The 2 ½ week postpartum Yoga Doula blog! All pregnant women please make sure to read #3...it may save you a great deal of tears! ;) Well, there have been many surprises, both wonderful and interesting in these weeks postpartum. Heres a few of my highlights and thoughts: 1) I love my babes. I am grateful every day that I have been so lucky to have a family. I spent so much time making routines with Jaxon while pregnant that he simply amazes me as we go about our day. He takes his own shoes off, undresses himself, puts his toys in the tub, moves his stool back and forth for hand washing and teeth brushing. He is a wonderful little toddler, and soon to be, boy! But Ive also watched him struggle with the adjustment of the change in our routines as well. He had a hard time going from pregnant Mommy days to full on go, go, go Daddy time postpartum. Some nights he would sit at the table and stare blankly outside....slowly pulling his dinner to his mouth, almost half out of it. Jake and I realized that he might be getting *too* much exercise....lol. Sometimes he gets confused as to why I have to sit with Hannah and pulls on my hand to make me move. Im thankful for a blog that a doula suggested to me Janet Lansbury - Elevating Child Care on Facebook. I read it daily and it helps me to best interact with Jaxon as he finds his way through this postpartum period, just as each of us is doing the same. Parenting is a trying job. The hardest one I have ever had (and Ive had some tough jobs!) but it requires a constant and daily reminder that taking it one day at a time will pay huge dividends. And treating your children with respect will only help their growth as they navigate their way to finding themselves! Hannah is still sleeping like a log most days, with the exception of her growth spurts. She coos and already smiles and stares into my eyes with happiness. Sometimes she feeds so much, she spits up. Often times in the middle of the night all over our bed....lol. In traditional chinese medicine, I read that *sighing* is hard on your mind/body (especially your spleen). So when these things happen, I try humming instead....haha. Thats not to say I never let out a grr of frustration here and there....but I try my best to make the best of things. Because whats the alternative? Being grumpy over spit up milk? Cmon now. There are bigger issues in this world than that. I guess I enjoy putting all these little postpartum joys into perspective....rather than dwelling. Yes, these years are tough, yes they are tiring….but they only happen once….and despite how exhausting they may be….I wouldn’t trade a millisecond of it for anything in this world. I’m grateful to all of my wonderful friends for everything they have done for us in these past few weeks. The outpouring of gifts and love was a wonderful way to celebrate the growth of our family. We look forward to Monday’s “Fort McMurray Family Friends Thanksgiving Dinner” and to G-Ma’s visit next Wednesday. Ten days with my Mom will feel like a vacation to Hawaii Im sure....I cant WAIT! And neither can Jake....lol. 2) How do you do it? Seriously, women of Fort McMurray! How do you have babies with little to no support nearby? We were very lucky to plan my hubbys last week of vacation for the year around Hannahs birth, so I had him almost entirely for 2 weeks. Grandma is also going to be here in t-5 days for a good stint. To say I feel lucky is an understatement. We only spent about 7 hours in the hospital and it was so nice to be at home quickly. The next morning I woke up, I remember standing at the front door trying to organize the bags we brought home, I thought to myself, What if I had to press on with both kids and no one around to help me out? I stopped and stared blankly in the mirror. The thought was firstly terrifying, but then made me a bit sad, because I know clients in the past that have had no help in town....and their hubbys or partners have gone back to work after a very short period of time. This has boggled my mind and is leading me into another venture with Higher Health to look into a more robust postpartum doula support system. The idea is that it will work the same as booking massages or acupuncture. Our doulas will put their availability in and Moms can go online and find an available PP doula to come help them out for a bit. Hold their baby, talk with them about their newborn, bring their baby to them for breastfeeding while they take a nap....these little things would make a world of difference in the postpartum days and weeks! We have a labour doula and postpartum doula workshop running next weekend...anyone interested in attending, please get your space confirmed, as I foresee this venture being a wonderful joint relationship both for Higher Health clients and the families of Wood Buffalo! e-mail: kim@torontodoulagroup for all the info. The training is being hosted at the Redpoll Centre. Labour Doula workshop Oct 17/18, Postpartum Doula workshop Oct 19/20. 3) I forgot what it feels like when hormones begin to leave your body. By the fourth day postpartum, I felt like I had been hit by a train. My joints ached, my muscles were tender and sore....and the sweating! Oh my how I had forgot about those wonderful postpartum sweats! Epsom salt baths helped, as did drinking lots of water. From what I read, its your body’s way of getting rid of the excess water you retain during pregnancy. And well, the hormones, within a week after birth (oestrogen & progesterone) drop, which is what can cause those highs, lows and sometimes even the blues. By the 5th day postpartum, I was having a good little cry on the couch over my vagina. Yes, I said it. That is what I first cried about…..my vagina. I had been taking stool softeners, but my body was still terrified to poop (theres a hilarious part about this postpartum joy in A girlfriends guide to pregnancy that has resonated well with me). When I did finally brave the toilet for only the 2nd bowel movement postpartum, I ended up tearing my stitches a bit. Another doula later told me that if you wad up toilet paper and apply pressure over your stitches and perineum that would have likely saved the ripped stitches! After all the doula work I do, Im still learning, lol. I share these things, because I wish no other woman to endure them. My hubby could tell that what was really happening was a bit of the ups and downs of postpartum, and he consoled me gently on the couch. Holding me tight and letting me cry on his shoulder. I cried that my girl had ruined my girl. He laughed to help diffuse the emotions and it helped. I realized I was being a tad dramatic but went to see Dr. Javed the next day anyhow. She said everything would be fine and it would heal well....and two weeks later, she was right. But in those moments, it felt good to cry, it felt good to be vulnerable, and it felt even better to have support and be loved. 4) I used to get annoyed when in the community people would ask how old Jax was, then look at my pregnant belly, and the same response would then come over and over, “You’re going to be busy”. Now, I understand that this is the community’s way of preparing you for a time in your life that is not only going to be busy, but what is sometimes going to be absolute chaos, lol. I was very happy to have had some Mom’s really tell it to me straight in pregnancy. One local Mom described bath time as a complete and utter sh*t show! Now having done bath time postpartum, I am grateful for her candour. It helped me feel like I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but that simply putting down a toddler, while trying to breastfeed a growing infant during the “witching” hours was HARD work. We’re managing though and every day it seems to be getting a little bit easier. I’ve found work arounds to help at bath time which seemed to really be the one sticking point in our day that was super tough. As for the house, I prepared myself very well for managing it postpartum. Having come from my last business role at Toyota, I utilized their principle of “Kaizen”, which means continuous improvement with the elimination of waste (muda). It essentially means to stop doing the same things over and over……while expecting better or improved results. I kaizen everything in our home! From maintaining a very well detailed and very large calendar in our kitchen, to scheduling garbage take out half way through the cycle to avoid overflow, to the maintenance of chores, etc! And I encompass Jax as often as I can! He loves to help vacuum, pull clothes out of the dryer to be folded, empty the dishwasher. Sure it takes a bit more time with his help, but it’s “our” time and he so enjoys being dutiful….it’s just in his nature! I’m still making sure that Jax enjoys his favourite activities though. Flash cards, playing cars, reading books, taking walks and attending his play groups. The management of fun vs. duty is a fine balance, but I think we’re really mastering the art of it early…..for now…..lol. Ask me again in 3 months when it’s -40 and we haven’t left the house in 3 days ;) 5) Breastfeeding! Ahhh, I forgot about all the wonderful and sometimes crazy nuances of breastfeeding. This time around though, it’s been a lot less stressful. I was always so worried about whether I was doing it “right” with Jaxon. Now that it’s my 2nd time at the rodeo, I feel like I’m back in the saddle, and that it’s much easier to remember what I’m supposed to do. I recognize growth spurts much more now and I park my tush or carry Hannah around while she is on there every hour as she needs to be. She did end up getting thrush and boy has that been an eye opener. Nystatin and nyaderm….squirting it in her mouth after feedings, washing and creaming my nipples constantly, using probiotics on her in the evenings to help manage the impact of antibiotics. And we still didn’t find any of it helped! So we went with the ‘ol gentian violet remedy. It’s purple, it stains, but it works! I had gone into the “Fort McMurray Breastfeeders” page on Facebook late one night and used the little search field for “thrush” in the group, since I didn’t want to make a middle of the night post asking for advice. The group is such a wonderful forum for objective information. I went through the entire history of thrush discussions and learned about the differences of antibiotics vs. gentian violet. To each their own in this regard, but I was resonating with the fact that even after a full week of *very* consistent and thorough use of the antibiotics, they just didn’t seem to be helping! So I used the gentian and voila. Purple everywhere, but thrush is behind us!!! I keep saying that all these little postpartum issues are the universe’s way of making me a better doula….that much more understanding….and that much more experienced! Stay tuned for more postpartum updates as we continue to navigate these weeks and months! And if you’re pregnant and are looking for a doula, e-mail us: [email protected] and we’ll help you find a wonderful Higher Health Doula! All of whom have contributed to my pregnancy, birth and postpartum in so many ways. They support me to be the woman, partner and mother that I am and encourage me to grow at every opportunity! I can’t emphasize their importance enough…
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:29:53 +0000
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