While it’s true that your newborn demands a lot of attention and tender loving care during the first few weeks after birth, you need to take care of yourself too. Wow! Is it me? Really, giving “this” advice? As a novice mom, I lost track of that amidst late night feedings, lack of sleep and the overall overwhelming feeling of taking care of a new life. With each experience, regardless of how many children I had already, this notion of remembering to take care of myself would quickly dissipate among the many to-dos that come with taking care of a new baby, other children, a household etc. But it finally hit me at around 2 weeks post-partum especially with my third child, that it’s really important to seek help when necessary and understand all the changes that take place between birth and the first post-partum check up at 6 weeks. After all, it’s not just your physical well being, but also your psychological and emotional recovery that is as equally important.
So, what is my best tip? Go back to basics. Throw away all your to-do lists and just focus on you and the baby! Try to forget about the piling laundry, cooking, and other chores. Don’t feel guilty about staying in your PJs for a large part of the day or asking for help or ordering food or accepting prepared dishes from friends and family during this critical post-partum time period. If you’re lucky enough to have family come stay with you (like I had with my mom who was here with all 3 of my births) then definitely take advantage of that! The way I can best organize my thoughts on post-partum care is by recollecting that critical 6 week period week by week and what I remember happening at each stage. Interestingly enough with all my 3 kids, I had similar post-partum experiences. Here is my recap. Hope it helps!
WEEKS 1 and 2
What I experienced:
- Period like pains called “uterine contractions”
- Continued bleeding even passing small blood clots. Bleeding went from bright red at the beginning to brownish discharge towards the end of week 2
- *** engorgement especially if your *** milk is coming in already. With my 3rd child I developed a case of “mastitis” which can become serious if left untreated. (see symptoms of that below).
- Episiotomy pain (with my first). * If you had a c-section you may have pain in the abdomen incision site)
- The embarrassing and annoying hemorrhoids due to all the pushing and some constipation
Things I did that helped:
- Took ibuprofen for the uterine cramps. You can also try warm showers and massages to alleviate the pain.
- Nursed as frequently as possible to avoid the *** engorgement and applied warm compresses to the breasts to help with milk letdown. I also consulted a Lactation Consultant because I was experiencing some pain towards the end of Week 2.
- Took sitz baths to treat the area down there and used hemorrhoids wipes and cream to sooth the bottom.
- Drank lots of water and ate fruits and vegetables to avoid constipation.
WEEKS 3 and 4
What I experienced:
- Tiredness, grumpiness and yes, I said it, moodiness * (Please check out our Forum on the difference between hormonal fluctuations/baby blues and what some new moms experience which is full blown PPD).
- Sleep-deprivation
- Continued soreness in breasts and vaginal region
Things I did that helped:
- Tried to sleep when I could. With my first, I had my mom stay with us and she did “baby night duty” every once in a while and that was great because it allowed me to catch up on sleep. I also enlisted the help of my husband to help with feedings (through expressed, pumped *** milk bottles)
- Got out of the house to go for walks and see the outside world. Did wonders :)
- Practiced breathing exercises and visualization to relax and stay positive
- Stretching and back exercises especially for my lower back
WEEKS 5 and 6
What I experienced:
- Even though I was starting to heal physically from birth, I felt strange about my body. Big boobs, poochy belly and tired
- Incontinence! (yes, I admit…a laugh or the wrong exercise would make me pee my pants).
- Sleep-deprived (this continues beyond the 6 weeks post-partum I might add ;)
- Continuing hemorrhoids
Things I did that helped:
- Started working out gently but more often and did more stretching and back exercises
- Kegels, Kegels, Kegels! (so important not only for your potential incontinence, but also for your sexual recovery)
- Napping where possible
- Continued sitz baths
IMPORTANT: There are some serious signs that need to be taken very seriously and immediately reported to your doctor if they happen during this period. Don’t wait until the 6 week post-partum check up to tell your doctor about these!
- Unexplained swelling in any of your extremities
- Fever
- Severe vomiting
- Deep chest pains
- Vaginal bleeding that gets worse and worse
- Foul-smelling discharge from your vagina or C-section incision
- Hot or red breasts (especially if you have a fever or accompanying chills). This can be a sign of mastitis. A bacterial infection of the *** that needs to be treated with antibiotics to avoid complications.
- Extreme sadness, depression or thoughts of harming you or your baby