Although the birth of each of my sons was different, I have noticed a similarity between the two experiences in how I feel afterwards. The overall theme of what I felt after my first pregnancy and what I am feeling now is to get up, get out, get moving, and otherwise resume my normal daily activities. As I share my experience in the pregnancy recovery department, please keep in mind that since each woman and each pregnancy is different, your plan for pregnancy recovery and resumption of daily activities should be discussed with your doctors or midwives to ensure your safety.
When Dylan was born almost two and a half years ago, we were in the hospital for almost an entire week. When we got home, I felt such a sense of relief and inspiration. We had done it. My son, my husband, and I had made it through pregnancy, labor, and delivery and it was great to be home. Each day, I discovered that I was able to move my body in ways that I had not been able to move for months, and that I was becoming more and more comfortable combining baby care with household duties. Within a week or so, I had established patterns and routines throughout my days and had developed the confidence in my ability to manage both home and baby that I would need once my husband returned to work.
Blake was born almost exactly two weeks ago to the very hour that I am writing this. His birth was different from Dylan’s in that it was a cesarean delivery. During the hospital portion of my recovery, my husband and Dylan were at home and I was in the hospital with Blake. The desire to have all of my family together in once place was a powerful motivator and by the second day after Blake’s delivery I began to ask the doctors and nurses what kinds of things needed to happen before I could be released. By late afternoon of the fourth day, Blake and I were cleared to leave the hospital. My husband and Dylan came to get us, and again I was so happy just to be home.
The recovery experience has been quite different this time around, as I am recovering from major surgery and helping a toddler adjust to a new baby. Things are getting easier every day, and I have found great comfort and joy in little things like being able to stop taking pain medication. I’m feeling very well physically and emotionally and have again become confident in my abilities to balance the needs of myself, my family, and managing my home and businesses. I know that advice on pregnancy recovery often says things like “rest, relax, and let other people do things for you”. This may be the best route to recovery for some people but not for me. Perhaps it is because of my stubborn and independent nature, but getting back into the game of life as soon as it is safe to do so has been the most wonderful way to recover from pregnancy and birth both physically and emotionally. The feeling is hard to describe, but if I had to condense it into one sentence, it would be something like “Yeah, I’ve got this (mostly) under control”.
Photo by anitapatterson on morguefile.com.
