Welcome to my 1 week postpartum update! As promised I will be making weekly postpartum updates for the first month, followed by monthly ones for the first year. So if you're interested in that kind of thing, stay tuned!
Recovery
My recovery from this pregnancy compared to the last one has been totally different. I am still so surprised by how much easier & quicker it was! I think there are two main reasons for this. Number one was the fact that I did not get an episiotomy this time...I did have a little tear (two stitches) but the pain did not last very long at all and was virtually gone in a matter of days. With my last recovery I could not sit down comfortably and going to the toilet was a nightmare. This time around I have no such problems, thank god! The second reason is that the breastfeeding has been a LOT easier being that I only stopped 6 months ago, so my boobs were a lot less sensitive. The last time I had cracked & bleeding nipples, I was in so much pain every time Emilia latched on I would cry. The first few days were a little bit painful with Eduardo as my body got used to breastfeeding again but after about day 3 it was plain sailing. As a result of all of this I have been much more active this time around and I felt "normal" much sooner - hence why I felt ready to leave the hospital one day after giving birth!
![]()
Don't mind the crease marks...they're from the Belly Bandit!
Body
Here was something else unexpected...I always thought that your body would bounce back faster after your first pregnancy, but in this case it's been the opposite! Just like with my overall recovery, my body has actually bounced back a lot quicker than last time. I think this is largely due to the fact that I'm a lot more active and have been so much busier with two kids rather than just one newborn baby! When you have a toddler, you don't really have much of a choice in the matter...life doesn't stop or slow down and you have to keep up with their routine.
![]()
Overall I gained a total of 27lbs this pregnancy. I weighed 142lbs the morning of induction and the day after I left the hospital I had lost about 10lbs. At one week postpartum I have lost a total of 15lbs and my stomach actually looks smaller than it did at 2 weeks postpartum after my first pregnancy! Breastfeeding is definitely the main reason why the weight has been melting off, as well as helping my tummy to go back down & my uterus contract. I have not been dieting at all...in fact I'm probably eating more now than when I was pregnant as I am hungry ALL the time! I also haven't started exercising yet but I do plan to soon!
I have to say that the Belly Bandit has made a big difference as well...last time I only wore it during the day, whereas this time I am wearing it at night as well. I also found that my stretch marks faded almost instantly after giving birth. My bellybutton looks all wrinkly but the stretch marks aren't very visible at all anymore! I am currently slathering on the Bio Oil as well as Bloom & Blossom's Anti Stretch Mark Cream which is amazing stuff! I apply both products day & night and have also been making sure to drink lots of water which helps with skin elasticity. Breastfeeding makes me really thirsty anyway, so I have probably been drinking more than 2L a day!
And here is my smiling little angel at 1 week old! Isn't he a cutie pie :)
Height/Weight: I'm not sure of Eduardo's exact weight at 1 week old but the public health nurse weighed him last Monday and he was 7lbs 6oz which means he had gained back the weight he lost after being born. (When they weighed him at the hospital on Sunday he was 6lbs 10oz). I found this very encouraging as you never know when you're breastfeeding how much milk they are getting! He will be weighed again at his 2 week doctor's appointment. The PHN also took his length measurement which was 19.5 inches...only half an inch longer than Emilia was!
Routine: Ha! Oh how we wish there were a proper routine...but unfortunately there is not. I have tried to get one going just so that Eduardo could be more in sync with his big sister's but I don't think he's really ready yet. He doesn't even follow a 3 hour routine because he is quite a snacky feeder like Emilia was. He tends to feed for very small periods of time which means he won't settle for much longer than 2 hours. This can be annoying when I want to get things done around the house/work-wise but he is still only a tiny baby! So I have been sort of half feeding on demand, half trying to establish some sort of routine if that makes any sense!
So far I think I have got the morning bit of our routine down, but the evenings are still all over the place. I try to feed him at 7am every morning, then Jonathan takes him into our bed while I get showered & ready at 8am. Emilia wakes around 8:30/9am which is when she gets into bed with her daddy & "Ardo" (she loves snuggling with him!). Then Jonathan & I swap and he takes Emilia, I take Eduardo and we go downstairs for breakfast. If Eduardo needs a top-up feed I give it to him while eating my breakfast, otherwise I put him in his bouncer till 10am. I try & still eat breakfast with Emilia every morning because I know she really misses it if I don't! On weekdays my sister Erika comes from 10am-1pm to help look after Emilia which is the sole reason why I've been able to get any kind of work done! I wake Eduardo up for another top-up feed sometime after 11am and then put him down for a nap while I film. He usually gets hungry again at 1pm so I have to feed him...then Emilia has lunch at 2 and I try to have the two of them down for another nap at 2:30/3pm till 4:30/5pm. This is when I get all of my editing/blogging done!
That's kind of where the whole routine ends. Emilia's continues as normal (playtime, dinner, bathtime, bed) and Eduardo feeds & sleeps on demand the rest of the evening. Some days we do bathe the two together but he's still so little, there's no need for him to get washed every night. I have noticed that he settles to sleep better after a relaxing bath though!
Sleeping: Currently Eduardo is waking about twice a night to feed, which I can't complain about at all! I am actually getting a lot more sleep than I thought I would be. I mean, it's still not a lot but it's not as bad as I had anticipated. During the day he naps in his bouncer seat/swing downstairs as this is in our living area where I tend to be for most of the day. At night he sleeps in his co-sleeper and feeds in bed with me.
Eating/Feeding: I am exclusively breastfeeding again, just like with Emilia. In the beginning when we were in the hospital Eduardo did seem to feed longer & a lot more than Emilia did. However when my milk came in on Day 3, he changed and became more like her...feeding for about 5 minutes at a time and more frequently - as I mentioned above. I am definitely looking forward to when he will go a bit longer between feeds, just because at the moment it can be exhausting!
Sizes: At the moment Eduardo is wearing all size Newborn. He has grown out of one of his babygrows and his vests are getting a little bit tight but he's definitely not ready for 0-3 months size yet. He's tiny! He is wearing size 1 nappies and we're using Pampers "New Baby" just like with Emilia!
Milestones: Smiling...even though it's usually in his sleep or when he's pooping/got gas!
That's all I have to report one week in! I hope I covered everything, but if you have any questions please leave them below! You can watch my 1 Week Postpartum Update video here:
xoxo
Anna
