On December 31st I found out I was pregnant. I always have said babies are a blessing in disguise. Accidents or not. I thought I’d be thrill but I am absolutely gutted. I wasn’t even going to tell my husband it was positive because with our last pregnancy which was planned he cried because he began to panic. He came upstairs grabbed the test and was going to “scare” me by saying it was positive well I guess jokes on him. Now that the shock has warn off we’re excited but also freaked out. My son’s almost 5 months old. We were being safe and using contraceptives so this was literally a huge surprise to us. i know it’s going to be extremely difficult. Is there anyone who’s had baby’s close together? What advice do you have for us?

Update: I started bleeding Tuesday evening. It was dark and light so I mentioned it to my doctor. I went in for bloodwork Wednesday morning and my hcg was low. I got it redo today and there hasn’t been much of a difference in hcg levels. The doctor thinks I’m losing my baby.

Thank you everyone for the advice/help I’ve gotten.

 

[keyslammer]

@rubbersoul Something my mom went through with me was that she got pregnant 6mo PP with my siblibg and her milk supply ran out and I needed to be formula fed. So if you are breastfeeding, exclusively or in combo, just be cognizant that your supply might tank in the coming months and you may need to supplement.

Oh and for the love of all that is good:

SEE A PELVIC FLOOR PHYSIOTHERAPIST

 

[rubbersoul]

@keyslammer I actually had stopped a month ago due to it taking a toll mentally and definitely already on the list

 

[keyslammer]

@rubbersoul Ah well, that's serendipitous!

But yeah definitely you'll want to work on strengthening your pelvic floor, back, and core for baby #2 and beyond.

 

[tom2644]

@rubbersoul Making it 4 months is still a good effort though. My wife stopped around the same time, it got to be far too much. Not only was there the scheduled pump sessions and extra stuff to clean, she had to cut dairy and soy from her diet due to a milk protein allergy. For someone who loves cheese, chocolate and other dairy based things it was tough. The tipping point was a dairy free lasagne where the vegan cheese just looked darkened strips of cardboard and she just broke down in tears.

 

[citadel7]

@keyslammer This same thing happened to me. I got pregnant 3 months PP and my supply dropped so quick. It was a tough pill to swallow. I was trying to make it to a year, but I started having to combo feed to make sure baby is being fed enough. I’ve told myself making sure both babies needs being met is more important than exclusively breastfeeding.

 

[emra]

@rubbersoul I don’t have personal experience, but definitely connect with your doctor if you haven’t already. At 5 months postpartum your body is still recovering from pregnancy and working to rebuild depleted nutrients!

 

[rubbersoul]

@emra Scheduled immediately and expressed my concern to my obgyn. That's what i was most terrified about.

 

[kustom2]

@rubbersoul Hi! I got pregnant in the same time frame and am now sitting next to my six week old as my toddler is napping. Enjoy every second with your 5 month old because when the new little comes around, it’s hard to give them each adequate attention.

Some things i think would be helpful - when the time is closer, get your older child to be able to give themselves their bottle. My toddler’s comfort thing is to be held while she drinks out of her sippy cup. Definitely inconvenient when baby is screaming for his bottle.

Second thing - be okay with a little screen time and get a playpen for toddler. Make sure toddler knows how to do some independent play in a safe area (playpen) because newborns ultimately need one on one care sometimes. Miss Rachel is like baby crack for my toddler and will be super quiet and into the show when it plays. My toddler has actually learned A LOT from watching the show and amazes me every day with something new she’s learned.

Third - Find some friends or family who want to just hold a baby! I’m not in a place to do this since it’s RSV season but i keep thinking how nice it would be for someone to come over and hold baby while i either tidy up or spend time with toddler.

OH and baby wearing is crucial to baby not being in a rocker all day…

It’s going to be hard in the beginning and you’re going to doubt yourself. Hang in there. Remember that the baby phase is only temporary. They will grow up to be best friends someday and it will be so beautiful!

That’s all I’ve learned in 6 weeks. Good luck to you!

 

[jake19]

@kustom2 Now this is some real-ass advice!!

 

[breathedeep]

@kustom2 I am holding my 5 week old while my 17 month old naps (he was barely 16 months when she was born). I second all of this advice - especially giving yourself grace on screen time.

Our house got hit hard last week with illness and my husband was in bed with the flu for 3 straight days while I took care of my sick toddler and tried to keep my newborn well. It was the first time I had to handle both babies on my own and it was so hard but now I know that I can do it and feel a bit more confident being a mother of two under two.

The hardest part for me has been not being able to give 100% of my attention to my oldest and I have really missed him. My husband and I have had to be very intentional to make sure both get 1:1 time with each of us. We are slowly settling into our new rhythm.

 

[someguycalledwolf]

@kustom2 I've only got the one and she's only six weeks, but this all seems like such great advice for this situation. You're awesome for leaving such a helpful comment.