The C-Section Aftermath

You might be wondering how the recovery process is going. You might not. Either way, I'm going to tell you about it.

It has now been 2 weeks and a day since Morgan was ripped out of my womb. Well, fine, lifted out is more accurate. I spent pretty much the first week unable to do much. The amount of pain and discomfort and stiffness I was in prevented me from moving about properly. I couldn't bend nor move at a normal pace. I couldn't toss and turn in bed on my own. Sitting up was a very difficult and quite painful task. Everything was in slow-mo. Just like the dove in this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovEDhFfgdOo

The catheter was removed after a couple of days - and Gods, the first pee was a herculean task from beginning to end. I couldn't even walk on my own to the bathroom - I had to be supported by my mum and my elder sis. Once the drain was removed a couple of days later, I could move about a bit easier. Once the external stitches were removed, moving became slightly more comfortable.

My chest was extremely painful due to engorgment, and it was pretty messy as I kept leaking. The first 3 days after Morgan was born were the worst. It felt as if I was smuggling watermelons. Bit by bit, the situation improved, although I was still leaking all over the place in spite of wearing breast pads 24/7.

I was pretty swollen all over actually. My belly felt like jelly, and I had pretty bad edema, especially in my legs. I couldn't clench my fist properly either as my hands were swollen as well.

Week 2 saw me still moving stiffly and painfully - the stitching on the inside was feeling tight. I still was unable to toss and turn in bed without any pain. I couldn't bend my torso either, although I could sometimes stretch without being in agony. My back started hurting quite a bit from the sudden change in weight. On a positive note though, I wasn't leaking nearly as much, meaning my shirt wasn't getting wet patches all the time - and the swelling started to reduce more and more with every day that went by.

My belly is still numb in the section just below my navel till half-way down my pubic mound. The scar is fully healed, though scar tissue will change in appearance for a while yet. Scars do that.

Much to people's disappointment, I must inform you that my stomach is stretchmark-free. Also, since I managed to limit my weight gain throughout the pregnancy, I'm pretty much to the same shape as I was before the pregnancy (See photo).

So yeah - that is me so far. I haven't weighed myself as yet - once I do, I'll let you know how much weight I actually lost following the pregnancy's end.