Postpartum chat - Page 4

[Stitches]

Originally Posted by kittywitty 

I was engorged for two days and could not wear a bra-just a receiving blanket tucked under my shirt so I didn't leak everywhere. 

That's what I had to do with DD1, and I could only wear my husband's old T-shirts because I couldn't fit my jugs in my own tops.  Good times.

This one seems to be getting plenty of milk though, we went for a check up at the midwife today and she's gained 5 1/2 oz already.  Makes sense since she eats all the time

I had a stitch fall out today...m/w told me it could take up to 6 weeks for them to fully dissolve.  I'm getting tired of the tight, itchy stitch feeling.

[kittywitty]

I also have been wearing dh's shirts.

I seriously hurt my back today somehow. NOT cool.

[DirtyHippyMama]

okay, is anyone else getting really weepy?  i feel so overwhelmed and i seem to be starting every day in tears... i recently weaned off the painkillers (finally), but i think they must have been keeping me in a state of euphoria for 10 days straight.  now i'm suddenly feeling aches and pains i wasn't feeling (although my tear feels infinitely better since the stitches fell out).  my back hurts, my pelvis is still recovering from months of SPD pain, and i have a constant dull headache.  my toddler is driving me crazy with "can i nurse?  can i nurse?  can i nurse?", wanting to snuggle ALL the time (even if it means squishing the baby), and i feel SOOO guilty about his emotional insecurity right now (like, WHY did i go and have another baby?!), my other kids are getting up at 6am every day... ugh.  yesterday hubby left me alone with the baby twice, and i slept most of the time both times, but when i was awake i was staring off into space like a zombie...and of course the baby wants nothing to do with anyone but me.

[kittywitty]

Right there with you, Michelle.

[birthdancedoula]

Right there with both of you guys. 

The weepiness has definitely crept in and I'm also dealing with an intense, less-than-thrilled at how life has changed 2 y/o.  And I hear ya, it doesn't help that the babe wants nothing to do with anyone but me. 

[~Demeter~]

I was a little weepy yesterday... when I realized Marah is a week old, her umbilical cord fell off yesterday and as happy as I was about that it made me sad to think that was the last physical thing that kept us tied together... I don't know that sounds silly and weird when I read it, lol. Postpartum hormones are fun for sure. I'm getting tired of sitting around but I'm so glad I've been afforded that luxury this time... after I had my first daughter I pretty much had to jump right in as soon as I got home from the hospital and that was hard, physically and mentally.

Marah cluster feeds in the evening, she's cranky and hard to console.. it's this back and forth breast, burp, breast, burp pattern and nothing makes her really happy. Last night I took to bouncing her in that specific mommy way and she fell asleep. She sleeps well at night so I'm not complaining, I think we're up 2 or 3 times a night. She nursed very well this morning which was good for me because I was starting to feel a little panicky that something was wrong with my milk... even though logically, rationally I know this is normal for this age range. lol

I am really trying very hard to be patient with Sage. She's not listening to me much, I have to get up and be very consistent... help her to stop doing something or to do something. It's frustrating, but I know she's just reacting to what's going on in her environment... it's likely a HUGE adjustment for her. The thing that is probably frustrating me the most is the constant requests to nurse. "I knurse?" "I knurse?" every 5 minutes wears on me after awhile... she certainly wasn't nursing that many times a day. On top of that she's got a pretty nasty cold.... I don't think she's ever had such a mean runny nose, so I've been nursing her a little more frequently... poor bean. Sometimes all she wants is the boob and won't take no for an answer, snuggling is not even a good enough replacement. And she's also super glued herself to my side most of the time... I know this will pass, she'll adjust and we'll move on but it's rough going now because I don't want to emotionally devastate her, either. She loves Marah very much and thankfully isn't taking out any jealousy on her (yet).

Oh... bleeding and stitches, I have a stitch right by my butt that pulls all the time. It's not fun. I was terrified to poop and didn't go for almost 5 days... I've been trying to take it very easy and my husband has been making sure I don't overdo it. He gets mad at me for even moving, but it's been a week now and I feel I can step up a bit more. My bleeding is very light and I'm kicking myself for not finishing my pad stash. I'm going to try and work on them in the next day or so, because plastic pads give me a nasty irritation/rash and that's what I've had to use the past 12 hours. I need to get on top of my laundry (working on that today) and was aiming to get the living room picked up. I'm going through stuff... nesting finally, lol. It only takes me actually HAVING the baby to nest. ;)

[karen1968]

Hi ladies.  I've been having a hard time accessing the new site from my iPod, so I haven't been on MDC much. This is the first chance in a while I've had on the regular computer.  :(

I am right there with everyone - weepiness out of the blue, cluster feeding, older child going through the adjustment period. It is so damned HARD some times. Add to that we had constant visitors/helpers the first two weeks, and it's been a very strange newborn period for me. I definitely don't feel like I got a "baby moon".  We have the house and family to ourselves until the 30th, and I'm glad about that.

Last night, Paige had some sort of stomach upset. It was different that the occasional cluster feeding she's been doing. If she wasn't sucking SOMETHING, then she was screaming. I swear she doesn't cry at all. Just goes from contentment to velociraptor screeching the instant something is wrong. :(  But it was tough last night. DH and I took turns, and he didn't get to bed until after 2pm.  I fell asleep nursing Paige lying down (practically the first time for that), and she ended up sleeping contentedly on her tummy for over 4 hours. I think we were all worn out from that last night. I don't know what I ate, but I had an upset tummy, too. Something in one of our meal train meals, I'm guessing.

The c-sec recovery is actually going very well. The incision has healed beautifully, and I'm able to do so much more than I thought I would be doing at this stage. Which makes lingering internal tenderness and a sore knee all the more frustrating. *sigh*

Anyway, so happy to peek in, catch up, and realize we are all in this together, going through the same things. Amazing how that makes it all seem better.  HUGS to one and all.

[Tori19]

Haven't posted on this chat yet, but wanted to second what you all have been saying. We're having a tough adjustment periodw/ the older one too (she's 3). Lots od regressig and tantrums. I swear our sleepless nights have less to do w/ the baby and more to do w/ the toddler who has this uncanny ability to wake up right whe I am feeding the little one and want to snuggle. Been feeling pretty weepy and down in the dumps, too. I guess I didn't think things would be so hard. I'm looking forward to things settling down and gettig into some workable routine soon! hugs to you all.

[Ellen Griswold]

Originally Posted by ~Demeter~ 

I was a little weepy yesterday... when I realized Marah is a week old, her umbilical cord fell off yesterday and as happy as I was about that it made me sad to think that was the last physical thing that kept us tied together... I don't know that sounds silly and weird when I read it, lol. Postpartum hormones are fun for sure. I'm getting tired of sitting around but I'm so glad I've been afforded that luxury this time... after I had my first daughter I pretty much had to jump right in as soon as I got home from the hospital and that was hard, physically and mentally.

Marah cluster feeds in the evening, she's cranky and hard to console.. it's this back and forth breast, burp, breast, burp pattern and nothing makes her really happy. Last night I took to bouncing her in that specific mommy way and she fell asleep. She sleeps well at night so I'm not complaining, I think we're up 2 or 3 times a night. She nursed very well this morning which was good for me because I was starting to feel a little panicky that something was wrong with my milk... even though logically, rationally I know this is normal for this age range. lol

I am really trying very hard to be patient with Sage. She's not listening to me much, I have to get up and be very consistent... help her to stop doing something or to do something. It's frustrating, but I know she's just reacting to what's going on in her environment... it's likely a HUGE adjustment for her. The thing that is probably frustrating me the most is the constant requests to nurse. "I knurse?" "I knurse?" every 5 minutes wears on me after awhile... she certainly wasn't nursing that many times a day. On top of that she's got a pretty nasty cold.... I don't think she's ever had such a mean runny nose, so I've been nursing her a little more frequently... poor bean. Sometimes all she wants is the boob and won't take no for an answer, snuggling is not even a good enough replacement. And she's also super glued herself to my side most of the time... I know this will pass, she'll adjust and we'll move on but it's rough going now because I don't want to emotionally devastate her, either. She loves Marah very much and thankfully isn't taking out any jealousy on her (yet).

Oh... bleeding and stitches, I have a stitch right by my butt that pulls all the time. It's not fun. I was terrified to poop and didn't go for almost 5 days... I've been trying to take it very easy and my husband has been making sure I don't overdo it. He gets mad at me for even moving, but it's been a week now and I feel I can step up a bit more. My bleeding is very light and I'm kicking myself for not finishing my pad stash. I'm going to try and work on them in the next day or so, because plastic pads give me a nasty irritation/rash and that's what I've had to use the past 12 hours. I need to get on top of my laundry (working on that today) and was aiming to get the living room picked up. I'm going through stuff... nesting finally, lol. It only takes me actually HAVING the baby to nest. ;)

I could have written all of this! 

1) Umbilical stump came off this morning - I felt sad about that too.

2) Cluster feeding baby.  Had this been my first I would have been certain I wasn't making enough milk.

3) Frustration with older siblings.  Sigh.  I'm so divided about tandem nursing.  I love the fact that dd1 will almost always nurse to sleep before I count to 100 in my head, but she also wants to nurse in the middle of the night when the little sister is asleep on my boob.  I can physically get them both on at the same time, but it's not that comfortable for anybody involved.  Last night was BAD with her hollering for nummies and me getting more and more upset.  Sigh.  I know that she wouldn't necessarily sleep through the night if she was night-weaned, but logical thinking is not my strong suit at 3am or 4am or 5am.  And she's had a cold too.

4) No stitches anymore, but WHY can I not be regular????????

5) And, yep, I've also nested post baby.

So, I've just banished my 2 big kids and the 2 babysitting kids to ds's bedroom to bask in the glow of the portable dvd player after they were driving me bonkers by "ice skating" on the floors and jumping on the couch where the baby was sleeping.  Oh, and dh has to work late tonight.

[butterflies]

hi ladies!  this is my first time posting a post-partum update.  

My boys were super sleepy throughout their first days. At the hospital their weight loss was still fine (they were 6 lbs 5 oz at birth) but after a day at home they continued to lose so that they were down to 5 lbs 9 oz.  They were still passing dark, tarry stools and had clear signs of dehydration (uric acid crystals when they did pee, only 1-2 wet diapers a day).  I couldn't believe how sleepy they were-- we tried getting them naked, cool wet cloths on the face... nothing would wake these guys up! I was using breast compression to get every little drop into them and they'd still fall asleep after a couple minutes at the breast. My heart goes out to moms with even smaller or premature babies.  They were considered "full term" at 38w 3d but are so so different from my others born at 40+ weeks.  I did decide to supplement a little until my milk came in more-- i could see them quickly getting stuck in a catch-22 of not eating/growing weaker/becoming even less efficient at eating. . After a couple days they suddenly "woke up" on Sat night and cluster nursed off and on for 4 hours.  Yay! I was so happy to see full diapers!  Their weight is up to 5 lb 14 oz today and they're latching more vigorously.  I've even gotten them to tandem nurse a few times.

 

My recovery has been pretty easy. I'm tired but had almost no soreness on my perineum-- because I really had no pushing phase at all. I have a 2nd degree tear but that isn't bothering me. I think after my other births it was really the pushing that caused swelling and discomfort.  It's a bit disconcerting to feel my body moving back into place... weird aches in my back or hips... as tiny as the babies look to me, I also can't believe that I was able to carry them around inside me.  I lost almost 20 lbs the day they were born! 

[MamaFern]

my almost 3yo is also having a bit of a hard time..but i know it could be so much worse. she has been sleeping on a mattress on the livingroom floor and hazel and i have been sleeping on the daybed next to her. she ends up sneeking up and i have to move her back again, but all in all bedtime is better than i had thought it would be. hazel aslo doesnt really want much to do  with anyone else.. she will tolerate being held for a moment at a time but not much more (by her sisters) but she seems to really love her papa unless she really wants to nurse. she sucks her thumbs so can self soothe really well if he is holding her. we cut her umbilical cord yesterday. i loved doing the lotus birth but i just felt like she was telling me it was time. her stub is almost off, just hanging by a thread.. pretty good for day 4  of life! my milk seems to be in and she is having lots of wet diapers but she hasnt pooped in a few days (she had a poop not yesterday but the day before and many before that) but im trying not to be worried.. i know milk digests well and its all a transition from meconium..

im feeling good except for the massive hemmeroid that developed yesterday.. i have never had one and it hurts so much. luckily the witch hazel and potato compresses are helping it a bit. today isnt nearly as bad as yesterday. im not sure if i mentioned how much i bled after she was born, but i lost quite a bot of blood and went into shock for about half an hour, probably an hour after she was born. i was feeling pretty weak for a few days but with lots of rest and extra iron i feel almost normal. no weepiness yet but i know it will come.

all in all life is pretty amazing.

(((Hugs))) to those having a rough time.

[ILoveMySofie]

Originally Posted by BirdMum 

Could be a growth spurt, or could just be the normal evening fussiness/cluster feeding that some babies have. My son clusterfed every evening from 6-9, and Charlie does the same thing from around 7-10. It's really, really common. Kellymom.com even has an article on it: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html

ah! thank you for this link!!!! Cluster feeding is definitely what shes doing!
 

My sweet little girl is going to be 4 weeks old tomorrow! I want to say I cant believe it-but I really do believe a month has already gone by, because I have been very aware and present every single moment. It is my intention to savor every moment with her in the deepest possible way. Despite the rough start to nursing and cracked nipples (thankfully thats in the past now), and then having every single one of us come down with a cold-I am just happy, so happy to have this adorable baby in my arms instead of in my womb! She has started smiling at us and it just melts my heart to see her face go from her usual concerned/inquisitive to a big gummy grin.

I dont know whats going on but I am craving sweets like mad. I barely wanted them in pregnancy but now I am all about cookies and chocolate..I want to get back to my body and this is not helping!!

The girls adore their sister and are being great helpers. I do have to shush my younger one a lot, which I hate doing, but since baby mostly naps on me I sort of have to.

Unless I really need to get something done-then I use my magic trick-baby in bouncy chair next to the dryer, dryer running on air fluff! This way I know she gets into a deep sleep and I can run around the house and clean up really quick, or make dinner for the girls! I do peek in on baby every couple of minutes though.

If you ever have a super fussy baby and have a dryer-try it! It is simply fantastic.

Edited by ILoveMySofie - 11/22/10 at 5:18pm

[Stitches]

2 weeks in here and after feeling pretty good at first and getting over a cold it's starting to catch up to me, I'm feeling pretty tired and not blue but kinda on the verge of weepy but not quite.  Just tired I guess.  Clara is really an exceptionally contended baby ( DD1 was and is a very intense little girl, I'm really not used to this) but last night was our first rough night, poor thing was gassy and constantly rooting and yet spitting up a lot.  IL's leave Wednesday, I love them but it's hard having other people in the house and I'm pushing myself to cook supper etc when I normally wouldn't bother.  Massive snow storm and frigid weather is not making me feel overly perky either.

My lochia had all but disappeared last week and my uterus was not palpable by my m/w on Thursday, but now it's gotten really bright red and heavier...I lost a stitch last week and my perineum has felt normal since then but I hope I'm not actually bleeding from the tear?  I don't know, I hope it slows down again soon, but I know I need to take it easier than I have been.  I can't even see where the tear is so I guess it's not that.  I've got a hemorrhoid too, ouchie!  Can't wait for that to settle down.

I'm loving the new baby cuddles, I hate to think how quickly she is going to grow up.  I love everything about her, and I love how her big sister loves her too, it's so nice having 2 little girls

[Frisbee]

I'm so glad I found this thread!  It's always a relief to check in with you guys and find out I'm not alone in all the stuff I'm going through.  Gus was born a little over a week ago and I can't believe how different things are this time.  My memories of the postpartum period with DD are all colored with the difficulty of recovering from the 2nd degree tears I had - she was born at the beginning of November and at Thanksgiving I was still having trouble sitting on a hard chair.  This time the perineal recovery has been much, much easer - I can't believe how much better it is, despite a tricky 1st degree tear that was heading up towards the clitoris (I was kind of freaking out when they were stitching it up, but it's not bothering me at all)!  The two things I am struggling with most are engorgement - oh my god, I have so much milk and it is so painful almost all the time - and adjustment to being a parent of 2. 

The engorgement.  I have so much milk.  Gus's nursing habits are pretty good - he was 1 oz heavier than his birth weight at his 5 day checkup.  I don't think I have a powerful letdown - it doesn't spray, but it does drip copiously.  Poor little Gus is overwhelmed by it and pops on and off the boob unless he is really really hungry, so he and I am pretty much soaked at all times, particularly at night.  I have been waking him up to try to get him to nurse because my boobs hurt so much I can't sleep.  Last night I wore a nursing bra to bed, which I HATE, but otherwise I was going through several shirts in a night - and I just don't have that many shirts that fit these days.  I have been pumping just a little bit at the times when I was in so much pain and Gus was too sleepy to eat. Trying to limit the pumping in order to avoid even more engorgement, but it is also tempting to get my freezer stash going.

Parent of 2 - DD is 3 and her reaction to having a new baby seems to be bouncing off the walls at all times and being very whiny and demanding.  She doesn't seem to have any resentment towards him, but she wants to touch him all the time and her touches, although well meant, are not particularly gentle.  I feel horrible protecting him from her because she gets fairly upset when I say she can't do something.  The other night she said to DH "being a big sister is hard - I can't do ANYTHING."  But then again she still lights up when she sees Gus and still wants to touch him all the time, so luckily she doesn't resent him.  I'm just having a hard time dealing with her enthusiasm since I sort of want to just have a peaceful and quiet time with my newborn.  We have been sending her to daycare as usual even through DH and I are both off work right now, for her sanity and for ours.  I am a little scared of being alone with her and Gus and being able to handle them both on my own.  That sounds so ridiculous when so many of you have 3 or 4 at home all the time! 

Other physical complaints - relieved to hear others are still having weird hip/spd pain.  My tailbone hurts.  Gus came out pretty quickly so maybe he bruised it?  Also the SPD is not gone.  I tried doing a postpartum yoga DVD yesterday and the part where you lift one leg and then the other was not pleasant.  I also have a really weird pain in my abdomen when I lean back, like when I wash my hair in the shower.  It feels like an abdominal muscle thing.  Oh, and lochia - it varies so much day to day in amount and color, even when I haven't done much.  I am so tired of taking it easy!

Yesterday I tried on a couple pairs of my "big" pants, the ones that are normally too big for me that I wore during the first 12 weeks or so of pregnancy.  Ha!  I couldn't get them over my butt.  The giant nursing boobs are so deceptive, they actually make my 1 week postpartum body look somewhat proportional.  It is so sad that when I stop nursing they will be tiny flabby sacks again. 

Can I tell you how much I love not being pregnant though?  It is so nice to be able to reach my feet and not pee every 15 minutes!  I had one beautiful night of sleeping on my stomach before the boob issues began. 

[~Demeter~]

I was just telling hubby that there is definitely a part of me that misses being pregnant already... he thinks I'm nuts. He says, how can you miss all that discomfort... and really I've forgotten it mostly. I was uncomfortable, I know I was but I just miss having her to myself. Not having to share her with the rest of the world, including her siblings. Sage is actually rather gentle with her most of the time, I'm lucky there... my boys are always asking to hold her and I feel bad but sometimes I tell them no. heh.. I want to hold her.

We sleep pretty good so far, engorgement isn't too bad here though I've had a few moments. If it gets too bad though I just ask Sage to nurse... she clears it out. I had designated their own boobs to them... though baby tends to get both sides from time to time. My left boob is a little too full this morning and Marah isn't interested in nursing on a full boob so I may ask Sage to clear things out. lol

I'm going to attempt to take the two girls to the store with me this afternoon (after I shower... I've been so sweaty at night lately!!) and hopefully that will go smoothly. I did this with my boys, 3 of them! I don't know what I'm so nervous about. :lol

[Metasequoia]

Finally caught up with the new babies! Our list sure has grown! Hope I can chat here for a few minutes...

I'm sorry some of you are weepy and/or ouchy.

Somehow I seem to be having a really easy time of things this go around. My engorgement hasn't been *that* bad this time! Every.single.time I've had multiple plugged ducts & mastitis by now - not to mention cracked bleeding nipples (which I think stems from engorgement because baby can't get a good latch..) BUT, I've been so excited for this postpartum period because I read a lot here on MDC about women who have cut out gluten and NOT had the same oversupply issues they had previously. I can't believe there's truth to it! I know gluten can do some seriously crazy stuff in some people, but oversupply was a stretch in my mind. Wow.

My crotch also seemed to pass unscathed! (Maybe the Universe thought I had enough crotch distress leading up to birth...) Not a tear, skid or even swelling! I put my hand down there the day after birth and it actually felt...GOOD! I wonder if it's because everything was so rapid? My others were really fast too, but I only pushed once this time and only half-assed at that. But I didn't push at all with Dd2 and while I felt good for sure, it wasn't this good.

I better just shut up before I jinx myself. Or before you guys throw me out of the club.

I'm soooooooo in love with my little boy. It's crazy how much you love somebody so intensely within that very first second. *sigh*

You know, I spent the first night after the birth thinking how much it hurt, how exhausting it was, how I was NEVER going to do this again...and now I find myself trying to figure out how soon I could get pregnant again and if I could have just one more or maybe even two! Is anybody else thinking these insane thoughts? I'll be 34 in January...and I don't get my cycles back until my babies are just over 2 yrs old, usually. I'm officially insane.

Anyone have any migraines? I had that one 2 days before birth and I've had two since birth. I managed to take 3 ibuprofin as soon as I recognized the aura yesterday and then got myself to the chiro immediately. The headache still hit, but I managed to save my day from being spent in a dark room vomiting. I think a lot of it is postural. I get into some awful positions while nursing or trying to do things one-handed (like THIS.)

On that note, I need to move away from the 'puter. You mamas take care of your selves! Hopefully I can check in and try to read some of this thread (if there aren't a million babies to announce!)

[kittywitty]

Nic, Meta, I feel the same way. But dh is 100% done, so I'm just mourning not being pg again. My recovery was also rapid this time-also no crotchal pain. Maybe because it was so fast?

I seriously injured my back. I can't even bend to pick up Molly or get out of bed without tears and help. I'm going to the chiro in a couple hours.

[caseykn]

I've read this thread since before my daughter was born and it seems hard to believe that now here I am and Carys is already a week old today.  I'm feeling a little sad that time seems to be going by so fast.  I spent most of yesterday in tears but am feeling a lot better today.  I've been trying to get a photographer here to take pictures and have been emailing with her for weeks now but it just feels like it's never going to happen.  We finally got a time scheduled and she came out on Sunday morning but then her camera had a ton of condensation in it (I think she'd left it in the car overnight) and she couldn't get it to go away so we couldn't do the shoot.  I was SO disappointed because it took a lot of effort to get us all showered and dressed and looking pretty.  And that was the last day my mom was here and I was hoping to have her in some of the photos.  She said she'd come yesterday if the weather was okay.  Well, we didn't hear from her until almost noon and she couldn't come.  Hopefully she'll be here tomorrow but part of me won't really believe it until it happens.  I just really wanted tiny little newborn baby pics and I know Carys is still a tiny little newborn but already 8 days old seems so different from 4 or 5. 

I had one tiny little tear- a 'nick' my mw called it- but it's still causing me so much pain when I pee!  I have tried everything and it still stings so bad.  It seems like it's maybe a little better this morning, though at this point better still sucks, I just didn't cry when I peed.  I had stitches with DD1 and don't remember it being as bad as this.  It was such an easy birth and I was so happy to feel pretty good right away but then this took a turn for the worse.  I'm so ready to be over this recovery part.
 

Originally Posted by ILoveMySofie 

I dont know whats going on but I am craving sweets like mad. I barely wanted them in pregnancy but now I am all about cookies and chocolate..I want to get back to my body and this is not helping!!

This was me exactly after DD1's birth and it was suggested that my cravings for sweets were driven by my tiredness.  My body was looking for a quick energy boost.  I started eating more protein and fats when I felt those cravings, like whole milk yogurt, kefir, peanut butter sandwiches, and I felt a lot better.

[MamaFern]

Originally Posted by Metasequoia 

I'm soooooooo in love with my little boy. It's crazy how much you love somebody so intensely within that very first second. *sigh*

You know, I spent the first night after the birth thinking how much it hurt, how exhausting it was, how I was NEVER going to do this again...and now I find myself trying to figure out how soon I could get pregnant again and if I could have just one more or maybe even two! Is anybody else thinking these insane thoughts? I'll be 34 in January...and I don't get my cycles back until my babies are just over 2 yrs old, usually. I'm officially insane.

Anyone have any migraines? I had that one 2 days before birth and I've had two since birth. I managed to take 3 ibuprofin as soon as I recognized the aura yesterday and then got myself to the chiro immediately. The headache still hit, but I managed to save my day from being spent in a dark room vomiting. I think a lot of it is postural. I get into some awful positions while nursing or trying to do things one-handed (like THIS.)

On that note, I need to move away from the 'puter. You mamas take care of your selves! Hopefully I can check in and try to read some of this thread (if there aren't a million babies to announce!)

yeah,.. im thinking how can i possibly be done having babies. i mean, i'm not sure im ever going to want to be pregnant again..it was so intense this time around..but this new tiny, soft, fuzzy perfect baby. to never have that again? i dont know.. im trying not to think about it too much. im 29, so i know i have many years ahead of me that i could have babies, but 4 kids is a lot too.. so i dont know.. but i'm sure in love..that's for sure. and like you, the birth was pretty nice.. its not something i fear doing again. and im also feeling so good PP.. i even baked muffins this am, cleaned the house and now im having me time on the computer in front of the fire.. my kids are all happy as can be (knock on wood) life seems pretty idylic.

meta., i did also have a headache last night and into this am.. i think you are roght about it being posture related. my neck has been pretty sore with all of the nursing looking down at my sweet angel.

[Stitches]

Maybe they should call it 'newborn neck'?  I've been headachy and have a sore neck too and just made the connection that it's from staring at baby for hours a day.  I get numb arms from her sleeping on my chest too, but it's so cozy!!

I totally want another baby too.  I remember having baby fever really bad after DD1 but that faded pretty fast and it took a while for me to seriously consider it again.  I do want a 3rd though, and I'm 31 and need medical help to conceive so I can't really wait around too long but I like a bit of space between.  During the thick of both my births though I had a moment of pure panic when I thought 'oh no, I can't ever have any more kids because I just can't do this again!'.  I seem to get over it by the next day though lol.