Postpartum Recovery With Baby #2

Postpartum recovery was one of my biggest fear this pregnancy. This time I had a toddler so the thought of having a recovery like last time while being a mama to a toddler plus a new baby wasn't a fun thought. With my daughter, my postpartum recovery was beyond terrible. During delivery with Mattie, I ended up breaking my tailbone, having severe pelvic separation, dislocating my hip & a tore SO bad. (Fun list right?!) So recovery was long and extremely painful. I wasn't even able to walk myself for over a week. This time around I was worried I might break my tailbone again or need stitches or need the type of help I did the first time around.

After Johnny was born the midwife and my doula helped me get out of the pool and to my bed. (You can read more about Johnny's Birth Story HERE) I remember being really scared to stand up because I wasn't sure how much pain I was going to be in. I got to my bed and realized I did it, I freaking WALKED. My midwife checked me and NO tears! I was pretty surprised because I thought for sure I had torn. Another HUGE thing for me was the fact that I was able to get to the bathroom myself. For the first week of postpartum after Mattie, Marcus pretty much had to carry me to the toilet until I was able to use my walker and get there myself.

My midwives told me I needed to stay in bed on bed rest for ONE WEEK for recovery to heal and then the second week I could go downstairs but my day needed to look like going downstairs and hanging out on the couch. I followed their rules and let me tell you it was an amazing thing! Being able to just rest and recovery for one week is so much needed. In the hospital, they basically throw you out after 24-48 hours and expect you to go back to living a normal life. Not one medical professional even given all my injuries told me to take it easy or that it was a good idea to stay in bed. I was pushing so hard to feel better so I could get back to 'normal' after Mattie that it prolonged my recovery. After Johnny, my recovery was such a different experience partly because I didn't have broken and torn up body parts but because I took the time I needed to let my body heal after expelling a human being out.

Marcus had two weeks off from work as paternity leave, this was amazing. He was pretty much on Mattie duty 24/7. I think she adjusted SO well to being a big sister mainly because she was getting all the 1/1 attention from daddy. We all spent a week snuggled up watching movies and eating lots and lots of snacks in bed.

6 Things That Made a HUGE difference postpartum with #2

Mama Strut- After having a baby going from a big giant full of baby belly to the baby just came out belly can be uncomfortable. Using abdominal muscles feels weird. I had read up a lot this time about the benefits of belly binding! Mama Strut supports perineum/pelvic floor but has spots for HEAT or COOL packs which were soooo amazing. I personally loved the heat ones, especially on my lower back. Had I torn or been super sore down there the ice ones would have been great too. The Mama Strut system helps your belly and back feel supported. I wore mine around day 2/3 and still at 8 weeks PP was rocking it. I highly recommend this system to any new mama. Their pregnancy system also supported me during those heavy belly days as well! This entire system was designed by a mama who's been thru the postpartum process so you know it's legit. Mama Strut has been so fabulous and extended a coupon for you! Use Code: WearingMomJeans18

Peppermint Oil- That first pee after giving birth vaginally is weird. All the muscles have just been used to get a baby out. The first pee after Mattie it burned SO bad from my stitches Then knowing it was going to burn made it even harder to pee. This time just figuring out how to use those muscles again was odd the first few times I went.The mama of the Birth Hour gave me a tip to put one drop of peppermint essential oil into the toilet to encourage the first couple pees after a baby. Let me tell you guys this worked MAGIC. I couldn't believe how well it worked. I'm a total oil junkie! If you have any questions or want to chat about them feel free to message me! I've been using them for years.

Adult Diapers & Cloth Pads- With #1 I thought those mesh underwear were life... but with #2 everyone recommended adult diapers. NEVER in my life did I think I'd be recommending someone buy adult diapers but listen up DO IT. They are way more comfortable and you don't have to worry about your pad leaking. I rocked mine for a solid week+ until my bleeding slowed down. After it slowed down I switched to regular maxi pads which unfortunately broke me out in a terrible rash so I ordered some cloth pads to try, which were AMAZING. They were way more comfortable than regular disposable pads and would 100% use them for next time.

No Visitors- Midwives did come by for checkups but other than my mom/dad who stopped by a couple times to help with Mattie we turned all visitors away for 2+ weeks. Between me recovering and wanting to just bond with this new little human as much as possible we also needed to figure out our new groove to our family of four. Not having visitors was awesome and I don't regret one second of turning people away those first couple weeks. Every day is time you can't get back but there is something so special about those first few weeks of having a new baby and being selfish and not wanting to share those baby snuggles with anyone is TOTALLY OKAY!

No Expectations- I tried my hardest not to put expectations on myself. I didn't expect myself to bounce back, I didn't expect breastfeeding to be easy, I didn't expect going from one to two to be the greatest thing ever. Though I did expect my house to stay clean and that was a giant JOKE. Not having expectations was really helpful because I couldn't feel like I was failing if I didn't put all this pressure on myself. Just taking everything moment by moment was so helpful.

Placenta Pills- "EW, you ate your placenta." You bet I did! Placenta encapsulation is something I wish I had done with my first! Extremely happy I did it this time around! My midwife offers this service and it includes a print of the placenta and the dried cord as a keepsake!! I’ve noticed personally higher energy levels taking them. Don’t get me wrong was still tired AF but I’ve been able to replace the afternoon cup of coffee. I normally took them around 3/4pm for a boost to get me through witching hour. I also noticed a huge difference in my milk supply, not just the volume but the fatty content is way thicker than when I was nursing Mattie.

If you'd like to read more about postpartum checkout my 'Preparing For Postpartum' Post HERE & my favorite things post HERE.

Mama Strut has been so fabulous and extended a coupon for you! Use Code: WearingMomJeans18