How We're Handling the Tooth Fairy

A lot of families have their own traditions for when the Tooth Fairy comes - some do elaborate gifts or glitter-covered dollar bills, others do a quarter under the pillow and keep it very simple. We decided to keep our tradition simple, but still make it special. Here’s how we’re handling it… | This post contains affiliate links |

Those loose teeth seem to sneak right up on you. Out of nowhere our daughter’s tooth became suddenly very loose and she lost it within a few days. Luckily I was on top of it and had already planned how we were going to do the Tooth Fairy, but I suggest being prepared and having any special Tooth Fairy supplies or money set aside well ahead of that first loose tooth.

Since our daughter can be a light sleeper, we decided having a separate "Tooth Pillow" would be the easiest and safest bet to keep the Tooth Fairy's visit undetected. The Tooth Pillow we purchased also came with a cute little notepad for the Tooth Fairy to leave her receipts and a bottle of glitter (which we decided not to use... we didn't want glitter all over the place, haha). When she looses a tooth, it goes into the pillow which we hang on her closet doorknob and the Tooth Fairy trades the tooth for money and a receipt.

How much money should the Tooth Fairy leave? Well, that’s up to you and your family. Some people leave a lot of money per tooth (like $5-10), others just leave change. We decided $1-2 per tooth was a good amount but to make it more special we leave “unusual” money that you don’t see every day. Prior to her loosing her first tooth I went to our local bank and traded a $10 bill for any unusual US Currency they had in their drawer. In exchange I got a few $1 gold coins, some $2 bills, and a few half dollar coins. This way she gets special unique “Tooth Fairy Money” that can be saved or spent at her discretion.

To Keep or Not to Keep the Teeth? Again, another personal choice for you and your family. For us, we decided to just keep that first lost baby tooth in a small jar which we put away with other baby keepsakes. (They also sell some cute specialty Keepsake Boxes for these things.) Some people do decide to keep all lost teeth, but for us that's just not our thing.

Once those teeth start getting loose be prepared for them to keep coming. After our daughter lost the first tooth, we had about a two month break and then she lost three more teeth in less than one week - it’s definitely a good idea to be prepared with a stash of Tooth Fairy Money because you never know when the next one will happen.

Emergency Preparedness: Preparing, Sheltering in Place, Having a "Go Bag," and Evacuating

God forbid you or your family ever encounter an emergency situation, evacuation, natural disaster, etc. But if you do, it’s best to be prepared. Now, you probably can’t prepare for everything but even some level of preparedness is much better than none. In this post I’m sharing some general ideas on ways you can prepare your home and your family if you’re stuck or need to evacuate, but please do your own homework and contact local authorities for the best advice on what situations are most likely to arise for you. | This post contains affiliate links |

Disclaimer: I am not a survival or emergency expert, but just sharing my opinion on ideas and discussion points on how you might prepare. Do your own research and contact local authorities on the best way to prepare your home and your family for any emergency situation which could arise.

Prepare Your Home

First let’s talk about the home front - it’s a good idea to make sure you have a generator (correctly installed and well ventilated) and extra fuel (safely stored) in the event you’re without power for awhile. Make sure you have shovels, flashlights, extra food that doesn’t need to be cooked (like crackers, canned goods, etc), pet food, water, blankets, matches, and candles too. Some people recommend filling bathtubs and sinks with water prior to bad weather coming so that you have a supply of water for cooking/drinking/washing/flushing toilets. Make sure phones and electronics are charged and you have extra charging packs.

Whether you have a generator or not to run your refridgerator or freezer during a power outage, it's a good idea to keep thermometers inside both fridge and freezer to monitor the temperature for food safety. Do not open the doors unless you really need to (opening them lets the precious cold air out), but by having thermometers in place you can make sure your food is still safe to eat after a prolonged outage.

Have a battery-operated or crank radio on hand - if the power or cellphone/internet services are disrupted you’ll want to be able to listen to the radio to get updates.

It’s also important to have a First Aid Kit and enough medications on hand if someone has a pre-existing medical condition, as well as general medications that you and your family may need like fever/pain reducers. If someone in your family has an allergy or restricted diet, make sure you have a backup of enough “safe” foods in the house for them to have. It’s also a good idea to have medical information for your family posted in the house for first responders if needed.

Make sure to also have working smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguishers in your home. Keep important documents in a Fireproof Safe.

In the event of a local outbreak of illness (flu, stomach bug, - edited to add COVID-19 too), it’s a good idea to have basic over-the-counter medications on hand as well as disinfectant supplies and face masks.

Decide Where and How You May Need to Shelter In Place

Think about different scenarios that could ever happen, which is probably most dependent on where you live. If you live in tornado or hurricane-prone area, maybe you need to have a plan in place to quickly bring in lawn furniture and other items that could go air-born, shut your storm shutters, and shelter in the basement or bathroom. If you live in a city, maybe a scenario that’s more likely is you may have to shelter in place due to violence or riots - where would be the safest place in your home or apartment to do that? If you live in winter-storm prone area, maybe that’s making sure your heating vents stay clear from snow and you have a roof rake and shovels ready to make sure your roof doesn’t get overloaded and you can shovel your way out of your front door. If you live in an earthquake-prone area, maybe that’s being aware where the safest place in your house to shelter would be (maybe a strong doorway), or know if it would be safest to evacuate the building entirely and wait it out outside.

---

---

What is a “Go Bag” and Why Your Family Should Have One

A “Go Bag” is something you have packed and ready in the event you needed to evacuate your home immediately and potentially survive outside (in the woods or on the road in your vehicle) on your own for several days… situations that may arise where you may be put in that situation could be quick moving storms, flash floods, wild fires, etc. A Go Bag is something that is ready to go with emergency supplies including food, water or a water flirtation system, survival blankets, first aid kit, personal medications that you/your family may need, medical ID cards, masks (to help filter smoke/dust/germs), etc. It’s also a good idea to have local maps in there as well, as phones and internet may not work.

You can put your own Go Bag together or order a pre-made Go Bag and add what personal things you may need to it.

Have an Evacuation Plan

First, it goes without saying you should have plans for things like Fire Drills. Consult your local fire department for tips, but in general make sure you and your family (including kids) understand what a fire/evacuation drill is, how to safely and quickly exit the building, what to do if you get trapped, and where to meet outside afterwards. Practice this a few times a year so it’s second nature, but hopefully you never ever need to do it for real.

Now to take that one step further - take some time to think through different scenarios that could happen where you might have to evacuate your area/town (God forbid they ever do), and plan how you would react. If a wild fire or flood was happening nearby, how would you and your family evacuate your area? Take some time to familiarize yourself with area roads and which ones would be the best to evacuate by - make sure you also come up several backup plans too as your first choice exit plan may be blocked off. Also be aware of which roads may be most prone to fall victim to a natural disaster - for example, a low-lying road near a stream would be likely to flood, and probably shouldn’t be counted on as an exit road in a weather emergency. Keep maps in your car too as phones/GPS may not work and it would be beneficial to have a paper map to consult. It's also important to have cash on hand as ATMs/credit card machines may be down as well.

Always try to keep your car gas tank fairly full too, that way you’ll be ready to go anytime and won’t have to worry about running out of gas or being able to buy gas (as gas stations may be out of gas or there could be long lines) wasting valuable time for your family to make an efficient exit.

Hopefully you will never fall into a scenario where you’ll ever have to use any of your emergency supplies or shelter/evacuation plans, but it’s best to be prepared. Make sure to re-evaluate your plans and supplies regularly as roads and situations can change and supplies will expire over time (check those expiration dates on medicine, first aid items, and food/water). May you all stay safe and well!

Disclaimer: I am not a survival or emergency expert, but just sharing my opinion on ideas and discussion points on how you might prepare. Do your own research and contact local authorities on the best way to prepare your home and your family for any emergency situation which could arise.

---

Related Posts:

• Cloth Face Mask Organization + Storage

• Preparing for the Novel Coronavirus

• A Message of Hope Facing the Unknowns of Coronavirus

• My Recipe for “Quarantine Chili”

---

Why I Purged Who I'm Following on Social Media (And Why You Might Want to Too)

If you’re like me you probably get sucked into your phone too often, falling down the rabbit hole of continuously scrolling Instagram and Facebook. But it’s a New Year, new beginnings right? I recently took a good look at who I’m following on my personal and blog Instagram accounts and did some purging… in fact between my accounts I unfollowed thousands (previous to this I had never really unfollowed anyone!) and in doing so it greatly simplified my social media checking routine, spending less time online.

Who I Unfollowed

First, I know I personally feel a little hurt when I realize someone unfollowed me (why don’t they like me??) - but if you’re reading this and I unfollowed you please realize it’s nothing personal at all. Over the many years I’ve had social media I have followed thousands of accounts, but I’ve never actually reevaluated their relevancy to me as time went on and cleaning house was long, long overdue.

Here are some types of accounts that I unfollowed:

Accounts that are “Dead”: As I went through my lists, I found hundreds of accounts that have been “dead” for years… blogs or business accounts that have gone out of business or people that for one reason or another have just stopped updating a particular account. While these accounts aren’t cluttering up my feed, they aren’t doing anything for me either so I unfollowed them.

Accounts that Don’t Reflect Our Current Stage in Life: And then there’s accounts that used to be relevant to me but aren’t anymore… for example years ago when we were first starting our family I followed lots of baby-centric accounts and businesses. However our kids are all past the baby stage now and I just don’t need to know about the newest bottles or baby carriers these days. It’s definitely bittersweet closing the door on that stage in our lives but the practical reasoning is we just don’t need to be up-to-date on baby trends anymore. So any irrelevant accounts to our current place in life were unfollowed too.

Accounts that I was Following “Because Everyone Else Is”: There were plenty of accounts I was following strictly because they were big-name brands/companies or ultra-popular influencers or bloggers. I was mostly following them because I felt like I should be, even though most of their posts were essentially ads and I didn’t find following them enjoyable myself. I’m personally not a huge fan of impersonal/overly-commercialized posts so I unfollowed a lot of these types of accounts too.

Accounts that I Follow in More than One Place: I have both a personal and blog-related Instagram account and realized there were quite a few accounts that I was following in both places… this was kind of redundant as I was often seeing the same posts twice. I really didn’t want or need to see the same things over and over so I would decide where made the most sense for me to follow an account and would then unfollow it from my other account.

Accounts that Bring Me Down: Do what’s best for your mental health and your self esteem! Are there accounts that you follow that are too pessimistic? Or too perfect and it makes you devalue yourself subconsciously? Get rid of them. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life - only follow accounts that raise you up or inspire you in a positive way.

Accounts that I Don’t Enjoy: As I went through my lists of who I’m following I realized something - I honestly don’t enjoy fashion bloggers (no offense to any fashion bloggers out there!). As much as I love a good outfit inspiration I am not into “fast fashion” and I’m not someone who constantly buys clothes or the latest styles. I actually think it’s really bad for the environment to constantly consume clothing and accessories that will only be worn a few times (and a lot of these influencers will only wear items for a post or two then get rid of them). Fast fashion isn’t something I condone or enjoy so I won’t passively support it by following all those influencers.

Important Note: Don’t Try to Purge in One Day!

I made this mistake myself… when I first decided to clean house I stayed up really late one night and was determined to work my way through my list and clean it out in one go - but then Instagram blocked my account for 24 hours. If you do too much of one action in a short amount of time (like unfollowing other accounts), Instagram will flag your account as spam and lock you out temporarily… and apparently if you keep it up they will keep locking you out for longer each time, potentially banning you permanently (so scary!). Getting locked out for 24 hours was very frustrating, but it made me realize I have to tread lightly moving forward. When you’re purging, make sure to never unfollow more than a few accounts at a time and make sure to continue to use Instagram as you normally would (liking, commenting, engaging with others like usual). Purging your feed will be a work-in-progress for a while and will take time.

Who I Muted

Did you know you can “mute” accounts too? That way they don’t show up in your feed but you’re still following them. There were some accounts that I was following that I still wanted to follow to show some support, but were totally cluttering up my feed and driving me nuts… for example maybe you have an old school friend who has taken an endeavor into MLM sales. As much as you might love this friend and want to support her, you don’t want to see ten posts a day on essential oils, or fake nails, or eyelash serum or whatever it is that she’s constantly pushing. You’ll still show as a follower to her and it would be good idea to make a note to occasionally hop on over to her account to engage in a post here and there - but it’s not going to constantly fill your feed with stuff you’re not interested in anymore.

Turn Notifications OFF

If you haven’t already, it’s also a great idea to turn off Notifications Off across all your platforms. Seeing those little “dings” constantly come up when friends post, like, or comment can be overwhelming and drag you into checking your phone every few minutes. If you turn these off you’ll be less tempted to constantly check your phone - and make a point to only check it at certain times during the day. I have already had my notifications turned off for years now (it’s something I made a point to do a long time ago), and I will continue to keep them off.

Why My Social Media Experience is Better and More Efficient Now

After you’ve made sufficient progress purging who you’re following, you’ll notice that your feed is full of things that you actually want to see - no more “junk” that you used to waste time scrolling past everyday. Your feed will be full of accounts that you find positive, intentional, and inspiring - not to mention following less accounts will make it quicker and easier to catch up on recent posts every day.

And another positive side effect of my purge? It seems to have reset the algorithm for what I typically see in my feed. There were a lot of accounts I was following that I honestly had totally forgotten about because I hadn’t seen any posts by them in my feed FOR YEARS. But as I made progress purging who I was following I started to see those long-lost-to-me accounts in my feed again and it was so refreshing! I was able to re-discover a lot of accounts that I used to love following and it’s wonderful to finally see their posts again in my feed and reconnect with them. (And if you rediscover an account you want to see in your feed again, make sure to like and engage in their posts so Instagram will learn to continue to show them.)

Going Forward

Going forward this is something I definitely want to keep up with. I had neglected reevaluating who I was following for years and since I had let it get out of hand it took weeks for me to slowly purge since I had so much catching up to do. From now on this is something I’ll plan on revisiting at least once a year (I even put a reminder in my calendar for next January as part of my New Year’s Resolutions). Your social media feed should be enjoyable and inspiring, and it should be more efficient to check - by actively managing it hopefully you will see an improvement in your social media experience too.

So far I’ve really only tackled Instagram but I am planning on working to purge who I’m following on my other social media accounts too (especially Facebook and Pinterest) for the same reasons.

---

Goal: Use Less Plastic in 2020

As I had mentioned previously in my “Goals for the New Year” post, one of my goals is to use less plastic in our daily lives. We already make an effort to recycle as much as possible and not be wasteful but watching the documentary “Broken: Recycling Sham” on Netflix was eye-opening. So much of what people put in the recycling bin ends up in landfills or the ocean in the end, as a lot of plastic is too difficult or expensive to recycle and it’s sorted out and discarded. (PS - if you haven’t watched this documentary yet, I highly recommend it!) If everyone were to decrease their use of plastic in small ways it would eventually decrease the demand and less plastic would be made and end up in the environment. Here I’m sharing some small ways we’re working towards less plastic in our lives. | This post contains affiliate links |

As Emily Ley would say, I’m striving for “progress, not perfection.” I am not planning on eliminating all plastic from our home overnight - after all that wouldn’t be environmentally responsible either. We have plenty of BPA-free Tupperware, kids plates, reusable bottles, containers, etc and they are serving us well - there’s no need to go chuck them in the trash now. It’s also impractical (and arguably impossible) for our family to totally eliminate plastic from our lives. - But moving forward, we will try to consume less plastic, and as things wear out and need replacing we will look to non-plastic or high-recycled-content materials for replacements.

Here are a few eco-friendly “swaps” we have implemented or are planning to in the future:

• Reusable Water Bottles. This is a very easy one... find a Reusable Water Bottles that you like and carry it around with you, refilling it as needed. I personally prefer stainless steel bottles, but others prefer glass or plastic. Not only is a reusable bottle good for the environment, it's good for your wallet too as you'll never have to buy an overpriced bottle of water at a gas station or cafe again. Most office buildings, schools, and malls have bubblers (AKA water fountains for all you non-New Englanders) where you can fill your bottle, and most cafes and fast food restaurants will refill your bottle with water for free too.
• Reusable Grocery Bags. This is another easy change - in fact, I can almost guarantee you have some Reusable Grocery Bags kicking around in your closet or car trunk this very minute since businesses often give out reusable bags for promotions and advertising. Dig those bags out and make a neat stash of them in your trunk or car door pocket and make a mental note to grab them before heading into the grocery store. (Side note: It's a good idea to periodically wash your reusable bags to keep them clean and reduce the spread of potential germs.)
• Reusable Produce Bags. Purchase some small cotton Reusable Produce Bags to use when you go grocery shopping. Produce bags are often overlooked since they're small but they add up fast during a weekly grocery trip. By using reusable bags you're reducing your plastic consumption (and not to mention no more busted plastic produce bags when you're buying a decent amount of potatoes or apples - yay!).
• Reusable Travel Mug for Coffee/Tea. Find a travel mug that you love (personally I love my Yeti Rambler - worth every penny in my opinion!) and take your coffee to go. A lot of coffee shops will give a small discount for bringing a reusable mug in too - it pays to be green ;)
• Silicone "Plastic" Bags. Plastic snack and sandwhich bags are another thing that quickly add up, especially if you pack your own lunch. Switching out plastic for washable and reusable Silicone "Plastic" Bags will cut back on a lot of the single-use plastic in your life.
• Silicone "Plastic" Wrap. Plastic wrap for covering leftovers also quickly adds up but can be replaced with washable and reusable Silicone Covers.
• Glass or Metal "Tupperware". We have plenty of good quality plastic tupperware for packing lunches and leftovers, but as they need replacing we'll look to switching to glass or stainless steel.
• Sustainably Made Wooden Toys. Our kids will still play with plastic toys (legos, action figures, etc)... we're not going to forbid it. But we're definitely being mindful about what and how much plastic toys we do buy - and when we have the opportunity to provide them with sustaibably-made wooden toys like play food for their kitchen set or blocks we definitely will. (Side note: I had recently partnered with the company Lovevery to review their sustainably-made Block Set and was super impressed! Feel free to check out that previous post HERE, I highly reccomend them).

And while the recycling business is far from perfect, you should still always recycle whenever you can. That way your waste has a chance of being reused. If items are reusable things in good shape (toys, containers, etc), donate them to local charities or a "drop 'n swap" where people leave items to be taken for free by someone that can use them (check your local dump/transfer station to see if they have one).

If they are single-use items (like plastic bags, milk jugs, food packaging, etc) then sort and recycle as best you can. Setting up an in-home recycling system can make sorting and recycyling second-nature so everything (plastic, glass, paper, cans, etc) makes it to recycling center with the best chance of getting recycled.

Are there more ways to go plastic-free? Oh heck yes. But I’m personally looking for doable, attainable changes that fit with our lifestyle. I feel like these are changes most people could accomplish as well too. If everyone just reduced their plastic consumption with simple changes it would add up and make a huge difference.

---

Related Posts:

• The Biggest Money-Saving, Eco-Friendly Change We’ve Made During Quarantine

---

Educational, Sustainable Toys by Lovevery

We’re making more of an effort to be more conscious about what we buy our kids - less plastic “junk” that they will quickly loose interest in and more toys that are educational and encourage open-ended play. I was so excited when I stumbled across Lovevery - a company that is passionate about making educational and sustainably made heirloom toys for babies and young children. | This post contains an honest review of product provided by Lovevery |

We received The Block Set from Lovevery right before Christmas and thought it would make the most perfect gift for our two-and-a-half year old. Lately with Christmas, birthdays, and other holidays we’ve been striving for “quality” over “quantity” for gifts - buying only thoughtful toys and books that will be enjoyed for a long time. This block set fit that requirement perfectly! We opted for a simple red ribbon to wrap it for Christmas morning and let our kids start enjoying it right away.

What was I most impressed about with The Block Set? The quality and the variety of blocks that it came with! Everything is solid, sustainably-harvested wood which has been finished with brightly colored water-based non-toxic paints. There are 70+ pieces, and 18 different shapes and tools including little people with different skin tones. It even comes with an activity guide and planks which I haven’t seen in other block sets, making for lots of fun building and game opportunities (think bridges, houses, dominoes, and more)!

Our two year old (and six year old)’s favorite feature of The Block Set? How the storage box turns into a car! The circle blocks have recessed magnets which connect to dowels that can be threaded through the box, making for a very sturdy and easy-to-build car. Every day since Christmas she has pulled this car all around our house collecting blocks, dolls, dog toys, and whatever else she can find!

Another innovative feature of The Block Set is how the lid is also designed as a shape sorter, allowing for little ones to learn organization, as well as shape and spatial recognition. Lovevery consults with experts so their toys are designed to help promote cognitive and motor skill development as well as encourage pretend play.

And as a mom, I love that it also came with a cute gingham drawstring bag for flexible storage or quick pick-ups!

Lovevery has lots of other amazing, heirloom-quality toys and products as well - including play gyms, pull and push toys, and age-based subscription boxes for little ones from birth-24 months. I wish Lovevery had been around when our kids were first born - their subscription boxes are definitely something I would have loved to do for them! Everything I have seen from Lovevery is thoughtful and high-quality, and I honestly recommend them highly (and no, exceptionally high praise isn't something I normally throw around!). If you’re looking for something unique and thoughtful for your little one or as a gift, definitely check out Lovevery.

- I received this item for review from Lovevery but all opinions expressed are my own.  Please see our full Disclosure Policy for more information -   

---

Giving Back - Who We Donated to This Year

A tradition I started three years ago was to donate a percentage of profits from Birch Landing Home at year-end to Charity.  I’m so happy to say that this year we were able to help support the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America in addition to our donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Thank you so much for all your support for my Etsy shop and blog this past year, I hope to continue to grow them and be able to give back more each year in return. 

Happy 2020! Goals for the New Year

Happy New Year! Can’t believe a new year is here already. Overall 2019 was great and here’s hoping 2020 is even better and more productive! This morning we went out to breakfast with family and then the kids and I went on a short snowshoe hike, which was a fun start to the New Year!

I have several personal and professional goals for 2020 and thought I’d share a few of them:

• Learn to ski. Even though I’m a life-long New Englander, we didn’t grow up doing winter sports so I never learned. Now that our kids are learning (and doing amazing) I need to catch up ASAP!

• Use less plastic. We already make an effort to recycle as much as possible and not be wasteful but watching the documentary “Broken: Recycling Sham” on Netflix was eye-opening. So much of what people put in the recycling bin ends up in landfills or the ocean in the end, as a lot of plastic is too difficult or expensive to recycle and it’s sorted out and discarded. (PS - if you haven’t watched this documentary yet, I highly recommend it!)

• Purge, purge, purge. Every year I have a renewed sense of motivation to go through our house and purge un-needed items. It feels so good to get rid of things you don’t need and make your house a little “lighter” and cleaner. After the holidays our house feels too heavy again, so it’ll be good to go through toys, books, etc and reevaluate what is getting used, what has been outgrown, and what is no longer needed.

• Post more regularly. This last year I’ve just been feeling busy with the day-to-day… and the blog wasn’t updated as much as it should have been. I want to be better about sharing DIY projects and our day trips around New England, and hopefully 2020 will be much more consistent and productive!

Do you have any goals for 2020? I would love to hear them!

First Day Hike - 2020!

Things I Wish I Knew Before my C-Section

I thought I knew what to expect going into our planned c-section. After all, I read all the books and thought I knew all the steps and heard all the stories - but I soon found out I didn’t feel prepared at all and it was VERY different than I expected. Our first baby we had naturally - in fact I was able to hypnobirth her pain-free (and drug free!) and remain calm, cool, and collected (you can read more about that in my previous post HERE). However our second baby was wedged in breech and would not turn so we opted for a planned c-section. The c-section was SUCH a different experience, with a lot of surprises (for me anyways)… | This post contains affiliate links |

Disclaimer: This post shares my personal experiences and realizations and is not medical advice. Please always check with your doctors for the best advice/recommendations and know that your experiences can be very different from mine.

Things I Wish I Knew Before my C-Section

The IV Fluids will Make You Puffy.
Prior to going into the OR, they will give you IV fluids as part of your prep to make sure you’re well hydrated. For me, they made me quite puffy (thanks water retention), especially around my face and neck. Seeing myself in photos after I was surprised how puffy and swollen I looked. (I also could not take my wedding rings off and thankfully they didn’t make me as my hands somehow didn’t swell.)

The Operating Room (OR) is Intensely White.
To be frank, this totally freaked me out. Walking down a normal hallway with decor and warm lighting into a very bright, very starkly white room was absolutely jarring. It kind of felt like that scene from the original Willy Wonka when they try to send Mike Teavee through Wonka Vision. Everything was just so white and so harsh-looking. I understand the need for it (for cleanliness and sterilization purposes) but if you’re not expecting it, it can kind of set you on edge.

You Can Feel So Helpless and Not in Control.
Inserting the epidural was thankfully very fast and not bad, but once they laid me down and it kicked in I felt so helpless. I HATED not being able to feel or move anything from my chest down. I felt groggy, extremely emotional (thanks hormones), and totally helpless.

You May Feel Non-Pain Sensations After The Epidural.
Right before they got started, they pulled a piece of tape off my stomach (I think they were repositioning the drape), but I could feel the tape pulling off. This scared me and I spoke up, but they assured me it was okay. Apparently epidurals numb your ability to feel pain, but sometimes you can feel other sensations (like tape being pulled off).

You’ll Feel Like You’re Being Dissected by Aliens.
Okay, so this sounds a little dramatic but it was the most accurate description for me. Even though everything was going well, the doctors and assistants were all cheery, and everything was perfect and professional - I still couldn’t help but feel like I was in some sci-fi movie in a stark white spaceship, being dissected while I was still alive.

They Squeeze the Baby Out.
Somehow I was not aware of this… they make the incision for the baby to come out, but then they push (and push hard) down on your uterus/upper abdomen/lower ribs so the baby starts to squeeze out of the incision, then they help guide and pull the baby out. Our baby was really wedged in there, so the assist had to jump and put all her weight on me to get the baby to come out.

The Whole Procedure is FAST.
The doctors and team were very skilled and experienced and very fast. Our doula had warned us it would feel like everything was urgent and rushed but that’s just how they go (and she said during an emergency c-section they can go even quicker which is incredible). From the time we walked into the OR to the time I was being stitched up it was maybe 20 mins tops. They were fast, efficient, and experts at this.

Those Moments After Delivery Can Feel so Lonely.
Immediately after delivery they showed me the baby but then she went over to a warming table to get a quick exam and her vitals checked. She was totally fine but it’s pretty standard for baby to be checked over nearby while they finish working on you and sewing you up. My husband understandably went over to stand with the new baby and watch her, and even though he and the baby were only feet away it felt like miles. I was emotional, numb from the chest down, and felt abandoned (dramatic, huh?)… I was crying and everyone was busy (taking care of me and baby) but I just felt so alone.

You Might Have a Catheter Longer Than You Think.
They leave the catheter in until the epidural wears off and you feel strong enough to get up which was quite a while for me. And even once they do take it out, be aware that sometimes your bladder is the last thing to “wake up” - it took a long time for me to be able to pee on my own.

You’ll Get an IV Port for Most of Your Stay.
Even though I was done with the IV right after the c-section procedure, they tend to leave the IV port (in my case it was in the side of my wrist) in for the remainder of your stay in the unlikely event you need an IV for an infection, dehydration, medication, etc. And every day they need to flush it with saline to make sure it stays clear and clean… the flushing feels very weird and extremely uncomfortable which I was not expecting.

Getting the Staples Out Surprisingly Didn’t Hurt (Whew!)
I was dreading the day when they removed the staples from my incision. I thought for sure it was going to hurt or pull or there would be blood but none of those things were true. For me it didn’t hurt at all thankfully and the doctor removed them quickly and easily.

You Will Regret Standing Too Long.
For me, especially in those early days, standing or walking for just a few minutes was HARD. I would be standing - feeling fine and great - and then all at once I would suddenly feel warm and get a deep burning sensation around my incision and I would have to immediately sit down because I felt like I was going to pass out.

You Will Still Have Postpartum Bleeding.

Even though they “clean you out” during the c-section there will still be residual material that will have to run it’s course and be shed just like from a normal delivery. So get those Depends ready and be prepared to still deal with that. For me, it definitely wasn't as heavy but it still lasted several weeks.

Your Incision Can Have No Feeling For a Long Time.
For weeks my incision felt numb or very “weird” to the touch… like I was touching it through a thick quilt even tough I was touching my own skin. Apparently sometimes it takes awhile for the nerves to reconnect so that numb feeling around the incision can linger for quite a long time. It slowly wore off though and I regained my feeling there over time.

You Will Be Defensive of Your Incision for Months.
My incision healed beautifully and well but even months after the surgery I was very subconsciously protective of it. Even much later when I picked up my kids, if they pressed their foot on my incision I thought for sure they were going to pull it apart. It was all in my head though.

Overall, my c-section and recovery were all textbook and went perfectly without any real setbacks thankfully. Still, in the moment and as I recovered I realized I wasn’t as mentally prepared for the c-section as I had thought. Just because a mama goes through a c-section and not a vaginal delivery doesn’t make it feel any less emotional. It definitely helps being prepared and asking questions ahead of time so you (hopefully) won’t have as many surprises.

Best of luck, Mamas!!

---

Related Post:

• “Pain-Free Childbirth: My Hypnobirthing Experience”

• Important Tips on Creating Your Baby Registry

• Our Top Baby Registry Must-Haves

---

Disclaimer: This post shares my personal experiences and realizations and is not medical advice. Please always check with your doctors for the best advice/recommendations and know that your experiences can be very different from mine.