My lady parts have always been pretty sensitive. I get yeast infections easily and I always have. My periods have always been a nightmare and I ended up going on a prescription to ease the pain of cramps that made me throw up in high school.
I didn't think it could get any worse — until it did.
After giving birth to my first son, I knew I’d bleed for a while because my doctor told me I would, but I didn’t know it would be for almost two months.
Not that there was anything I’d be able to do to stop the bleeding, but maybe I could have prepared a bit better. Like, planning a few hours a day where I laid down with a towel underneath me (and nothing else), in order to air myself out and keep it feeling like it was supposed to feel.
Since you can’t put anything in your vagina, like a menstrual cup or tampon after delivery, all I could do was use a pad.
Spoiler alert: It didn't work
Everyone’s flow is a bit different after having a baby and mine certainly tapered off after a few weeks, but it didn’t want to quit. It got to the point where I had trouble walking around comfortably. There was so much happening between my legs and I assumed it was normal and everyone else was going through it, too.
During my 6-month postpartum appointment, I didn’t say anything about the state of my vagina. No one else ever complained about theirs or said they were uncomfortable for over six weeks, so there was a big part of me that assumed I was just being a wimp and should suck it up.
Besides, I’d changed my pad every two hours, taken more baths than I could count in hopes to ease the pain, but nothing helped. I thought I’d have to wait it out.
News flash: You are not supposed to feel uncomfortable and irritated between your legs for weeks or months at a time whether you’ve given birth or not.
You are not supposed to cry because it hurts to walk after a month
You are not supposed to cringe when you pee, wipe, or sit down the wrong way.
You are not supposed to feel as though there's another creature brewing in your vagina, no matter how many stitches you got or how bad you tore.
This discomfort was accompanied by a lovely rash that started at the end of my lady parts and went all the way up my the back end. Had I dared looked at myself, I would have seen it and known there was something abnormal going on and I needed to see a doctor — which I finally did.
My doctor told me I had a raging yeast infection I’d let go way too long. He said an over-the-counter medication probably wouldn’t do and prescribed me something that would take the pain away. He also wrote me a prescription for the lovely butt rash, and for the next week, I had to add creams to my front, a potion to my back, and go without a pad for as long as I could each day.
Within 24 hours, I felt so much better
I share all this because I want you to know that just because you see other moms walking around and leading their lives seemingly pain-free, doesn't mean you're being dramatic. It doesn’t matter if it takes you longer than most to heal after birth — if something doesn’t feel right and you are uncomfortable, call your doctor. Everyone’s experience and healing time is different so don’t base your postpartum recovery on someone else’s.
In my case, I bled a bit longer than most, I discovered I was allergic to the pads I was wearing, and my special place simply needed more air. Who knew?
Speak up when something doesn’t feel right, even if you’ve never heard of it before. Your body and mind deserve the very best.
