Post Partum Recovery

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Okay moms… How many of you took the baby classes, met with pediatricians, and read the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” books during pregnancy?  We all knew (sort of, kind of, not really) what to expect when that first baby was born, at least, what to expect from the baby. What isn’t covered (or I was in denial) was what happens to MOM after that little bundle of joy is ejected from her body. It didn’t help that my first little bundle of joy needed the help of forceps to eject himself, and no, to this day I have not googled forceps so I am still not 100% clear about what they look like or how they were used, and that is the way I prefer it.

So, back to post baby. The hospital gave us this bag, not for the baby, but for me. Spray can, spray bottle, hydrocortisone cream, some nasty smelling witch hazel pads, mom diapers and ice packs. I looked at my husband and asked “why exactly do I need or want an ice pack in my underwear?” his reply: “just do it, trust me”.  Since he had seen our son’s birth (I was happily hooked to the epidural machine for most of it) I took his advice. I hadn’t realized I would need so much help, especially since I was so dizzy for the first few weeks that I needed help up and down the stairs. My husband had to sit outside the bathroom when I showered, I was even afraid to carry Jake around for fear I would pass out and drop him. The saving grace was that my husbnad was able to take six weeks of sick leave to stay home with me and the baby. Before August 15, 2014 we had one idea of how that six weeks would go, (which I can’t even remember!), but after August 15 he realized that he would be paying a lot more attention to me than expected since recovery was more intense than expected. (NOTE: If he had not been able to take time off, my mom would have come to help, and she did come for a week when he went back to work.) It really was a tough few weeks for me, physically, plus the emotional side of not being able to be the mom I expected was really, really hard. Knowing I had my spouse to lean on was priceless. It was my body going through everything, but he was an amazing support and did whatever he could to help. Once everything healed up we were totally good to do, and of course it is all worth it but man, a little heads up would have been awesome!

So, what was the most challenging part of your post-delivery experience? What were you the most caught off guard by? I would love to hear your stories!

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ericariggall
Originally from Rochester, NY my husband and I moved to Cincinnati in 2011 for his job. I am a stay at home mom to two boys, Jacob and Lucas, who are 18 months and 2 days apart in age!. My husband and I also have a dog named Freckles. As a family, we enjoy time outside at parks, going on walks, the Bengals, and exploring all Cincinnati has to offer a young family! I also enjoy reading, catching up with friends, being crafty and scrapbooking in any free time I have.

1 COMMENT

  1. I wish I had asked for help PP, but I thought I had to do it all. My mother is not the type of person I want around during such a time so I just sucked it up. By my 3rd I was dealing with some pelvic floor issues because I just didn’t give myself time to recover. I think there is so much education about prenatal care, BF and FF and parenting, but almost nothing about how to take care of your body, mind and soul PP. To new mothers I would say take it easy on yourself as much as you can, take help when it is offered and know that so long as your baby is fed, loved and safe you’re doing just fine 😉

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