Perineal massage in second pregnancy feels totally different!

[rusugiru]

So, last time I was pregnant (with my first baby), my husband and I did perineal massage and it worked great. We followed the instructions and it went from being very sore at the beginning to being very comfortable by the time I was ready to give birth, and the birth itself went swimmingly. I had no stretching sensation at crowning and only a minor laceration.

Fast forward to my present pregnancy (I'm due in four weeks) and I just started trying to do the perineal massage on myself, but after a couple of tries had to call my husband in to help, as I couldn't recognize my vagina any more! Seriously, it feels COMPLETELY different from how it did before I gave birth three years ago. Sorry if this is TMI, but all I feel now is fleshy protuberances everywhere, as opposed to a sort of tunnel, like it was before. My thumbs are getting lost in all the nooks and crannies in there! Is this normal?

Also, my husband was able to stretch me loads and I barely felt it. Do I even need to do the perineal massage this time? What's going on? Any input gratefully received!

[mama kk]

Good question...

[MaerynPearl]

while we do tighten up quite well after the first... it is a different sort of tightened than how we start. What you are feeling is totally normal and basically... to put it the best I can...

imagine your vaginal walls as a brand new stocking... Its a weird analogy but hear me out!

you wear them, they get stretched out. You can scrunch them together with your hand until they are back to the size they were when they were brand new... but its only due to being squeezed in that makes it seem like that, it is folded over on itself in many places and as soon as you go to put them on again... it may seem tight at first but nowhere NEAR as tight as the first time.

Your vaginas sort of like that... the vaginal walls stretch out after the first child... but is able to be constricted back to its usual airtight tightness by the muscles around it. It is still stretched out in one sense, but thanks to how our bodies are... the only way you will be able to tell is by putting your hand in there and feeling those nooks and crannies.

the huge benefit to this IS the lack of needing to do perineal massage with your next children. This explains why in many cases the first labor a woman experiences is the longest. the difference between my first and second was about 17 hours. And the amount of pushing I ended up doing when it came time was much much less as well.

[RedOakMomma]

Nooks and crannies galore down here!

[CheekyLilMonkeys]

Havent tried perennial massage yet, but I also noticed the one and only time I tried to use a tampon after having my DS's a couple of months ago - I'm a completely different shape in there!!