Hi, friends! I figured I would chat about my postpartum experience, partially for me to remember and look back on during my future pregnancies and also in case any of you were curious as to what my recovery was like.
Before I get into this post, I do want to touch on the obvious fact that every woman is different, which means every postpartum recovery is different. I'm not saying that my recovery is what yours should be like. Just wanted to share my personal experience!
During my pregnancy I gained 33 pounds - - I know, kind of a lot. I didn't weigh myself again until probably 2 weeks after Logan was born. I don't EVER weigh myself to begin with, but they recorded my weight at every single pregnancy appointment, so after a couple weeks I started to get a bit curious about how much I had lost. I wasn't scheduled to see my OB until 6 weeks PP and I wanted to know my weight before then. I actually had to go buy a scale at Target because I haven't had one for probably 8 years! At 2 weeks postpartum I had lost about 28 pounds. Currently, I actually weigh about 5 pounds less than I did before I was pregnant. Blame it on breastfeeding!
For reference: 40 weeks pregnant. Logan was born 6 days later.
I took this about 8 hours after Logan was born... I went to the bathroom and kinda freaked out when I looked in the mirror! My belly already looked so different, so I had to document it.
1 week postpartum.
3 weeks postpartum.
20 weeks postpartum.
20 weeks pregnant and 20 weeks postpartum.
I did end up having a 2nd degree tear (internally) - - most likely because I delivered her so quickly. I was bleeding for a solid 2 weeks, but it did get lighter and lighter each day. Sorry if this is too much info: but I remember 5 days PP I passed a pretty large blood clot - - probably 3 inches long. I remember my PP nurse saying if I passed 2 large clots to call my doc. Luckily, it was just the one. After that, from 2 weeks to about 4-5 weeks I just had very light spotting.
One thing that no one told me was that breastfeeding would cause you to have more contractions after birth! Smaller, period-like contractions, but still, contractions. Another reason that breastfeeding helps you to "lose weight" quickly, it just helps your uterus shrink down more quickly. Actually, another thing no one warned me about was the PP nurses pushing down on your uterus multiple times a day. UGHHHHH, between having raw nipples and being super sore down there, that was the last thing I wanted!
I definitely had "baby blues" for a solid week PP. I'm emotional to begin with, but after birth, my hormones were especially out of whack... I remember crying because it was too hot in our house...??? Yikes. And the lack of sleep didn't help. But I'd say I felt back to myself "emotionally" around 3 weeks PP.
After my PP appointment with my OB, I was given the go-ahead to start exercising again. Up until then I had just been on some light walks around the neighborhood. I was SO excited to start running again, you guys. So excited. I hadn't been on a run in over a year! I loved running outside for a couple months until it got frigid here in good ole Nebraska. Logan is lucky enough to have grandmas that will watch her anytime I want to run to the gym. I haven't been super consistent about going, but I'm doing my best to try to get back into some type of fitness routine.
I will say, that although I have lost all the weight I gained during my pregnancy, my body definitely doesn't feel the same that it did before. My hips are wider and I'm a little "softer" around the middle - - but there is nothing wrong with that! Honestly, seeing the way my body has changed just reminds me of the sweet babe I brought into the world.
I think I covered everything that I could think of, but of course if I missed something or you have questions - - ask me! Hopefully some of you can relate to my experience. :)
Thanks for following along!
<3, Kace
No comments:
Post a Comment