Everyone talks about the sleep deprivation -- and seemingly only about the sleep deprivation (and maybe the baby blues). I know it's only been eight days, but here are some of the things that I'm surprised no one told me about the early post-partum period.
1. The pain. Oh, the paaaaaaain. I have been hurting in so many parts of my body, I forget about some because they are overtaken by the others. Where to begin? The worst offender is the episiotomy site, which constantly hurts and makes sitting, rising, standing, walking, and everything except sleeping really difficult. It's still bleeding, and it HURTS. Then there's the breastfeeding equipment...au naturale, and constantly sore -- especially in the early days when I had blisters and blood coming out of them. :( Then there is the epidural site in my back, the three-inch long heplock bruise, and the tetanus shot in my left arm. Oh, and my tailbone is really sore, apparently from all the pushing. How come no one talks about the pain in the early post-partum days? I wasn't expecting to be hobbling around gingerly and cringing constantly in these early days. Post-partum should come with a pain warning label.
2. The sleep deprivation isn't that bad. Especially with a good partnership going on... splitting the tasks of feeding and caring for a fussy baby enable both parents to get okay amounts of sleep throughout the day. I'm clocking in at 4.5-5.5 hours a day, and Mr. Squire gets 5-7 I think. Of course...we are lucky, given our work arrangements, so I am very thankful for that.
3. The beauty of seeing God's design in the human body unfold day after day. In these early post-partum days, especially if you are breastfeeding, you get to witness the amazing wonder that is God's design in the human body and development of milk supply to feed a new child (i.e. colostrum and drop in weight, development of hunger in the nursing child to create extra demand as milk comes in, the incredible benefits of breastmilk and ability to rely on it exclusively, the demand/supply cycle, etc). It is quite incredible how God equipped an intricate system to provide the baby exactly what she needs at each stage of the newborn phase.
4. The sense of accomplishment that accompanies each new lesson learned. It's been a steep learning curve these last eight days -- complete with changing more than 40 diapers, doing more than 50 feedings, and learning how to hold, comfort, calm, and understand this little creature. But we are getting better at it, day by day. And every time I successfully put her down to sleep at night, I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Wasn't expecting that.
5. The joy! This came as a special surprise to me, given my reservations about my maternal instincts. There are some times when I hold our baby girl and I feel that I love her so much it hurts. What the--?? It is a privilege to be her parent. I love her and am excited to raise her with Mr. Squire (who is an amazing dad already). Junior, you bring us joy -- even when you are screaming your head off (like right now). We are so thankful for you.
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