15/09/2022
⚠️Stop telling woman they will bounce back⚠️
I remember when I was pregnant i couldn’t wait to give birth. As mad as it sounds I was excited to go through labour.
Unfortunately for me, as with any birth. It didn’t go that way. I was told when I was a week overdue that Olivia was ‘too big’ and I was given a meeting with the consultant who gave me a list of pros & cons and ultimately I made the hard decision to opt for a section.
This was truly the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make as I was so looking forward to labour, however hearing the words, sometimes the babies collar bone can break I knew I couldn’t risk that happening.
So my dream wasn’t to be.
When she was born it was just perfect, the room was silent, Olivia didn’t even cry. She was on my chest and the rest I didn’t even realise was happening. Everything was so calm.
I felt no pain, until I was back in recovery. And it hit me big time.
I couldn’t feel my legs, I couldn’t even sit up.
Basically, every image I had of these moments were different and I was okay with it. I had my baby and that was all I ever wanted.
In the hours and days that followed it really hit me just how much I couldn’t do, I could barely walk, I couldn’t dress myself, all I was good for was pretty much sitting watching my baby and feeding her. I am always so grateful that I had Jonny looking after me & Olivia from the moment she was born.
I remember a few weeks after her birth I managed to pick her up & walk through to my kitchen with her, and I felt like I had achieved so much.
It’s taken me until now to be fully able to be back to how able I was to move & do things.
So there was absolutely no bounce back for me, in fact it was the total opposite.
I have a scar, I have insane amount of stretch marks & i am just learning to be functional again.
The reason I’m sharing this, is so others who have felt the same know they are not alone, and what we see on Instagram of mums post birth isn’t always the case, that infact for many of us, we are just going day by day with a new body that we don’t recognise but yet we are so thankful for.
Again, we don’t bounce back, we grow 🌻