How soon after birth do you feel 'normal' again???

[BPrincess]

Or is this a crazy question?

I'm 38 weeks with my first and getting fed up with:
Acid indigestion
Not sleeping at night as can't get comfy
Not being able to walk properly for any length of time without getting back ache
Generally feeling feeble, tired and achey
Feeling SO heavy

I appreciate that there are other pains/issues to deal with as a new mum, but nobody seems to mention feeling good to have their body back again/feel lighter/be able to sleep on their back etc etc

I suppose I'm looking for some encouragement and reason to believe there's light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Thanks in advance

Acid indigestion - don't even bother taking your rennies to the hospital.
Not sleeping cos can't get comfy - again, this is no longer a problem. You sleep like the dead, albeit brokenly. If you breastfeed it's like being drugged, I could fall asleep mid sentence after feeding the baby, I think it's the prolactin or something.
Not walking - still hurts a bit due to the birth but the incredible weight is gone straight away. And being able to lie on your back again is fantastic. I can't actually remember what it's like to be pregnant now. But if I think hard I do remember how uncomfortable it was. Good luck!!

All of it has gone straight away, aside from SPD pain if I lie on my side at night (even with a pillow). But I have bad SPD in pregnancy so I'm not surprised it lingers. I know it goes eventually, but I can't remember when. I had DC3 just over 2 weeks ago.

I felt a little weak when walking at first, but that was partly due to still weighing two stone more than I used to, and my muscles being out of practice due to the SPD keeping me housebound. But already I am feeling a lot stronger and gently walked two miles the other day - and I had a c-section!

Physically normal? Depends largely on how the birth goes. Backache/indigestion etc. goes pretty immediately once the "cause" is out and about, although the babyweight stays around for a bit longer (depends how much you put on). And you can reckon on a sore undercarriage, of course.

After DS1 I felt very weak and heavy for around a week, as I was anaemic after blood loss; I also couldn't sit down for a while! After DD1 (CS) it took around 3-4 weeks to feel normal. After DD2 (VBAC) I felt pretty normal within a couple of days.

To be honest, you'll be so busy with your new responsibilities you won't be thinking about it too much. Good luck!

Agree with what the others say but don't expect your new normal to be the same as your old normal iyswim! I was desperate to be able to sleep on my front again but then the Jordan size boobs arrived post birth and put paid to that!

About 18 years.

The stuff you mentioned goes pretty much the instant you give birth,

BUT, you gain very sore bits (sitting / walking can be an issue for a while), huge milky boobs which feel very odd, a jelly belly which seems to have no sensation at all, and a massive rush of hormones which make you cry at everything even remotely sad (watch the news with extreme caution if you don't like to cry in public).

Then all that settles down too within a couple of weeks.

Aargh - I'd forgotten about waking up in a damp warm patch of leaking milk! Eurgh.

All the pregnancy things which you mention go, but they are replaced by a whole new bunch of post-birth things! Eg (in my vaginal birth and breastfeeding experience):

Lochia (the post-birth bleeding) - maternity pads, gunk, clots etc, can go on for weeks.

Sore down below to varying degrees depending on how the birth went

Some discomfort (or possibly pain) establishing breastfeeding

Huge massive boobs once your milk comes in, possibly painful

I felt like I smelt of sour milk quite a lot of the time as I leaked a lot (although DH assures me I didn't smell)

Really achy neck and shoulders from breast feeding even if you really try to have good posture

Mastitis if unlucky...

Exhausted from disturbed nights because of a newborn instead of having to wee all the time in the night when you are pregnant

But of course for some people the pregnancy discomforts are much worse than the postnatal ones, and vice versa. Personally I have found both have their discomforts and not sure one is "better" than the other!

At least postnatally you have a lovely little snuggly baby to make it worthwhile!

God, it doesn't compare. My pregnancy was hideous and I gave birth five months ago. Already, I have to say that I can't really remember much pain afterwards (this is mental, as there were loads of stitches). Not being pregnant is just so nice! My baby is, of course, wonderful and hopefully I will have another at some point, but for me, pregnancy fills me with dread.

Life is much, much nicer post-pregnancy. Yep, you've got stitches and it's like a car crash down there, but you've got a baby to take your mind off it!

I'm still nowhere near back to normal and won't ever be. Can't see my chacha getting back to it's pre-birth state, I'm covered in stretch marks and have giant boobs. BUT, I've pretty much lost all of that weight (without dieting).

You'll soon have a gorgeous baby. And, meh, there's always plastic surgery to aspire to.

13 weeks on, and the only issues are the undercarriage (need a repair op due to botch up on the stitches), and the lack of sleep - worse than lack of sleep when pg as you have to be up and active.

I remember this very well. It does all go away.

Not at all in a smug way but make sure you take advantage of the peace and quiet you have now. I know it's hard to relax when you have awful indigestion, feet in your ribs and feel like you have a bowling ball strapped to your middle but you still have wonderful silence! I HATED being pregnant but oh what I wouldn't give for some silence!!!! You could break my arm if it meant I could have a bit of peace and quiet for a day or two!!