KellyM

I really wish someone had told me more about how our bodies recover and change post-partum. All I was told was that I could exercise and have sex after 6 weeks (after my c-section). This was very much NOT a realistic expectation for my body. I was a daily runner prior to giving birth. My body changed in ways that it took me a full year to be able to run again. Then I pushed too hard and hurt myself. I also expected that I could just run as I did before, but I had to adjust. I should have committed to physical therapy first to help rebuild my strength. 2 years postpartum now and I am having so much success with physical therapy and different types of exercises and strength training. I don’t know why I thought o would be able to just jump right back into it all. It took me all of those 2 years (and finally stopping breastfeeding at 2 years) to feel like myself again. It also took me at least a year to feel that I was decent at my job again. Don’t get me wrong, I have loved the journey, even in spite of 1.5 years of sleepless nights, but I just wish I had a better understanding and realistic expectations of body recovery. Seeing younger mothers on Instagram doing yoga didn’t always help me with my expectations either. I encourage people to be gentle with their bodies, be slow and thoughtful in their recovery,and to understand that it can often take years (not weeks) to recover. I wish physical therapy was prescribed to all women after giving birth.