8 months post natal review

Baby Jaden turned 8 months old just 4 days ago.  He is now an active and cheerful baby boy with four budding teeth,  allowing him to enjoy his favourite fruit and vegetable puree. Life with a baby is tiring but joyful. Bernard and I are enjoying every quality moment spent with little Jaden.

Well, instead of writing about Jaden (again!), this post will be a review of my post natal condition.

Coccyx Pain
I remembered I complained about coccyx (tailbone) pain a few months ago in an earlier post. My coccyx was injured when I delivered Jaden, caused by the pressure generated when the baby passed through the birth canal.   It had caused severe pain whenever I changed  my position while sitting or rising from a sitting position. It also affected my usual exercise routine. It was difficult for me to even perform basic Yoga posture or brisk walking on a treadmill. Swimming becomes the better, if not the only option. I was told by an orthopaedic that the condition will heal by itself  3-4 weeks after labour. Unfortunately, it took longer for my case. Life was very demanding for a working mom that has no helping hand from a maid or close family members that are staying 400km away from us.  Getting adequate rest and enough time for relaxation was totally a luxury option. So, while I kept procrastinating to attend physiotherapy sessions, suddenly one day, 6 months after labour, I noticed that there was no more pain around my coccyx area. Yes, without me realizing, my body had quietly done its part to cure itself. I guess the reason why it took longer than the predicted recovery period was solely because I constantly did not have enough rest, thus the body has to take longer to heal.

Menstrual cycle
As a PCOS patient, I am used to not having regular period. Before I miraculously conceived Jaden, my menstrual cycle could stretch up to more than 100 days per cycle. I was trying very hard to breast feed my boy until I gave up when he was 4 months old. My milk supply was just simply too low despite of constant latching and pumping. You may read about my struggle to breast feed here.  My period came on the 2nd month after the labour and ever since, it comes regularly every month. This is a good sign, isn't it? So, does giving birth help rectify hormonal imbalance? I guess in my case, the answer is not definite. My menstrual cycle has become longer month after month, starting from 25 days, to 30 days and 35 days recently. It looks like the saying of 'PCOS will follow you for life' is true. This also means that if we decide to try for another baby in the future, it is very likely that we have to count on fertility aid to induce regular ovulation.

Body Weight
I gained 18kg throughout my pregnancy. At this point of writing, I still have 3kg to shed off before I go back to my original weight. I blamed the slow process of losing weight to PCOS (it feels good to have something to blame, isn't it?!). I did not follow any radical diet plan nor having extra cash to patronize those throat-cutting slimming centres out there in the market. Eating balance and smaller portion of meal is all I have practised. I did try to squeeze in  exercise as part of the daily routine in my busy schedule. However, it ended up adding more stress into my life. So, instead of having military-like workout schedule, swimming twice a week is what I am doing now. I will come home an hour earlier from work, jump into the pool and swim for half an hour. After that, it took me another half an hour to take a quick shower and blow dry my thick long hair before I left the house to pick up Jaden from the nanny.

Having a baby has definitely transformed my life. I hardly have time to read a book or watch a movie now. Going out from the house can no longer be a casual decision.  Other than carrying extra 'baggage' that includes a baby bag and a stroller, we now only visit places that have proper baby room. Having meals in the restaurants are very challenging too. It will be lucky for us if the baby is sleeping , but most of the time, with a demanding baby around, you can only choose to gobble up the food as quickly as possible.

However, our bundle of joy is worth every blood, sweat and tears. We have no regret at all!