On the other side.... - Page 6

[elonwy]

I think nursing is the only thing I'm not having issues with. He latches well, I only got engorged once for about half a day and that wasn't even that bad, we're cosleeping at night and he just starts nomming away on his own half the time, which seems pretty amazing for someone who's only 11 days old. The first few days in the hospital and home were rough and my nipples got kinda torn up but once we sorted out what was wrong it's been great.

As for me, it's a bit of a different story. I'm got some kind of sinus infection/head cold going on. My nose is incredibly painful and I'm blowing out huge blood clots. I have to constantly be spraying my nose with saline to get relief. We have a cool mist humidifier going in the bedroom, so dryness is not really an issue, but one side of my nose the nostril is almost completely swollen shut. Which makes sleeping really hard, so not only do I have the basic sleep dep but I am also dealing with the fact that I can't breathe waking me up on a regular basis when I do get a chance to sleep. Oh an my infrequent bowel movement tend to show up at midnight for some reason, so I spend precious nighttime hours sitting on the pot trying to go.

Also, do mommas get post-partum acne too? As of yesterday I am starting to be covered in cystic acne. I am showering every day cause it helps my sinuses, so it's not like I'm dirty. It's all over my scalp and face and in my armpits. WTH? I asked the PTB to let at least one thing get better before something else starts falling apart on me, but that does not seem to be the case. Though the swelling in my legs is finally gone, so I guess that is something. Where my feet were swollen the bones hurt like I was wearing shoes that doesn't fit. 

C-section mammas, please tell me this whole "You'll feel better in two weeks" isn't a crock. I need some hope here.

[MamaChef]

When you have a long long labor like you did, you are recovering from the labor and the surgery.  You ran a marathon then had major abdominal surgery.. it's hardcore.  So, yes it does start getting significantly better at 2 weeks, but you might be up to a month before you are feeling normal again.  We celebrated DD2 1 month birthday with a visit to the zoo where I wore her.  We walked around for 4 hours.. and although I had a couple cramps, I felt pretty darn good.  At 1 week I felt like crap.. so much worse then my first c-section where I didnt labor at all.  With that birth I cooked dinner the night we came home from the hospital.  I felt great.  I didnt take any of the pain meds.. it was so different.  Labor really really changes what recovery looked like for me.

So sorry you are still feeling so crappy.. take colace for your bowel movements.  It really will help.. and flood yourself with water.  That will help the bms and the cystic acne.  That is probably more your post pregnancy hormones then anything else.  They are making my face really really dry.  Your body is kind of purging right now.. help it purge and heal by keeping up on the vitamin c and water.  Eat well and keep the sugars to a minimum.  Are you running a fever?  Is your incision healing well?

If you are taking ibuprofen, that might be why you are getting the clots.  It thins your blood so it makes you more likely to clot.  Maybe try an antihistamine.. ask your doc what is breastfeeding safe.  So little gets to baby and it is really important you get some sleep.  You could try those breathe right nasal strips too.  Are you sure it isnt allergies? 

(hug)

[elonwy]

Thank you MamaChef, it's really good to hear from someone who's been through both. One of the OB's at the hospital made a comment along the lines of "You're dealing with the recovery of both, the only thing you're not dealing with is the vaginal issues". I'm even having trouble peeing because of the babies head crushing the outtake of my bladder for so long (they couldn't get a catheter in and my bladder started to swell). 

I went to the doctor today and he gave me a steroid spray for my nose that is ok for breastfeeding (up until a couple months ago he was delivering babies, so he knows everything that is going on with me, which is great). We discussed all the other options that I shouldn't try, like antibiotics. My septum got rubbed a little raw by the oxygen tubes at the hospital and we've had some weird weather so I'm just inflamed as hell. I'll have this steroid spray and vaseline to help the raw bits heal and keep it up with the ocean and that should do it. I asked him about the vicodene too, cause I was feeling bad I was still taking so much and he basically said that if I need it to function the baby needs me functional over what little bit of drug he might be getting. Especially since he's so healthy and such a strong little eater. So I have some hope on the nose front. I think if we can just get the inflammation in my septum down it'll be able to heal.

As for the acne, yeah I can tell it's just my body getting rid of crap. It was just a surprise to wake up to one more thing, kwim? It's nice to be reassured that I'm not just being a wuss and that it's ok to just take it easy and let myself heal. It can be hard not to be frustrated. I just want to feel better so I can really appreciate this precious little man. Thank you again for the reassurances, it really does help.

[clutterbug]

*hug* elonwy   That sounds so rough.  I hope you're feeling better soon.

Mamachef, that is interesting that you are having dry skin issues on your face - I thought it was just me!  It's a little better now but for a couple of weeks I was packing on moisturizer and it wasn't doing a darn thing - my face felt like sandpaper!  Never even occurred to me that it might be hormone related.

[MamaChef]

bluepetals, that was exactly it.. no moisturizer touches it.  It really has to be exfoliated off.

elonwy,

The peeing will hopefully get better too.  I had a bit of a pain when I finished peeing for the first 2 weeks.  I was worried it wasnt going to resolve, but it did.  Take the vicodine!  I didnt take any the first time and I wished I had more at the end of 2 weeks this time.  I almost called and asked for some.  You have to stay on top of your pain to be useful for the baby.  It also inhibits letdown and hormones when you have pain.  So little makes it into your breast milk.  Dont feel guilty and dont feel like a wuss.  Seriously, this has been such a harder recovery then I expected after the labor.  I bet you are turning the corner on feeling better by now.  Just in time for the fussy 6 week growth spurt! ;)

[clutterbug]

We had our 6 week appointment with our midwife today.  The last one :(  So sad to say goodbye.  I gave both of them some homemade treats and a photo thank-you card with a personal note to each of them.  Very bittersweet since I know this is our last baby...no more midwife appointments.  Ever. 

I almost keeled over when Aibhlinn was weighed.  She didn't regain her birth weight (8 lbs 14 oz) until after the 3 week mark...she was 9 lbs 6 oz at 4 weeks.  Today at 6.5 weeks, she was 11 lbs 11 oz!  Holy moly!  I had done the bathroom scale thing (me+her then me alone, 3 times in a row) late last week and was figuring her to be over 10 pounds, so I wasn't worried, but I wasn't expecting her to be THAT heavy! Then just because i was curious I re-did the bathroom scale thing tonight and sure enough, she is coming in around 11.5 pounds or so with every weigh.  My midwife said it's not uncommon for babies who get a slow start to make up for lost time.  She may catch up to her big brother yet (he was a little Michelin Tire man by 5 weeks old!).  So I am walking on a cloud today because of that.  In those first days postpartum when I was a giant ball of hormones, I was terrified she wasn't going to nurse at all...we've been well past that for a few weeks now but looking back and thinking how worried I was makes it all the sweeter now!!

Now if my nipples would stop being so sore, we'd be all set.  Anyone else have this?  I have had it with all three kids...there is no damage, I am almost certain it's not thrush (we treated for it with DS2 for my lingering soreness, and it didn't help), but my nipples are SO sensitive, they hurt when things rub against them and stuff.  It's like being pregnant (which I know without an ounce of doubt that I am not!).  I know the party line is that nipples don't "toughen up" but I am starting to wonder if maybe in my case, they do...and it takes like 2+ months for it to happen? (with the previous 2 kids, it was 10-12 weeks before nursing was consistently comfortable and my nipples didn't hurt between feeds).  Am I an alien or is there someone else out there who's experienced this?  It wears on me a bit (though I will happily take it over the alternative we thought we might be facing!).

[PAgreenmama]

Originally Posted by bluepetals 

Now if my nipples would stop being so sore, we'd be all set.  Anyone else have this?  I have had it with all three kids...there is no damage, I am almost certain it's not thrush (we treated for it with DS2 for my lingering soreness, and it didn't help), but my nipples are SO sensitive, they hurt when things rub against them and stuff.  It's like being pregnant (which I know without an ounce of doubt that I am not!).  I know the party line is that nipples don't "toughen up" but I am starting to wonder if maybe in my case, they do...and it takes like 2+ months for it to happen? (with the previous 2 kids, it was 10-12 weeks before nursing was consistently comfortable and my nipples didn't hurt between feeds).  Am I an alien or is there someone else out there who's experienced this?  It wears on me a bit (though I will happily take it over the alternative we thought we might be facing!).

i wonder about this with myself... nursing is going well but i find it pretty uncomfortable most of the time.  part of it is that carys doesn't always like to open her mouth real wide so we don't always have a perfect latch.  but my nipples are sorest after loooong nursing sessions even when there is no damage.  i vaguely remember feeling like this with dd1 although i also dealt with cracked and bleeding nipples with her.  i'm hoping in the next few weeks my nipples "toughen up" also.  nursing is so much easier when i can just do it anywhere and anytime without bracing myself for the possibility of pain :)
 

[clutterbug]

I do find it gets better after letdown, so part of it is, I think, that my nipples feel sensitive and so the prickly letdown feeling is especially strong.  At this point it's the between-feeding sensitivity that is getting the most annoying for me...enough already, we are in this for the long haul so buzz off, sore nipples! LOL!

I find even once it subsides, it comes back with ovulation once I'm cycling again.  I guess I just have super-sensitive nipples.  Someday I will appreciate it again, I'm sure  ;)

[lizzie]

Definitely looks like very few of us are making it back here with any regularity now, but in case any of you do, I just wanted to say I never intended to disappear for a month after announcing Edie's arrival! But between issues with our ISP and Edie, I haven't been able to get back here at ALL. I haven't even been able to type our her birth story, and I worry that I'm already losing details. I just suck at NAKing, and she is, shall I say, a "high-need" baby. A bit colicky, thrush has been a problem, and maybe I'm a "high-need" mommy as well. I don't even mind, I have no problem being totally absorbed with her right now, but I do miss you all! Think of everyone often! Hope all is well with each of you!

[clutterbug]

Hi lizzie!  Sorry to hear you've had some challenges, but I hope it's a good sign that you were able to drop in :)  Lots of activity over on the FB group that's been created to continue the DDC after it's moved to archives here - there is a thread on how to join if you're interested :)

I hear you on not getting around to the birth story - it was about 4 weeks when I wrote mine.  What I found helped bring back missing details was, strangely, to read other birth stories!  I wrote mine and then finally got around to reading some from our DDC and was like "oh, that reminds me of when such and such happened during my birth" and then I could go back and fill that little tidbit in :)