I had a really positive birth experience with both my children. I've been fortunate to have lovely midwives and wonderful friends who were there for me during both of my births, even though one was solo (I met my partner when son turned 1). No amount of preparation could prepare myself postpartum! What a whirlwind it has been- learning how different I've changed body wise, as a person and accepting that this is now "my new normal."
In the postpartum period, my body had changed drastically. This is when I realized that going back to wearing knickers was not an option for me anymore- it just felt too intimidating and I just wasn't ready.
As you can imagine wearing anything restricting after childbirth isn’t easy but having absolutely no options prepared felt even worse so instead of fighting against my body and trying to squish into my pre-pregnancy knickers, I went shopping for new underwear, online of course, because who has time to go into an actual shop and try stuff on with a newborn and a toddler in tow?
Learning to be in my new body, I'd say love my new body but that took some time and acceptance but it did happen. I think accepting rather than embracing the changes was the first step that helped me find myself again, so I took this approach and decided on a whole new style of knicker. I discovered Flissie womens boxers and I've never looked back!
Here's ways wearing Flissie boxers helped me with my postpartum recovery...
Physical changes in my body left me unable to wear my pre-pregnancy knickers. The band of my pre-pregnancy knickers would sit directly on top of my scar, making it uncomfortable to wear them for long periods and I would feel weird about myself in general because there was this constant reminder. My wound/scar tingled and was numb. It wasn't painful but it felt bizarre touching it, like it wasn't my body, I think that was the numbness because id never experienced it before. Flissie bands sit above my scar for extra comfort, giving me time to reconnect and accept my new body.
Postpartum night sweats hit hard after having both of my children. The postpartum period is usually quite difficult anyway, but these nights were really rough with their heavy baby blankets. My pyjamas were too heavy and warm, even wearing linen I'd wake up in the middle of the night drenched making it hard to sleep soundly in my own bed again and oh wow is sleep valuable! The moisture wicking of the bamboo material really helped to make me feel a bit more human and encourage my mind into life with 2 children rather than being in 'recovery'. I loved the temperature control aspect of the boxers that came from the lightweight bamboo fabric. Keeping me cool contributed to lowering the postpartum sweats I experienced. Wearing Flissie boxers to bed really helped improve my quality of sleep as I was so comfortable.
As my strength grew and I began to take my new baby on walks, the anti chafing short meant that i could pop them under my dresses and didn’t need to even consider being uncomfortable. The last thing you need as a busy new mum is being uncomfortable or having to re-adjust your underwear every 3 minutes!
I really loved the fact that I was doing my bit for the environment and other women too. Bringing my little ones into the world made me really conscious of the planet we're preparing for them to grow up in. Flissie being environmentally friendly reassured me that I was doing little things that had a big impact for the good of our children and their planet.
For every 3 pairs sold, 1 pair is donated to a woman who really needs them. Having been a single mum with no second parent support allowed me to consider how tough some new mums really have it. Not everybody who is pregnant or has a baby has a second parent for support. Knowing a pair was being donated made me feel positive that I was doing something to support other women and mums in the way that I had been supported at such a vulnerable time.
I've now bought Flissie womens boxers for friends with babies which I think is a really special new mum gift and they all really love them.
Written by Laura, Customer & Guest Writer