Postpartum thread, 8/19-8/25

[amyrobynne]

Figured I'd bring this back.

I am super excited today because I figured out how to nurse no-handed in my Didymos wrap. I've been trying different things with it, but now I think I've found a carry that really works for us -- whoo-hoo! This is what worked for us.

I'm on day 2 since my husband went back to work fulltime and so far so good. I feel almost normal, which helps so, so much. I go to the CNM for my postpartum check this afternoon, which will be nice. I haven't appreciated the ability to deal with laundry before. I'm now 3.5 weeks postpartum. I have people bringing us dinner almost every night for another week still, which is totally awesome. I'm cutting myself some slack on other meals, buying food we'd normally make from scratch. I'm starting to get back into canning (and composting/feeding the chickens) with garden food that's going crazy.

This has been my easiest postpartum recuperation by far -- it makes it so, so much better.

If you'd talked to me 3 days ago, I was a crying mess over something or other, but I'm having a really good day

[smerkin]

Thanks for starting this again!

Amy - Wow! I'm jealous that your DH got to stay home for so long! Mine got the weekend and then two days off. :-/ Its been a bit rough not having much of a rest but thankfully I didn't have any tearing or anything so its been ok. I just had hoped for a bit more of a "babymoon" but I feel like I got thrown back into real life. Oh well, no need to whine.

How is everyone's PP bleeding? DD will be two weeks tomorrow and it kind of stops and starts. Yesterday it was pretty heavy again and then today its slacked off. Hoping it will go away for good pretty soon.

Any thoughts about exercise? I love running and really want to get back into that soon! I want to start getting rid of this baby belly. How soon is too soon? My problem is that it is way-too-stinkin-hot down here and I don't have a double jogger. I have a gym membership but that would mean leaving the babe with DH and he works a ton so he doesn't like for me to be gone when he's finally home. Also, DD isn't on any kind of schedule and nurses a ton so I don't want to risk leaving her for an hour. Ugh, I guess I'll have to wait a little longer.

[amyrobynne]

Smerkin -- dh is a teacher. If the baby had come late, he would have only been able to take a week off. He had a pt summer job where he took a week off, worked half days one week, and then took the third week off. I was really really glad it worked out so well.

My bleeding sounds like yours. Since 2.5 weeks or so, I've generally been fine with a liner, although once or twice I bled more. I'll have a day or two with hardly any, then it'll come back. I'm almost 4 weeks pp.

I'm just now walking freely up and down the stairs and lifting the laundry baskets. My midwives have always been strict about doing too much too soon. I definitely won't be doing more than walking until my bleeding totally stops and my CNM says my tear is completely healed. I can tell when I do too much. My belly isn't as scary this time (and it's my 3rd baby! yay!) but I've got about 8 lbs to lose. I hope they go away before my friend's wedding in October. At the moment, I like cookies and ice cream too much to try too hard.

[LindsayK]

Ha! Amy, I am glad you brought up canning, because I totally wanted to come on and start a thread whining about messing up the recipe for the peach jam I was trying to can, but it didn't seem very due-date-club like I put in 7 cups of processed peaches instead of 4, and they were in the canner being sealed before I realized it. I spent so much of my free time the last 3 days doing this, so I am really bummed! Any ideas for what I can use my (likely very runny) jam for? I am thinking ice cream topping. Lots of ice cream topping....

DS is doing well, gaining a lb a week, and I am already back to my pre-preg weight. If things go like last time, I will probably drop about 10ish lbs below my pre-preg weight, and then slowly gain it back when I stop nursing. I am eating/drinking voraciously, and I am so thankful that people are brining meals by for another two weeks.

DS awake... gotta go nurse!

[CrunchyChristianMama]

I'm so glad you started this! I was just thinking that we needed to revive the postpartum thread.

I'm only a week and a half postpartum and I am so ready for the bleeding to be done! I don't remember how long I bled with my first DD, but I'm already sick of it.

DH and I tried dtd this week already. It actually wasn't painful at all which surprised me. With my ODD it was painful at 4 weeks, but I also had significant tearing with her as well. I had none at all with this babe and feel fine down there.

We are headed out this afternoon to do a newborn photo shoot with Annabelle. A friend of mine forwarded me the e-newsletter for a local photographer who was looking for a newborn "model" and so it's a free session with a free 8 x 10! Woo hoo! Otherwise I never spend money on professional photos, so I think it will be fun.

Oh yeah, lots of peach ice cream topping sounds delicious!

[Dahlea]

My bleeding Is also mostly stopped at this point. As far as exercise I feel fine so I'm just starting up lightly with the wii fit. I highly recommend it and ea activE when I'm up for more strenuous things. I gained over 60 and still have about 40 to lose. I didnt lose any weight with my son for a few months so im happy to have already lost 20some I feel so good, its hard to believe I'm only 2 weeks pp. I'm not doing anything too crazy but I'm having a hard time remembering to take it easy!

My husband took off 2 weeks with our first but he's at a new job and only got 3 days

[somegirl99]

Thanks for the new thread.

Bleeding kept coming and going but seems to finally be tapering off, 4.5 weeks postpartum.

This week I was finally able to squeeze myself into one of my pairs of pre-pregnancy jeans. Still have to work on the hips and tummy though.

I also got in a short workout this week including a bit of time on my bicycle trainer. It was uncomfortable but doable which is great...after my episiotomy I thought I'd never want to get on a bike again. And DH and I went for a brief motorcycle ride yesterday, after DS went to sleep (my MIL watched him). It was weird but nice to be back on a moto after 6 months off.

Otherwise just trying to get in walks when we can, with DS and with the dogs. We went for one yesterday and DH took DS in the Mei Tai, his first time wearing him. I have done some nursing in the ring sling but it is far from ideal...I can't seem to figure out how to get him comfortably in a cradle position so I put him in a really low tummy-to-tummy which hurts my back.

DS seems to have been gaining well, we go for his next appointment on Monday, very curious to see how much he weighs. He has outgrown his newborn clothes and prefolds, and I now have to sit a bit diagonally to nurse him in our rocker. Having lots of burping/spit-up issues though which causes a lot of fussiness especially at night, I think it is due to forceful letdown.

We just decided to take him on a trip in a month to a wedding, it's a 1.5 hour flight each way so hopefully won't be too bad. Just made the travel arrangements, now I have to find something to wear that is nursing friendly.
Any tips on traveling with a 2-month old?

[amyrobynne]

Originally Posted by somegirl99

I also got in a short workout this week including a bit of time on my bicycle trainer. It was uncomfortable but doable which is great...after my episiotomy I thought I'd never want to get on a bike again. And DH and I went for a brief motorcycle ride yesterday, after DS went to sleep (my MIL watched him). It was weird but nice to be back on a moto after 6 months off.

Otherwise just trying to get in walks when we can, with DS and with the dogs. We went for one yesterday and DH took DS in the Mei Tai, his first time wearing him. I have done some nursing in the ring sling but it is far from ideal...I can't seem to figure out how to get him comfortably in a cradle position so I put him in a really low tummy-to-tummy which hurts my back.


We just decided to take him on a trip in a month to a wedding, it's a 1.5 hour flight each way so hopefully won't be too bad. Just made the travel arrangements, now I have to find something to wear that is nursing friendly.
Any tips on traveling with a 2-month old?

It's great to hear that biking feels okay! Biking was my preferred form of exercise over the past couple years and I assumed I wouldn't be able to comfortably ride again until spring, but you give me hope! The baby can't ride with me until next summer, but it would be nice if I could go a mile or two this fall.

It's taken me until baby #3 to nurse with a sling. I can sort of do it with the Moby or ring sling, supporting with one hand. It's only been with the woven wrap that I can truly go hands-free. Speaking of nursing, I'm also bringing the baby to a wedding in October (he'll be almost 3 months and I'll have a 2 hr flight) and I've been thinking about what carrier to bring. I'd like to be able to nurse discreetly at the wedding but have a nice looking carrier -- I think I'll borrow a fancy (silk?) ring sling because I can pretty much nurse in one, even though ring slings aren't my favorite for normal use. I'll be carrying the kid all over D.C. for the rest of the weekend. I don't want to bring a giant wrap and add lots to my carry-on bag.

[carrierenee]

Hi mamas.

Camden is 17 days old. I can't believe he has been around for nearly 2.5 weeks now. It is all so surreal.

Anyone else not like their husband very much right now? With my first son, I became super attached to DH but this time around I just want him to leave me alone. I know it's a lot of hormones and stuff but it's kind of annoying when he won't leave me alone! Lol

I have a lot of issues with feeling sad and sometimes crying once it hits 7 or 8 pm. I wonder if it's just a sign I should go to bed?

I do get overwhelmed with my 28 month old and a newborn but the toddler is starting to adjust. I feel bad because my patience tolerance with him is pretty low. I know it's a big adjustment for all of us.

I'm healing up pretty well except last night I wiped myself and pulled out a stitch! Not fun. The one time I don't use my peri bottle that's what I get.

Breastfeeding is going well. Camden was 9 lbs 7.5 oz at his 2 week. He was 8, 14 when he was born.

He does puke a lot though and has some issues with gas so I'm keeping my eyes on that.

[DreamsInDigital]

I'm only 6 days PP but my bleeding had slowed down a lot up until yesterday when I got a little overzealous on trying to do housework. I'm paying dearly for it today. My lower back is just *killing* me and I'm back to heavy flow pads again. I have to remember to take it easy!

[somegirl99]

Originally Posted by amyrobynne

It's great to hear that biking feels okay! Biking was my preferred form of exercise over the past couple years and I assumed I wouldn't be able to comfortably ride again until spring, but you give me hope! The baby can't ride with me until next summer, but it would be nice if I could go a mile or two this fall.

It's taken me until baby #3 to nurse with a sling. I can sort of do it with the Moby or ring sling, supporting with one hand. It's only been with the woven wrap that I can truly go hands-free. Speaking of nursing, I'm also bringing the baby to a wedding in October (he'll be almost 3 months and I'll have a 2 hr flight) and I've been thinking about what carrier to bring. I'd like to be able to nurse discreetly at the wedding but have a nice looking carrier -- I think I'll borrow a fancy (silk?) ring sling because I can pretty much nurse in one, even though ring slings aren't my favorite for normal use. I'll be carrying the kid all over D.C. for the rest of the weekend. I don't want to bring a giant wrap and add lots to my carry-on bag.

Nice to find a fellow bicyclist! I live in on a very popular road for bicycling (on weekends there are usually many more bicycles and motorcycles than cars) and it's been tough seeing everyone pedal by this summer. I already have both a child seat and trailer for the bike (hand-me-downs) even though he can't ride till next summer, just very excited to take him.

I guess there is a bit of a learning curve with the sling, good to know. Our mei tai looks much nicer than our RS so I was leaning towards that for the wedding. Did a trial run with nursing in the MT yesterday, that was more two-handed (RS is one-handed) but sort of doable. Being short makes it challenging! I think your plan sounds good.

carrierenee - We have lots of spit-up and stubborn burp issues here, I think it is because of forceful letdown. This little one can hold onto a burp for 2 hours after nursing!

DreamsInDigital - definitely take it easy, your body is reminding you to slow down.

[amyrobynne]

Originally Posted by carrierenee

Anyone else not like their husband very much right now? With my first son, I became super attached to DH but this time around I just want him to leave me alone. I know it's a lot of hormones and stuff but it's kind of annoying when he won't leave me alone! Lol

I do get overwhelmed with my 28 month old and a newborn but the toddler is starting to adjust. I feel bad because my patience tolerance with him is pretty low. I know it's a big adjustment for all of us.

I'm healing up pretty well except last night I wiped myself and pulled out a stitch! Not fun. The one time I don't use my peri bottle that's what I get.

Breastfeeding is going well. Camden was 9 lbs 7.5 oz at his 2 week. He was 8, 14 when he was born.

I've been getting really annoyed at my husband too. Granted, he's been doing most of the big-kid parenting, but do I have to do all the dishes? And remind him to carry the laundry upstairs? He gets way, way more tired than I do dealing with night-wakings (he usually changes diapers, I nurse) even though he goes to bed hours before I do. It's just frustrating.

Yes, on the patience for older kids being low. Oh yes, that's happening here too.

I was feeling pretty good down there until early this week and couldn't figure out what was going on. I saw the CNM yesterday and she said I had some sort of mild rash caused by wearing pads continuously for weeks and I should bathe with baking soda in the water and sleep bottomless and it should help. As my bleeding stops and I can skip the pads completely, it shouldn't be a problem. I was just really glad to hear that my tear had healed -- it took 2 months with my first (bad 2nd degree that wasn't stitched, then re-tore).

My baby is exactly 2 lbs under yours -- he started at 6 lbs 14 oz and reached 7 lbs 9 oz at his last weight check (at 3 weeks)

Nice to find a fellow bicyclist! I live in on a very popular road for bicycling (on weekends there are usually many more bicycles and motorcycles than cars) and it's been tough seeing everyone pedal by this summer. I already have both a child seat and trailer for the bike (hand-me-downs) even though he can't ride till next summer, just very excited to take him.

I guess there is a bit of a learning curve with the sling, good to know. Our mei tai looks much nicer than our RS so I was leaning towards that for the wedding. Did a trial run with nursing in the MT yesterday, that was more two-handed (RS is one-handed) but sort of doable. Being short makes it challenging! I think your plan sounds good.

I was biking the day before this guy was born -- only a few blocks to the park, but still. I sort of wish I had a recumbent bike, or could borrow one, because I bet I could use that slowly right away. We have a Chariot double trailer and have gotten tons of use out of it since we got it when the older boys were 3 and 1. I hadn't biked for a decade, then started biking everywhere (it was too expensive to sit in the garage!).

Re: nursing and height. I'm really long-waisted, which makes the Boppy too low and shirts too short -- apparently nobody is the right height!

[CrunchyChristianMama]

We're having some burping and spit-up issues over here too.

I think it does have to do with forceful letdown though. I'm hoping that will go away some as my milk supply levels out more.

Right now if I don't get a really good burp out of her after each side then she will be spitting up all over everything for the next hour!

[COgirl19]

wow, it seems we all have forceful let-downs! Meredith never burps right away and spits up a lot.

1 week post-partum and I am doing pretty well. My midwife check-up was yesterday and she said it was more like I was 2 weeks post-partum rather than one week. I feel good but have to remember to take it easy or I am an emotional wreck the next day! Wedensday night I was a blubbery mess of emotions and yesterday afternoon too. Gotta love the hormones. Meredith has also gained 9 oz and is nursing great!

[Dahlea]

Zaphira is doing awesome-at my 2 week pp visit I weighed her on the baby scales and she is 9, 13 (or 14, she was wiggly!) birth weight was 8, 9 and the lowest she got to was 8, 2! She's chunking up quick like my son! My boobs finally stopped being ridiculously engorged after a week and a half which is awesome. My boobs are ridiculously enormous-but less porn star-ish than they were. I'm embarrassed by their size :/ talk about clothes not fitting! I bought a few new tops because nothing fit my boobs! I have to wear an xl or xxl-and I'm not that big of a person. I feel badly for people who are becaise theres not a heck of a lot to choose from.
I'm feeling better every day but man talk about anteing husbands. With my son I was ready to jump back into bed with my husband a litle before 2 weeks and my libido was insane. So he was expecting the same thing this time and has not so gently been hinting that he feels neglected. Well I'm fine with doing it but when the heck does he expect it? I'm exhausted from doing all the night wakings plus getting up early every day with baby, my toddler won't nap, or go to bed before 11. By the time both kids are asleep I gist want to collapse! He really connects sex with love though so I hate to put him off but damn man, I gist had a baby and we are still getting used to things!!

[MammaB21]

Good to hear everyone is doing well. I haven't been posting much here lately, but I do check in to read the updates when I can.

We're doing pretty good. Asa is 17 days old today. I had two (yes TWO) run ins with mastitis. I got it on one side and then felt better for a couple of days and then got a fever again and realized I had developed an infection in the other breast. It really made for a crappy couple of days and it slowed down my recovery for sure. Finally, in the past 4 days, I've felt normal again. I'm up and at 'em during the day (out of my bed) and doing my normal routine again. My bleeding was almost completely gone but since I've been more active it's picked up again. I'm hoping it dwindles and this is the last of it. My tiny tear has pretty much healed completely. I have quite a bit of energy despite the lack of sleep. My nipples are FINALLY healing. Latching on still feels soar but I'm no longer dreading nursing him. My emotions are stabling out a little and I'm not crying as much. I still have times when I go from 0 to 10 pretty quickly, but for the most part I'm feeling like I'm getting back to myself.

Asa is nursing constantly, gaining weight and doing well. He's more fussy then DD was so I'm adjusting to that. He has a definite crabby time at night for a few hours. Unfortunately I've been really tired at night and longing to go to sleep but he doesn't want to settle down until 11pm or later. He was sleeping really well at night but now he's up more frequently and takes longer to get him to fall back asleep after feedings. I'm holding out hope that he'll fall back into a better sleeping routine and we will all be a little happier.

ETA: We finally perfected our side lying latch, so that should make night time feedings a little easier.

[Nicole Starr]

6 days pp here and feeling wonderful.

Afton is a wonderful baby, seriously, I'm so surprised. By the reactions of my friends who just had children, I expected a terror. She sleeps wonderfully, eats, and only fusses when I take to long to get her to the boob or when we change her.

She already has some moderate control of her head! This really surprised me, but she can lift it with minimal wobble turn and look around.

I'm enjoying the heck out of her. It's been so much easier than I expected. I'm getting tons of sleep (waking every ~3 hours to feed her), my husband has been wonderful, and healing is going a lot faster than I thought it would. I'm already down to light pads, my stitches seem to be holding up okay.

Overall, feeling veeeeery good right about now.

[maciascl]

Had a horrible day yesterday after doing WAY too much the last week. Add to that I wasn't drinking water so not emptying my bladder and slightly constipated and I ended up with gushes of blood all day and 2 lime size clots. I am much better today but I think I set my healing back a few days. It is making mr crazy to not be able to do the things I need to though. DH is very helpful but I am not one to ask for help, it is just easier to do it myself.

Nicole Starr: I was shocked a couple days ago when Ian lifted his head off my chest, looked at me, turned his head and put it back down. I don't remember my others haveing such good head/neck control so early. It's crazy!

[Nicole Starr]

Stump fell off today! Cue cute onsie outfits with matching bows. I'm so excited. Have discovered the wonders of those little gownie outfits. I'm in love with them.

On a more vent-ful tone, we put her down for a nap in her crib yesterday. Her crib is in a room that connects to the master bedroom. Well when I went to wake her up to nurse, I noticed her ENTIRE back was wet. She'd been sweating right through her clothes. First parenting mistake we made. Although I have to say that if this country (Korea) didn't charge out the butt for using the A/C this never would have happened!

I can't wait to move home where air conditioning is actually cheap.

-vent over-

Our dog is getting along well with her. He's curious, but not so much that we have to constantly beg him to leave her alone. He's been wonderful, thank god. I feel like I haven't been giving him enough attention, but hopefully with things getting back to semi-normal, I'll be able to.

Hope everyone is doing well!

[Vaquitita]

Originally Posted by amyrobynne

Figured I'd bring this back.

I am super excited today because I figured out how to nurse no-handed in my Didymos wrap. I've been trying different things with it, but now I think I've found a carry that really works for us -- whoo-hoo! This is what worked for us.

i'm thread crashing, i'm not postpartum yet. but i had to ask about what you wear when nursing in a wrap. i tried this some with my last baby, but it was always such a big pain and hassle. to get my shirt hiked up, my bra down, nurse, then try to get my bra back up and my shirt back down. in the video she's wearing no bra and just drops her spaghetti strap down her shoulder, but with I-cups you can't dress like that.