I’d had perfectly normal, if long, labours with my older two children and not expected this time to be any different yet here I sit, 3 and a half week’s post partum, with a baby on my knee (as I type – yes this is multitasking at its best, you should have seen me earlier when I was feeding one side, pumping the other AND replying to emails on my phone!) and I’m still sore after my silly body didn’t recognise what it was doing causing me to endure an emergency c-section… Believe me, after two normal, painful and drug free labours I’d take ten of them over a c-section any day of the week, easy option it is not!
It was NOT what I had planned either and of course, not what I had wanted but such is life… The main thing is that I DO sit here with my baby on my knee, he is healthy and I am getting there after losing a LOT of blood and needing a transfusion, what happened was necessary and I am so pleased for the skilled staff in the Norfolk and Norwich hospital for bruised and battered I may be but alive and happily ecstatic with my newborn I remain. The soreness will eventually fade and I will be back to normal. Really and truly what else matters when everyone came out healthy at the end of it? I will say this though, it’s kind of hard to deal with pain on this level daily. When they say it’s a major operation that takes some getting over they weren’t wrong and I feel baffled as to how some celebs seem to CHOOSE this… Still, each to their own! I have some strategies for healing… Doing nothing is one but that’s not always possible with three bambinos… And now that my heavy duty painkillers have run out it’s even more of a stretch with just paracetamol as my friend!
There’s no other major operation like this that you’d have to just get on with things but with a new baby, a husband back at work, my Mum gone back to her house and two older kids to get ready for school each day I don’t have much of an option but to get on with things as painful as some tasks might be. Choosing wisely when it comes to clothing is my best bet and thankfully I have chosen very wisely indeed! It’s my underwear which I have found has to be of utmost comfort… I am still wearing those darn pressure socks from the hospital which are making my legs go down (they were PUFF city) but pants and bras and tights HAVE to be just so or I simply cannot move!
The maternity briefs I had bought pre labour and which would have been ace if I’d birthed naturally sit just where my scar is and my bras, though intended for nursing, just don’t feel that comfortable at the moment. I’ve been wearing instead cropped tops and stuck with my maternity tights also – OVER (way over) the tummy is absolutely what is needed and this is the same when it comes to my briefs… Think Bridget Jones and then age her up a bit and that’s somewhere where I need to be when it comes to my knicks. Frankly I don’t care what they look like I just have to not upset my sore patches… So… The best knickers I have found come from Theya who make great underwear especially for people who have had operations like mine. The Pelvic and Stomach support briefs are perfect for my recovery and are totally intended for post surgery use. I love that they also support and shape – because I need a bit of that thank you very muchly!
I’ve also been wearing the Theya Healthcare back fastening recovery bra which is a bit like a cropped top but actually so much more supportive like a real bra. It feels as comfy as the former but looks much more like a proper bra and it also has padded cups so my saggy mum boobs even look a bit lifted in it. It has a back fastening like a regular bra but you literally cannot feel a thing and it just makes my top half feel supported. You can un-clip the front as you would a nursing bra but the material is so stretchy I find I don’t even have to, I can just pull down one cup to feed and hey presto!
Again the bra is for recovery after surgery and after a c-section it’s so welcome. My whole body is sore after what it has been through and with my milk in and my boobs HUGE and sore in their own right this bra is absolutely perfect. The material is super thick as well so even if you forget to put a breast pad in (as I frequently do because I’m an eejit) it doesn’t matter so much. Another fine point in that vein is that the material washes well and dries super fast! Phew…
I definitely need to invest in some more of these bras which can be bought either on the Theya Healthcare website linked above or at House of Fraser. They are brilliant, well thought about in their design and the bra even looks nice too – a bit sporty in fact which is lovely and makes me feel a bit more human. The pants are perhaps not ideal to look at or feel sexy in but they absolutely look after you where it counts and didn’t Daniel Cleaver, upon discovering bridget’s BIG kinckers, rather like them in the end… If they’re good enough for foxy Daniel Cleaver then they’re good enough for a new mum with hair that smells of baby sick (FYI: you won’t want to run the straightening irons over that mess believe me; if you think baby sick smells bad when a bit stale in your barnet then adding a touch of singe does not help!) and eye bags the size of Aldi bags for life!
Thanks for sending me such a thoughtful gift Theya Healthcare, you’ve helped me out no end and I shall be recommending these products to all my Mummy to be pals!
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