r/postpartumprogress

So i’m currently almost four months postpartum and i’m trying so hard to get back to being somewhat of myself again. Lately i’ve been feeling so guilty because I feel so disconnected from my friends/family which is completely my fault..I haven’t been making time to reach out or even pick up my phone most days because i’ve just been so mentally out of it. I’m struggling to take care of myself 98% of the time and it’s been making it so hard for me to have the energy for other people when I barely have it for myself.

I’m also trying to learn how to prioritize myself a little more but I genuinely have no idea where to even start. I’m a first time mom, and although this is the happiest i’ve ever been in my life it’s also been very sad, overwhelming & confusing at times. There are some days I feel amazing & others I just feel kind of lost??? Can anyone else relate at all?

I’m hoping someone else can relate and share their experience. I am 20 months postpartum. I had an easy pregnancy and delivery. I was induced at 40 weeks and I progressed well and only pushed for 20 minutes. My daughter was 6 lbs. 10 oz. and I didn’t tear at all. However, when we arrived home after being discharged from the hospital, I felt a large gush. I assumed I had just bled a bit, but upon going to the bathroom, I realized urine was just falling out of me. My doctor encouraged me to go to the ER to make sure everything was okay and after doing a urine test, it was decided that I was not fully voiding my bladder. I had a catheter put in for two days and then had it removed. I slowly regained back the sensation to pee, and I was able to void my bladder. But from that point on, I have been struggling with stress urinary incontinence. It’s not horrible, but it’s also not great. For the first half of my cycle, I don’t have much leakage at all. But after ovulation, I leak frequently when I cough or sneeze or any quick movement. I have not been able to run at all postpartum and even going on a power walk in my hilly neighborhood will lead to leakage. At three weeks postpartum, I started seeing a pelvic floor PT. I was diagnosed with a very weak pelvic floor and have been encouraged to keep up with pelvic floor exercises. I didn’t feel like my first pelvic floor PT was totally helping me so at seven months postpartum I started seeing a new pelvic floor PT. She has been phenomenal and discovered that I have nerve damage from the delivery. I lost sensation in my vagina and perinium so I am unable to do voluntary kegel. I currently use the Yarlap to help with muscle stimulation… But I have not found it to be super useful. My husband and I would really like to have a second child, but I am terrified of getting pregnant and going through with another delivery when I have SUI symptoms.

Has anybody had a similar experience and went on to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery and postpartum experience? And did anything besides pelvic floor PT help with you healing? I’m considering getting the Elitone or try the Emsella chair to see if that might help as well?