Six Weeks Postpartum C-Section: Anemia, Sleepless, & Happy
For six weeks I’ve been dragging around this house like a zombie
I kept thinking of six weeks as the magical mark I needed to make it to, and then things would be better.
Last week was rough, and I began to have my doubts about that…Recovering from the c-section is no joke.
Then today good things happened!
No, not sleep…..I wish…..
This morning, before I even got out of bed, I prayed that my 6 week postpartum appointment would go well today. I prayed that the baby would sleep through the appointment and that I would remember all my questions.
I had scheduled Megan to watch the three boys. Well, when Megan arrived, Sherry (Megan’s mom) came in too, and then she offered to go to my appointment with me. Oh, wow! I’d never even thought of that. What an answer to prayer. Thank you, Sherry.
The appointment went better than I could have imagined.
Sherry kept Bobby in the waiting room, and for a wonderful 30 minutes I sort of forgot they even existed…. : ) The midwife took lots of time with me, and I got all of my questions answered.
Plus, I am now fully cleared to “ease back into exercise.” LOL. Exercise is actually not at the forefront of my mind right now, but it’s nice to know I can pick up Daniel, haul around laundry, and work back up to running. Exercise is actually what I do to escape the house! I love my children, but when that’s your 24/7 job, you gotta get away sometime. Well, I do anyway.
The good news was that I got to explain to her about my extreme fatigue problem.
My midwife also has four children ( I love that), so I asked her if she thought it was just from that and the sleep deprivation….and I was going to mention the iron deficiency, but before I even got it out of my mouth she said, “Well, yeah, but it’s also your anemia. It takes a while to get over that when you’ve given birth and had a c-section.”
She was surprised they had sent me home from the hospital with no iron prescription. They had actually removed it from my prescription list even though my hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were still well below the norm while I was in the hospital….
So basically I’ve been muddling through all these weeks, when a few iron pills/day would have done wonders towards solving my problem.
Postpartum Anemia is a beast.
And when you combine it with surgery recovery and newborn sleep deprivation….you get what I have been the past 6 weeks, relying on everything and everybody to get me through! I am just so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who have brought meals and kept my children.
What’s GREAT about all this is that now I have HOPE that I could feel better really soon! They tested my blood again, and she told me to resume my 2-3 irons/day schedule.
You know what else? It felt so good to be out of the house with Sherry today.
After my appointment, we went up and had lunch at the hospital cafeteria (which we both love). Call us crazy, but it is good food at low prices! If you are ever over there, you gotta try the tuna salad sandwich. So good, and they don’t skimp on the tuna salad.
I forgot how much I enjoy being out and having social interaction. Isn’t it hilarious that I now consider “going out” a day at the hospital!!?? haaaaaahaha!
That’s okay, though, because Saturday is mine and Alan’s anniversary, and we are REALLY going to go out! Sherry is keeping John David, and Megan is keeping the rest. The only hitch is I have to pump a couple bottles before that, and see if I can get John David to take them.
……So all year I’ve kind of thought of six weeks as the big goal, and after that I’ll be good…. I’m thinking now we may extend our “taking it easy” time to more like 3 months.
It’s so easy to forget what a show-stopper that babies really are: breastfeeding constantly, diapers, naps, crying….phew!
Funny Quote:
(from when Nana was here)
my mom: *heard a creepy noise as she was getting ready for bed* WHAT was that!?
7-year-old: *from inside his covers*…….Oh, sorry, that was me. I was practicing my ROAR.
*chuckle* : )
A few more things:
** I understand that so far it looks like Nonna’s surgery went well today.
**Plus my dad is doing better, so things are looking up there.
**Oh! And my great-Granny turned 100 years old this weekend!
**Believe it or not, John David is officially in 3/6 month clothes now. I know. Crazy, but pretty normal for one of our babies. I think he weighs about 13 pounds now. It looks like he’s going to be about as big as Caleb. (No wonder I’ve had to feed him so much, around the clock, growing this much!)
**Now don’t forget to practice your roar! ; )
