A Bit About Me
Hello I’m Victoria, I live in Devon with my husband, daughter and French Bulldog. Devon is my home from home, I’ll always be a Dorset girl at heart. I met my husband in our home town of Weymouth, he’s in the Royal Marines and after firmly stating I’d never move out of my flat by the sea to follow him in his career, here I am. I love living in Devon and have met some wonderful people through my husbands job, going to local CrossFit gyms and of course having my daughter and a very sociable French Bulldog. I can normally be found chasing after him across Woodbury Common (the dog, not my husband).
I qualified as a Physiotherapist in 2009 from Bournemouth University. I went straight into working in the community originally in the learning disability field then as a Senior Physiotherapist in the Community Rehab Team in Weymouth. I’ve always loved being an independent clinician because I get to view my patients holistically. I don’t always have the Nurse, Doctor, Pharmacist or Occupational Therapist next to me to help. I have to look outside the box, inside and around all the corners to get to the bottom of how I can best help and achieve an individuals goals. I think that’s the long and short of it, I like solving people’s problems, Physiotherapy related ones.
I’ve always had a personal interest in Pilates attending weekly classes to complement my swimming background. Once I’d qualified as a Physiotherapist I took my Mat Level courses 1-3 with the Australian Physiotherapy Pilates Institute (APPI) and began using it in clinical practice. It wasn’t until immediately after having my daughter and completing my Mummy MOT training that I realised the HUGE clinical importance it plays in post natal rehab.
That’s how I’ve ended up here writing this blog which I have a sneaking suspicion only my mum and husband will read but we’ve all got to start somewhere. I had my daughter in July 2019 (more about that later). I started to develop an interest in women’s health before getting pregnant, I attended courses read books and journals practiced clinical skills, spoke to other clinicians. I thought I’d just bounce back into CrossFit post baby and be fine. I’ve come to realise over the course of the first six months that postnatal rehab is a long game. I’ve kept plodding along through it all, breast feeding, sleep deprivation, numerous bouts of mastitis and generally trying to keep my daughter alive and myself sain. It really is the marathon as opposed to the sprint. Like my husband always says “Castles made of sand Vic,” I’m guessing they fall into the sea because he never really finishes the sentence. He walks off after delivering his proverb normally when I’m moaning about something I’m not progressing at in training and taking his suggested long road. Case and point strict pull ups, they disappeared in week 20 of pregnancy and I’m still searching for them.*
Lots of blogs are written with good intentions of helping others with humour, shared stories and quite a few moans. Don’t get me wrong I love a moan! If it’s one thing I’ve learnt since becoming a mum it’s that a good vent is incredibly important for mental health. Equally so is making a plan getting outside meeting new people and watching your small person amaze you with the simplest of things that mean the most. I remember when our Daughter first belly laughed. It was one of the best things I’ve ever witnessed. I remember thinking I might explode with happiness, I thought my face was going to crack I was smiling so hard. She’s recently learnt to clap too. I frequently look like a lunatic encouraging her to “clap clap” in supermarkets, cafes on dog walks etc.
I’d like to share my personal pre and post natal rehab journey as a pelvic health physiotherapist with other women, and men for that matter. My husband has been of huge support to me since our daughter has been born. I think mainly because I’ve shared everything with him. The good, the bad and the, really not the best stuff. I don’t like the phrase ugly. I understand some partners male and female who watch their other half give birth and start their post natal journey may not have the foggiest clue at what’s going on. Some women don’t like to share for a hundred and one different reasons. So this is for you to. Maybe just to quietly read and think “ahhhhh that’s why she keeps wanting to sit in a shallow bath after going to the toilet.” Trust me, don’t rush her let her do it. Sometimes a little knowledge can go a long way! I’d like this blog to be a safe place for people to read and hopefully maybe even learn. I’m reading articles daily and I really enjoy sharing them and trying to dispel myths and break down barriers around postpartum recovery. There’s so much information out there, let’s navigate it together and discuss the findings. I hope by sharing stories, things that have worked and things that haven’t worked we can reach ladies who may be suffering in silence. Having a baby is incredible but can be exceptionally isolating, I know, it’s hard.
Even if it is just my husband and my mum who read this, that’s ok! But if there’s one lady who’s at her whits end feeding her baby at 3am worrying about her stress incontinentce or a lady 10 years post partum still missing the running she used to do before having children and struggling with back pain. You’re not on your own, it feels like it I know but you’re really not. Let’s start talking. V x
*They returned 6 months after I’d had my daughter. That’s right, 6 months not weeks, months.