I haven't read all the other responses you got, but I wanted to say that any and all help was very welcome in our case, and it still wasn't easy adjusting.
I had a super easy home birth - hardly any pain at all. However, my tailbone must have moved because it took me a full month before I could sit up at all and even then it was quite painful for a few more weeks. For the first weeks, I could barely turn over or get out of bed without help because my tailbone hurt so badly.
My husband was very helpful. He took four weeks off of work, and they flew by. He did all the diaper changes and also rocked, bounced, danced, etc. I nursed a LOT. Our little one was rather colicky, and he wanted to be on the breast pretty much non stop for the first three months. It was quite an adjustment for me and I needed someone to spell me every few hours so my nipples and I could get a few minutes rest. It took me at least three weeks to learn to sleep at all while nursing, and our little one really did not sleep at all without my nipple in his mouth! (We tried, believe me!) It was all my husband could do to keep him from screaming when he was not on the breast. Our sweet little baby also hated slings, car seats, and swaddles with an incredible passion.
My Mother came to help us for the first 2 weeks. She cooked, cleaned, and took turns holding the little guy for us.
My Mother in Law came to help us for the next 6 weeks. This really helped with the transition when my husband had to go back to work. She cooked, cleaned, and kept me company while my husband was working. She helped with diaper changes and kept our spirits up with new ideas to try and enduring confidence.
My Sister and Father came at the 8 week mark to help us move from our one bedroom apartment into our new house across country. That took a little over a week to accomplish. They also helped out some with holding the baby, etc.
I would say we averaged about 2-4 hours of sleep a night for the first few months, and that slowly increased over the first year. We probably averaged 5-7 hours of sleep (although always with many interruptions) through the second year. My husband and my relationship struggled, especially in the early months. We had been together for 7 years before having a baby, and were extremely close and supportive of each other. It was still a rocky adjustment. We really felt like we had no time to talk with each other, even with all the help we had.
Our family has continued to come visit us about once a month and sometimes my MIL stays for a week. It's been so helpful. We really look forward to their visits as times when my husband and I will get some help with our little guy and a chance to get some other things done. He's now three, and I have to say that we've had a really easy second year - no real tantrums, potty trained smoothly, and is a happy and easy-going little three year old. He still needs a lot of attention though, and we have a lot on our plates with full time jobs, evening graduate classes, home ownership, etc.
I don't know how people manage to do things on their own with no help!