How are the post-partum mama's doing?

[madeofstardust]

I delivered sunday morning, and i am feeling pretty good. my tailbone hurts a bit, i think i bruised it. walking is a bit difficult, it feels like my muscles and bones are all trying to reconfigure themselves into their original positions. baby is nursing great, though my nipples are a bit sore. my milk came in the night before last, so tuesday night! aisy has been nursing so much! she loves it. i'm glad to not have encountered any issues with that. i thought that i had only gotten a tiny tear near my urethra, but i hadn't ventured to look until yesterday and as it turns out i have a tear on either labia. they're both vertical, about half an inch each and are pretty deep. it explains why peeing hurt so bad! peeing was so excruciating until today when i decided to brave up and drink tons of water, now i'm basically peeing water and it doesn't hurt at all! sweet relief, i wish i would have done this sooner. i was just so afraid that it wouldn't work and i would have to pee a lot and it would hurt just as bad. i had my first BM today too, it was way easier than i thought it would be! it wasn't really comfortable but it didn't really hurt either.
how is everyone else holding up?

[LaurenAnanas]

Have you tried a peri bottle? That makes peeing so much more comfortable, as it dilutes the urine externally.

It'll have been a week tomorrow morning for me, and I'm feeling a lot better. My muscles were sore and achy all over, but that's improving. Sitting is still not great, thanks to extensive stitches and swelling, but improving daily. Sitz baths have helped. Then this afternoon I crouched on the floor to find a tupperware lid so my mom could pack up Thanksgiving leftovers, and I just sort of tipped over... Everything was fine, but it was kinda shocking.

Re: Nursing, I had some serious engorgement issues. I am SO glad I splurged on the Freestyle breast pump and had it ready to go. I could pump in bed (or wherever) for a few minutes to "take the edge off" and let Ginny be able to latch on. Cold compresses, in the form of frozen bagged veggies, also have been a godsend. Now, a few days later, I have a manageable milk supply, happier breasts, and 26 oz of milk in the freezer. It was insane.

[AugustineM]

I can't believe it but my baby is a month old tomorrow! I think it took me a couple weeks to feel fairly "normal" again. Sitting was painful for about 5 days, even though I only had a small tear and a couple stitches. Just that whole general area was really sore -- but that has to be expected when 9 lbs comes out in about 2 hours! My bleeding stopped at about 3 weeks, or maybe sooner. I feel quite normal "down there" and Dh and I were even brave enough to try dtd last night, and it was fine, and nice!

Nursing is going fine and was pretty great from the start. I did have one day of some engorgement and plugged ducts, but I think it was from wearing bras that are too tight. All I wear now are my glamourmom tanks. So much better. But Evelyn is being kind of a fussy nurser at some points now and I'm starting to wonder if it's from using a paci. I don't know, it's like she wants to latch on, but doesn't, and just kind of waves her mouth around. It's weird. But she smiles now and she is a very content, peaceful baby. So sweet!!

[guestmama9904]

my vulva is sore @ 6 days pp. i tore badly on my previous episiotomy scar but the midwife siad since it was a first degree, no muscle, she would not recomend stiches. i can feel a huge gape and cannot imagine how it will magically grow back into one piece! i also have "skid marks" or small tears on my labia and peeing sucks, but is getting better. i use the peri bottle w/warm water and that helps. also my midwives made me some herbal packs and froze them to put inside my underwear. ive been taking an extra hot bath daily and that feels really good too.

[andi-mama]

I'll be 7 weeks PP on Saturday, so I'm pretty much back to normal (except for my newly aquired tummy flab ). Feeling good, just a little bit extra tired!

[coyotemist]

4 weeks postpartum tomorrow...

Sadly, my little guy never learned to nurse. Pumping is going ok, but I went from a huge supply to very little, and now it's going up again. However, I've had constant plugged ducts and am almost always in pain.

Got the all clear from the doc to try being friendly, but we keep falling asleep. Everything is fine down there.

Baby blues are easing up, I'm feeling much much better.

Baby has gained nearly 2 pounds from his lowest weight, and now has lovely chubby cheeks!

[TefferTWH]

We're two weeks post partum and I'm impatient with healing up. My lochia slowed and stopped completely last Wednesday, then I took a short day trip and it returned. My midwife said to lay up for a while and it's slowing. No problems down below, although I did only sit on soft things for the first week or so! I attribute my devotion to herbal PP baths and EMAB spray to why my bottom feels normal!

I definitely am still having hip and pelvis trouble, but chiro and PT should help. Starting PT next week, chiro is walk in when I need it.

BFing going well and I'm glowing about that. I wish she would nurse more often as I keep getting engorged, but she'll be 3 weeks on Monday, so I'm expecting a good three days settled on the couch nursing her throughher growth spurt. My mom is coming up to help with K so I can just sit and nurse. I never had this long of a strtech without pain or problems with K, so this has been wonderful!

PP this time has been soooo much easier!

[madeofstardust]

i haven't tried a peri bottle, but now that i'm practically peeing water i don't think i'm going to. it was the next step if super-hydration didn't work. i forgot to mention in the original post that i haven't really bled at all today. there was a tiny bit after i had been walking all over the house talking to my DP's relatives, they all met the baby today. other than that i think lochia is gone? i don't know if it's way too soon to think that, but it certainly seems that way.

[Bella Catalina]

Ugh. The fact that some of you have already stopped bleeding makes me sad
I am one month PP now and back to bleeding red again... I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary, so I don't get why. I'm not even exercising though I'd like to start.

My tears/stitches have healed - I also had two labial tears like what you described, Bethanie - one was stitched and one was not. Am not game to try DTD again yet, though I want to. Need to get some high quality lube first cause coconut oil is not um... slippery enough (sorry for the TMI) and friction right now is not gonna be a good thing.

Other than that... busy busy busy being a mama to two, and also having MIL in town right now. There are not enough hours in the day, so I have been scarce around here.

Jasper is now 10lbs 1oz, so his weight gain has slowed down again now, he was gaining a pound a week there for the first couple of weeks. Still projectile vomiting once or twice a day, and so we have to watch to make sure it doesn't increase in frequency or we'll have to rule out pyloric stenosis (which scares me cause it means surgery). The more I watch it, the more I think it's overactive letdown, and I'm praying that is the problem so I'm working to fix it.

How are you mamas feeling otherwise? Emotionally, I am having good days and bad days... bad days are less frequent than the good days but I really need to get back on cod liver oil. Physically, feeling pretty decent but craving chocolate for magnesium like you wouldn't believe. I'm 2-3 lbs above pre-pg weight but I gained 10lbs after losing Bailee in January so that's really 13lbs to go. Itching to exercise but what to see my mw and get the all clear first.

[andi-mama]

Urgh, weight. I don't even want to think about it. I am nowhere NEAR my pre-preg weight, and I really look it I'm really hating my appearance right now.

Also craving chocolate like crazy. Which is not helping the first issue.

[hislittlelambs]

oh..i am so glad someone started this thread. i have thought about it, but was afraid to get clobbered by the poor moms who are still in waiting.

We are 10 days pp now. charlotte had a weight check yesterday and she's 7 1/2 ounces ABOVE birthweight! : MW said they usually hope for baby's to be back to thier birthweight or very close by 10 days pp, so that charlotte was above was a huge bonus! i am so relieved....i had a good nursing relationship with my son, but i have known SO MANY momma's lately have such trouble getting thier babies to put on weight with breastfeeding that it had me nervous. I try not to take anything for granted, it could've been me....so very relieved and excited that Charlotte is thriving so far. having some latch issues, but otherwise okay....oh and two nights of "colic" like behavior from 1-3am. dh and i are hoping it is a fluke.

as for me...still sore, but doing better. i have days where i feel great, then days i pay for the days i felt great. I passed 3 clots around day 5, another one around day 7 and then a huge one yesterday (day 9)....it was the size of a small plum? MW is coming again on monday and is going to take my bloods then. she was concerned...should i be? i don't remember that with my past births. that day i passed the real large one i had felt really good the day before, minimal spotting even, then that day i just felt really crummy, achy, was cramping again and bleeding bright red. After it passed, i started feeling better within an hour or so. and now, back to spotting again...what do you guys make out of it?

[Patchfire]

Physically, I feel pretty darn good - one week & one day postpartum. We even hosted Thanksgiving here (for eleven people, though only ten of them were eating solid food ). I didn't tear at all, so perineum-wise, I've felt pretty good since forty-eight hours or so after the birth. The bleeding did taper off significantly, but it's still bright red. The most interesting part of my physical recovery was the five inch by five inch piece of amniotic sac I had to pull the rest of the way out of me on Sunday morning!

My milk came in between 48 and 72 hours post-birth. Ds has been helping me with the 'extra na-na.'

Emotionally... I'm doing okay. I haven't had any 'episodes' of totally losing it (which I really did with dd1, and did somewhat with ds), but I keep feeling like I'm really close to doing so, and then I pull back. There's also this issue that while I don't feel ready to say that I am done being pregnant, giving birth, having a newborn after Brigid, I feel like my *family* is complete at three kids. So there's definitely a lot of emotion about 'if I were doing this again' and 'I'm never going to do this with another baby after this.'

[kitkat5505]

I'm 2wk 1d pp and feeling pretty good. Much better than my first c/s, even though I had a harder labor before this one. I've been healing twice as fast this time. If I wasn't still having a little bleeding I'd be up to having sex again already. My scar is already less visible than my old scar was, except for on one end where a tiny spot healed weird. I'm pretty exhausted, Nathan wakes up every 2-3 hours at night to eat. But he is pretty easy-going and naps good during the day.

[mochimama]

Physically doing great here--about 2.5 weeks pp I'm pretty much done bleeding and my tiny tear feels all healed up. Not ready to dtd, though. I've got more stretch marks this time, but they aren't too bad. I've got about 20 lbs to lose to be back to prepreg weight. Ugh. I can't believe how much my stomach has gone down, though. I'm taking a few walks here and there, but not ready to go gung ho exercising like I did after dd. I don't have that kind of energy anymore. BFing is going great and I'm so relieved after having a bit of trouble with dd1. Dd2 gained about a half a pound this past week and I'm overjoyed! We're just nursing 24/7--in the sling, on the go, on the couch, at night in the bed, etc. etc.

Emotionally is another story. My MIL who has been here since day two pp just left this morning and although she was a big help, I'm glad it's just me and dh and our girls now. I'm having a lot of trouble with dd1. I just need to get our routine nailed down and stick to it. I think she's looking for structure and with her grandma here and us never going out of the house I think she's a bit overwhelmed and stir crazy all at the same time. I realized that with one dc, we could sort of let her run the show, but with two, that can't happen. There's got to be some order to the chaos or nothing would ever get done. We are challenged by dd1's food allergies as well and that makes cooking take all that much extra time. Ugh. We do have friends bringing us dinner all this week and then my folks come the week after for 6 nights. Not sure how we'll stick to the new "schedule" during all that, but it's got to happen for sanity's sake.

[RebeccaWo]

It's so reassuring reading this thread! I'm 3 weeks PP today. Still bleeding enough to need a pad, but it's been decreasing each day. Breastfeeding is going really well after a rocky start. Trying to start building a stash, but pumping too much really leaves me engorged and uncomfortable the next day. Still kinda hard to believe I'm a mom!

[hannybanany]

2 weeks 1 day PP today and feeling pretty good. My bleeding stopped on Monday, but started up again. We traveled for Thanksgiving, though, so I think the extra activity is what did it. I'm going to try to rest (ha!) this weekend. I was sore 'down there' for about 5 days - I had a second degree tear - but sitting on the Boppy for those 5 days made things slightly more bearable.

My milk came in at 2 days PP, and by 5 days old DD was 4 ounces above her birthweight : I had a difficult start with DD1, so I feel quite blessed that things are going so well this time. :

Tomorrow is my first day alone with the two kids and I'm feeling a bit nervous.

[peainthepod]

I'm doing really well. My stitched perineal tear is healing nicely and today is the first day since the birth that I haven't had any heavy red bleeding. I'm still easily tired and am trying to take it easy. BFing is going very well and Felix seems to be thriving.

My stomach did go down a lot and I think my thighs are less chubby, but my body is nothing like it was pre-pregnancy. I'm really not liking the way I look, but I'm trying to be gentle with myself since I'm not even 3 weeks postpartum yet. I want nothing more than to leave the house and start taking long walks with the baby in the sling, but every time I do that my lochia comes back with a vengeance.

Still, the baby and I are both very healthy and snuggling together on these chilly fall mornings has been amazing. What an awesome thing, motherhood. :

[natalieadw]

Gosh, I'm five weeks postpartum, and still feel like I've been hit by a truck! Bella is still a mess since Spencer has been born, and we are still working on schedules and stuff.

One week after Spencer was born, DH, Bella, and Spencer all had walking pneumonia so that was soooo difficult. Then Bella was on abx for it, and got a yeast infection, that turned into thrush, then gave it to me, then I gave it to Spencer! We still have not won the thrush battle....ughh...and I'm not sure if we ever will.

Perinium-wise....welll not so good. I just had to go to get a granuloma inspected, and they used silver nitrate (yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooowwwwwww) to burn it off. I have two weeks to see if heals on its own before i go in and have to have it all cut down and stitched. It was a skid mark that wasn't stitched initially and it healed funny and turned in to a granuloma. So that area still hurts.

I've been doing kegels, but the weird thing is, I feel like I'm constantly pushing those muscles inadvertently. I don't know how NOT to do it, it just happens whenever I'm not consciously thinking of doing kegels. Any suggestions?

DH scheduled me for a massage for today, but I can't go since I can't lay on these HUGE boobs that are just asking for another (this would be the sixth) plugged duct. I still have oversupply and over active letdown, so nights and mornings are just awful. Bella has completely stopped eating, and is only nursing now. She's a 2.5 year old with a SUCKING BLISTER!! I feel so drained, and tired. At least I'm losing weight though, but I really need to eat better because nursing two and nourishing three, is a tough job!!

THANKS FOR LISTENING TO ME WHINE

[peainthepod]

, Natalie! That sounds rough.

[alleybcat]

Natalie, you deserve an award for all you are going through. It HAS to get better right????

Sending good healthy vibes your way!