Cheers to making it to the other side of uterine liberation day, as one of my friends termed it!  We have made it to the other side, hallelujah and amen.  I am still solidly in the recovery zone and there will certainly be more from both Kimberly and I to report on the hormone journey and we work our way through estrogen patches and the like, but we both figured it was worth sharing some thoughts on the other side of a total hysterectomy.  Here are a few musings post- surgery on what worked well and what I can definitely recommend.

Grab a good meal out with friends the night before.  This was the best.  I had visions of hosting my friends and cooking a spectacular dinner to celebrate the new phase of life ahead and in the end that was just too large of a task with all of the other preparations that come with a mama being down and out for a few days.  Instead I invited them for a meet up at a local spot and nobody had to cook, always a win for a group of mamas. We did a lot of laughing and if that isn’t a good way to head into a surgery I don’t know what is!

Try to keep a sense of humor in it all.  Just for kicks and giggles I had sweatshirts made for Kimberly and I that said “I’m in my perimenopause era” and “I’m in my menopause era”.  The nurses got a giggle out of it for sure and we got a keepsake that will always make us smile when we slip them on.  I also had a lead nurse that was just so funny and she was good medicine for the soul while we waited.  At discharge she gave me a big hug and told me she had prayed for me which was just about the best thing ever.  The other aspect of all of this that we have shared quite a few giggles over is the absolute fear that is instilled in us both post childbirth and post surgical procedure regarding the moving of the bowels. I can’t figure out if this is more mental or if it’s mostly physical or maybe a combination of the two quite honestly but there’s just nothing like sending your best friend a text that says “Poop mission accomplished!” and getting a response of “Never cheered so hard for a poop before”.  It has certainly made me revisit memories of of my post c-section and postpartum days where that one body function feels like the last thing on earth you want to do.  In all seriousness, cheers to Miralax for making all things possible.  

Now to revisit a true unsung hero I had completely forgotten about until I woke up from surgery.  The mesh hospital underwear.  If you know you know and I can sense every woman who has ever given birth nodding her head right now.  I forgot how truly awesome mesh hospital underwear was and now in my recovery zone I’m totally searching for an acceptable every day version of it. There is even an entire article over at The Cut dedicated to it which made me smile reading it and realizing I am not alone.  Nothing will bring you back to some postpartum memories like the mesh underwear.  It is perfect in all the ways you need it to be in that moment of your life, I think we can all agree on that point.  If you have found the perfect every day version of this underwear please let us know so we can share the love! Haha

The last thing that worked really well were the clothing items I selected for this adventure. I had a bit of a paranoia surrounding this because when I had my c section many years back I was wildly unprepared for the amount of abdominal swelling and this left me feeling unprepared with my post surgery clothing options.  I was determined to be prepared this time around!   The pre-op nurse told me to wear a dress to my surgery and I’m so glad I took her advice.  I knew I needed something that was flowy and had room for a super swollen abdomen but I would also need it to be very soft.  I settled on this one from Z Supply and it was perfect and everything I needed it to be!  I also wanted a pair of sweatpants that wouldn’t be too bulky and hot but also impossibly soft and nothing that would squeeze me around the middle.  I tried on SO MANY PAIR.  Of course Vuori took the cake on this despite our disapproval of their price.  Apart from that they truly have created the most perfect sweatpant ever in my opinion!  Add in the sweatshirts I had custom made and we nailed it!  Its been comfort city over here which really does make such a difference 🙂  

I said that was the last thing but really and truly the last thing is that I can’t recommend having your bestie with you enough. In my single mom life, it was a pure delight. Kimberly was the best caretaker and it was such a kind sacrifice for her to leave her family for a couple days to come and hang with me.  We got to chat and laugh about all the things. I know we chatted the entire way home from the hospital even though I cannot remember a thing to save my life.  She went on walks with my kids.  Brought snacks and food and made sure that I stayed upright at all times.  She walked in circles with me around my house to move the post surgery gas and air in my belly, and most importantly she remembered to ask the surgeon for a picture of my uterus which I nearly forgot!  She is a true blessing to me and I hope everyone can have someone like her in their life.  

We will continue to report updates on this wild hormone journey we are on because more than anything we want other women to know they aren’t alone in it and we hope that this helps someone in some way.  

XO 

Sarah