After my first (vaginal) birth, I felt shocked, dazed, dissociated and also very physically beaten around - I have photos taken when my DD was 2 days old and I just looked AWFUL. The dissociation lasted for months afterwards and affected how I parented my beloved firstborn DD.

In contrast, after my second C/S birth, I felt calm, blissful and very much in a state of "my cup overfloweth". This feeling persisted for a couple of weeks even tho I went on to develop a wound infection and went back into hospy at day 10. Ppl commented continuously on my healthy "glow" which I attribute to my inner happiness levels.

While i was more independent physically after my VB, I am enjoying being supported for these weeks by my DH who has taken extended leave to cover my CS recovery. Also, my libido has returned pretty quickly this time, whereas it went MIA for months after my VB and I didn't even want to know about anything from the waist down (had a prolapse, tear thru to muscle, etc).