Thursday 23 July 2015

10 THINGS: That changed postpartum

If I compare my body pre pregnancy to post pregnancy I'm like a different person. So much has changed permanently, somethings probably temporarily but without a doubt my body has changed A LOT.
Some changes I expected but others I didn't, neither was I prepared for them. So I thought I'd share my experiences, to hopefully prepare other mums to be and relate to new mums. 

1) Tummy - It spends nine months being stretched, so it's hardly surprising it often doesn't just pop back to where it was. Naively I thought that my tummy would take a few weeks to reduce back down and that would be it. I'm sure it is like that for some people, but not me unfortunately. My tummy is now something I'm struggling to get my head around. Stretch marks are present, though not my favourite thing in the world I know they will eventually lighten in colour and appearance. It's the feel and shape of my tummy that has completely changed and I didn't anticipate it to. They do say 'it takes nine months to grow a bump, it can take nine months to feel like 'you' again'. But personally I didn't expect my whole body shape to change, perhaps forever. This is partially why I wanted to write this post, to inform other Mummy's and Mummy's to be of my personal experience. I think if I had known what my postpartum body was probably going to be like then I certainly would have been more mentally prepared.

2) Ankles - they swelled up SO much. My ankles would fill the bottom part of skinny jeans! I had swollen ankles in the later stages of pregnancy but nothing like pot partum. It took a good week for all the excess liquid to drain off and for the first time in about 2 months I could see my 'normal' feet/ankles. 

3) Hair - It's started falling out big time, which I know is something that commonly happen postpartum. I have also noticed my hair isn't as glossy and shiney as it was during pregnancy, in fact it's looking quite dull and lifeless at the moment. Also my scalp has become increasingly dry, as has the skin around my hair line. Does anyone know any good hydrating hair products that can help with this kind of thing? I'm willing to try anything! 

4) Skin - My skin has become so dry post pregnancy. The skin on my forehead, legs and neck was just peeling away, I'm not sure if it's just me or something other women go through post partum. I've been use the Vital Touch Natalia Beautiful Prenatal Body Scrub and am really enjoying using it. 

5) Hips - I've got stretch marks on my hips, which just added to the ones I already had there from simply growing up. My hips have also got slightly wider, not really that noticeably but I can tell from the positioning of some stretch marks. 

6) Down 'there' - it goes without saying really. You're squeezing something the size of a watermelon through something not the size of a watermelon. It's going to hurt, stretch, change. 

7) Breasts - Not only do you suddenly become a milk producing human being, but your breasts constantly change in size. If you let your milk build up then your breasts get HUGE and rock hard, feed your baby or express and they go down to their already increased post partum size and aren't rock hard anymore. 

8) Nails - Going are my super strong pregnancy nails and slowly my weak nails are returning, which makes me very sad. I couldn't believe how amazing my nails felt and how quickly they grew during pregnancy. Usually my nails are so weak I can bend them, resulting in them breaking, a lot. Sadly it seems these nails are returning postpartum. 

9) Head - They say that if you're breastfeeding you need to drink loads more liquid, to counter the loss of liquid but I can't keep up. I have always been someone who drinks water almost constantly throughout the day. However since I started breastfeeding I keep getting headaches, which I'm convinced are related to being dehydrated. You know that type of headache?! Despite drinking water/juice almost constantly I often have a headache, oh joy. 

10) Fingers - My hands swelled up during  pregnancy, which is very common, so I had to take my wedding and engagement rings off. What I didn't expect what to still not be able to consistently fit them on post pregnancy. Some days I can, others I don't have any hope. I read about one women who could never fit them back on, so she had to have them re sized! I'm hoping that doesn't happen to me, I really want to be able to wear them everyday again. I had heard that your hands and feet can change size completely but I didn't think it would actually happen. Silly, I know. 

Of course all of these things are worth it. I now have the most beautiful daughter and the love I feel for her is beyond explanation. It's such a powerful bond and one we will have for life. For that, I'm so grateful. 

*Please remember that these are my experiences and that everyone's experience is different. 

What was the biggest unexpected change you experienced post partum? 

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x
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6 comments

  1. Yes. The texture of my stomach is so weird just now. Also, I had a faint linea negra during pregnancy but I woke up the morning after the birth to find it was dark, dark brown and my belly button looked like it was full of melted chocolate - it must have just been the top few layers of skin, though, as this week it all suddenly rubbed off in the shower! It was both gross and oddly fascinating - and totally unexpected.

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    1. The human body is a pretty incredible thing - I look at Isabella and can barely believe she grew in my tummy. The post birth body takes some getting used to though! X

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  2. The changes are so hard aren't they? I really did't prepare myself. I'm really struggling with my stomach too. Pre baby my stomach and waist were one of the few parts of my body I was happy with and it's still not bounced back 11 months on. I'm not sure that it ever will! Love th e picture of you and bus. K x #thelist

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    1. I'm the same - my waist was the part of my body I didn't mind but now it's almost non existent! I LOVED my bump but life after the bump isn't as I expected! I wouldn't change it though, as I now have my daughter :) X

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  3. Oh wow I agree with this so much and recently wrote about accepting my post baby body! It's so hard isn't it!? For me the worst is my stomach, I have more stretch marks than skin and I just hate the way it looks! My hair is also a lot drier and less shiny that it was when I was pregnant! I miss what it was like so much! xx #thelist

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    1. It is really hard and accepting my post pregnancy body has been really tough! No one warned me, naively I thought I'd 'pop' back to my pre pregnancy body. How wrong was I! X

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