Please tell me I'm not the only one waddling out the hospital!

[H8624]

I gave birth on the 31st and finally left today yay! I had an episiotomy and have been in a lot of pain since as expected!

But I can barely walk! Is this normal? I sort of waddle and even that's painful definitely can't walk far.

Hoping for some positive stories of how long it will take to heal/get better and any tips to ease the pain. Aware it's not going to be instant I'm not that naive!

Perfectly normal. You will hear of ladies telling you they were up for an aerobics class 4 hours after giving birth, but equally some feel they have been 3 rounds with iron Mike down there and need to sit on a rubber ring for days.

My midwife advised taking arnica to reduce the bruising. I can't remember how long it was all sore on me, but a jug of warm water poured over your bits while using the loo can also help.

It was painful but they can heal really well.

Totally normal

I could barely lift my feet after two of my births. The others I was fine though. So I think it is pot luck.

I had an episiotomy with my first and yes that’s normal, I can’t remember how long it took as she’s 13 😂 but I do t remember it going on for months more like a week or two. Congratulations!!!

Yep totally normal! I was trying to walk normally as I didn't want the midwives to see I couldn't walk in case they wouldn't let me leave the hospital 😂

Take your time to heal. Arnica as someone has already said and some aloe Vera drops on your pads can help the healing process.

I also couldn't sit to pee so I peed in our walk in shower for a few days too!

Small walks each day and you'll get stronger.

Congratulations on your baby

Yes... I took paracetamol and ibuprofen alternately on the maximum allowed dose and then reduced as the pain reduced.

Congratulations and bless you, my mum told me about the mother's shuffling around the maternity ward and I remember seeing it when I had mine. It does heal.

You can usually hire a valley cushion from your local nct if that helps for sitting down.

I found baths with lavender oil and tea tree oil were a game changer for me

Yes, me feet didn't fit into my shoes either! Soon felt much better though, I did sit on a cushion for a week or so though which was a lot more comfortable!

Really normal. Don't do what I did and get carried away on about day 8, and go out for a long walk.

Shuffled home like I'd been kicked in the fanny by an angry llama

Completely normal! You should be ok in about 3 weeks, I say on a breast feeding pillow and that really helped , congratulations!

The only thing mine stopped me doing was liftening the pram over the curb for a few weeks

Put a sanitary towel with a bit of water in the freezer, when it's frozen put it under whatever pad your using, it'll cool the area and might help reduce the swelling. Well, it felt better at least.

Congratulations on the birth of your baby! I had an episiotomy with my first and what you have described is normal! What I would say is if you don’t start to notice an Improvement in a couple of days get your stitches checked as not improving/worsening pain can be a sign of infection. My friend is a MW and posted me a bottle of tea tree oil through the door and said to have a shallow warm tea tree bath a twice a day if possible as it helps keep the wound clean! I also found lying feeding on my side more comfy than sitting on my bits for ages at a time. Regular painkillers and move little and often. You can also get this stuff called sprits for bits which is amazing and keep a jug next to the toilet to pour warm water over the area while peeing if you find that uncomfy and laxatives/stool softener if you haven’t had the dreaded first poo yet 🙊
I had to have an elective section for my second and found that much less painful than an episiotomy and bruising from forceps 🤢

First time took 7d till I could walk around house without gritting teeth. Hope the pain reduces soon

You've pushed a small human out of your nether regions, of course you're going to waddle. It smarts quite a lot for at least a week in my experience.

My episiotomy as agony. It took about 2 weeks to ease into ‘painful’ another two weeks before it was uncomfortable and it fully healed by 6 weeks.

Het lots of Fresh air on it if you can. I’d sit on a towel with my feet together/knees out, with another towel covering my modesty. Also the cool setting of a hairdryer helps. Lavender oil was wonderful after the agony eased and lots of ice to the area.

Congratulations on you birth!

Perfectly normal.

I found for the first week I had to wee sat in a shallow warm bath otherwise the pain was unbearable.

Also a hint from my mum...don't try and towel or pat dry as it tears the stitches and hurts like hell. Pop your hairdryer on low heat and give yourself a gently blow dry.

Congratulations!
I've had an episiotomy and a section, the episiotomy was definitely the worst to recover from!
Try a salt bath, the relief was immense!!

100% know the feeling! My son is 13 months and I can remember about 5 days post birth googling to see how long it would last 😬 get some ice packs and put that on every few hours to help with the swelling. And rest rest rest, keep your legs up and get your OH to hand you stuff! Also keep onto of the painkillers don’t be a martyr take them all!