Your Recovery

[DazedConfused]

I had a standard issue birth really pushed for 4 hours though, mostly due to pethadine slowing us down. Pushed out all 9lb 6.5oz of him on my own and had a tiny graze so no stitches or anything. He also fed like a champ.

Had a physiological 3rd stage too and that was fine, I stood up, delivered the placenta and hopped in the shower, put LO in the car seat and was wheeled downstairs (had to be) I then carried LO across the car park.

I was a bit sore the next day, like muscle ache but that went away after a day or so.

Wanted to DTD on day 8 but had no condoms! MW said I recovered quickly because I'm only 19 also, but I've heard of mums younger than me who had a hard time.

Post partum isn't always traumatic!

No baby blues either but I live in Christchurch, earthquake city so there was too much happening to be depressed really, and LO was in hospital 2 days after birth but that was for a bowel obstruction and not birth related either.

 

[DazedConfused]

PS, I owe my good labour to fantastic baby position and giving birth on all fours.

Live your life on a swiss ball!

 

[Starmoon]

I had a vaginal delivery 3 days ago which was induced due to pre eclampsia. The induction was awful - 4 days of pessaries which were like torture giving me contractions but no actual dilation. The pain was so bad that I was given morphine. Started on the drip and ended up having a really quick actual "active labour" of just over 4 hours, which is very quick especially for a first baby.

Only required a couple of stitches.

BUT my placenta would not come out so had to have a manual removal. I lost 3 pints of blood and I wheeled out of delivery into theatre looking at my husband and new little boy wondering if I would come back.

I had the procedure under epidural (which I had topped up from the birth) plus gas and air. I accepted my death during the procedure and was actually so far gone that I did not even think about the ramifications my death would have on my husband and new baby.

Obviously it is very raw and only happened this week but I am glad to write it down because I dont want to forget what happened and often trauma is blanket out by the brain. I only ever intended to have one child and that decision remains (and I love my baby more than anything).

My before and after experience was awful, and spending 6 days in hospital when you only really prepare for a couple at the most, is very hard.

 

[sugarcube84]

i had a straightforward birth only g&a as pain relief. I had 2nd degree tear which was numbed while it was stitched and i had g&a as well. I was sore after but a couple of paracetamol helped, usually more sore in the afternoons(?!).For the first week i was careful when i sat down etc the thing i found most difficult was getting out od bed as it was a sofa bed with a metal frame so when you swung your legs out your bits (!) rested on the metal. Ouch!!!! but that was because our bathroom was being done at home.

One tip is to keep your downstairs clean a warm shower with the nozzle directed on it felt lovely!! (didnt have a bath as was in a caravan) and dont drink too much fruit juice it makes your wee sting lean forward when weeing and some ladies recommened either weeing in the shower or pouring water over if it stings really badly. Rest!!! f you overdo things your body will tell you usually you start to loose more blood or pass a few clots as i did after id cleaned and hoovered when baby was about 7days old.

I also recommend a birth ball for duing pregnancy and labour.

 

[bumblebeetle]

Firstly I'd like to thank each and every one of you for sharing your time with us. It really has helped and I do think it would have been so much easier to know what to expect. I'd been told that the pain went away as soon as the baby was out - haha I wish!!
And I have to say I am feeling a lot more positive about my next labour and birth!
And I would just like to say to the very new Mummys that you will feel better, it takes time but your body is amazing and to go through all that and create a little miracle from a cell and then manage to get back to normal is quite a remarkable thing and too many of us take it for granted.
It took me about 3 months to feel normal again, 9 months to DtD as i was single at the time of my last birth and 3 years to feel ready to do it all again. Luckily I'm quite maternal and I love kids so it didn't put me off totally
Good Luck to all those recovering xx

 

[dizzy65]

baby scottie got taken out of me with the vaccume.. welll he got moved i did the pushing my self.. he was transerverse which means he was in there side ways. ugh out of all the things that could go wrong lol.. i pushed for like 3 hrs before they relised they needed to use the vaccum to get him.. it didnt hurt at all thou it felt kind of weird all i was focused on was getting little man out.. once out he had a rip on his scull from the vaccumm and he will be like that for the rest of his life poor lil man.. my labour lasted 26.5 hours.. and i would do it all again for a perfect baby like my scottie

 

[holly2234]

I had a very fast delivery with no pain relief. I felt fine after the birth and went home a few hours later. Had no stitches but had a graze and some bruising which is almost gone now (day 4). Just feeling a bit shaky when i stand for too long at the moment.

 

[brittanyland]

My delivery was almost textbook really. Waters broke at 3:45am, Zoey was born at 12:46 pm. So a 9 hour labor and delivery for my first.

I had an episiotomy and a muscle tear that had to be stitched. Honestly, I was terrified of recovery. I was only really sore for about two days afterwards but it was never really bad. I never even took any of the pain pills they sent home with me. I was very swollen and sore down there for those first few days and then it was gradually less painful every day after that. Oh, it DID hurt to cough and sneeze the first week though! I had a small cold when I gave birth (fun fun) so every cough made it feel like the stitches were being pulled.

I can honestly say that peeing did not sting at all to me. I drink a lot of water though so maybe that plays a part in it. Pooping did hurt tbh but not too bad. I think it's mostly because the muscle tear I had was by my colon. It's still a bit tender even now but nothing bad.

I am 3 weeks pp tomorrow and the bleeding has completely stopped and all of the swelling has gone away and stitches are dissolved. I feel pretty much back to normal. I never had any baby blues or other hormonal side effects during recovery. My body just kind of bounced back in a matter of days. At 4 days pp I was out walking the mall and having lunch with friends!

 

[Farie]

6h labour, 1.5 hour of that pushing. 2nd degree tear, 7 stitches (well, 1 stitch at the front and 6 'running' stitches at the back .. m/w said it was only 1 really, just a BIG one LOL)

No stinging or pain peeing at all,
A couple of days soreness sitting down
About a week feeling a little 'delicate' when sitting etc (not helped by BFing and being sat on my butt all day with bubba cluster feeding)
About a week doing no2 holding a pad 'down there' for support and piece of mind!

By 2 weeks PP I felt fine, walking, sitting, stitches were out, peeing was normal (bladder control had returned! Well, unless i'm busting)
By 4 weeks PP down there felt almost totally normal and I was ready for some tentative sex!

 

[peanut56]

2nd degree tear, all internal stitches. The bleeding was insane the first week, then stopped after about 2 weeks. The stitches took about 3 weeks before they felt healed. I was sore for about 4 or 5 weeks, but only slightly after 2 weeks. It hurt to cough up until about a month ago (strange, I know), but other than that, I've felt pretty much normal since about 5 weeks. The first 2-3 days were AWFUL though.

 

[Aunty E]

My first was 4.5 hours of pushing followed by a spinal block, ventouse and forceps with a big episiotomy, which was stitched by the registrar. I felt totally fine the next morning, never really had any trouble with my stitches (didn't know where they were actually) and dtd after a couple of weeks, and felt very lucky.

My second was 6 minutes of pushing before he came out and a second degree tear, which the midwife stitched up under local. I absolutely know where my stitches are this time, and have felt quite a lot more delicate down there, but it's pretty much fine now and I think downstairs will be back to normal shortly. In myself, I felt totally fine the next day and went for a lovely long walk with the double pushchair. Afterpains are a bitch though. Yowzer. BFing is no fun when accompanied by contractions. I've found my belly band a great help with the discomfort though and OH keeps commenting on how quickly my stomach has shrunk this time compared to last (although I'm still three stone overweight YIKES).

 

[amygwen]

I had a c-section. It was awful to recover from, mainly because I had to breastfeed, look after a baby, carry things around, etc.. I'm sure it would've been easier to recover from if I didn't have to do anything but lay around in bed! I couldn't carry heavy things around for six weeks and I couldn't drive either, so it was really frustrating. I was in a lot of pain though, the pain killers definitely worked and helped.. they also made me feel very dizzy! But other than that, I got better after about 6 weeks, although I still had numbness on my hips and where the incision was (which was normal). All in all, it wasn't THAT bad now that I think about it, but I would've definitely preferred not to have a c-section!

 

[Babydance]

Hey hun congrats on your second not long till youve got the wee one in your arms keep that as your focal point!

I had a rough time, LO was crowning with her forehead so the consultant came in and tried to manually manouvre her with both hands (up to her wrists!!) thus causing my 3rd/4th degree tear, i then had an episiotomy and then forceps all on just gas and air.

The WORST part of the whole experience was the consultant saying im just going to see where the baby is then shoving both hands up, that truly put me into shock i had no warning and just felt completely vulnerable and violated! I believe it was this that caused my PTSD!

Anyway i then was taken to theatre for 2 hours to be put back together. In the ward the next day i had so many people come to see me saying how awful a time i'd had the midwives kept saying it but as i didnt know as LO was my first i assumed this is how labour was? I chose to leave 26 hours after LO was born

The recovery was slow! I couldnt walk more than 15 steps for about 3 weeks. The heavy, sharp pain in my foof when i walked was there 3 months later i couldnt go shopping unless i had painkillers. My last stitch only came out 22 weeks postpartum!! It was the muscle stiches so theyre like fishing line!

It took me 12 months to mentally be able to have sex again, i would probably have been ready physically 5 or 6 months p/p? Its 20 months on and i still split every time i have sex!!

Ive been advised to have a section next time but this will be reconsidered when i get pregnant as it may not be necissary? If not i will have an epiduarl at 1cm!!!!!! LOL

I only feel now 20 months on i could be ready for another baby!

Sorry for the essay hun! All the best for your labour hope it goes as smooth as possible!! xxx