Giving birth is often glamourised in the media. One moment you are screaming in pain and the next minute your beautiful pink clothed baby is being handed to you. It all appears rather simple and tidy.

The reality is it is not always that simple, easy or tidy.

A few of the things I learnt about what to expect when you go in to have your baby (from a caesar point of view)

• You will be able to feel them working on you. It’s not sore or uncomfortable but you will feel movement.
• When baby comes out, she is not pretty and pink and cute. She will be covered in vernix.
• You will be separated from baby while they sew you back up and take you to recovery.
• You will be sore. Take the pain meds.
• Chances are strong that baby will scream – a lot.
• They will encourage you to feed as soon as possible. Try. You newborn is more than likely not going to latch perfectly and suck like a champion. Be patient.
• Let the nurses help. You are in the hospital for 3 days so let them help as much as they are willing to.
• Bathing a screaming newborn is frightening. Let the nurses help you. And if you wipe baby down for a few days thats also ok
• Baby blues normally arrive on day 3. You will cry, feel inadequate, feel overwhelmed and cry some more.

There are also a few emotions you really can never be prepared for.

• You will feel love like you have never ever felt before.
• You will feel pride like you have never felt before.
• You will feel a protectiveness that you have never felt before. (When your baby has their first set of injections you will imagine ways to kill the nurse)
• You will feel an intense contentedness.

No matter how much you read or ask about the day you give birth, nothing really prepares you for what happens that day. It is truely one of the greatest things you will ever experience.

Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.  ~Elizabeth Stone