Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Excuse the title. :)

I'm having a good bit of trouble with things bouncing back to the "new normal" after birth, and am wondering how others have done, especially since we have a load of new moms here. I'm not quite 6 weeks pp, and still feeling a good bit of pain, occasionally taking pain reliever and not able to sit on anything even remotely hard. Even a cushion on the sofa or sitting in the bed to nurse causes pain. Best position is sitting on the boppy like a donut cushion, and that seems to relieve the pain/pressure.

At about 3 weeks pp, I started noticing things sort of "caving in" to the vaginal walls. It didn't start out this way, things were swollen, but in place. I just came back from the doctor's office today. I couldn't see my regular GP, but the woman I did see said she thinks every thing is okay. She was really reluctant to do an exam even. Basically, there's some invasion from the back, but the anterior wall with the bladder is quite into the vagina itself usually (it varies when I walk/sit, etc.) It's so crowded in there sometimes that I have to work to get a finger in! Also having some seemingly random bright red bleeding, but supposedly that's normal for a couple weeks yet?

I spoke with my mom briefly before going to the doc and she said she didn't experience anything like that. I'm just wondering if y'all think this is really normal? The doc said I just have to wait it out & keep doing the Kegels. She said that it could take a really long time, but that there was no suggested normal timeframe. Great. I joked with my mom that at least I wouldn't have to worry about birth control because we won't be having sex for awhile. :(

I'm supposed to go for a postnatal check in 3 weeks with my own GP, so I can ask her then as well. I was going to cancel this appt, but the receptionist suggested I keep it since they check the bean too. Glad I kept it now.

The joy of pregnancy never ends....good thing the Bean is cute. :D

I am so glad you made this thread. I still have a weird uncomfortableness in the old ladybits as everything settles back and Leela is at 9wks pp and I made it through my 6wk check and was declared sex-worthy. But with the weird discomfort there is no way in heck i'd want to.

I don't have advice but tons of commiseration. Yours sounds really horrible. Hope someone can offer insight :) in the mean I guess Kegels bring bloodflow to the area and can't be bad.

It's not too painful if I'm smart about it, just more that it seems really not quite right. Wasn't sure if this is just one of those things no one tells you about giving birth, heh.

Reno was a vaginal birth and I had some wonkyness down there for awhile...like a few months...probably less then 6 months. I tore, had stitches and was quite swollen. I'm guessing it all worked itself out or I just got used to it and forgot about it. :P Sex was quite uncomfortable for a few months. I would sit on pillows if I was sitting on something hard and also would sit in weird positions to relieve the pain/pressure down there. Definitely bring it up at your next appointment but it seems like it might me normal.

Miles was a c-section and I have to say that as horrible as the recovery was for me it was only really bad for 2 weeks and it was nice to not have to go through the vaginal recovery all over again.

Can you go to an ob-gyn who specializes in this sort of thing?

For me the 1st 6 weeks were rough because I had an episiotomy & hemmoroids, but it did heal ok within a month or so. Then I still had discomfort after 6 weeks but it was just a pretty bad burning senstation. My ob-gyn said it was due to hormones. Finally around 1yr it went away and things are totally back to normal. Phew!

I really hope yours feels better soon!

A friend in my moms group is seeing an obgyn today because she is still having lots of pain, her baby is 6.5 months old. I have read that it takes six months to heal. I could sit without pain after maybe 4 weeks, but yesterday I was sitting on the ground and needed to change position cause it was uncomfortable. Give it time and talk to your dr. On the bright side I am starting to get my sex drive back!

I'm sure everyone is different, but I would definitely bring it up again at your next visit if things still don't feel right to you. I'm pretty sure I was able to sit comfortably after about a week (with an uneventful vaginal delivery and a 2nd degree tear), but I had some issues with tissue healing internally in a way that made things crowded or blocked, really. It was physically impossible to have sex until the tissue was removed, which as at about 12 weeks, when I finally went back and insisted something was not right. After that, things got back to normal for me fairly quickly. Dryness/burning is really common - if I recall correctly, it's generally a hormonal issue that occurs more often when breastfeeding. At my 6-week app't, my OB gave me some kind of topical cream (I think it was an estrogen cream) that was supposed to help. I would say definitely trust your instincts if you think things are not quite right....I wish I had done so earlier. Hope you start feeling better soon!

Well, sounds like it could just be normal, so that's good to hear (though sorta sucky in that I'd hoped I'd be better soon). We'll see what the next couple of weeks bring before the GP visit. The labor was pretty rough (30+ hours ending with forceps delivery and an episiotomy) so maybe my expectations were unrealistic. Embarrassing to have to sit on cushions all the time. :)

I was shocked how long it took to feel completely normal after my VBAC. I would say for the first 2 months I was considerably uncomfortable, and after maybe the third it was mostly but not completely normal.

Honestly, I found healing from a c-section (with my first) less ridiculous, even though that's contrary to basically everything I've ever been told.

No two vaginas are exactly alike. I'll say that my ol' garly cooch will never be the same after bearing children. I JUST got my libido back and Fini is 2. So it goes. My buddy had scarring after her births and it interferes with her already non-existent sex life.

sounds normal to me. definitely it was longer than 6 weeks before things felt remotely normal, especially since my stitches were forked from me NOT staying in bed for a few days like my midwife ordered me to (but Z was in the NICU and i was discharged, so there wasn't much i could do about that!). if you've been more active than is suggested, it'll take longer to heal. the swelling and discomfort will eventually go away, but you should make sure an OBGYN is checking regularly anyway.

my vag is definitely different, but still pretty awesome anyway.

*bump*

After some physio, things have not particularly improved. Basically the muscles are doing pretty well, but everything's in the wrong place so the muscles can't work to hold them there. Therapist is sending me on to specialist gynecologist for likely surgery (eek). I'm nervous about this possibility obviously, but if it can help me lead a somewhat normal life again, then bring it. Been reading on the 'net a bit about the different methods. Physio says that she thinks I will be able to have the easier version of a couple of surgeries commonly used, but I'm still a bit concerned about scar tissue. Also, the recovery time should be interesting. No heavy lifting at all (including of course, Freya) for at least 2 weeks, possibly as long as 4-6. If anyone's had this sort of surgery, I'd be interesting in hearing from you, even if via PM.

Feeling a bit like Humpty Dumpty.

hugs refinnej, this sounds a bit scary. My thoughts are with you and i am so glad that you are going to see a specialist.

{{hugs}} Did they decide it was a prolapse? I hope whatever you do makes you feel wonderful!

Yes, prolapse. Not as bad as some that I've read about, but enough that the "quality of life" issues warrant some intervention. The pain has diminished greatly, and there were some other complications as well, but it's looking like maybe by the time F's a year, I'll be someone somewhat resembling my former self.

So after birth I had an internal 1st degree tear and a hemmorhoids. I do continue to have some post-partum bleeding as well, but wasn't having any problem with urinary incontinence until exactly 4 weeks post partum. I had a sudden loss of urine control (was at home thank goodness because this wasn't just a few drops). Anyway I felt inside my vagina and discovered what I am pretty sure is a bladder prolapse. My 6 week post-partum check up is in a week and half so I am sure I can get my questions answered then, but did any of you ladies have anything happen like this and it went away on its own? It is freaking me out.

I've seen a good amount of post-vaginal birth anatomy, and it's normal for some of the tissue at the anterior of the vaginal opening (between the vagina and the urethra) to be more visible than before. A small cystocele can definitely get better from doing lots of kegels, or just over time, and can get even better once you stop breastfeeding. Definitely let your midwife or doctor know you're concerned about this and have them give you a thorough exam, but yes, it's possible for it to improve! In the meantime I'd recommend checking out some Youtube videos of physical therapists demonstrating how to do kegels effectively. Even as a health care provider, I learned a lot from doing that myself after I gave birth. I don't remember which videos I watched specifically, but it was really easy to find good ones just by searching for something like "pelvic floor exercises". One specific thing I didn't realize is that it's important to engage your lower abs. I hope you feel better soon!

Thanks Moo... good suggestion to watch some videos - I wasn't really engaging my lower abs when doing Kegals either! This feels like a pretty big cyctocele (basically blocking the introitus)but hopefully it can improve with some kegals and time!