I love being prepared. The day I peed on a stick and found out I was pregnant with Mason, the first thing I did was buy “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” at Barnes & Noble. I downloaded all the apps and read all the books. And then I learned all about childbirth and breastfeeding. I took the classes and did all the things. But there was STILL ONE thing I didn’t expect postpartum…the most bizarre postpartum body change that NO ONE TALKS ABOUT.
Body odor.
Not only are you wearing mesh undies with giant pads and dealing with raw nipples, but you smell bad too. Cool.
AND NOBODY TELLS YOU ABOUT THIS SO YOU CAN PREPARE! It just kind of happens and you’re caught off guard. Rude.
So WHY does this super rude postpartum body change happen? There are 3 main reasons:
- Night Sweats
In general, you sweat more after you have your baby. Remember retaining water while you were pregnant? Or all those fluids you may have gotten in your IV at the hospital? Well, now that you’re not pregnant anymore, those hormones that were making you hold on to all that water are now telling your body to flush it out. And your body does that by sweating it out, particularly at night.
- Breastfeeding
If you’re breastfeeding, your body helps your baby find those milk makers through your sweat. You naturally emit a stronger smell to assist your baby in finding the breast. This cool phenomenon is unfortunately emitted through your underarm sweat - a baby’s sense of smell is fully developed at birth!
- Hormonal Changes
Your hormones are majorly adjusting after bringing your baby into this world. These hormonal changes affect SO MANY THINGS – your hair, your milk supply, your mood, your fertility…and your SMELL. Remember having to start wearing deodorant when you hit puberty? Yup, those pesky hormones are the culprit! The hormonal changes your body goes through as it recovers from pregnancy can change your body odor.
All these factors contribute to you smelling less than your best. PLUS, you personally have a stronger sense of smell (thanks again, hormones!), so you might feel like you smell worse than you actually do! You might have expected superhuman smelling powers while you were pregnant, but probably didn’t realize it could last into the postpartum period. AND…not only that, but those newborn parenting days come with its own personal brand of stink. Leaked or spilled breastmilk, baby spit up, stinky diapers…oh and maybe going longer between showers than you meant to? No judging!
Every mama is different and there is unfortunately no quick fix – just time to let your body recover! But, while you’re waiting for your body to go back to “normal,” the Mason Nursing + Pumping Tank by Ailana J. is designed to help you keep those postpartum stinkies under control! The nursing + pumping access panels on this tank are MAGICAL because the fabric is:
- ODOR RESISTANT
- ANTI-BACTERIAL
- NON-TOXIC
- QUICK DRY
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