I Woke Up in Pain

It's been a week and one day, since I gave birth to Dakota. I heard afterbirth pain could be intense and severe the first few days after giving birth. By now, I was hoping the cramping of my uterus would taper off, but I was mistaken. I woke up at 7 am feeling like my stomach was in knots. The only pain I can adequately compare it to is, contractions.

Afterbirth pain in general is typically not painful for first time mom's, however after a second deliver it can be uncomfortable and painful and then it usually gets worse with each successive pregnancy. Breastfeeding can heighten the pain and I'm exclusively nursing, so there you go. OUCH. Tylenol, helped take the edge off and now I'm feeling better.

Did you know the afterbirth contractions are actually a good thing? It helps reduce postpartum bleeding and helps shrink the uterus back to it's original size. So, bring on the pain??????

You can see how much the uterus stretches pre pregnancy versus postparrtum.

After I gave birth, I still looked 20 weeks pregnant. This picture is of my 20 week pregnancy snapshot, but you get the picture...

Today, I can tell my uterus has shrunk significantly, compared to a week ago. I know these things take time, so I'm not going to be unrealistic in my timeframe of expectation. Nature will do it's thing and I'll be back to pre-pregnancy tummy before too long.

Here are some pictures of Dakota after bath time.

that face....

Cheyenne loves to touch her, but we always have to remind her to sanitize her hands before she touches Dakota. Chey's favorite thing about Dakota is her feet. She is always saying, "they are so cute!!!" -- in her high pitch voice.

Last night, was another good one. Feeding/Changing times were 10 pm, 2 am, and 5 am.