6 things…postpartum edition

I can't believe Lola is nearly three weeks old! Time is flying, and I'm trying to soak up as much as this precious teeny-tiny-baby time as possible. Erik, Monkey, and I are settling into a new routine as a family of three. The changes feel both monumental (we're raising a human!) and basic (should we try to leave the house today?).

I want to share my postpartum experience because I feel like everyone focuses on labor, but the week afterwards was tougher for me! Not only are you tending to this delicate little life, but your body is also grappling with recovering from this hugely traumatic event. I attribute a lifetime's worth of 5 a.m. swim practices, dawn patrols, and long training runs to giving me the physical stamina and mental fortitude that carried me through that first week!



Here are six things that I did/learned during this postpartum period:

1. I hurt all over. As soon as we got to the recovery room, my nurse handed me a gigantic cup of cranberry juice and encouraged me to use the restroom. I did, and it felt like the worst UTI in history. That was the beginning of the aches and pains! When I was feeding Lola, my midsection seized up in a knot. Was I dying?! "Oh, that's normal," said a nurse. "You'll have some cramping as your uterus shrinks." For the next week, I was hobbling, cramping, sleep-deprived hot mess. (Don't even get me started on when I had to do #2… somewhat traumatic.) It took me a little less than two weeks to feel normal again; I'm still not 100 percent, but almost there!

2. My boobs killed. To add insult to injury, my milk came in with a vengeance on day three. When I woke up, my breasts were huge (for me), rock-hard, and filled with the most intense pressure. I'd read that pumping would make things worse, so I held out. But the nurse technician took one look at my and my pained expression, and said, "Oh, no, honey, let me bring you the pump." It took a few days of gritted teeth, cold cabbage leaves, and Lanisoh ointment, but my supply has finally settled down and Lola and I have found our nursing groove.

3. I spend hours upon hours with a baby on my boob. Speaking of nursing, it takes up so much time! Newborns feed every two to three hours for 20 to 30 minutes. While I love the coziness of snuggling up with Lola and the surge of oxytocin, that's five or six hours a day of sitting without the use of both hands. I don't watch too much TV, so I've been catching up on social media, Googling baby-related topics, and chatting with friends by phone. It's so worth it, though; I'm so proud of her growing little baby rolls.



4. I tapped into inner strength. When Lola was two days old, she and I went back to the hospital for jaundice treatment. She had to sit in this ultraviolet light pod, stripped down to a diaper with a blindfold on to protect her eyes. She hated it, and wriggled and cried the whole time. I was running on maybe three hours of sleep for the past 48 hours, and my vagina/breast pain was at its most intense. I stayed up all night to soothe and change my poor little one. It was probably the most grueling nights of my life!

5. We're finding a groove. After that first tough week, our little family of three has learned so much about each other our rhythms. I pump a bottle or two during the day. Erik takes over from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. while I sleep, and then we switch off, so we're both getting a decent amount of sleep. What a difference that makes.

6. We're head over heels. Of course we're in love with our baby. But what I didn't expect was how much fun she is: Even though she pretty much just sleeps, eats, and poops, we can't stop laughing at her old-man grunts and ever-changing expressions. Erik's the most devoted dad, and every little victory seems like an enormous success. Parenthood: It's not easy, but it's the best.