From the head down:

My throat was sore and my voice was hoarse because they told me not to push so i ROARED (to let the pushing pressure out my mouth instead of letting it push down into my bum - your diaphragm engages to push no matter HOW hard you're fighting it, so mooing then roaring was all i could do to not push) for the last 90 minutes of the labour. Until she was crowning and they said (in shocked voices - first time mum, <4 hour labour) i could push, then i pushed and she was born in that one push.

My boobs were ok right after birth but my milk came in on day 3 and they were in both shape and size EXACTLY like two footballs (rugby, not soccer) and about as hard too. They say feeding often can help you avoid getting engorged but DD was feeding every 90-120 minutes so i guess i'd have needed twins to avoid it. They were really sensitive but i wouldn't say painful. That eased a few days later. I was unprepared for the fact that when DD cried, once my milk came in, i got strong let-down i couldn't feel in my boob but i could feel when it dripped onto my feet! The 4th night i was changing her nappy and she was crying and i had freezing milk (the room was cold) soaking my t-shirt and dripping onto my feet!

Because of the roaring and the pregnancy in general my ribs were sore. Also, the weirdest thing (i'd LOVE to hear from anyone else who had this!) my diaphragm was exhausted. In the shower, after the birth, i couldn't breathe out! I had to lean forward and let my belly hang so the muscles were more in the pre-birth position (when they were stretched over bubs) so i could breathe out. I could breathe in ok, but somehow the tone when i relaxed my diaphragm was gone. This wore off to a great extent by about day 4, but i did feel quite breathless at times for about a week.

My belly was still big and spongey/flabby. There was actually less fat there than before i got PG as i lost weight when pregnant, but the extra skin and poor muscle tone meant nothing was "held in". Pulling my muscles tight had little effect for about a week, then i began to be able to get a flatter look by sucking it in.

My pubic bone ached from the actual delivery, i really felt it cranking open as her head was born, and it felt a bit bruised for about 3 days. My vagina felt like a horse had kicked it. It was swollen and hot and felt bulging. I had a little tear (no stitches) into my perineum but i didn't feel it happening and i only felt it after when i put my aromatherapy gel preparation (made by my midwife) on it, which felt warm and burny but not unpleasant. I pooped the day after labour and had no problems. My bladder control was a bit hit and miss for a few days. But you know what, i got the impression that it wasn't that i couldn't hold my urine in (weakened muscles) but that i couldn't FEEL when i needed to go (numbed nerves) as it felt like i got the urge to pee just as it began to run out of me - i only ever leaked a little as i dashed to the loo and the meternity pads always caught it. My midwife told me to do a set of kegels after let-down everytime i fed DD and that really helped me get sensation/control back.

I lost my water retention really fast, and was less swollen after birth than before. I can remember on day 3 the midwife said to me "how are your legs?" (meaning did they hurt, checking for possible thrombisis) and laughed at me because i exclaimed "They're really thin! Look!" and swung them out of bed to be examined.

HTH

Bx