good news/bad news (aka....and there it is.....)

Submitted by granolamom on November 23, 2009 - 4:46pm
Body: 

ok, good news first:
baby's adorable and getting chubbier by the day. big ones love her to pieces. I'm feeling good, bleeding less than previous pp experiences and probably doing too much.
very good news is that my cystocele is no bigger than it was last I checked (long time ago, somewhere during my second trimester).
and that leads me to the bad news.....
for the first time I can see my cervix. its right behind my cystocele. nowhere near close to the opening, but I don't like that I can see it in the mirror. used to be I had to reach way up (ok, not *that* high) and that it was pointed to the back. now its pointing forward.
and I can feel it in there, just like a bubble in my vagina. very annoying.
but nothing a bit of nauli won't fix. 'course silly me tried some firebreathing yesterday and wound up with some heavy bleeding. so I will have to resist the urge until all lochia has stopped.

and that's what's new here.
oh, for reference's sake, I'm 2.5 weeks pp.

Christine

November 23, 2009 - 9:25pm

Thanks so much for the update, Gmom. I can only imagine the effect your attitude is having on pp women who cannot yet fathom they have the ability to reverse prolapse! And as for the “very annoying”...welcome to my world! However, things are better than ever in that regard.

How completely adorable is your family! You are truly blessed.

Do try to take it easy - I bet your sewing machine is already turning out organic pink diapers by the dozen!

(((Hugs)))

Christine

Mamato2boys

November 23, 2009 - 11:57pm

Thanks, Gmom, for the update. Silly question: how do I know which direction my cervix is pointing? I have a suspicion that the only reason my cervix is where it is is because of the cystocele. I can feel it at the tip of my middle finger. Don't know where it was before, because honestly I was not this familiar with my girly bits.

Glad to hear about your new baby and you good news.

louiseds

November 24, 2009 - 12:42am

Hi Mamato2boys

You can work out which direction your cervix is pointing by having a bit more of a feel around in your vagina. If you can only just feel it I wouldn't be at all worried about what it is doing! ;-) If you can feel it enough to run your finger around the outside of it you will be able to tell where the circle is, ie finger pointing towards back or forwards, or even perhaps side on. The direction of the little opening is another give away hint. I find it easiest to do this lying down because for some reason my spacial awareness skills seem to work best. Our brain is not accustomed to reading information from a finger inside the body, but you might be able to tell from the sensations produced by the finger. Your brain is trying to pick up pressure signals from two different sources. Mine gets confused.

Gmom, it sounds like your uterus has become retroverted, which is a bit weird if it has not been like that before. I would be doing some all fours exercises, cat arches and the like to try and rearrange your insides again and flop it forwards again. There is probably just too much stretched out stuff still in your belly to leave a spot for your uterus. I wouldn't worry too much. I am sure it will go back to normal again in time, and with a bit of weight loss and some more natural reversion. After all, if your cystocele is high, something else is going to come down while it can.

Cheers

Louise

granolamom

November 24, 2009 - 11:35am

ya, louise, thats what it feels like. its entirely possible that it was retroverted when I first found my cystocele but I just didn't recognize that. actually, now that I think back, I remember posting that my cervix was pointing to my back and not to the side like it used to..so I'm not really what my uterine position has always been. not that it matters, I guess.
I will get right on the cat arches and the like. been doing some childs pose and plies here and there. short on time these days, babys going through a growth spurt I think and is showing signs of reflux. and my big granolaboy's been under the weather since last tuesday. doesn't leave much time for mom.

I'm trying to take it easy, but haven't been doing any sewing lately, christine. I put the machines off-limits until 6 weeks because once I start I have a hard time stopping mid-project even if I'm getting tired. I'm quite proud of my nb diaper stash though, its entirely from upcycled and repurposed fabrics. mostly dd's clothes that were not in hand-me-down-able condition.

lyricmama

November 24, 2009 - 4:19pm

Hey G-Mom! I remember my cervix being visible when I was 4 weeks postpartum, now I wouldn't consider it a "prolapsed" uterus. It's a little lower than it used to be, but not in an "abnormal" place. I would give it time before I worried about it! Congrats on your baby!

clavicula

November 26, 2009 - 1:09am

I remember you posting on this board to somebody: no worries until babe's first birthday. So, please, wait at least a year before you start to worry! ;)
hugs!
Liv

alemama

November 27, 2009 - 6:54am

granolamom you sound so well. It seems like your uterus is returning to it's pre-pregnant location with some variation. When I went to my 6 week postpartum visit after my first baby (OMG I had no idea about ANYTHING then) the midwife made some casual mention of my uterus being tipped. I asked if that was a problem and she said no- that it was totally normal for a 6 week check up and moved right on.
After my most recent birth I did look for my cervix and it was quite low. By 3 months or so it was up pretty high and pointing toward the back wall.
It is so strange how much we don't actually know our bodies and it is very helpful to have this kind of information written down. Especially for someone going through this for the first time.
Give the baby a kiss for me.
and go read babygotback's post- she started nauli early (way way earlier than I would have even considered) and is very happy she did....

granolamom

November 27, 2009 - 9:45am

thanks liv, for the reminder! I should probably dig up my old posts and start taking some of my own advice.

and alemama. . how early did babygotback start nauli? I'll go looking for her post, but I can't imagine starting before the lochia's all done. I hate the bleeding and even just firebreathing makes it start up again. to me that's a sign I shouldn't be doing it, but maybe its ok? what's your impression??
and yes, its a darn shame that we dont' better know/understand our bodies and recognize normal variations and changes that accompany ovulation, menstruation, pg and pp. I should probably add menopause onto that list too.
and its so reassuring to hear that your cerix did similar things pp. you are one of my POP heros, I hope I can get to your degree of reversal someday...

Mamato2boys

November 27, 2009 - 10:26am

After reading Louise' directions, I checked to see which direction my cervix was pointing -- forward. Is this cause for concern? Is it supposed to be pointing to the back?

louiseds

November 28, 2009 - 9:43pm

So it's pointing forward, so it must be coming out of the back wall? Have a look at a diagram in a book of what normal is, and compare to what you can feel'.
:-)