(I know the cover image is all nice and pretty but this post is far from that, I just couldn’t find a decent picture of me!)
Hey Guys!
Hope everyone is doing good. I know my last post was quite intense, it definitely was for me, so for this one, I wanted to keep it more on the lighter side!
We should all know by now, that during pregnancy, in preparing for a baby, the female body goes through many, many changes. From food aversions to changes in shoe size, from losing teeth to hair growth! (Results may vary) But my goodness, those changes do not stop after birth. Again, I don’t think I properly, mentally prepared for them. I knew that there would be a difficult healing process I’d have to go through but that’s only the beginning. (I’m talking about changes in the body, by the way, there are plenty of others too!). For those who don’t know, I’m currently 4 months postpartum.
HAIR, HAIR, HAIR
MY HAIR IS/WAS/ HAS BEEN FALLING OUT! It isn’t falling out in clumps but when I wash and detangle, the shedding is crazy! Plus it feels so dry.
Towards the end of my pregnancy, I had my mum cainrow my hair to avoid it from getting in my way during labour and just so I didn’t need to do my hair. I wanted to protect the healthy and thick hair that had been so beautifully flourishing for the past 9 months. Everything was going great! I arrived home the day after I gave birth, having taken out my cainrows at the hospital. And my hair was brutally brittle! It was so upsetting. Not only had my lovely hair gone bone dry, but I also lost the freedom to spend 45mins in the shower caring for it, because of this tiny human I recently had acquainted myself with.
I put my hair growth down to the Prenatal Vitamins I was taking as well as the scientific stuff so as the pregnancy had ended and I stopped taking those vitamins… it all went wrong from there. About 2 months postpartum my hair was heavily shedding after a detangle. I tried conditioning and detangling before shampooing, I tried putting my hair away in twists and even a deep conditioning hair masque but 🤷🏾♀️🤷🏾♀️🤷🏾♀️. So I’ve recently bought myself Pregnacare’s New Mum vitamins, meant for hair and skin. Let’s just hope this picks up from there!
STRETCH MARKS
I’ve always looked at my mum as my best example of a woman, in regards to physical beauty, and also in character. With my mum being a mother of 5, her body hasn’t been shy of a stretch mark or two. So with that t’s never been a problem for me to have visual evidence that my body has gone through the process of developing human life. HOWEVER! Seeing as my baby wasn’t necessarily “planned”, I wasn’t ready to be sporting that body just yet.
“During pregnancy your hormones can soften the fibres of your skin, making it more prone to stretch marks. You may get stretch marks on your tummy as your baby grows and your skin stretches. You may also develop them on your thighs and breasts as they get bigger. When this happens will be different for everyone.”
With that being said, I got Palmer’s Body Butter, Bio Oil and other stretch-mark “reducing” creams and lotions. I made sure my skin was brilliantly moisturised whilst also making sure I was hydrating myself enough.
The picture above was taken the day before I gave birth. Until then, there was nothing there! I thought I finessed the system. I thought I got away with it. Nope. But it was fine, I guess because there were only a couple of lines, or so I thought. After giving birth, it became apparent what damages were left. As my uterus was going back down, it was clear that my new body now came with a really dark belly 👍🏾
I’d like to call this piece, Zion’s Space.
To be real with you, sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do to avoid stretch marks because they can also be genetic, so there’s that🤷🏾♀️It is what it is, I have stretch marks. But it really isn’t anything to cry about. I have been continuing to use Bio Oil in hopes that it does something, but I’m not too fussed. As soon as I’m ready to get my body right again, what are a few marks?
USING THE TOILET
Now, I’m not going to lie. If you’re squeamish and don’t like talking about toilet business then skip this one.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, I tried to urinate maybe an hour after giving birth. First of all, it felt like I was broken, like something wasn’t working because nothing was happening. I don’t know if it was me being all in my head or if my body genuinely needed to jump-start. Eventually, I managed to get something out. AND OH BOY! That pain was a very different kind of pain. I have never in my life experienced burning and stinging AT THE SAME TIME, anywhere on my body. It felt like my vagina WAS ON FIRE. I was so close to tears. That’s when the shower came in handy. 🚿 So I had to have lukewarm water running over myself as I urinated, as the wee was like poison to my sore, sore bits. I reckon I was peeing, using the shower for about 2 weeks, until everything was somewhat normal enough.
POOING NOW!!! I was beyond shook. I know I didn’t tear but as I said that doesn’t mean things didn’t feel destroyed. I didn’t try to poo until 4 days after birth, and I definitely regret that. I ended being super backed up AND constipated. I made sure my knees were elevated to that angle that’s supposed to make going easier. I took deep breaths and just allowed my body to do what it needed to do because pushing took me straight back to the most traumatic 16mins of my life. It was just awful. HOW IS OUR BODY SUPPOSED TO DO THIS? I tried to stay on top of things, making sure I went toilet when I needed to. But it was too late!!!!! THE DAMAGE WAS DONE.
A month after birth… the most horrifying happened. After a super intense, straining session on the toilet, I felt a super sharp pain in my bum… I looked down and the toilet bowl was bright red!! (I do have pictures but thought it would be a tad bit TOO real to post them, but if you are interested, however, send me a message and I’ll give you a peak). My periods haven’t even decorated to the toilet like that, I thought I was dying! And then when I wiped, I could only describe the sight as what blood clots on your period would look like… CAME FROM MY BUM! That lasted for about 2 days.
Since then, I’ve used a stool softener and have been cramming my fibre in and it’s definitely helped but going poo has never been the same since giving birth. There’s always a little pain. On the bright side, I’m definitely going more regular than I’ve ever gone.
So, some advice for any expecting mums, make sure you’re drinking at least 2L of water daily, and eating lots of fruit and veg after birth to avoid having your whole underneath in turmoil!!!!
BOOBIES
Before pregnancy, I was a 34DD (and then a little bigger around my periods). Though I haven’t been measured recently, due to the current state of our country, being in a pandemic and all, my breasts are breasting more than ever! I reckon I’m at least double the size I used to be and I really don’t like it.
When it comes to their purpose, I’m fine with them because I know they feed my baby boy. They literally bring him life. But when it comes to me and how I feel about my body, I think they make me look 10 years older. I just don’t have the hang of them just yet (no pun intended, because they do be hanging!). I do need to buy some new clothes and even bras because the way these girls be lounging on my chest, just isn’t cute.
My nipples have also changed drastically. They’re double in size and super dark! I don’t care too much about how they look though because it doesn’t have an impact on my outward appearance. My nipples are directly for my baby. And he loves mama’s boobies, so it’s all good!
When it comes down to it, I’m proud of my body for the amazing work it has done, so I’m not mad at her for the changes she’s inevitably going to make! Again if you have any questions, let me know!
Signed,
A Young Mum
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Next post coming next week! You know the drill