NCDR: recovery

sarenu1

Apparently I'm some kind of miracle worker with recovery. Everyone I encounter (the plumber today), seems shocked that I can manage to walk around norrmal and go up and down stairs with ease a week after delivery.

Am I that much of an odd ball? I seriously don't think this is that quick of a recovery. And it's not like I'm going to be fitting into my pre-pregnancy pants anytime soon. Last time it took me 6 month to be able to stand and button them.

Danie007

If you are odd I'm odd too. I was bouncing back after both my c-sections. Hoping this one goes in my favor as well.

nanabanana06

I was pretty much 100% about 1 week post section. With my DD I felt like crap for 3+ weeks.

CLLDLL

It's awesome to hear that you are feeling so well so soon!  

It took me a good two weeks to get back to walking normally with DS1.  With DS2 I walked a few blocks up to school to pick up DS1 36 hours after delivery, but it was a med-free birth that only took 4 hours from first contraction to holding my baby.

sarenu1

Yes, this is my second.  With my daughter I think it did take a good 2 weeks to fully recover.

I just think it's funny (and some times annoying) that everyone thinks I should be sitting on my butt all day.  And I'm itching to get out of the house this time, but our second car is having transmission problems so I'm stranded.

At least I know I'm not alone on this one.

Robi1

I felt great pretty quickly. Went home 4 hours after she was born, was walking around and doing stairs the first few days, leaving the house when she was 4 days old. I didn't feel FULLY recovered for a few weeks, but I was able to function pretty normally within a week. I did have a natural, non-hospital birth, though. 

babywisher

I had an episiotomy and had to get quite a number of stitches. Dd just wouldn't come out! It was about 30 minutes after she was born and I was walking around. Another natural birth here. However when I got home getting in and out of the bed so often seemed to hinder recovery. I seemed to waddle around for weeks, ok probably just a week and a half.

PipSqueak0313

I was an oddball after my 3....my x even forced me back to work when dd was 3 weeks old so yeah, I was functioning pretty much normal very quickly. 

Oh, and not to rub it in....I was very much an oddball in that I, out of curiosity, tried on my tightest pair of pre-pg jeans when dd was less than 2 weeks old and wondered what people were talking about when they said I wouldn't be able to wear them for months since they fit just as great 1.5weeks pp as they did before I got pg.  Karma bit me the 2nd time around since my pg with ds gave me wider hips and none of my pre-pg pants ever fit again.

edited to correct typing errors

runningyogimama

I had an episiotomy and a second degree tear, and I had no problem going up and down stairs or walking around as soon as I got home.

Mandmeesh

Not an oddball! Like MK, I was cleaning and doing laundry the day we were home. I didn't fit into my pre preg jeans until like 4 months pp (unlike miss @pipsqueak0313, rubbing it in! ) but I was not incapacitated whatsoever. When family saw the family picture right after M's birth...they were shocked that he was born just a couple of hours earlier. I'm a believer that your attitude has a lot to do with it. Yay for quick recoveries! Edit typo

joyfultrex

I was up walking and doing laundry, but by no means feeling 100% 2 days after birth. I also went natural, but I tore and I could either stand or lay down, but sitting or transitioning positions hurt like crazy. I also had that thing where my stomach muscles separated (I can't remember the name at the moment) and was told not to try to do too much, so it wouldn't become permanent. Since I am small the muscles separated around 10-12 weeks, so it had been that way for a while.

It was probably 4-6 weeks after birth that I felt 100%. I left the hospital in pre-pregnancy cloths, but would give that up in a second to recover as quickly as you guys. I'm jealous of all of you who were better so quickly.

csspencer

DS was born on a Friday, I had a 2nd tear. We were released on Sunday. At his pedi appt that Monday I was sore, but that evening it was like I flipped a switch, I felt great. Granted if I sat on a hard surface I felt briused for a week or so, but it was managable.

PirateMonster

I think like a PP said its a lot about attitude. I'm at 1 week now and feel about 95%, with the 5% being boob-related discomfort. I've been doing most any normal thing I did before, though.

LatteLady5

I had a 20hour labor in a hospital and got an epi about 15ish hours. I was up within an hour after delivery but ended up with a UTI after I got home...it was terrible. At the time we lived in an apartment upstairs so not doing stairs wasn't an option. Our house now is two story as well so I supposed this time I'll do stairs too. I think I would have recovered really quickly if I hadn't developed a UTI. That sucker hurt!

Mandmeesh

kklamb10 said:

You are all odd balls! I had a med free birth but ended up with a 4th degree tear and more stitches than the Dr could count. 1 week PP I thought I was dying (okay not literally but it hurt like hell!) It took me about 2 weeks before I was doing much of anything!

ouch!!! are you feeling good now?

sarenu1

Mandmeesh said:

kklamb10 said:

You are all odd balls! I had a med free birth but ended up with a 4th degree tear and more stitches than the Dr could count. 1 week PP I thought I was dying (okay not literally but it hurt like hell!) It took me about 2 weeks before I was doing much of anything!

ouch!!! are you feeling good now?

Agreed, ouch.

If it's any consultation, my second birth was less damaging and fewer stitches.

candlequeen

2nd degree tear here recovered quick but holy HELL it burned sooooo bad when I peed for the longest Time!

PipSqueak0313

I think pain tolerance levels must play a factor in recovery as well.  I have a high pain tolerance level -- the March before ds2 was born I had appendicitis  and I went from feeling normal to being on morphine for pain at the ER in the space of 2 hours and back to work the following week. 

When ds2 was 4 days old, I had him at the Pedi's office for a follow up visit and blood draw, stopped by dh's work and then we went out for lunch and then drove to ds1's school for a conference with his French teacher and then had home healthcare nurse come to set up the lights for jaundice which led to ds2 being re-admitted to the hospital due to his almost hypothermic temp that refused to raise to normal levels plus dehydration with a refusal to nurse....I have yet to figure out how I didn't crash from exhaustion that day -- well, before I crashed shortly after midnight in the most awkward position on the love seat in the hospital room, that dh refused to move me out of for fear that I'd wake up and not go back to sleep. 

But, dh has learned that if I say something hurts it has to HURT and that when I say ow after bumping into something I'm saying it for the item I bumped into.

KLXVI

The worst part of recovery for me was the second baby (the infamous first poo) and the allergic reaction to the pads I bought. I told DH that I had a serious diaper rash. I would have been fine if it wasn't for those problems. I had an episiotomy and the resident wouldn't tell me how many stitches there were, but he was down there a long time.

tjkdlhb

I really really really hope it will be the same for me as it was with DD.  I was out of bed at about an hour after I gave birth and besides being sore and needing Advil for a few days, I was fine.

candlequeen

littkek said:

The worst part of recovery for me was the second baby (the infamous first poo) and the allergic reaction to the pads I bought. I told DH that I had a serious diaper rash. I would have been fine if it wasn't for those problems. I had an episiotomy and the resident wouldn't tell me how many stitches there were, but he was down there a long time.

I took dolcolax and avoided that but with DS I felt like I was giving birth to a log it hurt sooooo bad

candlequeen

littkek said:

The worst part of recovery for me was the second baby (the infamous first poo) and the allergic reaction to the pads I bought. I told DH that I had a serious diaper rash. I would have been fine if it wasn't for those problems. I had an episiotomy and the resident wouldn't tell me how many stitches there were, but he was down there a long time.

shan417

I must have a high pain tolerance and be pretty lucky. My stitches pull when I move sometimes, but not enough I wanted to take any pain meds for them. I also feel like besides the first maybe 12 hours, my bleeding hasn't been as bad as some periods I have had. I've been up and about since we got home on Tuesday, and today I decorate my tree. Did 3 loads of laundry, and cooked lunch and dinner. Maybe not having an epidural and spending an extra day in the hospital did me some good.

Into+the+Kitty

I had a med free birth (and have an incredibly high pain tolerance) with no tearing, so I expected to be doing jumping jacks or some shit within a few hours, but still felt like a train hit me for at least two weeks... and bled like I'd been hit by a train for six weeks. I got rug burn, basically, from all of her hair and swelled to kingdom come, it was awful to walk anywhere, especially after walking all the way across the hospital with A when she had to get an echocardiogram at under 12 hours old. And every time I had a bowel movement for well over five weeks it felt like giving birth all over again, despite a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. I did. 'Normal' is definitely not a word I would use to describe my immediate PP body.

In conclusion, I hate you all.

Into+the+Kitty

I don't even remember what reason they gave, but I was told that if I couldn't WALK with her, I couldn't accompany her. And then the nurse teased me for going with her to the procedure as 'first baby jitters.' Hello, my newborn baby had what turned out to be three previously unseen holes in her heart and we were there to find out if she'd need surgery. I don't care if it's my first or fifth baby, I would drag my swollen ass to Alaska to be there. Effing idiot.

megpeg

I was induced with DS and felt like crap for a couple days but we were out shopping by 5 days old. With DD I did all natural no meds and couldn't wait to get home. We took DS to school when she was two days old and no one could believe how great I looked and was getting around. The next day we went wedding dress shopping for SIL.

Mandmeesh

Chickypoo2468 said:

I don't even remember what reason they gave, but I was told that if I couldn't WALK with her, I couldn't accompany her. And then the nurse teased me for going with her to the procedure as 'first baby jitters.' Hello, my newborn baby had what turned out to be three previously unseen holes in her heart and we were there to find out if she'd need surgery. I don't care if it's my first or fifth baby, I would drag my swollen ass to Alaska to be there. Effing idiot.

What a bitch! It sounds like they just didn't want you there. That must have been so scary for you! I had no idea. How did they know about the holes so soon? I'm glad she's ok, poor A.

this.  again I'm inserting the all-too-common "what the hell is wrong with people?!?!" 

ITK, Warrior Mommy!

Into+the+Kitty

Mandmeesh said:

Chickypoo2468 said:

I don't even remember what reason they gave, but I was told that if I couldn't WALK with her, I couldn't accompany her. And then the nurse teased me for going with her to the procedure as 'first baby jitters.' Hello, my newborn baby had what turned out to be three previously unseen holes in her heart and we were there to find out if she'd need surgery. I don't care if it's my first or fifth baby, I would drag my swollen ass to Alaska to be there. Effing idiot.

What a bitch! It sounds like they just didn't want you there. That must have been so scary for you! I had no idea. How did they know about the holes so soon? I'm glad she's ok, poor A.

this.  again I'm inserting the all-too-common "what the hell is wrong with people?!?!" 

ITK, Warrior Mommy!

In her defense, I really don't think she was trying to be a jerk. Plus, they had no problems with J going, it was just when I said I wanted to go and they said I had to walk.

When our pediatrician was giving her her first exam and he listened to her heart, he determined she had a heart murmur, so we got sent for the exam and found three different holes in her heart. It was weird, too, because we had not only the anatomy scan where it didn't get caught, but we had a level ii ultrasound, too, where her heart had appeared to be perfectly normal. Thankfully, all three of them ended up resolving and closing themselves, no surgery.

JEPES1348

My baby was 2 months early, so I was up walking around within an hour to go visit her in the NICU since they whisked her away right after birth. I refused to be pushed around in the provided wheelchair. Sore shmore, I had a baby to go see!

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PipSqueak0313

Into+the+Kitty said:

Mandmeesh said:

Chickypoo2468 said:

I don't even remember what reason they gave, but I was told that if I couldn't WALK with her, I couldn't accompany her. And then the nurse teased me for going with her to the procedure as 'first baby jitters.' Hello, my newborn baby had what turned out to be three previously unseen holes in her heart and we were there to find out if she'd need surgery. I don't care if it's my first or fifth baby, I would drag my swollen ass to Alaska to be there. Effing idiot.

What a bitch! It sounds like they just didn't want you there. That must have been so scary for you! I had no idea. How did they know about the holes so soon? I'm glad she's ok, poor A.

this.  again I'm inserting the all-too-common "what the hell is wrong with people?!?!" 

ITK, Warrior Mommy!

In her defense, I really don't think she was trying to be a jerk. Plus, they had no problems with J going, it was just when I said I wanted to go and they said I had to walk.

When our pediatrician was giving her her first exam and he listened to her heart, he determined she had a heart murmur, so we got sent for the exam and found three different holes in her heart. It was weird, too, because we had not only the anatomy scan where it didn't get caught, but we had a level ii ultrasound, too, where her heart had appeared to be perfectly normal. Thankfully, all three of them ended up resolving and closing themselves, no surgery.

My understanding is that the anatomy scan and level II ultrasounds are not sensitive enough to detect some heart issues.  Since my MaterniT21 test came back positive for down syndrome with ds2, we were sent for a fetal echocardiogram in addition to the normal anatomy scan and all the other ultrasounds they did during the middle through the end of my pregnancy.