Now why didn’t y’all tell me about this post c-section swelling?!?!?? I spent the last 37 weeks working out and hydrating to limit that bloated pregnancy swell ONLY to experience it after baby is here! I did A LOT of reading to prepare myself for this process, but somehow totally missed the fact that I would be swollen like a balloon afterwards.

I mean I was prepared to still look pregnant after baby’s arrival. I was even prepared for the extended time of bleeding no matter whether birth is vaginal or c-section. But the swelling escaped me and caught me by surprise. It has taken me a little over a week to start visibly seeing the swelling decrease — I guess this is why I’m supposed to be resting in the bed and such!

Oh AND how about the chills?!?!?? I wasn’t expecting those either. However, my body had already prepared me for that experience. At some point during pregnancy I had a couple of incidents where I began shivering nonstop. When it hit me around day 4 postpartum I was prepared, but still not ready. Trying to manage the chills while still recovering from birth took a whole lot of energy! I was tapped out for a while after the chills passed; however, I was still wide awake — go figure.

I’m definitely learning to ask for more help during this time because I realize that I’m not superwoman no matter how much stuff builds up on my plate that I am able to seemingly, supernaturally clear. This new mommy journey is teaching me so many new lessons already!

Mama Stassi 😍