PUERPERIUM

Sharing tips about puerperium is a bit of sensitive topic because every women is influenced by the postnatal emotional cocktail of hormones differently (I didn’t think that it would be such a ride but IT WAS! Everything was moving for me).

If you heard or read about puerperium all the worst possible things online in some articles or on social media, I’d like to inform you that it doesn’t have to be that bad. Unfortunately, people in Czech Republic have the lovely quality to complain in great details about something when it doesn’t go as they planned. And when things are perfect, and everything is going well they take it as i fit was granted and there was no need to talk about it more….

I’m going to share with you only useful tips and tricks that helped me to get almost back to my prenatal form (and I mean it in all areas) during puerperium since it’s all mostly individual experiences and feelings.

DO IT AS YOU WISH

You can read everywhere that you should stay calm and rest but honestly if someone wanted to kill me or at least worsen my condition it would be enough if they forced me into not doing anything or into watching tv series. I detest both activities.

It’s different for everyone so I don’t have general tips. Organize and do everything as you wish and what makes you happy and you feel like doing it. You will feel way better just thanks to that. Since we came back from the maternity hospital, we went on walks with our closest friends and family. We got back to our routine of our daily schedule and activities after 2-3 days after the childbirth. The fact that I can do everything like before even though I was on painkillers helped me physically a lot more than if I were just laying, resting, and being taken care of… I knew that everything will be only better when I came back to gym after three weeks. It was more about stretching connected with social call, greeting my friends, and showing the baby than about working out but I felt like everything was almost same as before…

PAIN RELIEF

My experience is that the healing process is worse than the labour. I don’t want to scare anyone, but you can find everywhere what to buy for the baby and what to pack to the maternity hospital but the best advice I got was to buy Diclofenac suppositories for pain relief. I believe that it’s different at every department of puerperium, but I was grateful that I don’t have to ask for painkillers the whole time and I could take Paralen that I packed with me. I was able to manage taking care of the baby and whole household when I came back only thanks to the Diclofenac suppositories which I took twice a day.

VITAMINS, TEAS

I have been taking different vitamins supplements before and while I was pregnant. It was natural for me to order many different vitamins and teas before the childbirth so I can jump back in my habits and prenatal forma asap. It may differ in your case, but I had more time to choose and order it before than after. I took all the supplements to the maternity hospital as well.

OAK’S BARK

If you can’t avoid episiotomy (which was my case as well), I recommend ordering oak’s bark before returning home (you won’t avoid visiting pharmacy eshops or stores because you will need 60% alcohol for nursing the baby’s belly button). Even though it’s not something amusing or memorable but bath in the oak’s bar infusion twice a day really works. If you want to shorten the process of healing, it’s worth it to sit once or twice a day in the tub as our grandmas would say…

SKIN CARE AND BODY CARE

Pregnancy is a blast for our body no matter how many weight you gain. It affects your skin on your body and face as well so your care of your body shouldn’t stop after the labour. I honestly believe that every woman should get a spa retreat after the labour but it’s not possible to make it work when you must take care of the baby… You can still provide your body great nourishing care even though it’s not on a profi level. If your body decide to get rid of everything redundant through skin as well, I’d recommend The Ordinary face mask. I used to apply face masks once or twice a week before the labour and I changed them according to the needs of my skin. And I needed to clean and clean the skin after the childbirth…

Another thing I needed was to mask my sleep deprivation. I fancied the eye mask for extra hydration called Clarins Hydra-Essentiel for the past two years after it replaced my all-time favourite Sisley Eye Contour Mask (which I already wrote about).

You will appreciate a mask which helps to reduce puffiness and under eye bags if you are into wild long nights or you have a baby. This same job provides Hydrators & Oils Caffein 5% from The Ordinary. It’s a serum that helps to reduce the puffiness and under eye bags and gets into the skin nicely.

Both of these products work great. If you wake up around 4-5 AM and don’t go to bed after the sun sets like me, it won’t probably work like a solution but something that makes it less visible. Let’s be honest, under eye bags are never ending story…

WORKING OUT

There is plenty of different opinions on working out during puerperium. I was working out the whole pregnancy and I even went to a gym session a day before my labour so the idea of not doing anything for 6 weeks was unimaginable for me. I was trying to stretch and relieve the lumbar and cervical vertebra for the first week. I included exercises for strengthening the pelvic floor after the first week. I started going to gym twice a week after three weeks and after appointment with my physiotherapist. I was adding intensity to my trainings at home or at gym while the baby was sleeping. And I felt better and better after each training.

LINGERIE

I don’t think that I must explain how much I love pretty lingerie for the ones who read this blog for some time now. I prefer to wear thongs most of the times, but you can forget about them during puerperium (you can’t the postpartum pads in them). But the fact that you must wear classical panties and bras made for nursing doesn’t mean that they have to be cotton or ugly. The range is not that wide, but you can surely find a few pretty pieces.

THE PELVIC FLOOR

I kind of hoped that all the difficulties with pelvic floor wouldn’t be in my case since I was working out the whole pregnancy, but I pulled out The Black Peter. So, I really appreciated the trainer of pelvic floor Perifit Kegel Execiser. I’ll share complete review with you soon.