C-sections
After c sec..cleanup..
I know this is the last thing that should be on my mind...but its not lol
I am having a hard time taking a shower now..can't hardly shave my legs anymore. It got me thinking about showering afterwards...how painful is it? Can you even lift your arms to wash your hair or does someone have to help you (at the hospital and at home)?
Also...with the bleeding...how often do you have to change the pad? Does a nurse or DH have to help you? Do you bleed a lot after a c sec?
Im also curious about the stomach "massage". On a scale of 1-10..how badly does it hurt and how often do you have to have this done? Ive heard horror stories about this so am a little scared. Some ppl say it depends on the nurse too...
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Re: After c sec..cleanup..
I had no real problems showering afterward, even in the hospital, and I did it all on my own. I cherished those 10 minutes to myself in there! Just go slow and be careful, as with anything, but I had no restrictions - I was okay to get the incision wet and lightly handwash it.
Bleeding is the same as with a vaginal delivery. It's a lot at first and the nurses will help you the first day, after that, it's all you. I switched from the ginormous hospital pads to my Always super overnight ones and my own underwear after 3 days. It lasted lightly for maybe 3-4 weeks.
I have heard nothing about this so-called "stomach massage." No one massaged my stomach and I would've had something to say about it if someone tried, lol.
ETA: Oh wait, do you mean when they come in to check the incision and push around it a little? They're checking the uterus to make sure it is shrinking and contracting down properly. I mean, it wasn't pleasant, but the fact that I forgot about it should say something!
Showering was great and felt amazing. It wasn't hard to wash myself, other than any bending over at first but they had a shower chair in my shower at the hospital and it made it easy.
I bled a lot at first, but it's no different than it would be for a vaginal delivery. You can change the pad on your own just fine.
The stomach pushing wasn't pleasant by any means, but they only do it for a couple seconds each time they do it. For as bad as ds's delivery was, recovery was not that bad at all.
I think because I have 2 days left..Im thinking of EVERYTHING that I am scared of. I need to just relax and not think about it. Im not sleeping at all...so uncomfortable. I thought sleep would be the best thing right now but I just cant. I also think that I am so excited about knowing our baby will be here in 2 days is making me more nervous/anxious! I love feeling her move..and I think Im going to miss it! She is breech and today when I layed on my left side...her little hand will poke me over and over again...(its right by her head).
I am just praying everything goes well for both of us..and I appreciate any information you ladies give out. I like to be prepared!
I had no problems showering after my c/s.
As far as bleeding, I remember it being the heaviest the two days following my c/s. At the hospital they give you HUGE pads, but I don't remember bleeding so heavy that I was contantly having to change it.
I had forgotten all about the stomach massage! To be honest, I only remember it being painful the day after my c/s. All the other times weren't too bad. I think because I was on pain killers that it somehow "took the edge off"
I had a little trouble with my first shower because when I got out, I started shivering and that was painful. And I was bleeding a lot and it was gross. So make sure you have someone to help you just in case. I could wash my hair and everything just fine.
The nurse will help you change your pads. By the time you get home, you should be able to take care of your own basic hygiene and needs. You will probably bleed like a very heavy period, just like you would after a vaginal birth (although some people luck out and have light bleeding).
I don't really remember the fundal massage, so it must not have been bad.
Showering should be fine...I didn't have anyone help me, even at the hospital. I was a bit slow at getting dressed. It hurts to use your abdominal muscles. You realize how much you use them once you have surgery. You may be slow, but it's doable.
As far as the bleeding, it's just like a period. You change your pad as needed. I also didn't have anyone help me with that. If you soak a pad an hour and start passing large clots, let your nurse know. That's too much bleeding. Again, you just move slower afterwards, but it doable to do yourself. I didn't feel I needed help with personal care.
The fundal massage...I won't lie. It hurts. It hurt really bad on the 3rd day of them doing it. I also think it depends on the nurse, but even if they are being gentle, it can still be pretty uncomfortable. They did it about once a shift after my c-section recovery was done.
Taking a shower was the greatest thing ever. LO was born at 5:30pm and I took a long, hot shower the next day at noonish- I felt like a million times better after that. I didn't need any help. (I would advise taking your own shampoo/conditioner/soap in case what they give you isn't good)
Every couple hours on changing the pad. The nurse or a tech helped the first night, then once I could get out of bed I did it myself. Compared to a vaginal birth you'll bleed less, but it's still generally a fair amount of blood.
Uterine massage never hurt me. I don't even remember how often- every few hours the first night, then 1-2 times a day maybe? Every so often push on your own belly, you'll be able to feel your uterus get harder (or if it's already hard) and you'll *tmi* feel some blood gush out. Gross, but it's easier and less painful to do it yourself.
I did not have a scheduled c-section.
For my first shower my DH helped me, to basically make sure I didn't topple over. I was kind-of bent over a bit and I think I was able to wash my own hair. Once I got home I showered on my own but just slowly.
I don't remember having anyone "massage" my stomach, so it mustn't have hurt very much, or I was on too many drugs to notice.
In the hospital I had to change it much more frequently than once I got home.
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1. I showered the day after my c/s - I had my Mom come in the bathroom with me just to make sure I didn't need any help. I did okay by myself but just needed to go slow. I was able to wash my hair. I did have to sit on the toilet afterward bc I was tired to put my underwear etc on.
2. Same as PPs, the nurses helped me until I got out of bed and then I changed it when I needed to when I went to the bathroom. I used the big pads the hospital gave me until I was discharged then I used super overnight pads for a bit. I could change them myself.
3. The stomach massage was really just the nurse checking my uterus to make sure it was shrinking. Since it was, they didn't do any massage on it bc it wasn't needed.
I had LO on Friday morning and showered for the first time early on Saturday. DH helped me in there and I used a hospital bench to sit on. It was not painful at all and I can honestly say that was the best and most anticipated shower I have ever had in my life!
I just changed my pad when I went to the restroom and was capable of taking care of everything on my own. Keep in mind that you will likley have a catheder in for the majority of the first day so you can't get out of bed and with you laying flat very little blood escapes. The first time I sat up to have the cath removed the blood poured out. After I was able to walk around the bleeding subsided and after the first week I only needed a panty liner. I would say that it was never worse than a bad period.
I didn't have a stomach "massage" at any point. The nurses did check my stomach from time to time to make sure that the uterus was shrinking back down but it was not painful.
Apparently I passed gas in my sleep during the night after LO was born. When the nurse came in with jello and juice and said I had to pass gas before I could get real food, H was all "She already did! She farted in her sleep, I heard it! She can have breakfast!"
I was so hungry I couldn't even be embarrassed- thanks H!
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My first c/s was unplanned so now that I am about to have my second c/s I have placed my shampoo, etc higher up in the shower so I can reach without bending down. Your abs will be sore and you most likely won't want to feel like bending down to shave or get shampoo the first week or two.
Right after the c/s in the recovery room the nurse came every 15 min to press on my belly to get the uterus to contract -- it was excruciating, I will not lie. I am not looking forward to that but it must be done.
Good luck, you will do fine.
As far as showering goes, I had no problem showering or washing my hair after my c-section. It stung a little but it wasn't anything that was painful by any means. In fact once I was able to shower it was heaven.
As far as bleeding. It was really heavy for the first say three days then it was just like a normal period for about the next week or two. Then I spotted and could wear a thin pad for the next week or two. The first few times I had a nurse help me to the bathroom, just because I was unstable. Once in the bathroom I was able to do everything on my own, it just took a lot of slow movements and time.
I will say though I was not allowed out of bed until nearly 24 hours after my c/s due to having to be on 02 due to breathing complications from the G/A. So the nurses came in and did the changing for me since I still had the cath in.
As far as the uterine massage, they hurt and my nurses were pretty good about it. My nurses would generally come in and warn me before so I could hit the button on the morphine pump and then while it hurt it did not hurt as much. I usually gripped the sides of the bed while they did it. It is not as bad a labor pains though I would say it was probably a 7-8 on pain scale. It only hurt while they did it which was only for a few seconds and that is it.
Shaving your legs will so go out the window LOL. I didn't shave mine til I was home over a week later (DD was in NICU). It was really hard to stand straight up so showering was weird. I had no problems washing my hair and whatnot; simply standing in the shower was the hard part. And you have to do it backwards because the spray isn't supposed to hit the incision. DH helped me shower at the hospital, handing me what I needed and helping me in, out and getting dressed. I was hurting honestly. The rest of my showers he was just on standby in case I slipped or dropped something. Shaving anything was just not happening.
I think my nurses might have changed my pads once or twice. It's hard to remember with the pain meds! I know they did it at least once before I could get out of bed. Other than that after my catheter was out I did it myself when I went to the bathroom. Well DH helped in that area too handing supplies and pushing the garbage can where I need it. It hurt just to twist to wipe so once I was down I was down LOL and he had to hand me what I needed. I bled about like a really long period. I have pretty heavy periods anyway so clots and the amount of flow wasn't shocking to me. But it's been 2 weeks since mine and I'm still discharging and wearing a pad.
My fundal massage wasn't a massage at all. I had fundal checks which is the way it should be imo. They didn't start smashing my stomach just for the hell of it. They took two fingers and gently pressed to see if my uterus was going back to normal. Honestly it hurt no worse than just laying a hand on my belly (because it's already painful because of the surgery). I think it was done 3-4 times from the recovery room to my room to when my dr checked me. They were always very careful and apologetic. I was very pleasantly surprised how easy that part went. It all depends on the hospital I'm sure.
I didn't have any problem washing my hair I don't think, but I wasn't bending over to shave my legs for at least a couple weeks. Warning: my first shower I felt extremely dizzy- probably because they didn't let me eat solid food for the first two days. As soon as the steam started I almost blacked out and I was desperately trying to hang on to the smooth walls of the shower stall trying to stay upright while screaming for my husband, terrified that if I did pass out I'd tear out my stitches on the way down. Maybe have someone with you just in case- my nurse friend says that the change in temperature can bring on dizzy spells in some people after surgery.
I don't remember having to change the pad all that often- I remember being surprised with how little I was bleeding. They clean you out a bit during a c-section, and I didn't think my bleeding was any worse than my average period, although it did last longer. The nurse changed them for the first day or so in the hospital, I changed them after that (once you can move around, it's as easy as sliding it into your underwear like a normal pad).
Honestly, I don't recall the stomach massage being painful at all. I had heard it was painful too, but it never was.
I never had a hard time with a shower... the hardest part was bending over. -which I didnt want to do at all for the first few days. Sitting was a little painful but I just used my boppy in front when sitting..
Ive had two c sections so I have no clue what the difference would be with the bleeding, but Im guessing it depends on the woman.