Second time mom, first planned c-section

cranberrycove06

Hi ladies, I just thought I would introduce myself. I'm a mom to a fantastic two year old and am expecting our second child in September. I had a prettier traumatic delivery with my first and it's been decided that a c section is safest for me and baby. I'm not sure what to plan for. I'm honestly a little frightened about the whole thing. I am way more frightened about a repeat of the last adventure of labor, so I'm definitely on par with the doctors suggestion. Without it turning into a horrible and gruesome csi type post, can you tell me what to expect? How is recovery? I'm having a planned c section but should it go emergency, how is recovery different after you've started labor? Anything I should be doing to make the surgery and recovery easier? Anyone chased a toddler, had an infant and recovered well? I'm also not looking for anyone to tell me how terrible c creations are and how I won't bond with my baby and all that. After a terrible deliver the first time, a nicu stay for my son, and almost a week long stay for me and Post partum, I'm not interested in hearing it.

mysticl

Everyone is different.  Every doctor is different.  Some people will tell you they were strapped down for the surgery, others will tell you their arms were free.  Some got to hold and even nurse the baby while still on the table.  Others get to see their baby for a few seconds and then the child is taken away.  It could be anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours before you see the baby again if that is the case.  Some recover just fine, others have complications. 

My recovery was complication free.  I was not allowed out of bed for about 20 hours and I was not allowed food until I got out of bed.  The first few trips to the bathroom are difficult.  Sneezing, coughing, laughing are not fun at all.  I had trouble at home because I could only sit on our dining chairs and the guest bed.  I couldn't sleep in our bed because it was too high for me to get in and out of.  I slept sitting up in the guest bed for a few days because it was difficult to get out of laying position.  I wasn't allowed to drive for 4 weeks.  I wasn't allowed to lift anything heavier than the newborn for 6 weeks.  Could not put any strain on my abs at all for 10 weeks.

I get this is what you want to do and what you feel is best.  You have to do what works for you. Just remember that a c-section will not guarantee that your child won't go to the NICU, you could still end up with a week's stay (or more) in the hospital, and it won't prevent post partum depression.  

My best advice is take the pain the killers and take the stool softeners.  

cranberrycove06

Oh I know it won't prevent any of those things. But when your baby is too big to fit and they rip him out and it almost kills both of you and causes a host of different complications you gotta do what you have to and try to make the best of the next delivery and limit the risks you can. For my vaginal delivery I couldn't walk,urinate,or stand for about a week due to hip and bladder trauma, I developed c diff in the hospital a bad uti from my cath and I couldn't drive for about a month and even then a month out I couldn't really do stairs. I had terrible bladder trouble for months after. It's still sometimes difficult to pee two years out. So I'm looking for a better way.

hsal

I had to plan a csection for my second baby since he was breech.  My daughter turns 3 in 2 weeks. 

It's a very different recovery than vaginal. With my daughter, I was back on my feet a couple hours after delivery.  I felt like my insides were falling out because there was so much blood and clotting.  She got stuck coming out and ended up breaking her clavical from the force of removing her.

The csection gave me a lot more anxiety because I was scared I'd go into labor before it was time and end up with an emergency.  As far as recovery, a lot of whta you're trying to avoid by having a csection, are things you'll deal with.  I recevored REALLY well from my csection, I was attempting to walk around at about 4 am (my surgery was at 8 am, so almost 20 hours later) and it was pretty painful. It hurt for almost a week trying to get in and out of the hospital bed. You still have a catheter so you could run into complications again. I had some pain for the first two weeks when trying to do stairs.  Yesterday I climbed up on a step stool and it was just a bit too high and caused pain in my abdomen. I just started driving on Tuesday, 3 weeks after delivery.  I've only picked up my daughter a couple times and that's been to put her on the toilet since she's trained and my husband is back at work.  Sometimes it hurts, some times it doesn't. 

My daughter is super wonderful and has been very helpful, but it would have been out of the question to pick her up earlier in recovery. 

As far as the scare of postpartum, I had post partum after my daughter but this time I haven't dealt with anything.  My circumstances are different and I feel lke I know what to expect so I don't think it's influenced by whether I had a csection or not.

Keep in mind, it is abdominal surgery and just like a vaginal birth, you can have complications during recovery.  

Do what's best for you and your baby.

mysticl

cranberrycove06 said:

Hi ladies, I just thought I would introduce myself. I'm a mom to a fantastic two year old and am expecting our second child in September. I had a prettier traumatic delivery with my first and it's been decided that a c section is safest for me and baby. I'm not sure what to plan for. I'm honestly a little frightened about the whole thing. I am way more frightened about a repeat of the last adventure of labor, so I'm definitely on par with the doctors suggestion. Without it turning into a horrible and gruesome csi type post, can you tell me what to expect? How is recovery? I'm having a planned c section but should it go emergency, how is recovery different after you've started labor? Anything I should be doing to make the surgery and recovery easier? Anyone chased a toddler, had an infant and recovered well? I'm also not looking for anyone to tell me how terrible c creations are and how I won't bond with my baby and all that. After a terrible deliver the first time, a nicu stay for my son, and almost a week long stay for me and Post partum, I'm not interested in hearing it.

What do you mean by emergency?  Do you just mean you go into labor before your scheduled date or a true get this baby out now emergency?

I have a friend who labored with her first and ended up in a c-section.  She then opted to have scheduled c-sections for the rest of her pregnancies.  She said the biggest difference she noticed in recovery had to do with how the surgeons stitched her back up.  She had different doctors for each pregnancy.  

Mrs.Rose

You will be totally fine.  I have had 2 c-sections, one after 48 hours of failed labor and one true emergency section.  The recovery from the second one (with no labor) was truly no big deal.  The biggest difference between the two was that I was so exhausted with my first that that added to the recovery.  But if you go into labor, and they c-section you straight away - I think you will not have that issue.  Yes, it is surgery, and that is a big deal, but if you listen to your nurses and walk as much as possible right after, you will be fine.  Wear the weird girdle thing they give you.  Stay on top of the meds for the first couple days for sure.  Take colace so you can poop.  You wont be able to sit up easily by yourself for a couple days and if you sneeze it kinda sucks .  I graduated to just 800mg  ibuprofen pretty quickly and that was totally enough.  Get some comfy undies that are a little higher cut to avoid the incision and some yoga pants with no waistband.  I chased my toddler and recovered just fine.  I am sure with all the complications you had the first time, this will be no worse!  It is really a couple days of being kinda hunched over.  By two weeks I was about 80% and by 6 weeks I was 95%.  

Don't stress.  You will be totally fine.   

gigismama221

I'm in the same boat, although mine was not as traumatic as yours. My ob told me it was severe enough to plan a csection next time...which I was fine w until I found out I was pregnant again. I don't have a lot of help at home and I'm nervous about the recovery as well. Thanks for sharing your story.

cranberrycove06

This was really helpful. I'm feeling a lot better about it. It's better for me and the baby to be safe and me have to go through a surgery than to risk it and see what happens. Mrs. Rose your response was especially helpful. I'm trying very hard to not stress and enjoy the pregnancy.

JSS1002

FWIW, I had an emergency c/s after 12 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing, and it was great.  I healed really fast, felt ready to exercise after about a week... barely have a scar, etc... having a scheduled c/s this time around and am hoping for the same experience!  Since I got to labor and push and stuff, I sort of feel like I got the best of both worlds.

mysticl

Mrs.Rose said:

You will be totally fine.  I have had 2 c-sections, one after 48 hours of failed labor and one true emergency section.  The recovery from the second one (with no labor) was truly no big deal.  The biggest difference between the two was that I was so exhausted with my first that that added to the recovery.  But if you go into labor, and they c-section you straight away - I think you will not have that issue.  Yes, it is surgery, and that is a big deal, but if you listen to your nurses and walk as much as possible right after, you will be fine.  Wear the weird girdle thing they give you.  Stay on top of the meds for the first couple days for sure.  Take colace so you can poop.  You wont be able to sit up easily by yourself for a couple days and if you sneeze it kinda sucks .  I graduated to just 800mg  ibuprofen pretty quickly and that was totally enough.  Get some comfy undies that are a little higher cut to avoid the incision and some yoga pants with no waistband.  I chased my toddler and recovered just fine.  I am sure with all the complications you had the first time, this will be no worse!  It is really a couple days of being kinda hunched over.  By two weeks I was about 80% and by 6 weeks I was 95%.  

Don't stress.  You will be totally fine.   

Not everyone is given one of those or even told about them.  I had never heard of it until months after my surgery.  

AMcLaws

My recovery from my CS with DD1 was a breeze. I was up and walking within 12 hours (slowly, but I was moving). Walking really made a difference for me. I had a friend have one within a week of me, and she refused to get out of bed. Her recovery was much harder than mine.

Take your meds! Don't skip doses. My hospital offered gas pills...take them. They're fantastic.

capulet

I've only had c-sections (first due to fetal distress during labor, second was planned RCS), so I don't know from experience what a vaginal birth is like, but i had pretty good recoveries and feel like a decent c/s recovery is better than a bad vaginal birth recovery.  The first week isn't easy, but I haven't had any long-term issues.

My water broke early with #2, so I had him earlier than planned, but it wasn't a big deal.  I had to wait a few hours to get tested to make sure my water had actually broken and to assemble a surgical team (it was Thanksgiving night at a smallish hospital so there weren't a lot of staff around), so I was beginning to have regular but manageable contractions by the time I went into the OR.  It was much less stressful than DD's birth.  Going into labor early can happen, but it isn't automatically an emergency situation and shouldn't be detrimental to your recovery.

DD was four when DS was born, so I don't have experience chasing a toddler.  But what I would suggest is making sure you have plenty of help the first week after your baby is born - that means staying in the hospital as long as you're allowed (I went home after two days with DS, which in retrospect was a mistake, because I pushed myself too hard and could have used that time to recover even though I was feeling okay) and having someone help out at home for at least a few days, the longer the better. 

After both c-sections, I was out of bed, no catheter, and able to shower after 12 hours, I did stairs from the day I got home, I could walk around a fair amount after a week (not, like, miles, but malls and short walks), and I drove after two weeks.