mama's recovery

dudes, having a baby is amazing.  you never know how strong you really are until you push a baby out of yourself.  but damn, it is rough on your body. 

if you recall, i labored for 27 hours, then pushed for 3 hours.  apparently at some point during the pushing, the nurse told matt that i was going to feel like i'd run a marathon the next day.  she wasn't kidding.  my abs hurt.  my forearms hurt (i used the grab bars on the bed to help me push).  my back hurt.  i was exhausted. take the painkillers they offer you before you experience the pain.  i turned down the tylenol/motrin/percocet (you have a choice) immediately after delivery because i wasn't feeling any pain.  big mistake.  take it right away.  and if you're feeling too much pain to sleep or function, take the percocet.  i only took one dose, but it helped me get enough sleep that i could be present for daxon. 

the abs and forearms got better by the second or third day.  but man, things "down there" stay sore for a long time.  i am 2 weeks post-partum today and just started feeling normal a couple days ago.  things were swollen and numb but painful, if that makes any sense.  a tip: get yourself one of those rubber donuts to sit on.  it's the one thing the hospital doesn't give you, but it made a huge difference for me.  also, my mom spoke to the pharmacist when i sent her out for some supplies, and the pharmacist suggested hydrocortisone with cooling sensation - it felt awesome.  stock up on tucks pads, and put some in the freezer.  the hospital gave me a sitz bath, but i hated it - it actually hurt me and i could only tolerate it for 30 seconds before needing to get off of it.

for breastfeeding, daxon has been a champ and i haven't really experienced any major nipple soreness or anything.  but every now and then i still need to put something on them, especially after a pumping session (i need to get bigger flanges for my pump).  i find that earth mama angel baby's nipple butter is way better than lansinoh lanolin - it's not as sticky and goes on much more easily.