I was home from the hospital after my second c-section (Hello, Pax!) for roughly…two days? Three?…before coming down with a case of mastitis. It turns out that "engorgement" is a real thing that can happen, uh, immediately.
Before we were discharged, I remember the hospital's lactation consultant reaching over, squeezing my boobs and saying, "Honk, honk! Congratulations! Your milk is in already! Watch out for engorgement…" the rest is all mwah mwah mwah since I tuned her out…erroneously thinking that I knew it all.
I mean, after "honk, honk" what else do you really need to hear?
Evidently more than I did.
So I suddenly found myself on a daily regime that included motrin, tylenol, the usual post-op narcotic, stool softeners, and antibiotics…as well as dealing with a sluggish, after c-section digestive system (read: no pooping).
I've never been so nauseous in my life.
My husband, in an attempt to help, came back from Whole Foods armed with the world's most disgusting ginger tablets (chewable!!!) and Inner-eco's "Power Packed Probiotic Kefir".
After choking down a few ginger tablets, half crying and half laughing in frustration (nasty, nasty things)…with no luck whatsoever, Mike brought out the kefir drink.
"Babe, EVERYONE at Whole Foods was swearing by this stuff!! They said it's not that bad!"
I opened it. It smelled…tangy. I heaved and ran out. A few hours later, with my desperation levels at an all time high (have you ever tried nursing while nauseous? the WORST)…I decided to have another go.
"Just take it like a shot, Babe." Mike encouraged. "Drink! Drink! Drink!"
I glared back. But took it like a shot. It was tangy, fizzy, and…..not too bad. I chased it with a saltine cracker.
Within an hour….I was feeling better. So I took another shot. Then later that night, another. Less than 24 hours after that first shot, my nausea was gone. Poof! GONE.
I took a few shots of this drink daily while recovering. It made a world of difference. R came down with some kind of stomach bug, so I started giving it to him, also. Poof! Stomach bug gone. (And the kid actually likes it.) The whole family now uses this stuff several times a week, just for overall good health and digestion.
Apparently, the stuff is packed with probiotics, was started by a couple of Denver natives, and the company uses part of the profits to support programs that help secure "freedom, food, medical care and education to the people of Sudan, Africa and anywhere else in the world where persecution and oppression is prevalent." Recently, proceeds from the sale of Inner Eco helped fund construction of a middle-school in Uganda, provided scholarships for children in Kenya, and sent students of homeless mothers to school in Romania.
A miracle in more ways than one.
See more about Inner-Eco (as well as where to buy) here.
xo,
S
Ugh I ended up in the ER a week after my section with the worst ever pain. Turned out to be constipation and a ridiculous amount of gas. They gave me several enemas and the most disgusting laxative ever. Next time I will try the more natural route .
Claire – I KNOW, right??? And I had forgotten one of the meds – the gas one. And tums. It was crazy. Amazing how well this stuff works.
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Going to Whole Foods today, will look for this!
Yep! We’ve used something similar daily for several years. Not the same brand, but does the trick. 🙂
This helps thing get moving after birth?!?!?! If so I am so going out and seeing if my health food store has it because I had the most horrible problems after both of the births of my son and daughter!!! With a new little one due in the next few week I have been freaking out about having to deal with it again 😛
Felicia – run run run chick. This stuff is amazing.
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Our family loves this stuff too. My husband drinks the regular unflavored stuff (Ew!) but the kids and I use the fruity flavored ones and we love it too. I am actually ordering a “mother” mushroom and am going to make it myself. That way I can flavor it myself and its lots cheaper! 🙂 ~Jenn
I force fed this stuff to my boyfriend after his knee surgery…we call it voodoo magic (with affection). I am the kind of girl that can take only progesterone based birth control, which we all know can do a number on your GI track, plus a house full of sick kids and we keep this stuff in stock like its coffee!
Oops– sorry about my above comment. I was thinking Kombucha, not kefir. We drink kefir all the time too and you can make that yourself too if you buy the live culture. If you haven’t tried Kombucha, try it too! It’s excellent for digestion and overall health as well. Kombucha is a mushroom that is fermented in tea and sugar (the sugar makes it grow) and it also comes in fruity flavored drinks. ~Jenn
I’m so glad to see this-no one else I know in real life had a rough c-section recovery-they all seem to have breezed through natural childbirth or seemingly painless c-sections. It’s nice to know I’m not defective-my friends are just freakishly awesome at having babies.
And major props for keeping up your nursing through all the meds & pain. It can be tough!
i could use something like this! i’m having a baby in the next month and Benefiber isn’t cuttin’ it! thanks!
Wow I am sending my husband out to look for this today. Baby #2 is 1 week today & I can’t just keep taking colace forever! I did’t have a csection, but stitches down there seem to scare my body into a total shutdown.
Thank you so much for posting about this! I came down with mastitis when my little guy was 5 weeks old – the most awful experience of my life. The panic of your boob being on fire / hard as a rock & feeling so weak you wonder if you’ll be able to lift your baby really cannot be matched.
I totally tried the crazy fizzy fermented drink years ago, and thought it had gone “bad” due to my ignorance of how it is supposed to look / smell / taste. I’m so glad you wrote about it b/c I am betting it has preventative powers, too. W/kid #2 I am up for ANYTHING to avoid that pain again.
JennJ – Thanks for clarifying, LOL! When I read your first comment I thought, WOW! From a mushroom? LOL
Thanks for the props, Maman. This c-section and recovery (even with the mastitis) was a breeze compared to my first. Someday I’ll write about the first one, but WOW. Truly crazy sh*t. I can’t believe you don’t know anyone who had a hard time!! Well. You are not alone. 🙂
this is a nice day
Große Tipps für gesundes Leben, Danke für das Teilen ein großes Thema auf Fitness,