After your C-section
I give props to the single mamas out there because I know it took a village to take care of me and Radley. Shane was in charge of us for the first few days alone. And he was literally taking care of both of us, showering me and changing all her diapers and lets be honest, he was changing mine too. Again…after a c section you will feel like you got ran over and sewn back together so doing anything will be very challenging. But don’t get to frustrated because it will get better each day. I tried really hard to go without pain meds but I learned to just take the medication so I could take care of my baby, and to be quite honest, the pain was really unbearable. I slowly weaned myself off the heavy pain meds.
Going to the bathroom…Dunn dunnn dunnnnn
Sounds so scary. Is so scary. For me at least with the C-section I didn’t have to worry about stitches down there, maybe this is TMI but this is postpartum ladies. What I worried about instead was peeing too fast; it hurts because you have no control of your core muscles since they just got cut in half. Also the thought of pushing at all is terrifying because you feel like you are going to bust at the stitches in your belly. If I had one tip of advice it would be to NEVER EVER FORGET TO TAKE YOUR STOOL SOFTENER. Like not even late. These are more important than your pain meds. And drink lots of water and lots of fruit to help with the going. You will regret it if you don’t remember! Trust me! It’s gets better. If someone is with you PP, Husband, your mom, whoever, put them in charge of your meds and times to take them. You will be consumed with your baby and your pain you won’t be able to focus on all the medication you will be taking. Shane was really good about making sure I was on time with everything.
Cramping After Delivery
Sooo after you deliver your baby you will continue to have contractions/cramping for about 10 days, especially while breastfeeding. This was at least how long mine lasted. The cramping was sharp, every time I was breastfeeding. The baby nursing triggers your body to release the hormone oxytocin, which causes the cramping. The cramping is your uterus shrinking back to normal size! Yay! Usually the strongest cramps are in the first couple days after delivery and will ease up.
Getting out of bed, taking a shower, walking down stairs etc.
This shit was really hard. This is where I applaud single mamas for doing it all alone. I don’t know what I would have done without Shane, literally taking all my body weight for me, up and out of bed, putting chairs in the bathroom and shower so I could sit. I also had to blow dry my stitches after the shower every time so there was no infection and let me tell you how exhausting it is to stand with no core muscles.
The Milk fever
I got a fever and terrible, terrible head ache when my milk “let down” aka, came in completely. I also got a fever when I would wait too long to feed her. Like even an hour too long. My chest would get hot and it felt like my breasts were filled with rocks. If this happens to you, you need to either wake the baby to feed or just pump, because it will make you sick.
Body temperature
Mamas….there will be sweat, a lot of it. The first couple weeks your hormones are so all over the place, and they continue to be if you breastfeed, and I just remember waking up drenched in sweat. Like all my clothes drenched. Part of it was milk. Because I am also leaking milk all the time too. But oh my god the sweat. Maybe two weeks PP everything started to even out and the sweating stopped.
Aching joints like you are 90 years old
I am pretty upset about this one. I am already 8 weeks postpartum, I have worked out twice in the last, probably 10 weeks and for someone who worked out everyday this has been pretty hard for me. So the aching joints thing is only making me feel more weak. My elbows and knees hurt like I have arthritis, like I’ve never done a squat or push up ever. I’ve read a lot about this and it’s common. It’s not talked about probably because it’s a weird one but it’s common, you aren’t alone. The aching comes from your body trying to figure out its hormones and regulation again.
You look pregnant still…but now you have a period that lasts 2 months
So yeah….
I was squishy everywhere and full of water. I didn’t even recognize my legs for two weeks they were full of water and super swollen. My belly is still squish, and my abs are separated. I am also still losing blood at 8 weeks postpartum. Everyone is different and you might not lose blood for as long. It will be heavy at first and slowly get lighter. I started with overnight adult diapers…it’s the only way ladies. Just accept it. It makes your life so much easier. You will be able to move to pads and then super light pads. But stock up on the adult diapers and pads. You will use a lot.
Just remember it took nine months to make your baby, it wasn’t over night. As hard as it is to be as grateful for your new mom bod at the moment, just look at your brand new baby and just be super proud of what your body did! You will recognize your body again. This is super hard, making a baby, delivering a baby, looking at your new body, it’s all really hard. But this is the single greatest thing I have ever done and I’d do it again and again. Postpartum is forever; you are a new strong, you are a new proud, you are a magical force to be reckoned with.
YOU ARE A MOTHER!
