Getting Real with Kira Hazledine
Pregnancy can get to be a real drag after 9 months, especially if you went overdue with your bundle of joy. There is relief after giving birth, but the blissful first moments with your newborn are only a mask to the many challenges of post-partum life that are next in line. The mood swings, the hemorrhoids, the newborn that doesn’t sleep… the list is endless. It’s a good thing that there are silver linings in all this mess, because moms would lose their minds otherwise. It’s time to look at the positives of the early post-partum stages and try to forget about the adult diaper you’re wearing.
- You aren’t a beached whale anymore.
Depending on the type of delivery, movement could still be limited. However, it’s nice to be able to get out of bed and off the couch without heaves, rolls, and assistance from others.
- You can sleep on your back.
As a lover of back-sleeping, I really missed this. Side sleeping sucks. I couldn’t lay on my back throughout my entire pregnancy, even when I was awake, because my child was crushing my lungs and shoving his feet in my ribs.
- You can see your toes.
My ability to put on my shoes was still limited in that first week, but at least I could see my toes. It was nice to look down and not see a kicking mass of unborn terror.
- You can eat sushi without judgment.
Not everyone follows all the food rules (I certainly don’t) but I did resist sushi and rare steak. I’ll admit that I ate like crap the first week of post-partum life and figured my newborn and I could both use the extra calories. I reluctantly ate a salad today out of guilt, so don’t freak out.
- You can walk like a normal person.
I was rocking some hardcore pregnancy swag for the last few months of my pregnancy, and I felt light as a bird the first time I left the house after getting home from the hospital.
- All the baby snuggles.
You can’t forget about what your body spent so much time creating. I’m not thrilled about being woken up several times a night to feed this new gremlin, but I do love the quiet snuggly moments that I know will be over way too soon. Post-partum is a real bitch but reminding myself of these normal-person perks make me feel better about everything.
