I have given birth twice, and my recovery has changed. The first time I gave birth, I remember seeing a fellow mother post how she was active and running around four weeks! So, as soon as I reached four weeks postpartum, I tried to run and was humbled very quickly. My uterus felt like it would fall out with every step, so I walked until two to three months postpartum. Six weeks postpartum, and I wish I knew what I know now.
Now that I have given birth a second time, I realized there were a few things I wish I had known with both recovery journeys.
Six Weeks Postpartum: What I Wish I knew –
- Healing – Healing looks very different for everyone. Healing looks different for each of your afterbirths, and that is okay. Comparing is okay as long as we don’t believe we need to be in the same place as others or our past journeys. It will look and feel different. I compare to get an idea of where I am on my journey out of curiosity, but I don’t let it pressure me or make me feel abnormal without further research.
For healing to happen, make sure to rest! Your mom, sisters, grandmas, aunts, and doctors are not just spewing nonsense. You NEED to rest. Not just for your body but your mind. You just gave birth to a little human being! And that little human being will want to feed every two hours, so you will not get as much sleep as you might like at night. Rest to heal.
- Returning To activity – I wish I was more patient with becoming active because I have moved a few steps backward. I started running around five weeks ago and became pretty sore. I also started jumping and playing volleyball around three weeks ago.
Be Patient! And do physical therapy. You have to walk before your run, so slow your roll so you don’t go backward in healing. Listen to your body and your doctor or doula. Although you might feel healed, your insides are still healing. Go at a safe pace. You are reshaping and reforming the new you, which will be stronger. This takes time, rest, and a lot of love!
- Self-Care – You are responsible for your self-care. It wasn’t until this year that I realized how selfish our world is, and I don’t mean this negatively. I believe we all should think about ourselves when we wake up so that we can take care of ourselves. However, it’s essential to recognize this because people quickly forget that you are pregnant or just had a baby.
People will ask you to do something if you look or say you are fine. Your job will quickly put you to work if you say you are available even though you could be bleeding out. That said, you must understand to say no, not now. It is for your health and sanity. This is the definition of a healthy boundary. I don’t believe that people ask us to work or do things with ill intent. It’s just that your self-care is up to you and not them.
The biggest lesson is that postpartum goes beyond the six weeks the doctor or our jobs might tell us. Postpartum is a time of healing, reshaping, and reforming our bodies and mental and spiritual states. We are not bouncing back but becoming better than before, and I am so excited about this journey.
I hope many of you will join me on it!
