How active are you postpartum?

Question

I had my baby 4 days ago and I’m not sure if I’m doing too much too soon.  I’m still pretty painful but I have a toddler and I feel like there’s just no time to sit down and rest.  She always wants to play and go outside and the housework is never ending.  I also love to walk and would love to start walking again - is it too soon?  I tried a few days ago and it felt like my organs were going to fall out of my body.
I just wanted to see how much resting everyone is is doing.  I don’t want to cause serious problems by doing too much too soon.

Answer

I took my son to the park 2 days PP and everyone lost their minds telling me it was too far for me to walk etc etc (it's about a 15 minutes walk each way). So I decided I'd sit on my ass to keep them happy, I'm now 11 days PP and feel exactly the same as how I felt at 2 days but apparently it is now more appropriate for me to use my legs 😂 Honestly just listen to your body. With my son I didn't feel up to much for about 4 weeks, first walk with him was at 2 weeks PP and it was only down the road and back. This time I felt fine at 2 days PP so took my son out and got told off for it 🙈

Answer

I felt OK after a day with my first and then realized at the one week mark that I was NOT OK. It wasn't a very big deal but I was still miserable for an extra week before I actually got better.
This time in the first two weeks I made sure to spend most of my time with lying in bed or lounging on the sofa or a picnic blanket in the backyard. It's past three weeks now and I'm feeling mostly back to normal, in fact I'm feeling much better than at this time with my first.
I also questioned the midwives and nurses about the recovery period and their advice was to lie down at much as you can first and slowly add in time you spend actively, and if you get edema or swelling of your extremities, walking does help with that a lot so do walk, but be careful and slow about it.

Answer

I'm doing so much less than I'm used to post delivery. My husband and kids are being incredibly understanding and helpful though. They've never had to deal with me havimg a surgery before, so it's an experience.

Answer

With my first, I was sweeping and mopping my house on day 4. Went to Walmart day 5 to grocery shop. And then I was miserable. I will not be doing that again this time. It took me until 8 weeks to be released because I did too much and just wasn’t healing

Answer

Take it easy. With my second I remember the desperation to keep going so my toddler could be entertained. Looking back I’m shocked I did so much so soon so often. I felt “good” because I didn’t tear with my second. But your body needs more time to heal. Like you mentioned, not resting adequately can have serious, long-term consequences. I plan to take the resting seriously this time around. Try your best to rest.

Answer

Everyone’s different, some feel like they can be active without pain couple days after birth and some need weeks to recover. Listen to your body. If it’s hurting you, id say take another couple days or a couple weeks to take it easy and not start your walking until you feel better. Just so you don’t end up causing yourself more pain.

How active are you postpartum?

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