End of Labour Week

I know mums who have had anywhere between one and four children who are perfectly slender. They are not the exceptions to the rule. They are how any mom can be if she, just like anyone else, eats a balanced diet and gets exercise. Boring, but true.

Me having The Boy coincided with getting my driving license, an office job, (and therefore my own income to spend on food of my choosing) and entering my twenties. I suspect the fact I'm now twice the size of my 18 year old self has more to do with that than pregnancy.

The other taboo question that women (and sometimes men) are dying to ask is:

Fact: Your birth canal absolutely will go back to how it was before.

How long just depends on the individual. If you have a difficult birth, then go on to get pregnant three months later (it does happen!) then don't expect to be perfect for a year or so after having your second child. If you're young, have a straight forward delivery, breastfeed and do your exercises it can be a matter of weeks.

All together now! Clench! Hold for one, two, three, four, five aaaaannddd... relax..

After-pains

One thing that they never told me about when I was a first time pregger was after-pains. They are nasty! It's your uterus moving around, contracting and pulling to get back to its original shape. They really hurt and are so much worse second time round. (Either that or I'd just forgotten about them.)

They're a good sign because it means everything is working as it should, but they're still bloody horrible.

Aftercare

Take everything nice and easy. Going to the loo isn't the nicest thing you'll do during the first week afterwards. Don't sit there dreading it and bursting till you absolutely have to go to the bog because that can increase the risk of water infections. Yes, it stings a bit, but it does get better.

I found bathing in salt helped everything heal more quickly. The midwife just thought I was mad but I felt it helped.

I haven't talked about what it's like after you've had a c-section, mainly because I haven't had one myself. I've had lots of emails from women who have though, so I'll put together a 'c-section special' blog.

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in labour week (which was actually a labour fortnight!). I really appreciate you reading, contributing to or talking about 'from here to maternity'.

I was incredibly chuffed to find that Alpha Mummy, the parenting blog on The Times online, discussed one of my blogs! I'm a really big fan of that blog, so to actually get mentioned on there was a tremendous compliment.

Keep emailing me at fromheretomaternity@live.co.uk or follow me on Twitter. If you're on Facebook check out the From Here to Maternity fan page for updates and information about the blog.