C-Section Saturday: 2 Weeks Post-OP

Welcome to the Farr Fitness' C-Section Saturdays. 

As I have mentioned before I will be using Saturdays to discuss, teach, and learn about C-Section recovery for athletes. Be prepared, some of the information that we discuss will be graphic, but I assure you that I will do my best to cover each topic with the grace of the true southern lady that I am. With that being said lets jump in! 

This is my first week talking about my recovery. I will post a full birth story for each of my boys at some point, I am just not ready to do that quite yet. 

Henry was born on a Thursday evening and I went home just two days later on Saturday afternoon. I will tell you that unless you have a strong (and I do mean STRONG) support system, this is not the way to do it. I am fortunate enough to have my entire gym family, my awesome in-laws, and my incredible husband here to help and it was still really hard. I actually had to have my husband help me stand in the shower so that I could get the hospital smell off of me. 

In the first two days you can expect to be very sore. Pretty much every single movement is going to hurt. They will probably send you home with an army of pain killers, but if you are like me and you are focused on breast feeding, you will probably cut the number that you take in half. This greatly helped my son to not be so drowsy and to feed better. It sucks for mama, but is better for baby in the long run. If you choose to do this be prepared for the pain so that it doesn't sneak up on you. If  you want to read about how I managed all those pills that they gave me you can read about my solution here. 

The first week I managed to go up and down the stairs unassisted, but I always let someone else carry Henry, just in case. With my first son being nine and a half pounds I had to have help picking him up each time he needed to nurse because I couldn't bend over the crib. This time we got smart and used a Rock and Play that is just about the same height as our bed. This made night time feedings much easier. Eating was challenging because the doctors had me on iron which makes everything taste like metal. I recommend whatever sounds good, eat it. Just this week, and make sure you don't beat yourself up about it.    

The second week my sister-in-law came to town and we managed to go to a local fair. We walked for about an hour and half total. My family rode the rides and I pushed our brand new double stroller around. In retrospect, this was a bit ambitious and I was REALLY SORE the next day. We also had Henry's two week check up and I was nowhere near ready to drive yet (speed bumps and pot holes are killer for about a month!) so my husband had to drive us. At this point I was getting better at going up and down the stairs so I started carrying Henry with me (11 pound step-ups anyone?!?) rather than having to make someone else do it. Clothes don't sit quite right yet and they rub my incision pretty badly so I am wearing loosely fitting clothing and leggings that come up over my incision. As C-section mama nursing isn't always easy because lifting your kid can just plain hurt, so clip down nursing bras are my best friend. I like this one for everyday use, this one for night time, and this one for training. 

All in all the first two weeks weren't terrible. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't want to repeat them for fun or anything, but it is absolutely doable.  

2 weeks
Weight- 219 pounds
Waist (narrowest point)- 43 inches
Navel- 45 inches
Hips- 47 inches
Thigh- 27 inches
Neck -15 inches
Bicep- 12.75 inches
Forearm- 10 inches
Wrist- 7 inches

I will admit that seeing this is hard for me. But I don't have to stay here. Yes I had major abdominal surgery so I need to train smart and safe. I have four more weeks until I am allowed to start that, so for now training smart and safe means taking control of my nutrition, eating right, and staying moving. The real question isn't if I can do it, it is how badly do I want it.

Psalm 139;19 says that "God knit me together in my mother's womb". Isn't it amazing to be a part of the miracle of birth? Isn't it amazing what God made our bodies to do? Your body will look different. Your body will feel different. But your body is incredible and don't you let anyone tell you otherwise.