Milk & Tea

Lochia: Postpartum bleeding

I made a video briefly about some of these questions recently & had a few follow up questions I’d love to address!

1. What is it? Lochia is the term specifically for bleeding during the postpartum bleeding period. And everybody bleeds after delivery… c-section or vaginal. Why? Your fundus (uterus) is working/clamping it’s way back down to where it belongs! It has to push all that excess fluid/blood out of its home 🏠 bleeding… normal. Too much or too little bleeding… not normal! A conversation for another time 😇
2. What are these different names? The names are the stages in which the appearance/amount of the blood changes. At the beginning it is called rubra, which is your red/heavy bleeding. Next is called serosa, this is more a light pink/yellow color, also a bit more stickier, like toward the end of a period. Finally, alba. Alba is more of a scant & yellow/brown color.
3. How long does it last? Rubra typically lasts 1-5ish days, this can change with how many children you’ve delivered. Serosa lasts a bit longer, until maybe 2 weeks postpartum. And alba can last for another week or so. All of this can be heavily influenced by your decision to breastfeed or not!

These are my top 3 questions I get surrounding postpartum bleeding. What else are you curious about after you deliver? 🩸🧐 let’s chat!

How do I know when my baby is hungry? How do I know when my baby is full? There are actually quite a few ways to tell, even without words. Body language with babies is so important.

3 Hunger cues 😛:
#1: stirring - this ultimately means beginning to wake up from their deep sleep. Starting to wiggle their tiny toes out from their swaddle, open up their eyes, and make their coo noises. This is an important one to catch because they are pretty easy to latch at this stage.
#2: rooting - baby is definitely hungry at this point. Baby is turning their head towards their food source and opening their mouth, smacking their lips, sticking their tongue out, even suckling on their swaddle blanket or whatever object is near by.
#3: fussing - baby is difficult to latch at this point due to extreme hunger and frustration. It is important to learn your babies hunger cues before they reach this point, so you can avoid the frustration. You get hangry, why can’t your baby!?

3 fullness cues 😶:
#1 turning head away from the food source. Initially they would root towards the breast, at this stage they are pulling away and pulling off the breast. They may even close their mouth and slow down in general.
#2: soft hands - this one is easily comparable to us after a big Thanksgiving dinner. We just want to melt into the couch. Babies do that too, and unclench their fists.
#3: distraction- the name of the game was FOOD. Once they are full, they become distracted and uninterested. Easy as that.

Babies are humans, just like us. Learn to read their body language and the way they communicate to you. These are a few tips and tricks, but all babies are different. What are some of your baby’s cues? 🍼

Even Louie St. Louis Blues says to check your puppies!!! 🎀 ladies, mamas, & friends 💕

One of my favorites… posted on my website 🤍