Recovering from the birth of my daughter was a lot harder than I expected. My midwife gave me a set of instructions that proved trying:
1) Lay down as much as possible: This was advised to encourage rest and prevent my organs from sinking down in my body. With too much activity and being vertical I could cause my cervix to slide down and cause it to stick out...not a very good thought.
2) Only go up/down the stairs once a day: This just killed me!!! It's so hard to keep a toddler on one floor of the house all day. Meals had to be brought up to me and everything just felt wrong.
3) Do not pick up anything heavier than my baby: This meant I couldn't pick up my toddler at all. This pairs with the first instruction... when you lift something up you use your abdominal muscles and could cause things to move around in ways they shouldn't, not to mention these muscles separate during pregnancy and haven't mended back together yet.
4) Stay hydrated: This was a slam dunk. When my mom came over the day after Abby was born and asked if I needed anything I said "Yes! Please bring me one of those glass jar things with the dispenser that you usually put tea in on your back porch." My husband filled it every morning with a ton of ice and the rest water and I drank nearly all of it each day by just refilling it myself. This cut down on how many times my husband had to run up and down the stairs.
It's a pretty big change going from one child to two. As someone told me once... you truly become a parent when you have more than one. At my two week appointment I was told I can gradually begin going up and down the stairs more but to hold off just a little longer before picking up my son.