When I gave birth to Ethan (my first), I had no idea what to expect. I hadn't given how I'd feel after giving birth any thought, but I certainly didn't expect to feel as unwell as I did. I couldn't stand up at all without feeling like I was going to faint, I felt weak, exhausted and constantly dizzy. Being that I'm not the type of person who has ever taken to laying about and resting very well and because I was feeling so claustrophobic on the ward, I requested to be discharged from hospital despite not feeling ready. At home a few days later I attempted to shower by myself without my Husbands help but I ended up passing out out in the shower, awaking to find myself shaking uncontrollably in the bottom of the bath. I ended up back in hospital with a suspected blood clot after they discovered my oxygen levels would drop substantially every-time I stood up, but thankfully further tests revealed that I was clear of any clot.
I'm sure that it was a combination of things that made me feel so unwell after having Ethan, I've always put it down to having a general low blood pressure made worse by having the epidural (which is known to lower blood pressure). The epidural made me feel quite strange in general (as helpful as it was for taking the pain of the contractions away). I also lost a substantial amount of blood after giving birth to Ethan and I suspect that my iron levels may also have been a little low. It took me a good few weeks to feel myself again after having Ethan, it was physically and emotionally difficult, especially when watching other new Mums on the ward seemingly bounce out of bed the same or next day after they'd given birth.
I'd mentally prepared myself this time around, I was ready to accept that I'd probably have to spend a few days at the very least recovering in bed after having Logan. But much to my utter delight this time around, things have been very different.. I was up and on my feet and even discharged from hospital the very same day that I had Logan. I was given a better injection to help deliver my placenta, different to the injection that I'd been giving when I had Ethan. It meant that I didn't lose as much blood as I did before. I also didn't have the epidural until ten minutes before Logan was born as there weren't any anaesthetists available, I'd felt particularly frustrated at the time as my labor with Logan had been out-of-this-world painful, but then because I couldn't move to get up and have the epidural done properly because I was in so much constant pain, the epidural attempt failed completely. So although I didn't get any pain relief, it did mean that I wasn't left feeling numb, which then meant that I could get up and walk about within an hour after giving birth, which after what I'd mentally prepared myself for, felt pretty amazing!
Postnatally, I've felt so well this time around. I managed to shower at the hospital by myself hours after having Logan and I was even up and cooking a home-made dinner at home the next day. Despite the fact that Logans birth was much harder than Ethans was, my post-birth experience this time around has been a thousand times better! Mentally, I've been feeling great too. In the past two and a half weeks I've had only two 'oh-my-god I'm shattered, drained and don't know what day, month or year it is' days (though both of these days went hand in hand with Logan suffering with severe trapped wind and symptoms of colic).
The first few weeks with a new baby are definitely not easy, especially when you throw an active toddler in to the mix and top that with two home businesses that neither Adam or I are on maternity or paternity leave from. I'm starting to learn to just go with it though and doing my best to relax about things a great deal more.. Though if I'm honest, I think that I'll always just be the type of person that seems to like going at one hundred and ten miles per hour... ;)
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