The first 3 days were very painful, as I recovered from tearing. Walking and sitting were challenging. But, after Day 3, I felt better! I recovered much more quickly in that regard than I expected to. Praise God for getting through the first 3 days!
Breastfeeding is non-stop during the first 2.5 weeks. If you can get through those hard, totally sleep-deprived nights, then you seriously must celebrate! It will NEVER be that hard again. And you've just paved the way for continued, future success with breastfeeding. God be praised!
When we hit the one-month mark, great things started happening. I feel like my milk production finally became abundant, fully responding to all the hard-work that Liam had done with suckling in the 30 days prior. Thus, time between feedings increased. This meant that I got more rest, and this, in turn, meant that my body could better replenish the milk supply. It was a win-win!
A strange, new dizziness has been my constant companion since childbirth. It let up for only one week in early November, for who-knows-what-reason. It rears its ugly head quite frequently and at the most inconvenient times. Most often, it is a pervasive, constant, and mild dizziness. It is tolerable, albeit worrisome, and it is most augmented by chatty, social situations which seem to drain the energy out of me within seconds, especially if Liam is being passed around between people.
Perhaps this is my body's way of telling me to sit down and quietly focus on the new task at hand: Liam...and Liam ONLY. I can't be sure if the dizziness is from my new-found anemia (which I think I've successfully combated with iron pills), from breastfeeding, or from general sleep-deprivation (which is much better these days, so I really shouldn't complain).
I have a dozen pink stretch marks, some extra tummy flab, and a couple more pounds -- all of which I'm choosing to keep as souvenirs.
I do think that, for the rest of my life, I will fondly recall Liam's delivery as if it just happened yesterday. Giving birth to him is seriously my favorite thing to talk about, so if you get me started, be prepared for me to be joyfully long-winded! Even when I'm 90, this will be the case. I'm certain!
Now I understand what parents mean when they say that the day that their child was born was the best day ever. While it wasn't exactly an easy walk through the park, it was certainly the most momentous thing I have ever experienced -- and so, I can never forget it, nor help from thinking about it at length with a big goofy grin on my face, whenever I am alone. :)
