If everything down there is fine, then why do I feel like this?
Ever feel like something was off, but you didn’t know if it was you or how it was supposed to feel?
Here’s my thoughts on how to handle this in Postpartum:
Maybe you second-guessed yourself because you just weren’t sure.
Or have you ever bought leggings and as you wear them, they start to slide down and give you saggy baggy bottom? (I KNOW I’m not alone in this.) I had been buying mediums in Athleta leggings FOR YEARS. Then one time I was trying them on in a store and an associate came up to me and said, “You know you should really buy them in a smaller size if you don’t want them to sag so much.”
So, here am I thinking this saggy baggy thing is how they are supposed to fit! And I had no idea how WRONG I was!
I’ve had so many moms come to me 2 or 3 weeks postpartum wondering if how they feel is normal or if they’ve somehow done irreparable damage. But what do they do before they come to me? They go to Dr. Google and dive down the rabbit hole. And now they have even MORE questions and doubts.
Sometimes you just need someone to tell you what’s normal.
And this needs to be more than your friend who just had a baby because their advice is only coming from the context of THEIR experience.
This is why you need to have someone like a postpartum PT on speed dial. You can have a seemingly “normal” delivery but then a few weeks later, you can quite literally have something pop up. And 9 times out of 10, this happens right after you’ve been to your OB appointment and everything was fine. You think everything is going swimmingly until you start walking around (like me with my leggings) and you wonder if this is how you’re supposed to feel.
My job is to put some perspective behind the situation. Just knowing you have someone who can give you context from the experience of treating hundreds moms is worth a hundred Google searches.
Same thing with coaches and trainers. If you’re working with someone pre-baby, they already know your movement patterns and what is normal for you.
We need to give moms quick and easy access to postpartum advice and support where they’re not waiting weeks to get on someone’s schedule. Establish relationships and set expectations BEFORE the baby comes.
Don’t move forward out of fear, move forward out of confidence.
I would love to hear about your experience. Did you have someone on speed dial? Did it take you a while to find that someone to walk you back from the edge of the cliff?