In my previous post, I shared how I tried to take care of my mental health after I delivered the twins. It helped that I have experience handling two babies before, so I knew better how to manage my emotion after my third and fourth child was born. However, I did not do a good job looking after my physical health. I pushed myself beyond my limit, thus depleting my reserve.
In this post, I will focus on what I did wrong and how I successfully found remedies to help myself.
Physical Health
Sleep and Migraine
Sleep is a luxury to most mothers with very young ones at home. While most people need between 6 to 8 hours of sleep to function properly throughout the day, most mothers with very young ones at home typically sleep less than 6 hours a day and wake up in intervals of 2 to 3 hours to nurse a hungry baby.
During my twins’ first few months of their lives, they woke up practically every 2 to 3 hourly for night feeds. As a result, I had to make do with 4 to 6 hours of sleep on a daily basis. There were a couple of times I slept for only three hours! Unfortunately, afternoon naps are non-existence for me as I also needed to attend to my elder ones in the afternoon.
After the twins turned one year old, they continued to wake up twice a night for feeds, but at least I managed to catch a little more sleep than before.
However, I started having migraines on a weekly basis, so severe that it affected my ability to function normally during the day. The GP in my family clinic saw me often enough to refer me to a neurologist for an MRI scan.
As expected, there is nothing wrong with my brain. The series of the super headaches were a result of my perpetual lack of sleep. The neurologist advised that my migraine should disappear if I can catch 6 hours uninterrupted sleep every day.
An uninterrupted sleep is a luxury to most mothers with very young children and it is almost unachievable. Nonetheless, I can discipline myself to sleep earlier and blog lesser. In fact, I drew up a tracking list to log the number of hours I sleep a day so that I can review my sleep pattern on a weekly basis.
Countering Hair Loss
Similar to having an inadequate sleep, hair loss is typical for mothers post-delivery. Hair loss happens when estrogen and progesterone levels in the body reduce after childbirth. It worsens when the mummy gets little rest.
To encourage hair growth, I use rosemary and cedarwood essential oil every evening. I used to apply commercial haircare products to encourage hair growth, but I have stopped because I am unsure of the side effects of the products on nursing mums.
Rosemary is commonly used for hair growth because it increases cellular metabolism and stimulate hair growth and promotes healing. It also prevents hair fall and slows down the greying process.
Cedarwood is excellent for increasing circulation to the scalp, promote hair growth and slow hair loss.
I prefer rosemary for its refreshing sensation when I apply neat on my scalp. However, this is not recommended by Dr Axe, as the essential oil may be too intense for some. Instead, he suggests mixing the oil with olive oil in equal parts to apply on your scalp. Because rosemary will also increase one’s blood pressure, it is not suitable for anyone with high blood pressure. Therefore, my hubby applies cedarwood essential oil instead.
Breast Engorgement and Inflammation
Earlier on, I had recurring blocked milk ducts accompanied by the fevers and inflammations.
When the first blockage and resultant fever occurred, I headed straight to the doctor who gave me Augmentin to subdue the inflammation in my breast. Augmentin is regarded as a safe medicine by medical professionals for nursing mothers and their babies.
After I became obsessed with essential oil, I learned that frankincense is an excellent remedy for inflammation in the body. Whenever symptoms of inflammation such as cold shivers, muscle pain and lethargicness showed up, I would apply diluted frankincense every hourly on the required areas to ward off a potential fever attack.
This preventive measure has worked very well for me so far. My subsequent and frequent milk duct blockages did not result in any significant fever nor any doctor visit. That means, there was no need for an antibiotic prescription at all!
Frankincense not only inhibits inflammatory molecules in the body, but it is also possibly a natural treatment for cancer, and great for warding off depression when inhaled. See explanation by Dr Axe here. I watch his videos periodically to learn more about essential oil and natural health care.
Frankincense is now my favourite essential oil, and I use it on myself for pain reduction, skincare and anti-inflammation. I also use it on my children to heal their eczema and pre-empt or heal any asthma or bronchitis attack.
Nursing – DRINK WATER
One day, the GP in our neighbourhood clinic sent me to A&E as I had lower blood pressure and a fast heart rate. This combination warranted attention from the doctors in the hospital.
After a few simple tests, the doctor-in-charge asked if I drank water that day.
It was a straightforward situation. My pee was super dark. I nursed a lot that day as I had a blocked milk duct. Since I felt very tired, I slept a lot, and I didn’t drink much water. To make the matter worse, I was feeding twins! I felt so stupid and vowed to take note of my water intake from that day onwards.
So the lesson here is: DRINK YOUR WATER
Replenish with calcium pills
We all know that breast milk is the preferred source of nutrition for a new baby. So since I am at home all the time, I want to nurse the twins for at least until they are one year old.
Breastfeeding helps our uterus to contract and bleeding to cease more quickly after delivery. Not only it reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, but it also facilitates bonding with the babies.
Breast milk contains lots of protein, fats, vitamins and carbohydrates. As such, I feel hungry every couple of hours. My sister once exclaimed that she had never seen me so hungry before.
I seemed to have lost weight when I was pregnant with the twins, and I worry that it was due to a loss of my bone mass while two babies grew in me. I continue to nurse two babies till now, and it worries me that I may be suffering from further loss of bone mass. Low body mass in the later part of one’s life leads to higher probability of bone fracture!
Studies have shown that women often lose 3 to 5 percent of their bone mass during breastfeeding due to the baby’s need for calcium which is drawn from mummy’s bones. This bone loss may be caused by the growing baby’s increased demand for calcium, which is drawn from the mother’s bones.
Thus I conscientiously take more milk, dark leafy greens and calcium pills to prevent further loss of bone mass.
Exercise to feel better
Having to look after two babies at home means that I rarely have the chance to leave home for the gym. Although I have a trusted helper, I don’t feel safe letting her, who is single and has no experience in taking care of babies before working in my household, to take care of both babies single-handedly. Thus I stopped going for my yoga classes.
Many months down the road, my body yearns for some sort of exercise again. So these days, I practice yoga whenever I can.
I love the videos from Boho Beautiful. With a calming voice, clear and inspirational instructions, Juliana, the only yoga instructor in Boho Beautiful, guides her students through various types of yoga at varying difficulty levels. Her videos always come with relaxing background music and scenery and are typically below 20 minutes. This is the right amount of time I have to spare before my twins stir and wake up.
This is one of my favourite videos, which is easy and great for lazy mornings.
I hope I have shared some meaningful notes with you.
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It Gets Better With Time – The Twins Are 5 Months Old
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