What They Never Told Me About Recovery

The top five things that I NEVER knew about recovery:

1. I would leak from every hole my body has! I know, I know, its SO gross. I sweat more than ever between nursing a baby on hot days and chasing a toddler around the house (why I need to exercise to get back into my old jeans is beyond me?). Then there is that runny nose that I got from my husband, who got it from our toddler, who got it from the nursery. They are both over the cold, but not me! Unfortunately my body requires rest in order to fully recover from a nasty cold and rest just isn't apart of my life right now. Then there are the boob leaks. Gotta love those moments when your nursing pad has soaked through leaving you with a good sized circle on your chest, and then there are those moments when your baby yanks off of you because your milk lets down too fast, this results in both of you being sprayed in the face and the soaking of both of your clothes. Oh, and lets not forget about the fact that you bleed for about six weeks postpartum and you can't wear a tampon! (I HATE pads - I feel like I'm in a diaper all day.) I'm just grateful that I am no longer vomiting . . .

2. Then there is nursing. All those books you read before you start to nurse really downplay the pain of nursing. They tell you you will experience "some pain" until your milk comes in. First of all, it isn't just until your milk comes in, secondly its not just "some pain", "some pain" sounds bearable. What they need to say is that you will be curling your toes, biting your tongue, squinting your eyes and wanting to yell out because not only does nursing create some painful contractions, but it also feels like someone is trying to twist your nipple off with a pair of pliers. Then there are those wonderful moments when your baby startles while nursing and rather than simply spitting your nipple out, they pull back while still chomping on you, stretching your nipple out like a rubber band - yeah, that hurts. We won't even start on the possibilities of blisters, bleeding, thrush, nipple confusion, and who knows what else.

3. The exhaustion. There is just nothing that compares to the exhaustion of a newborn.

4. Movement can be a little bit difficult for a few weeks. You must remember that you are recovering from a little body coming out of an even smaller hole. That creates some discomfort for your sitting and walking moments for the first few days (if you're lucky, many women go MUCH longer). The best is when your excited toddler runs to give you hug only to accidentally plow her little head into your crotch - that doesn't do much for the recovery (I was very grateful for strong pain medications at that moment).

5. You will most likely be an emotional wreck. Things that usually don't make you cry will make you sob, and things that usually don't make you angry will have you wanting to pull your hair out. And the entire time you are being irrational you will know that you are being irrational and that will make the tears come harder. You will all the while feel like you are the only human being going through this . . .

While this all sounds horrible, don't be discouraged - it is SO worth it. Seeing your baby smile, coo, laugh, crawl, and all that good stuff makes it all alright.