Intro and post partum ?'s

julesjb · November 2011

Hi Ladies...I have been lurking for a bit now but figured it was time I made and intro. After 2 years of TTC and two very difficult losses we welcomed our son Cole William into the world on Nov 13, 2011 at 8 lbs 7 ounces and 21.25inches long. I had a very long prodromal labor followed by 45 mins of pushing. I spiked a bit of a fever but they did not feel my little man needed a NICU visit and almost 2 weeks later we are doing great. He is a champ at BF and seems to be a very good baby so far(knocks on all available wood)

The recovery hasn't been exactly what I expected. I had a lot of pelvic pain during my pregnancy so I guess I thought I would have this miraculous bounce back. I had a small tear which I guess is healing well but not really sure what I should be expecting from that anyway. The part that is bothering me the most is I have some pretty bad right sciatic pain and occasionally notice some pins and needles in my heel. I am terrified I have some sort of disc damage or nerve damage from my epi. My mom keeps telling me its just from the delivery etc and will get better with time. I just haven't noticed much of an improvement. Is this degree of soreness normal for 2 weeks post partum?? I am a pretty active person and am just a bit surprised the amount of discomfort I am still having.

I am so happy to finally be here on this board and many of you have helped me through on TTCAL and PGAL and I will be forever grateful. TIA ladies and I hope everyone had a nice turkey day!

HElizabethDU · November 2011

When I had my DD, I thought, "Oh awesome I was able to have a vaginal deliver, I should be back to normal in no time..." WRONG!

While the pain wasn't forever, it was definitely not as short of a recovery some women make it out to be. I was on pain pills for two weeks, nothing heavy but more than normal tylenol. I could only walk for about 15-30 mins at a time, and DH would make fun of how I walked for about 2 weeks. I don't think I walked normal for about a month. I had a 2nd degree tear, and going to the bathroom was downright miserable for the first 2 weeks. I also bled for about a month.

It does get better, but really I don't see how a c-section recovery could be that much more horrible (just a different kind of pain I imagine)

D&D4Ever7 · November 2011

Hi Jules, it is great to see you here! Welcome to the board. I am sorry to hear about your difficult recovery. I can sympathize because I thought recovery and breastfeeding were the 2 most difficult things about pregnancy. I did have lots of back ache and still feel like my back is pretty weak since I had DS. I don't have pins and needles type of pain. My pain is in my back and it goes down to my leg (like a sciatic pain). I hope you feel better soon.

luvmyducks · November 2011

Welcome and congrats!! While I didn't have the same pp pains as you, it did take some tome to feel completely back to normal. I still wasn't 100% at my 6w pp check-up. Give it some time--your body was just put through the ringer!