r/FitPostpartumJourney

Hi everyone! In 3 days I'll be 7 months pp but needed an opinion/advice on something.

I had a vaginal delivery with a 2nd degree tear and stitches.

I am still completely unable to have anything on/in my vagina without extreme discomfort/pain. I have not been able to have sex yet, even nearly 7 months after the delivery. Even water on my vagina is extremely uncomfortable.

I've tried everything that is recommended postpartum for sex but nothing seems to work. I even had my husband just try a finger and it was extremely painful.

Is this worth seeing my doctor about or is anyone else experiencing the same thing?

Hi moms, I’m a first-time mom and currently struggling a lot postpartum.

My body feels extremely weak after giving birth, and I’m constantly cold — especially at night. Sometimes I get so cold that I can’t even fall asleep.

On top of that, breast engorgement has made my postpartum insomnia even worse. My breasts feel painfully swollen and sore, and it’s been really overwhelming physically and emotionally. I’m wondering if anyone else in this community has experienced something similar? What helped you recover or feel more comfortable? I’ve been thinking about trying a breast pump to help with the engorgement and clogged milk ducts, but I’m very sensitive to strong suction. I honestly can’t tolerate pumps that feel too aggressive or painful.

I’m hoping to find something gentle and comfortable. Also, are there any breast pumps that combine warming therapy with pumping? I feel like warmth would really help me relax, stay comfortable, and maybe improve milk flow while also helping with the cold feeling I’ve been having. Would really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thank you so much

At around 4/5 weeks PP I realized everytime I peed it would sting a bit. At first it would come and go and wasn’t too bad. Closer to the end of week 5 PP, the sting was more consistent so I decided to take a peek down there and noticed a red flap looking thing along side my stitches which later after doing some research I now believe it’s granulation tissue…. Okay cool intro done…. My question is if it’s okay to use witch hazel pads/dermaplast or would it make it worse? I do sitz bath and my 6 week appt is coming up soon but I was just looking for temporary relief aside from a sitz bath. I’m at the point where I dread having to use the restroom at all whether it’s pee or a BM. I can’t just sit and pee I have to lean forward to avoid it going to my stitches/red flap.

Hey! First pregnancy, vaginal delivery, 29yo and was pretty into working out before. I had to stop most workouts, even pregnancy safe ones, around 2nd trimester because relaxin levels just made my joints feel it before my muscles did. Never have had to recover from a baby before so I’m not sure if I’m rushing things or going too slow lol.

I think I have built up to being able to lift again, but now my core feels weird…

I’ve been doing breath work since 2 weeks, started around 3-4 doing lots of walking and more core work like dead bugs, assisted planks. Have been increasing that all gradually till now (8 weeks). OB said I no longer have any diastasis recti and that uterus is back to normal size.

So a few days ago I did lifting, 10 sets of 10 squats and bent over rows at 30 lbs. Additionally, got a baby carrier my girl actually likes so I’ve been baby wearing a lot and she’s a 13lb er lol. And then I did a few sets of 8 assisted push ups and some light stretching a day later.

Now today I feed odd, Im sure it’s because I went too hard. Specifically, it’s not like being sore. It’s almost like very light period or day before period feels? Or like a super mild sensation of how it felt a week PP. But also like a stomach ache sometimes? Honestly I’ve thought oh maybe my periods coming back or maybe I ate something bad but the feelings subside if I sit and relax.

So my questions:
Do you guys think I have done enough prep work to start introducing lifting now? Probably at a lower set/rep. But I don’t want to be doing any harm.

Is this just what being sore is like PP? Instead of the normal muscle soreness? Or maybe this is normal deep core soreness but I never had my deep core as weak as it is currently? (Athletic all of childhood)

I don’t want to pull a muscle and end up unable to do anything! Thank you! Also any advice on reintroducing lifting now would be awesome!

7 months pp. been running since 5 months but only noticing this issue now.

Planning on getting preg again in 5 months.

I find it so hard to do mat workouts but I clearly have some … pelvic floor issues?

Ideally would like to run 3x a week but barely managing once so would like to start running with LO.

Currently using the Joolz Aer+ which has worked well. We were also gifted the GB Pockit City Stroller (has slight incline mode but not fully flat so questions about sleep). In an ideal world I could use the GB for quick neighbourhood trips and the Out n About for longer trips and runs?

Also concerned about space and we have no car as we are in central London!

Thoughts and ideas welcome!

edit: for clarity, not using any pram to run in atm! Running solo hence difficulty doing more than one run. I’m talking about using Joolz as my main pram.

Hi! Seeking similar experiences and if anyone found a path to resolve this.

I spend the first 1.5y postpartum doing daily pelvic floor exercises at home. This helped me close my DR gap from 4.5 fingers to less than 1 finger gap.

I gained 48lb in pregnancy but I lost it all, I'm at 136lb, at 5'4 height.

For 6 months I did HIIT exercises at home 2x/week and for the past 5 months I've been doing strength training in a gym (every day is a different focus: core, lower, upper, full body) about 4x/week on avg plus introducing running 2x/week.

After all of this... I cannot see measureable improvements in how my core changes when bloated. It's like I have not done any core exercises at all since birth. It inflates and looks full again.

What am I missing? Is a tummy tuck the only way here?

Thanks!