Post Partum Recovery – A Comparison

I have now given birth to two little boys and each birth and recovery has been different. Before having kids I think I just assumed that there was a "normal" way to give birth (and recover), but like snowflakes, each experience is different.

With Jack, I gave birth by pushing him out of my body after 20 hours. That experience was not without complications and almost resulted in a c-section. With Isaac, I had an emergency c-section 3 hours after being induced. I thought I would do a comparison of my two different experiences, especially the recovery part. If you want to read about the different birth experiences, here are the links: Jack's Birth  |  Isaac's Birth

JACK
Pregnancy Exercise – I worked out 4x a week (yoga and kickboxing) up until the day I went into labor.

Weight Gain – Gained approximately 25 pounds.

Pregnancy – Easy. No morning sickness or complications beyond a risk for blood clots.

Labor – My water broke at 40 weeks and I gave birth vaginally (18.5 hours of labor and 1.5 hours of pushing).

Post Partum – Went home after 3 days in the hospital.

Pain – Had a lot of vaginal pain post birth (lots of ice packs, sits baths, and ibuprofen). This lasted a couple of weeks.

Restrictions – I had no post partum restrictions regarding picking up heavy items or driving.

40 Weeks Pregnant (Jack)

Hunger – Starving all of the time... I ate an entire 9x13 chocolate sheet cake in two days when I first came home from the hospital.

Nursing – Milk came in a couple of days after getting home from the hospital. Struggled with oversupply. Nursed for 15 months.

Post Partum Exercise – Started working out (yoga at first) at 4 weeks post partum, followed by Zumba and then Kickboxing in the following weeks. Worked out off an and on post partum, but didn't have a good child care option at the time.

Bladder – Struggled with a weak bladder after giving birth. It took over 12 months to regain bladder control (with the help of exercise I regained control when Jack was about 18 months old).

Energy Levels – Felt very tired for the 6 weeks following giving birth.

Weight Loss – back to pre-pregnancy weight 6 weeks post partum.

6 Weeks Post Partum (Jack)

 
ISAAC
Pregnancy Exercise – I worked out 3x a week (weight lifting and boot camp) up until the day before I was induced. I did strength training this time and was a lot stronger throughout my pregnancy. I am so grateful for the strength training because having strong arms and legs made a huge difference in my recovery from a c-section. You have no idea how much you have to use your arms to maneuver yourself when you can't use your core muscles for 4 weeks straight! Also, I think the weight training contributed to higher metabolism this time around.

Weight Gain – Gained approximately 25 pounds. 

Pregnancy – Morning sickness, pre-term labor at 30 weeks, Polyhydramnios and risk for blood clots.

Labor – Was induced at 40 weeks and had an emergency c-section after 3 hours of labor (my water broke within 30 minutes of being induced).

Post Partum – Went home after 3 days in the hospital. 

Pain – Experienced zero vaginal pain this time. Instead had tightness from my stitches. Took percocet a couple of times a day for 5 days post surgery.

Restrictions – For the first 3 weeks post surgery, I was only allowed to pick up things that weighed the same as Isaac (approximately 7 pounds). Also, no driving for 3 weeks.

40 Weeks Pregnant (Isaac)

Hunger – Starving all of the time... ate dessert every night for the first 3 weeks I was home after giving birth.

Nursing – Milk came in strong the day I came home from the hospital. Struggling with oversupply of milk again.

Post Partum Exercise – Was given the OK to start a modified workout regiment at 3 weeks post partum. Went back to boot camp at 4 weeks post partum and did the workouts with Isaac strapped to my chest in an Ergo carrier. At 6 weeks post partum, was able to fully do boot camp classes again.

Bladder – Had ZERO issues with bladder control during pregnancy and post surgery (at 6 weeks I can do full jumping jacks without bladder issues). One odd thing I didn't expect was that for the first 4 weeks I couldn't tell when my bladder was full. The internet says this is normal, so I just had to make myself go to the bathroom every time I changed a diaper. The sensation has since returned.

Energy Levels – Was told to take Iron on a daily basis to compensate for the blood loss during my c-section. When I miss taking an Iron supplement I find that I am completely exhausted (with Jack no one suggested I take iron to help with energy levels, and I didn't know to ask for help with this).

Weight Loss – back to pre-pregnancy weight 3 weeks post partum.

7 Weeks Post Partum (Isaac)

With both pregnancies I stayed very fit, but with both births I experienced difficulties. I am a little disappointed that I didn't get to experience a birth without complications, but I think the fact that I was fit helped me to get through those complications (especially with Jack's delivery).

Meanwhile recovery from both pregnancies, while different, was relatively easy. I attribute bouncing back and good metabolism to remaining fit during my pregnancies and working out as soon as I felt able. I often surprised myself with how much I was able to do during and immediately after pregnancy. I know this isn't for everyone, but it is what worked for me. Exercise is one of the few things that allowed me to feel normal during and after pregnancy. 

The best news is that I am now officially past the 6 week post partum time period and my doctor has cleared me to return to life as usual and I don't have to give myself any more shots!!!

More Than Just a Mom

Last year I read this post on A CUP OF JO about Jo's struggle with postpartum depression. For her it didn't come until she was weaning her child. I found it interesting and must have stored the information from that article in the back of my cob-webby mommy brain.

Anyways, I didn't really think that I would struggle with strong emotional feelings when it came to pregnancy and motherhood. I am a fairly stoic person and not overly emotional. While pregnant, I can count on one hand the number of times I cried for no reason. I even saw the movie "The Help" and I didn't cry. Surrounded by women in a theater and very pregnant and I didn't even tear up. 

After Jack came along I jumped into the business of being a mom and don't recall feeling anything unusual. When my period came back I had intense cramps but no strong emotional feelings to go with it. All of this to say that I appeared to be returning to my normal, even after giving birth.

So, it has been a bit of shock that as I come to the end of nursing my sweet boy {we are in the process of weaning, and Sunday will be the last day} I have been feeling at odds with myself. I have felt lost in a sea of motherhood. Some days I feel that all I am is a mom and it overwhelms me. I have been having odd panicky feelings surrounding death and illness that grip me in the night. Bouts of insomnia have plagued me the last couple of weeks. And I wonder what is going on.

Then I remember reading this article and I think, this could be what is going on.*

And it makes me feel a bit better.

I have also been reminding myself that while I love being a mom and Jack has made me a better person, I am more than that. There are roles that I filled before I became a mother that I still fill today. None of that has changed. Some of those roles may have shifted in priority, but they still exist.

Wife. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Christian. Artist. Outdoor Enthusiast. Good Cook. Adrenaline Junkie. Designer. World Traveler. Lover of Books and Learning.

I think my recent feelings are why it was so important to me to go hiking last weekend. I didn't care that it was a bit cool or that we got a late start and would only be able to squeeze in a couple of miles. I desperately needed to feel like me. I needed to do it for myself. I needed to do it so that I could be a better wife and mom. It is why I have been forcing myself to go workout with a group a couple of times a week. Even though it is dark and cold out, I need those moments to clear my mommy head and feel like I am me again. No other obligations, just me.

*Note that I don't think I am suffering from any kind of severe depression. Certainly not anything debilitating. It is more that I have just been struggling with my own personal identity and I think that some of what I have been going through could be linked to hormonal changes that go along with weaning a baby.  

Round the Rim – 5K

I have discovered that the best way for me to get motivated to run is to sign up for a race. I use the term "race" loosely as I don't really consider myself to be racing, more like I am attending an organized running event. I am just thankful for the ability to run, albeit at my tortoise-like pace.

About two weeks ago I noticed on Facebook that a friend had signed up for the Round the Rim 5K at Raccoon Mountain and I thought, "I should totally sign up for that."

In true Cheree fashion, I didn't have make time to train and before I knew it, I only had a week to get in a few runs. Not wanting to show up completely unprepared, I somehow managed to squeeze in four runs last week and then rested yesterday.

Logistically speaking, getting to this race was a bit of a challenge.

1) We live in Central time. The race was located in Eastern.
 

2) You have to show up 30 minutes early for this race because they close access to the rim for the safety of the runners.
 

3) I have a 6-month old baby. Did I mention that he is still nursing full time {i.e. I have never pumped or given him a bottle}?

 

Here is an overview of how we dealt with the logistics and how my run went. 

1) Daniel graciously agreed to get up at 4:50 am Central with me in order to drive me to the race. There were several reasons for him to go: He is used to getting up early for work. He could drive when I was exhausted {before and after}. He could watch Jack so I wouldn't have to push Jack in the stroller. *I actually train with Jack in the stroller, but the thought of pushing Jack up a hill that lasted for 0.4 miles was a daunting one.

2) Getting to the course by the cutoff time meant that we had to leave our house by 5:15am CST. I'm not gonna lie, this was tough.

3) Since we left so early we woke Jack up for a quick diaper change and stuck him in the car. We hoped that he could wait until Chattanooga to eat. We arrived at the starting point of the race by 7:20am EST and I nursed Jack in the car while Daniel went to find my running packet. This actually worked out really well. Jack hung out in the stroller with Daniel while I ran and then he napped when we went to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel, post race. I had to feed him in the car one last time before heading home, but it really wasn't too difficult to make work. By the time we got home we were all ready for naps.

As for the actual run... my main goals were to 1) not walk at all and 2) to finish before the first 10K person did. I met both of these goals.

Kicking off the race was a long hill that lasted for about a half a mile with 110 ft of elevation gain. Not fun. Once we reached the top of the hill, it was a full mile of flat running on the rim. And then you finish with a downhill. It was a truly beautiful run with views of the Tennessee Valley Gorge and the Raccoon Mountain Reservoir. To top it off, the weather was perfect: cool and no humidity.

 

Toward the end of my race, I was getting tired when the song, Another One Bites The Dust, came on my iPod. When you are tired, this is a terrible song to listen to. It would have been different if I was passing people, but for a few minutes I felt like I was going to be the one biting the dust.

As for finishing before the 10K. I did it. Just barely. The winner of the 10K came in right behind me. But I am cool with that. I know that am a slow runner and I am just thankful to be able to get out and run a 5K, six months after giving birth.

Thank you Daniel for making today possible! For being my personal cheerleader and giving up sleep on your only day to sleep in this week!

And for letting me indulge in breakfast at Cracker Barrel after my run!

When I got home, I checked MapMyRun to see the actual distance. According to MMR, it seemed to be more like 3.5 miles instead of 3.1. All I gotta say is that the middle mile seemed kind of long to me...

My race results: gun time was 38:18 and net {real} time was 37:58.