When you enter the postpartum period, it can be hard to know what to expect. No matter what baby you’re on — whether it’s your first or your second or third — it may be completely different. This is what happened to me. My first time around was completely different than the second time. Just like with giving birth, there’s no predicting how the fourth trimester will go — even if you’ve been through it before.
Labor and delivery with my first baby were rough and my recovery was hard
I was in pain and on medication for weeks. I ended up being in labor for over 40 hours. I started at a birth center and ended up in a hospital getting Pitocin and an epidural. I didn’t get to hold my baby for long before I had to be taken to get stitched up. I lost a ton of blood because of how much I tore. I needed two transfusions.
Once we got home, I had to take many pain pills and sit on a donut to make it bearable. I couldn’t even sit up in the bed while I nursed her because it put too much pressure on my stitches. That tearing seemed to take such a long time to heal fully. This pain meant that we slept on the couch for days after we got home. I remember missing my bed, but this was the only way to feed her easily overnight when she woke up. The sleep deprivation after my first baby on top of the pain was brutal.
With my son almost two-and-a-half years later, I decided against the birth center
I was afraid and wanted to be in the hospital in case things went the same way. His birth was easy by comparison. I was only in labor for a total of 12 hours. I was ready to push so quickly after we got to the hospital, that I couldn’t get an epidural. I’m glad I didn’t get one because I bounced back much faster.
I only pushed for about 40 minutes and was told it would have been less if the little bugger hadn’t been face-up! I was able to reach down and catch him, which was an amazing experience. I remember the first thing I said to him was, “Hi, honey,” as I hugged him to my chest. I got to snuggle him instead of having to go right into surgery. The memory of catching him and the skin-to-skin contact is something that I will remember forever.
I was able to walk around pretty quickly and recovery was much faster
The only pain medication I took was Tylenol, and we went home the next day. It was such an easy birth by comparison. The first had been pretty traumatic, and I was glad to have a second chance.
It was even better since I had another child at home
Being able to bounce back so quickly was helpful. Plus, I was already used to being woken up every few hours still, so the sleep deprivation didn’t hurt quite as much — but I also had to deal with a toddler in the middle of potty training the second time around. In a way though, the mom guilt was stronger. Because I had to pay so much attention to the baby, there wasn’t as much to go around for his older sister. This time was a huge transition for us all.
The postpartum experience is unique to each birth. No matter how you birth, the strength of a woman’s body is awe-inspiring. What our bodies go through for the sake of love is amazing. We rip ourselves apart sometimes for someone we love so unconditionally even though we haven’t met them yet. Now, that’s love, no matter how you look at it.
