postpartum need advice

Hi new mom and congrats to you! How lovely that it went so well for you this time around. It is great to know that you have been doing the WW work and it's been helping.

Regarding rest, get it when you can! The problem isn't too much rest, but the wrong type of slouching around, as you have pointed out. Here is what Christine says, on page 72:

"Modern women are no longer restoring the natural curvature to their spine in the weeks following birth. Largely because of helpful husbands, convenience foods, upholstered furniture, and labor-saving devices, many maternal spines remain in flexion throughout much of the day as mothers recline and spend time with their newborn. In olden times, women resumed their work load in the days and weeks following delivery, which by its very nature restored spinal shape, vaginal axis, and pelvic organ placement in the new mother. Rest and posture are equally important."

New mom, you obviously have a handle on this. If I could turn back the clock, I would have spent my post-partum days as you are. 2nd Wheel is a great choice, and walking is always beneficial. Don't overdo, keep up the WW work, and enjoy that babe. - Surviving

Dear new mom,
I'd forget the worrying. You did a lot of good things to make the 2nd birth so much better than the first.
Resuming normal activities and caring for the baby is fine. Walking, strengthening arms,legs and knees are fine. Stay away from any firebreathing or nauli or new Kegels for about 12 weeks.
Surviving is right. Many of the new moms who like yoga really like the 2nd wheel DVD.
Just try and incorporate the WW posture as much as possible,even when feeding the baby.
Sounds like you will be fine.
Whole Woman PA

Hey worried new mom!
Wow. Congratulations! Your birth sounds amazing.
I like to avoid many activities until my postpartum bleeding stops. Things like lifting. Not laundry or groceries- I just lift my baby. Straining to do anything- I won't mop or sweep or do laundry. All effort is considered effort, I think about how I move, even if I'm doing something simple like cooking, I'll consider how I'm standing and breathing. I won't twist to load the dishwasher (I will stand at the sink to wash dishes though). And I don't like deep squatting, it feels really unstable to me- if I need to get on the floor (like to talk with my toddler) I go to knees and sit on my feet.
However, starting at day 3 I take a short walk each day adding a few more steps, by two weeks I will walk for about 10 minutes (with the baby on me in a wrap) at a pace that gets my heart beating a little faster. I like walking for realignment and I like to get out in the sunshine in those early postpartum days (it's good for the baby too).
I love side lying and I think it's pretty neutral on my prolapse in those early days. And I like the hands and knees too (and cat/cow yoga stretch).
Sounds like you are all set up to have a really great postpartum time...only one other thing to avoid: constipation.

Worried new mom, I don't know if I am the most experienced person to comment, but it really helps me to hear others' stories so I will share mine. I noticed symptoms of prolapse around 6 weeks pp. However, there are a lot of women on the forum who I remember noticing symptoms several months after. Also, if I am correct, part of the whole woman belief is that it takes a solid 2 years post partum for the body to completely bounce back. I am now 13 months pp and to be honest my prolapse got worse before it got better. (but that was probably because I aggravated my prolapse because I was unaware that prolapse was causing problems.

I too, am wondering about kegels because I have heard as well that they are good for sex, and recently read a study where they seemed to improve incontinence in women, but not so much the effected prolapsed organs. I understand there are many women who have posted that said they did their kegels religiously for a long time and it never made a difference in their prolapse.

About the heaviness feeling, seeing as how you only just had a baby (congrats!) I would give it time for that feeling to subside. Try to really listen to your body, and I will say that a nice walk in good posture always does wonders for me. Exercise to the extent you feel comfortable while having good posture. Take it easy, and try not to lift things too much.
Someone else will have to fill in my lack of know-how on doing kegels right after having a baby or if they are okay in posture.
Good luck, and enjoy your little darling, they are so precious aren't they!

I am one of the ones who kegeled throughout life, and I'm done! I've never had incontinence so I can't say if they help that. I never noticed any effect on sex (is this something one's partner is expected to comment on, I wonder?). All I know is that all this kegeling did not prevent prolapse, and if you read Christine's blog article called "Just Do Yer Kegels" she explains very well now kegels actually pull the organs TOWARDS the vagina. Why do that when we are working so hard to get them forward into the lower belly? I can't think of a good reason to do them, nothing that would outweigh the bad, in my opinion. - Surviving

Congrats! On both baby and a gentle birthing experience. And...

I would strongly advise against the "old" Kegels/pelvic floor exercises in any shape or form. Your mention of heaviness reminded me of my history - I had heaviness and mild urinary incontinence a few years ago (my first child was about 2 I think), so went to a bladder/pelvic floor specialist who taught me how to do kegels properly, to tone up my pelvic floor. Within a few months of performing these exercises carefully and religiously, my bladder and uterus prolapsed. Truly wish I'd found Whole Woman first.

Regarding the Whole Woman exercises, go with how you're feeling. I found I was only comfortable to do the basic workout on the FAFP DVD for weeks and weeks, and that was fine - there's no rush. I gradually built up to the whole workout. (and stay away from firebreathing/nauli while you're still bleeding too). And I think I started doing the second wheel DVD at around 4 months postpartum.

Gentle walking and fresh air whenever you feel like it. Candle meditation in the evening can be a very nice way to end your day - although not if you've had a verrrrry stressful day.

Also, I found it did get worse for a while. Probably four months post-partum was worst for me. Try not to worry and panic but just roll with it as best you can - and be gentle with yourself too.

I find sitting in seiza (knees in front of you, legs together, hands on thighs, shins under you,one big toe resting on the other) can ease the heaviness a bit if it's really bothering me. Gives a nice lumbar curve too. A nice restful extension of that is child pose - bending forward and resting forehead on the ground.

Worried new mom, when your lochia has ceased, you will be able to start firebreathing, which is very powerful, but not yet, OK? Yes, the others are right. Often the first few weeks are OK, then it does get worse, but after about 6 months you should start to see the real postpartum reversion kicking in, for the following 18 months or so. It seems like a long time to wait, but it just seems to happen this way. We don't know why. All I can offer you is reassurance at the moment, that it won't be like this forever. Hope you can get out and do some walking in Whole Woman posture.

Louise

Hi Worried

Your body will revert soft tissue wise at its own rate. There is really nothing we can do to make that happen more quickly. All we can do is to keep our posture optimal to allow reversion to happen unhindered. I posted the other day about doing Kegels in Whole Woman posture. Sadly I cannot remember the topic. When in WW posture it is almost impossible to do Kegels because your pelvic floor muscles are already stretched quite tight. This is an effect of allowing the pelvis to tilt forwards. It rotates on the non-parallel sacroiliac joints of the pelvis, which opens out the pelvic floor, stretching it tight both front to back and side to side. When we walk the two halves of the pelvis move counter to each other, so the two halves of the PF are alternately stretched and contracted as the two halves of the pelvis alternately tilt forwards and backwards around the SIJ.

There is simply very little point in doing Kegels when the very same actions happen every time we get off our butts and walk around the block.

The action of Kegelling moves the two halves of the pelvic floor together. However, Kegels only move the pelvic floor. Christine's New Kegels (which you can find somewhere on the main site) move *all* the tissues of the lower torso. I think Bethechange mentioned the location in Dreamer's topic. This exercise is also on the DVD First Aid for Prolapse.

Kegels do also have a role in developing your sexual repertoire, and bringing the focus to your vagina and all its other delights, is certainly a way to enhance your sexual enjoyment, and that of your partner... but you might not be in that space again just yet. ;-)

If you want to do Kegels, then hands and knees is as good a position as any, because your organs are falling away from your pelvic floor. One of the big problems of Kegels lying down is that I think the pelvic organs can get caught in the hiatus between the two halves (where baby came out). This means that you cannot contract the muscles fully, and it kind of reinforces incorrect positioning of pelvic organs. I know that I feel quite loose and low after an extended Kegels session, if a bit juicier. It makes my yoni feel alive, but also floppy.

I hope this answers your questions.

Louise

You might start bleeding again, for a start. Just do it gently for a start and work up slowly to the full range of movement and vacuum. Stop immediately if any spotting.

No, nothing will make your body revert on the inside any more quickly. It is a biological thing. All you can do it support its efforts with how you use your body. Just be very patient, which is hard for all of us. This too will pass.

Herbs at the moment? I think you would be best to consult a herbalist about this. I presume you are breastfeeding.

Louise

I doubt that your body has been damaged greatly in that short time. I really think it is more likely to be compromised a bit later, as your baby gets heavier, and you are starting to get cocky about being superwoman.

I would just take the spotting as a clue to ease off on the second wheel exercises that you think might be aggravating your uterus. I find the Second Wheel to be a very demanding workout.

You sound like you are sensitive to wanting to do the right thing. Remember that in many traditional societies there is a 42 day babymoon, where the new mother does very little heavy work. That would be nice, but we have to work around reality. Listen to Alemama. She is very wise.

Louise