Road to recovery

Have you seen elephant feet before? Let me show you:

Heck yeah! That's what my feet looked like after I gave birth. I got none of these edema crap throughout pregnancy but at the very last day, it found me. The nurse said that because I was on IV and all the liquid went down to the limps. My wrists and fingers were puffy too. Sorry about this image but I had to take a photo of it - I have never seen my body do this trick before. Now I know what my potential is.

Well, I don't know if the confinement meals (月子餐) did any trick or the red bean+barley soup, This is what my feet looked like day 5 after delivery:


See! It's all better, almost normal. I elevated my legs almost every day for at least 1 hr. And then elevated more when I go to sleep. Whatever works, I'd try it. And yes, I can finally see my ankles again!

Body discomfort is catching up on me especially the part that got stitched up. Did I mention that I teared 1 degree and doctor had to stitched me up? Oh yeah. My vajaijai is not going to be the same anymore. But again, I now know I can handle a 8 lbs baby.

I am on Tylenol everyday to ease the pain but it burns a lot every time I pee. My bowel movement has been.....hm, moving, but it takes a lot of effort to feel comfortable. I walk funny. So I guess it's good that I am being confined that I can't go anywhere.

I strapped on the belly bandit from day one, 24/7 except for when I shower and eat/digest. Result is good. My belly button went back in; the excess skin/fat from carrying the baby is noticeable but only about 2.5 inches pinch away from flat; I actually saw my 2 packs (out of 6, which was the norm before pregnant). I won't be able to go back to the gym for another 5 weeks or so. But I have been just doing crunches and stretches at home, well I meant, I have to do more. We'll see what that will do to my body, though, I do miss high intensity cardio and weight lifting a lot.

I weighted in 165lbs prior to giving birth, I am at 138lbs this morning (day 8). I am not sure if it's a good progress but at least it's a good start for me to work on. This thing takes patience and effort. I am determined to not even go back to the shape I was before, but better and toner.

The road to recovery is going to be a long one, at least I am giving myself some time to heal the body trauma before I can really focus on getting back in shape. I have a plan and I think it will work.


DearJulie