The Belly: So many people think pregnant bellies are so cute and wonderful, but no one really talks about what happens afterwards. So, I will. Right after having Annabelle, I looked about 6 months pregnant, but it wasn't a cute, firm, 6-month pregnant belly. It was mushy and weird, let's just be honest. Here's 1 day post-partum (those stripey marks on my belly are wrinkle marks from laying down):
Cute, right? Yeah, not so much. But, that's okay! I had a baby!
I was surprised at how quickly my stomach started to go back down to normalish. 5 days post-partum, this is what my belly looked like:
Clearly there is still a "pooch" there, but it's much less jiggly as my organs start to move back into place. I think some of it is just a few extra pounds of weight gain, so I'm counting on breast-feeding to take that extra "fluff" off.
So, pregnant friends, you will get some semblance of your shape back, but don't be surprised when it doesn't happen automatically. I am still wearing my maternity pants, and shirts that are looser, because my "regular" clothes don't quite fit yet. But, that's okay! I had a baby! (my mantra). I feel so good about what my body accomplished, I really don't care that my belly has some jiggle, and might for the rest of my life. Miniscule price to pay for the huge, huge gift I got in return.
Other "body" stuff: Wow, no one really tells you what happens to your lady friends when you start breast-feeding. A friend of mine, who shall remain anonymous, asked me if I had gotten my "porn-star boobs" yet (ie, has my milk come in). HAH! She's totally right. For those of us who aren't quite used to being gifted up top, it's a whole new experience, let's just say that. If there wasn't a baby stuck to them 24/7, it would probably be pretty hot. But, there is, so it's not, so we won't even go there. I was nervous about the engorgement that everyone kept warning me about. They all said it hurts like crazy when your milk comes in. Thankfully, my milk came in during Annabelle's return-to-nursing, so we were nursing every 10 minutes. I'm pretty sure that prevented me from becoming engorged. Blessing in disguise! Needless to say though, having milk suddenly start dripping out of me is a whole new experience that I just have to laugh about. Wow, is the body amazing, or what?!
Stitches. No one really ever can say that they want to have stitches ::ahem::down there::ahem:: But, it's okay! I had a baby! Seriously though, there is a reason they give you ice packs in the hospital, and there is a reason they lecture you on proper care of said stitches. It's not a walk in the park, but it's also not labor. So, I'm not really going to complain. I was thankful for my 600mg of Ibuprofin, and stool softeners that they gave me in the hospital. Take a look at any pregnant or parenting discussion forum online, and you'll see that every new mom is pretty much terrified of that first poop. It was terrifying, I'm not going to lie. But, thankfully, it was all mental. My stitches did not break like I swore up and down they probably would, even though the midwife told me I'd have to do something pretty ridiculously out of the norm in order for that to happen. Sits baths have also been wonderful. The only "bad" experience with my stitches so far has been my extended use of the Tucks pads they give you to help keep the area from itching as it heals. Apparently some women experience an almost allergic reaction to them after extended use. Let me tell you, an allergic reaction on top of stitches is unpleasant. But, it's okay! I had a baby!
Emotionally: I feel great. I was a little bit nervous about baby-blues since I have dealt with some mild depression in the past, but so far haven't felt an overwhelming amount of negative emotion. I have moments of tearing up for no apparent reason, but that's normal. It's so, so strange to think about my precious little girl being inside of me. That was Annabelle! Wow! Such a miracle. I'm continually in awe of it, and continually in awe of how much I just love her. It's such an intense, crazy, furious love that I have never felt in my life. I could just sit there and stare at her all day and be drunk with emotion for her. Amazing.
I'm still processing my birth experience. There are things about it that make me feel incredibly GREAT and things about it that make me feel frustrated and crappy. Overall, it was an amazing experience, but everyone deals with their experiences different ways. I'm slowly going through it over and over in my head, coming to terms with the good, bad, and ugly, and letting the miracle of it all just sort of sink in. I am still so in awe that my body was able to birth a baby without the conscious me really doing anything to make it happen. I was just sort of along for the ride. It's sort of hard to process something that happened to me, rather than something I did. Anyway, I may write more about that later.
Sleeping: Surprisingly, I am getting more sleep now than I did when I was pregnant. I slept so horribly that last trimester, that now it's pretty great! I only get 3ish hours of sleep at a time, but when I was pregnant I was up almost every hour. It's great! We got an arms-reach co-sleeper for Annabelle to sleep in, but she only does about 1/3 of the time. Otherwise, she falls asleep on my chest after nursing, and we both just sort of drift off that way. I sleep better with her actually on me, because I can feel her breathing and moving, and it's really comforting. When she's in her co-sleeper I only half-sleep because I'm so paranoid that something will happen and I won't notice. She does take some naps in her co-sleeper, and some naps in her crib. I want her to be able to sleep pretty much anywhere, so I'm trying not to hold her all the time. Even though I really want to :)
Eating: I'm amazed at how hungry I get at times, and how yucky food sounds at times. It's like I'm still pregnant. But, I am wayyyy more thirsty (thank you breast-feeding!) so I drink a lot more water now. I probably should have been before she was born, but now I just can't seem to get enough of it.
Other: I am so, so thankful for Jason being home for 2 weeks. I could never imagine doing this without him. He has been a complete saint, cleaning, getting me water, changing diapers, feeding me when I'm starving but Annabelle won't stop nursing, and supporting my at times crazy emotions. He has been wonderful.
Visitors. I have been thankful for all of our friends and family being so supportive and excited about Annabelle's arrival. Before she came, Jason and I talked about when we wanted visitors, and I'm glad we did. I really recommend setting boundaries for that if you're pregnant and expecting. We had one day with too many visitors, and I couldn't handle it and unfortunately had to send them home after about 10 minutes. I felt bad, but knew that it wasn't good for me to be so stressed out and exhausted with that many people in our house. It was a good learning experience.
There is lots of "other" stuff to write about, but it's all about Annabelle, so I think that will be a post of it's own.
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