When did you feel 'normal' again?

hey
I just wanted to ask when you started feeling normal again after birth? I had my twins just over two weeks ago, my first kids, and to be honest it didn't even occur to me that i would still be recovering now... i was all ready to be running around like a crazy twin mum and yet i'm still feeling quite weak, not from sleepless nights because they're doing great in that way, but physically recovering is taking a while. Hubby goes back to work next week and to be honest i'm feeling really nervous that i won't have enough energy to cope.... not too nervous but i really want to be able to keep the house in some sort of tidy state rather than be able to do just the minimum for the babies... Any ideas when i'll start to feel normal again?
Rachel

 

I started feeling better around 6 weeks. My boys were in the NICU for 4 weeks and I think I was just running on adrenaline then. When we got home, I napped when they did and left the housework to my mom and DH. When people asked how they could help, I would have them do household chores or ask for a dinner that could be frozen or easily cooked. Hang in there. It does take your body a while to recover. I was shocked when the OB said she wouldn't see me until 6 weeks post partum and I couldn't understand why. At that point they make sure you are fully recovered. Did you have a csection? If so, and you have any swelling or oozing there, you will want to get it looked at.

 

Hormonally, I felt normal after 3 weeks.....I am getting stronger everyday, but I wish to get more sleep and that would probley help me feel "normal."

This is all that I am feeling so far.

GL,
Jenn

 

I would say I started feeling quite a bit better after about 3 weeks. I had a difficult labor and delivery. I was on magnesium sulfate and also had a 3rd degree tear, so a lot of pain down there. It took even longer to feel totally like myself again. It will come! Try to rest during the day, since your babies are probably sleeping a lot during the day right now.

 

Hi fellow Brit and fellow Rachel!

It took me a long time to get back to feeling normal. I think I had some PPD and I never really got it together and felt comfortable being alone with the twins until after Christmas when the twins were 7 months old. DD was a massive crier until 6-7 months and that put such a strain on me as I was afraid to even pick her up! Still, that was just me! Im sure others will give you more positive replies! LOL! Congrats on your twins!

 

It took awhile for my body to feel normal again and I had a C-section. This was my second C-section and I recovered quicker the second time. As far as feeling normal otherwise with the twins it took until about 7 mths or more. Sorry about that, I don't want to sound negative or make you feel like it never happen. I do have a suggestion that might help a little....at least it did for me. Is there anyone your mom or MIL that can come stay over one night or more and if so can they have baby duty all night and let you rest for a full 8 hrs or more? I don't know if you BF or FF, pumping or what but MIL came and stayed a few days to help me and one of those nights I took an ambien that Dr had prescribed for me to help sleep with pain while recovering. I slept like a rock and felt like a new woman the next day. I pumped and supplemented with formula so it was easier for us to do this. Good luck.

 

it goes in stages...I started to feel better around the 6-8 week mark, but I don't think I really started to feel like myself until it was closer to a year. And then when we went through rough sleeping phases, I would feel pretty trashed again.

Be patient with yourself, it's a major change on so many levels! Sleep when you can, drink lots of water and don't worry so much about the house. Focus on yourself and the babies for the first two months or so.

You will get there, we all do!!!!!

 

Hi Rachel, CONGRATULATIONS on the birth of your babbas!! Fellow brit here too :blbl:

I had a section and had 2weeks stay in NICU so like someone else mentioned i was also running on autopilot and didn't get the chance to think about how i felt. When we got them home i was very emotional but with reflux and colic to contend with i just had to keep moving, the babies always pull you through.
6 wks after my section i got pancreatitus and had to have my gall bladder removed so another surgery i think has set me back and i still don't feel me again but i am guessing that i have some PPD that i am in the process of getting fixed. Basically ready for the scrapheap but that is just me. I really hope you feel better soon, we are all different and you might surprise yourself... when your babies need you you forget about you. If you can get any help for the first shift alone i would grab it with both hands!!

 

6-8 weeks...it tough, but you get back to yourself little by little. You'll be fine when he goes back to work...I was petrified and there were some really hard moments, but they're moments and they pass. Good luck!

 

If we talk about hormonal normal, it takes a while, if we talk normal normal, well i am not there yet, wonder if i will ever be normal again..

 

I was shocked at how bad I felt after giving birth. I was up and around right up till the time I delivered vaginally, so like you I thought i would be great in a couple of weeks. In reality,I could hardly stand for more than a few seconds, I wasn't strong enough to lift the babies out of the bassinet beside my bed. I was in pretty bad pain from tearing, etc., etc. By four weeks I started feeling a little normal, and I've been working on getting my strength back since.

 

Congrats on the birth of your twins
As far as feeling hormonal normal it took me about 4-5 months. Our twins were in the NICU alittle over a month and that was very hard on me. I developed PPD once we got them home and I felt so overwhelmed that I thought I couldn't do it on my own and I would just sit and cry.
Once they got 5 months old we had they on a routine and they started sleeping through the night. I started little by little feeling normal.
Now they are great and each month comes different milestones!

Good Luck & Best Wishes!

 

AS far as recovery, I had a c-section and it was the hardest physical thing I ever went through. It took me over a month to recover. For almost 2 weeks I could barely move, had to have help going up stairs and used a wheelchair the majority of the time. It was very painful. After probably 6 weeks I was able to get around better though I took it easy for several months (my girls were in the NICU so I wasn't doing what most moms are right after birth.)

As far as feeling normal, it took me a loooooooooong time. Probably 9 or 10 months. I just did not feel like myself...I was too busy to even shower most of the time, I sat around in my pajamas or lounge clothes and rarely got dressed because I did not have time. I didn't wear makeup (which I used to every day) or do my hair because again, I didn't have the spare hour to do it. I also lost some of the baby weight but not all, I carried an extra 10 lbs around which bugged me. I had fresh stretch marks, cellulite, my hair had been cut really short and really badly and overall I just felt ugly. I also had no time to myself and was stressed a lot. I never went anywhere alone, which meant I stayed in the apartment most of the time. It was tough.

But after about 9 months things got better. The girls started to become more independent, which freed up a little bit of my time for me to be able to exercise, shower, get dressed, etc and that did a lot for my self esteem. I lost most of the weight, and physically taking care of myself made me mentally feel better. The girls are big enough for me to take them out places if I want (I still stay in a lot, but knowing I CAN go somewhere also helps). DH and I take the girls out a lot more and have more fun outings and enjoyable times, rather than all the "maintenence" issues that come with babies.

Now I feel pretty good most of the time. I'd say I mainly feel like myself again now.

 

From the delivery, which was a c-section, I felt like I didn't even have babies after a couple of weeks. BUT, I had absolutely no muscle tone from being on bedrest for even just four weeks before they were born so I would get exhausted even walking up a ramp because I didn't have any strength left. My girls were also in the NICU so I got a lot of sleep and after that first week of constipation I felt so much better. I think if I would have brought them home right away it would have been a completely different story.

For comparison purposes, I didn't feel normal after my vaginal birth with my firstborn dd until 6 weeks for sure. I had tearing, hemoroids and a lot of swollen tissue and even after that all felt better, I would still get sore even sitting on our barstools until about 3 months after! For me, and I know I could be an exception, the c-section was a much quicker recovery...

 

I thought I fell "normal" around two weeks, but I crashed big time at 9 weeks after Max's open heart surgery. I think I was definately running on adrenaline and trying to prove I could be supermom. Take your time and so what if the house is a little messy, you have two new babies that are your #1 priority and yourself too.

 

It seriously took me a good 6-8 weeks to feel normal again. I felt pretty beaten up before that. I also thought I'd be better earlier on but I really didn't. Congratulations by the way! I promise you'll feel better again

 

I had a c-section and I finally started feeling "normal" again around 6-8 weeks postpartum. When they were 3-4 months is when I really started feeling more like my old self again though. I still have a long way to go to looking like my "old" self though. (They're 6 months old....I'm getting there but not trying too hard so it's taking awhile)

 

Congrats Rachel!

I had a C-section, and physically, I was doing pretty well after a couple of weeks. Emotionally/hormonally however, my last little meltdown was a couple of weeks ago (6weeks after babies were born) but I've been feeling much better since then. When I had the little meltdown, my mom took the next day off to watch the babies just so I could get out of the house for a while. That was so refreshing and therapeutic for me! Since then, I've made an effort to get out of the house with the babies a couple of days a week. Even if its to go to the store and buy one thing or to go to the park and walk - it helps.

Really, everybody heals differently and at different paces. Hang in there and remember we are here for support if you need it!

 

i had a c-section and I felt mostly normal again at 3 - 4 weeks. My hormones are still a bit off but I think that will be the case until I stop pumping. Try and get out of the house - that really helped me a lot!

I hope you feel back to yourself soon!

 

Congratulations !! Little by little you do start feeling better - it is gradual though. It has been five months for me now. They were in the NICU for the first month, which was emotionally hard, then the second and third month was physically hard with so little sleep and a lot of hormones. The third month I developed PPD and luckily my doctor kept me off work for another two months, I could not have gone back to work and function. It is gradual but you get there, I don't think I'm fully "normal" yet, but it's not as bad as it was, so it does get better : )