Recovery time PP?

TJ1979 · June 2014

When should I expect to feel 100% again? (Natural vaginal delivery.)

MH seems to think I should already be 100%, and using all my "free time" at home to catch up on chores since I've been taking it easy the last few months.

LO was just born 9 days ago. And honestly, after about 30 minutes on my feet my back muscles are so fatigued I have to sit down and rest. Is this normal? Or is mh right and I need to suck it up and try harder?

(I'm really not trying to complain about mh. He's a good husband and a great dad. I just really don't know what's normal. With E, she was such a difficult baby this never came up. I couldn't ever put her down.)

kmc84 · June 2014

If I remember correctly, I felt pretty good by two weeks pp. I had a vaginal delivery with an epi and a few stitches.

I think I felt 100% closer to 4 weeks. Although I didn't also have a toddler at home!

It's not that you just had a baby, you also carried that baby for 10 months, all while your body loosens ligaments. It's a process to get things back together!

luvboston · June 2014

My OB said six weeks to feel better no matter how you deliver. Your body went through something major sit down.

imoverit · June 2014

It took me until 4 weeks pp to feel like I could do more than care for my kids and I still dont feel 100% at 6 weeks. If I lift too much (heavy costco shopping or picking up my toddler) or walk too much I still feel wiped out and my back hurts. Trying to keep up with housework and two kids is a lot on your body as it is. They say your body doesnt fully recover until 6 to 12 months anyway (not saying you wont feel like yourself before then). So Id rest at least another week until doing housework or until your body feels ready to add on the extra tasks.

Cwhitaker27 · June 2014

It's only been 9 days! And you're taking care of a newborn/toddler with sleep deprivation and reconditioning from being pregnant for 9 months. I think what you're feeling is completely normal. I'd say it takes about 1 month to stop feeling so winded.
Take it easy mama! The chores can wait.

PhillyJ33 · June 2014

My back felt better around 4 weeks and I started feeling better around then too but really until the last few days (6 weeks) have been rough here and there. I had 3rd degree tearing tho and not completely healed yet- good times!

Robeano · June 2014

I'd say at least two weeks, that has been my observation with new mom's. I had a c-section and it took me around two, two and a half weeks to feel more like myself.

phishgirl29 · June 2014

It took me 4 weeks after my c-section but mostly because I had to have a d&c to remove placenta that they didn't remove the day of birth. I felt like hell until they figured that part out 21 days after I had him.

***that's not meant to scare you, just sharing my recovery and reason behind it.***

Eve_Angelique · June 2014

I remember feeling not quite back to normal until at least about 3 weeks after LO was born. Also vaginal delivery. Definitely give yourself some more time and if you need to rest, try to rest! Especially going from 1 baby to 2 that's a big deal! I will be in your shoes soon too, I'm sure recovery will take a bit longer this time around.

BabyKsMommy · June 2014

I tell my husband to deal with it already. I'm 13 wks pg with twins, and I have a 2 yr old, I work part time outside of the home and do daycare part time at our house.

Honestly I'm exhausted all the time. If he needs to pick up slack and do laundry and clean, then so be it. So if you aren't up to it yet then tell him that, sometimes they just dot get it.

If he's really being stubborn about something I go into really gross details like my uterus feels like it's going to fall out my vag from all the bleeding that's been going on and my nipples are so sore from nursing that I want to cry. But I do this all for the benefit of your child that I housed inside me for 10 months. So if you need to do laundry for a couple more weeks, suck it up. But I'm mean like this, haha

Mnerani · June 2014

9 days PP is still within the timeframe that you should DEFINITELY be taking it easy. I had a c-section and it was several weeks before I could do much of ANYthing. But even for a vaginal birth, your body is exhausted from being pregnant for 9 months, not to mention birth, breastfeeding, and lack of sleep.

I'm trying not be be annoyed with YH, but I am a little. You need to take very good care of yourself, and he needs to support you.

itsmevkb · June 2014

Well, let's just thank God he's not thinking you should be ready for sex!

However, I'm super curious what kind of chores. I guess I see household chores as being a family responsbility. So, while I normally do the laundry or whatever, if for some reason I couldn't my DH would take that over. And trust me, there has been a lot of that going on the last 7 or so years!

Anyway, to your question, I think Shannon was my longest recovery which was maybe two weeks but a full 4-6 to really be able to get out and do stuff like always without getting totally exhausted. I remember taking him for a walk and barely being able to make it around the block. Contrast that to after I Maren and I was horseback riding maybe 3 weeks later (which I got yelled at by the ER doctor for doing while being x-rayed because the hourse threw me.) So, it's different for each body and each baby.

No matter how long it's been, listen to your body. Like someone else said, your body doesn't just snap back in a matter of days. Your ligaments will remain stretched out and your bones will remain softer for quite a while putting you at a higher risk to have things go wrong. I remember after I had Shannon just lifting a laptop up off the floor and pulling something in my back and later on that night I couldn't even sit up in bed. It was horrible. So, word to your husband, you catching up on chores could potentially put you in a position of not being able to do anything.

mdiblasi10 · June 2014

You should listen to your body and it sounds like that's what you are doing. There is no rush to recovery. Did you get discharge instructions for recovery? Maybe you can show him that to help reinforce that's it's way too soon to be 100%. I hope you are feeling like yourself again soon!

kbeach82 · June 2014

I actually had a quicker recovery after I had the twins than I did after having DS1. Both were vaginal deliveries, but I had been on bed rest for about 7 weeks before DS1 was born, and I ended up with about 18 stitches (he came out sunny side up - quickly!).

It was a good 4 weeks before I felt normal walking more than short distances after DS, but I felt pretty good around 2 weeks after I had the twins. I think part of that was having DS1 running around like a little crazy person kind of "forced" me to get my act together (although the bleeding definitely increased every time I "overdid" it to remind me that I was not a super human being).

Having said that, you JUST delivered a tiny human being a few DAYS ago (after carrying her for a bazillion months)! You will feel better when you feel better. Just take things one day at a time. I am glad that he is so great and supportive, but at the same time your DH has zero idea what a massive toll creating and giving birth to a person can take on your body. Only do what you feel comfortable doing. You'll be back to yourself shortly, but don't rush getting there.

TJ1979 · June 2014

Thanks for all the feedback ladies. I relayed your responses to mh, and now he insists he was just kidding. I didn't buy that at all, so he admitted that while he talks a lot of crap, his actions show that be doesn't really mean it. He has been really good about helping out still, he just has a bad attitude about it. He apologized for upsetting me and said he understands that I need time. Thanks for the backup!

queenbone · June 2014

Have him google pics of PP prolapse. There was a 2IFer a couple years ago who didn't heed the recommendations to take it easy after delivery and her business started to come out. It was pretty awful for her.

Tell your H no chore is worth that.

VegasGal1978 · June 2014

Congrats on your new addition. 9 days is nothing. Like PPs have said, 4-6 weeks is most common to feel normal again. Don't be too hard on yourself. Take the time you need to heal. What's not getting done will get done later. Focus on the necessities for now. Hang in there.

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