Getting down and dirty ;) The dreaded H word

Okay lovely ladies.. I am going to get this post out of the way, although, surprisingly, I am excited to share it with all of you.. Here it comes.. the big H word... Hemorrhoids!@! Yuck!!! Okay so not the most glamorous subject but something I feel compelled to share with all the new Mamas of the world. It was one of the only things physically that had me shaking in my boots daily for the first few months after I had Giselle. I am no professional (obviously!) but I did try everything under the sun to relieve some pretty painful bowel movements, and I found a pretty good list of remedies when put together that helped me out.. What I learned from experience (double yuck!!) and reading was that hydration and soft stool is the key.. I think from all the crazy birthing action you get slowed down in that area.. So let all your pregnant girlfriends know they should start a good bowel regimen the second they come home from the hospital.. Even though I know it's not like you have a million extra hours to think about yourself and make sure you drink your eight glasses of water per day.. But that is the first key
#1: Atleast 6-8 glasses per day.. A good tip I found was try to drink a small glass of some fluid (water, juice, milk) every time you nurse, if you're nursing, that way you can counteract the loss of fluids.. The second and maybe most important glamorous tip is #2 Make friends with suppositories, and two kinds to be exact: Preparation H, which has shark oil to get everything loosey goosey in there.. the other is glycerine suppositories which are a laxitive suppository and get every thing movin on out in less than a half hour.. And again I'm no pro so ask your doc what they think before hand.. Then I also used a few supplements to keep my intestinal track in good order..#3 Aloe juice in the morning, or before every meal to cool and calm intestines. #4 Acidolphilis before each meal to stock up on the good bacterial for healthy digestion.. and #5 Fish oil/omega oils after each meal to lube up the digestive track.. To keep the area clean and soothed I used #6 'Tucks' witch hazel pads to clean area after every bathroom use and #7 Preparation H Gel to calm the area whenever needed.. #8 Dont strain, try to relax even if it hurts. #9 Don't push, let everything work it's way out even if it takes 20 minutes. If you have external tears, I used #10 Neosporin for a quicker healing process, because the quicker you heal the tears the quicker you are pain free.
Now the whole idea is to not let yourself get dehydrated to the point you go a day or two without a bowel movement.. If you do your bowels can harden and cause tears.. Called anal fissures, yes I know glamorous.. But these are the things that have you crying your eyes out at the hint of a bathroom stop.. Marcos literally had to hold my hand one day because I was so terrified, I know, bless his heart :) It isn't even necessarily the hemorrhoids that hurt as much as the tears. So keep it soft. Go every day, the suppositories really help with that. Stay on top of it, if you slip up a few days you might find yourself at square one. And don't worry you will get beyond this.. They say the tears take about a month to fully heal so make sure you atleast get through a whole month without slipping up, or else like I said, the dreaded square one :) I hope this helps someone in the world.. Or atleast gives you a good laugh!! xoxo