Here are some examples from her resting recommendations:
No Laundering for 6 weeks.
No heavy lifting for 5 weeks.
No sweeping floors for 4 weeks.
No steps for 4 weeks.
The weekly cleaning and baking needs to be done by a maid for 4 weeks.
Say what???? When I read that list, I thought, "Are you kidding me?"
Now, I do understand that it is optimal to allow weeks for the healing of all muscles and organs, plus to allow for beautiful bonding with your baby. But, 6 weeks before doing laundry? 4 weeks for sweeping? I am sorry, but I don't have a maid. I have three kids, three jobs, a busy husband, and I am moving three states away in 2 1/2 weeks!
What is a new mom to do? Rest or Not Rest?
I will say I did rest pretty well for the first week. I kind of rested a little bit the second week...but I did do laundry, vacuumed, swept floors, made dinners every dinner, cleaned the house, and took care of my children. How could I not?
So, what do you think? Should I make a renewed effort to stop and rest or should I proceed with caution? I know I can learn from you, so please share your thoughts, tips and experiences with me to help me decide... I appreciate you!
Enjoy as much rest as you can get while your husband is home helping you all day. When you move and your husband is at work all day, you will have wished you did!!!
ReplyDeleteI second Marissa's comment!
ReplyDeleteI agree it is definitely hard not to do all those chores without a maid. I tried my best to rest and I was lucky I had some help from my mom and sisters. Try to take it easy as much as you can and hope your husband helps a lot.
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Ideally, I would have liked to take a solid 2 weeks off from doing ANYTHING after my kids were born. I would have even been happy with 1 week after the last kiddo. Unfortunately he went to the NICU and I came home to 4 other kids as a single mom and had to get straight back to work running the house. After #4 DH had a week off, so I didn't have to do too much more than nurse, sleep and change diapers, which was nice. This time he just wasn't here and I didn't have anyone else. Honestly though, you will KNOW if you are doing too much. Especially if your PP bleeding tapers off, and then you get more active and you suddenly start bleeding a lot more again. That means you need to slow down and rest more. I think I would do the same that I did at 9 months pregnant, just try and SIT while you pack/unpack. We moved during my last pregnancy. Were it not for the fact that we had movers because it was a military move, I wouldn't have done it. At least the nesting helped to get a lot of our crap in the trash, donated and other places though!
ReplyDeleteWe moved into our new home only 2 weeks after baby was born... We moved from a 3rd floor apartment. Six months later, I am still not "right". I worked too hard when we moved and my hips/pelvis hurt bad when I clean too much or too long. :( so in my opinion, you should rest for 6 weeks.
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ReplyDeleteI may get beat down for this post but here it goes. Listen to yourself and your body. I can just about guarantee that the paper she handed you is for women that lived a sedentary lifestyle before they were pregnant and during their pregnancy. I just saw a posting online yesterday of a women who finished her last yoga class at 8 months, 1 month before her baby was delivered. Do you think she is going to sit around like a slug for a month. There was a woman last year that delivered a baby just after running a half marathon. Also, sometimes mental sanity can come before physical recovery. If your going to be depressed about not doing anything than it might not be worth it. On the other hand, having 2 other children and an infant is going to beat you into the ground, grab as much sleep and rest as you can, but your body does need to move. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great thoughts! I agree with you wholeheartedly! I was teaching and doing fitness classes all the way until the day before I went into labor. So, my body is bouncing back amazingly well. I think it is also a really valid point to take into consideration your mental health. Exercise and movement produce endorphins, and I need all of those I can get! :-)
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