Help, I'm MORE swollen now 5 days post partum than when pregnant

[amynicole]

Is this normal? I'm not nursing and my milk came in FULL FORCE today and I am very uncomfortable today and in pain because of that. What worries me though is that my ankles and calves are HUGE, you can't even see the ankle bone. Shouldn't the swelling go down by now? This is my 4th baby, and I don't remember this kind of swelling when my milk came in before. I'm hoping that the milk dries up in just a few days. Should I be concerned about the swelling? I asked DH, he is a physician but not an ob/gyn so does not know much about postpartum swelling.

Has anyone else had a similar experience where you had MORE swelling in the first week after you gave birth than when you were pregnant?

My ankles and feet look pretty darned scary right now!!

Oh and on a totally non related note, as if just giving birth to my 4th child is not overwhelming enough, I am in the northeast and the melting snow is leaking into my house and my rug is soaked. We don't have a basement so it is seeping into my first floor. I sent DH to homedepot right now to pick up a wet/dry vac and have a contractor coming in the morning to look at it. Like I really need that right now

 

[AlisonK]

RE: Help, I'm MORE swollen now 5 days post partum than ...

Hi Amynicole,

I had the exact same thing happen to me after my first son. My doctor told me it was a side effect of the epidural (not sure if you had one). I was so swollen I looked like elephant woman! I couldn't even get my shoes on my feet! As I recall it took about a week or so to start going down. I didn't have it happen after my second son. But that time I had a c-section. I nursed them both so I don't know if it would relate to that or not. I would call your ob/gyn though just to make sure and see if there is anything you can do.

I am so sorry to hear about your roof. I am in NJ and we got about 10-12 inches. It is such a mess. Hang in there! Cuddle up with that sweet little one and try to get some rest. I can imagine that there isn't as much of that with #4. Take care.

Alison

 

[sara33]

Hi amynicole! I also had a lot of swelling the first couple of weeks after I gave birth. Of course, I had elephant ankles for the majority of my pregnancy, as well. The doctors told me that the swelling would go away right away, like within a couple of days, but it was more like a couple of weeks. Just my experience. If you are truly concerned, definitely ask your doctor. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a phone call. ;-)

I'm sorry about the melting snow! You definitely don't need any more headaches right now! Good luck!

 

[luckygirl]

Hi,

I'm a mother of 5 and I would say absolutely call your Dr. if you feel like something is wrong. I learned long ago to trust my instincts when it comes to my own medical care or my kids. You know your own body, and if its not normal for you then you need to call regardless of what others have experienced. I used to worry that the Dr. would think I was overreacting, but I've had too many experiences where my instincts were right, something really was wrong with me or someone in my family, and I was always glad I called or went in.
Take care of yourself. Your family needs you.

Rachel

 

[briee]

Marci, I am so sorry to hear about your tough time there in the NE. There always seem to be soooo many things that come up with childbirth. I would definitely check with the doctor to see what's going on with the swelling. I am dreading the milk engorgement thing more than you can imagine...almost makes me want to just stay pregnant after hearing that your milk is REALLY coming in after 7 days still. Are you wearing tight exercise bras or are you doing the really tight binding thing. I'm already making up ice packs out of 1 part alcohol to 3 parts water and putting them in the freezer in ziplocks(they remain formable, but ice like) to put all around my chest when my milk comes in. Maybe you could try this.

I'll be prayin for ya!!

Briee

 

[amynicole]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I did have an epidural and my husband pointed something out to me today- I had the IV fluids for 40 hours straight with the induction - they left them on the whole time because I was dehydrated to start with and my amniotic fluid was very low.

I've decided that if my swelling does not go down after the milk goes away then I'll call the Dr. My DH did some research on this today and apparently the oxytocin that your body produced is what causes you to retain water and also helps in the milk production process so the swelling is probably liked to both the high amounts of IV fluids I got plus the milk thing. In anycase, I just feel miserable. The milk is not going away!!

Briee, I am wearing 3 ace bandages wrapped tighly on top of my sports bra and even sleeping in it! I'm doing the ice pack thing too and even taking motrin. I just keep telling myself that any day now my body will realize I have no need for this milk and it will go away!!
But that being said, I'm still glad I'm not pregnant. Just think, even with the pain of engorgement, at least you have your precious baby to look at and thats your reward!!

Rachel will be one week old tommorow!

As for the house, the contractor came and luckily it looks like its nothing major. The gutters were backed up and we did not realize it- something got stuck inside so the water was running down the side of the house and got inside. They said just to get a wet/dry vac and keep up with it and a dehumidifier to keep the room/air dry as the carpet dries. Hopefully it won't mold (there is carpet back there) but if it does, we will just tear up the rug and replace it. Its a very small room (but very important to me- thats where I have my stairmaster and treadmill but luckily they are on on top of mats. I'm much more worried about the equipemnt than the rug!!

 

[TarHeelMom]

Hi Marci!

Just wanted to chime in to tell you I'm so glad it looks like you've found some probable answers to the swelling issue and that the house repairs aren't going to be too bad. Sounds like things are looking up!

I also wanted to tell you that although I haven't been pregnant in a very long time (my youngest just turned 14 yesterday), I can feel your pain about that dreadful swelling. It really is just the pits. With both my pregnancies, from about 6 months until nearly three weeks post-partum, I had absolutely perfect cubes, with no bones showing at all, from the knees down all the way to my toes. I normally have skinny ankles and fairly narrow feet, so this change in my legs and feet was visually astounding. I literally went weeks without being able to put shoes on my feet -- even my husband's shoes wouldn't work width-wise. My wrists and hands were pretty swollen, too, but my legs and feet looked painful they were so huge.

My Doc had me dramatically INCREASE my fluid intake post-partum, which I guess helped my body to "rev up" the evacuation of fluid from my limbs. Even though I was breastfeeding, after about the third week post-partum my body suddenly -- and it was pretty sudden -- kind of just "gave up" and the swelling went down like a balloon popping. I can remember two or three straight days of running to the bathroom about to burst every half hour. ;-) And it happened this exact way both times.

This too shall pass, my dear! Enjoy that beautiful baby girl -- what a gorgeous name she has, too!!!!!

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif