C-section support check in- 08/22

charmedlifex3

How is everyone doing this week? Promised I would put this up weekly!

Days Post Partum?

How are you feeling?

Wins or whines for the week?

How is baby? 

Any other questions / issues we can help with?

S&J05

Days Post Partum?
7! Hard to believe it has been a week already.

How are you feeling?
Not too bad but going stir crazy already. My way to re-charge is by walking around Target, going to a coffee place, etc. But with the driving restrictions, getting sore somewhat quickly, and the baby I'm feeling a little stuck at home.

Wins or whines for the week?
Wins=pumping is going well! The second day in the hospital I was psyched to pump 1mL and now I'm up to 35. We are still supplementing with formula due to low supply but we are getting there.

How is baby? 
She is perfect. Aaaabsolutely perfect.

Any other questions / issues we can help with?
Nope-thanks for this thread!!

Sandy

lblu43

Days pp: 18

How are you feeling?  Well overall, minus the occasional instant waterworks. I feel guilty w DH, a lot of his comments lately have been sparking my frustration. Then again he's also sleep deprived, so hes had a few "foot n the mouth" statements. Case in point: Don't comment to the LO, "your momma doesn't want to change your diaper, its ok. We'll get you a new momma son. She'll be good looking and will be good to you", while your pp wife is struggling to rush out of the first shower in 2 days. At 3am and BF struggles...that was the fuel for "I'm a horrible mother".

Wins/Whines:
DS started 2nd grade today.....I had to leave peanut behind with DH to pick him up for school.  I survived (Win), but it was hell feeling like I had to choose one child over the next (Whine). It was also the 1st time I've driven in over 3 wks.

How is baby? 
Sleeping on my chest as I'm bumping. Very spoiled and growing fast. 

Etc? 
The random dark red bleeding stopped again. Curious to hear my OBs thoughts. Glad to know I wasn't the only one w pp bleeding >2wks.

TCUFrog08

Days PostPartum? 30 ( DS will be 1 month tomorrow!! Crazy since he original due date was 8/17)

How are you feeling?
Physically-  I am continuing to feel better. I just got back from a 1.4 mile walk with the dog. It was slow (22 minute mile) but it was an improvement than my other walks. 
Emotionally- I am struggling. I will admit that. I cry most days, but I have the best friends and Husband that a girl can ask for. I had several friends that were very open and honest about PPD/Baby Blues so I was very well prepared for it. That and we all talk about it very openly, so I don't feel judged when I text one and say "I am having a rough day, can I just get some stuff off my chest?"   I have also been asking DH for more help. That has been hard for me, but it was helped greatly. 

Wins or whines for the week? WIN- Asking DH for help with feeding/changing DS. He now takes care of 1-2 feedings an evening. It isn't much, but it breaks up my day of living on DS schedule. If that makes sense. It allows me to go for a walk, take a shower, or just relax. 

How is baby? He is doing amazing!! I cant believe he will be a month old tomorrow. It is just flying by. He is going thru a growth spurt I think, he ate almost 11oz in a 4 hour period. 

Any other questions / issues we can help with? No issues or questions. Mostly because I google EVERYTHING!! LOL DH always says " oh yah, did Google tell you that?" :-) 

bearsandbeets7

Days Post Partum? 11 days

How are you feeling? I'm actually feeling pretty good. I haven't even taken the Motrin they prescribed in a few days. 

Wins or whines for the week? We got out of the house today!! DD spent the night with my parents last night and DH and I went and walked around Walmart with baby so we could get a few things. 

How is baby? Baby is good, his umbilical stump fell off today which is good because it was starting to smell. 

Any other questions / issues we can help with? Does one side of your incision burn/pull a little bit when you move a certain way? I think I remember it doing this the first time around but i figured I'd ask anyway. 

haboobjob

@lblu43 Um not okay. My jaw is basically on the floor reading what your husband said. Not okay at any point. There is no excuse for saying anything remotely close to that to anyone.... ever. 

lblu43

@justaudrey Thanks for the support. It was certainly a discussion after. We've had a few actually the last couple of days. He asked me to sleep more when LO sleeps (I try but its difficult as a type A and w a 6yr old) and mentioned he feels likes hes walking on eggshells.  I admit I've been moody, but he's been cranky too. It turns his normal sarcasm n humor into eyeraisers. DHs parents arrived today to help out for a few days. We'll see.

haboobjob

Days Post Partum? 7 days

How are you feeling? Surprisingly well! I want to stop pain meds soon since they really eff me up. I totally forgot about the burning/pulling pain above the incision. It feels awful. 

Wins or whines for the week?
Whines: My boobs. I overproduced like crazy with DD. This time around, I'm struggling. My milk came in Thursday and idk if some of the little issues I've had may have affected my ability to restore my supply. Baby E has actually done awesome latching for the most part. DD never latched without a shield. Unfortunately, a couple poor latches resulted in the complete destruction of my nipple and now I'm trying to pump to just stay alive. Literally blisters, cracking, bleeding. They look terrifying. So now I'm pumping until they are healthy and I'm lucky if I can get 2oz in the morning. Add that to some other silly stressors in my life and I'm just feeling defeated. 

DH is completely overwhelmed with everything and having a hard time managing our 22mo old. I've been exerting myself a little more than I should because I can see him literally crumbling in front of me and it's so not like him. I usually take care of everything so I think it's a huge wake up call for him that SAHM is not a walk in the park. 

How is baby? Good. Almost up to birth weight based of her appt yesterday. 

Any other questions / issues we can help with? What is the best method for dealing with destroyed nipples and still growing your supply?? 

cait5413

Days Post Partum? 20

How are you feeling? Pretty Exhausted,  but my physical recovery is going pretty well, I think. Still taking Tylenol, but none of the prescription stuff

Wins or whines for the week? Back to work this week! Went in from 1:30-4 pm yesterday. My in-laws are here, so they took care of Caia and luckily she will take a (wide-nipple only) bottle. Tomorrow, I teach a night class as well, so I'll be gone from about 1 pm to 8 or 9 pm. Not really looking forward to that. So, it's a win and and whine because yesterday went well, but I do wish I didn't have to go back quite this soon (and some of my co-workers are willing to cover for me for a little while, but I wanted to be there for the first class so my students will know me and because my in-laws are in town through Sept 6, so I know she is in good hands). I am still not exactly sure what we are going to do in between my in-laws leaving and Caia being able to start daycare. I am hoping DH can work from home 2 days a week. 

How is baby? she's great. Growing a ton, it seems like

Any other questions / issues we can help with? Any advice on when to up-size diapers? We ran out of newborn diapers, but Caia is over 8 lbs, which is the minimum weight for Pampers #1's. They seem too big on her legs/butt, though, and she leaked pee on her onesie today. I'm wondering if I should pull them up higher and tighten them a lot or go buy some more newborn ones. The ones seem a lot bigger than the newborn size. 

charmedlifex3

How is everyone doing this week?  I'm really struggling actually. The doctors found another abscess this morning, and since it was near the skin and not very far along just opened and drained it in the office. I'm in agony tonight, and really feeling like this is never going to get better. I'm honestly having real concerns about my ability to make it through this... The doctors are having me come in every 48 hours now, and considering re (re) hospitalizing me. I'm scared - I want to be here for my family. 

Days Post Partum? 13. My little guy has already changed so much, it's amazing. 

How are you feeling? Trying to hold it together. 

Wins or whines for the week? A slightly ridiculous win, but I will take em where I can get em! Oliver and I figured out how to walk around while continuing to breast feed. He keeps the latch, and I've acquired the coordination to manage this. I feel like I leveled up as a mom or something. 

How is baby? We're EBF and the pediatrician was a little worried he isn't gaining weight as quickly as he hoped. We have another appointment tomorrow to check his weight. Fingers crossed he put on enough this time to avoid supplementing with formula! Last appointment was only at 1 week, and my milk had only come in between 4 and 5 days PP, so he hadn't had much time to bulk up.

Any other questions / issues we can help with? 

gadzooks_3

Days Post Partum? it will be one month tomorrow

How are you feeling?  Better, the therahoney has really helped my healing, but new small openings keep occurring at the incision. Still in pain, but trying to taper off the pain killers.

Wins or whines for the week?
Win - My inlaws came to visit, which allowed me to rest and get my recovery moving in the right direction. 

 Whine- tapering off the pain meds is causing rebound headaches which convert to migraines, ugh.


How is baby?  Wonderfully snuggly and growing I think (we will know for sure on Friday). Still on a flipped schedule, DH and I are having to take it in shifts to be up with him all night, we get very little time together and l ithle daylight. The night schedule us not helping my mental health.

Any other questions / issues we can help with? 

@Iblu43 that is not ok that he said that. I have a pretty dry sarcastic sense of humor myself but there are limits. That verges on passive aggressive and certainly misread what your going through. Sure he us tired, but come on - you are postpartum and had major surgery! He can change the diaper without the snark.

charmedlifex3

@justaudrey Two things - one make sure the latch is PERFECT every time when your nipples are hurting. I went through this. The other thing that helped me is i used way too much nipple cream. Like... A lot. Like a whole tube in a week.  Now things are healed up I'm using a more reasonable amount. 

bearsandbeets7

@cait5413 we just moved G up to 1s. The newborns seem too small and we ran out of them anyway. They seem a little too big but we just pull them up and tighten them and that seems to work pretty well. 

cait5413

@Allisun85 that sounds awful! Let's hope this is the last complication. Hang in there

haboobjob

@Allisun85 I have been skimping on the nipple cream but started piling it on tonight. I bought that angel mama nipple butter everyone raves about so I hope it helps. Baby E busted my other nipple during a MOTN feeding early this morning so I'm pumping both until they look like normal nipples. The pain is unbearable. I might schedule time with the LC after they heal to see if we may be able to get back the awesome latch we had the first few days.

Curls919

justaudrey said:

@Allisun85 I have been skimping on the nipple cream but started piling it on tonight. I bought that angel mama nipple butter everyone raves about so I hope it helps. Baby E busted my other nipple during a MOTN feeding early this morning so I'm pumping both until they look like normal nipples. The pain is unbearable. I might schedule time with the LC after they heal to see if we may be able to get back the awesome latch we had the first few days.

(Lurking on this thread)

Talk to your ob and ask them to call in a prescription for all purpose nipple ointment 
https://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_content&id=76:all-purpose-nipple-ointment-apno&Itemid=17

It did wonders for my nipples when DS1 had an awful latch. The ointment helped me heal quickly. 

kwilliams3402

Allisun85 said:

How is everyone doing this week?  I'm really struggling actually. The doctors found another abscess this morning, and since it was near the skin and not very far along just opened and drained it in the office. I'm in agony tonight, and really feeling like this is never going to get better. I'm honestly having real concerns about my ability to make it through this... The doctors are having me come in every 48 hours now, and considering re (re) hospitalizing me. I'm scared - I want to be here for my family. 

Days Post Partum? 13. My little guy has already changed so much, it's amazing. 

How are you feeling? Trying to hold it together. 

Wins or whines for the week? A slightly ridiculous win, but I will take em where I can get em! Oliver and I figured out how to walk around while continuing to breast feed. He keeps the latch, and I've acquired the coordination to manage this. I feel like I leveled up as a mom or something. 

How is baby? We're EBF and the pediatrician was a little worried he isn't gaining weight as quickly as he hoped. We have another appointment tomorrow to check his weight. Fingers crossed he put on enough this time to avoid supplementing with formula! Last appointment was only at 1 week, and my milk had only come in between 4 and 5 days PP, so he hadn't had much time to bulk up.

Any other questions / issues we can help with? 

So sorry to hear you're continuing to struggle with health issues postpartum. The follow up D&C I had to have Sunday made recovery harder, and I'm withe you--I feel like I'm doing a half-done job with baby while trying to heal. I'm sure you are doing the best you can, and that has to be enough! Prayers it gets better for you!!

haboobjob

@Allisun85 I'm sorry to hear about your incision! That sounds awful. I hope they can get things resolved quickly. It took DD a long time to gain weight and I felt relieved our pediatrician didn't put pressure on us to supplement. She was satisfied with slight gains. How did the appointment go? 

charmedlifex3

@justaudrey he gained 3 ounces! Not up to birth weight yet, but headed in the right direction. 

@kwilliams3402 I hope you are feeling better! 

rvamom90

@Allisun85 and @kwilliams3402 Thinking about you two and hope your recovery gets easier!

haboobjob

@Curls919 thanks! Put in a call to my OB today. They are improving but it's taking a long time. I'm terrified to try again but don't want to give up. I have the shield as backup in case I cant deal with the "toughening up" stage. Sometimes her latch is perfect but when it's not, it's usually the worst case scenario latch. We have no middle ground lol

kwilliams3402

My followup physical exam went well today, and we'll do a followup ultrasound in a week. The bleeding is much much less, so hopefully all is clear on the ultrasound. Doc sent stuff off to pathology and their was no tissue/retained placenta, so she's a little stumped about my uterus full of blood and clots 2 weeks after the c-section. I'm definitely feeling better than I was last weekend. My stomach is funny (diarrhea, nausea), and I'm still tired, but I basically feel like I did a week ago, pre-going downhill and surgery, so I guess that's good.

Baby gave us a 4.5 hour stretch last night between free start times, but I still was up to try to breastfeed/pump at 11:30 then up at 4 for an hour and a half to tend to him and pump, then up at 7 to try to breastfeed and pump. Right now I'm pumping 20-30 ml TOTAL each feed, which is at most turns into 1/4 of what he eats total a day. This trying to breastfeed/supplementing/pumping stuff is old, and I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to keep the madness going. Husband is taking half the night shift, but he can't pump, obviously.

Nothing about childbirth is easy, that's for sure!!

NBphotogirl

Days Post Partum?18

How are you feeling? Pretty good. Been taking  walks a couple nights a week. Not too far, definitely not too fast. Only taking ibuprofen for sore and engorged boobs. Incision seems to be healing very well. Just a little tightness on the one side yet. 

Wins or whines for the week? Holy sore boobs Batman! Decided today to stop pumping. Too many issues and no sleep with pumping exclusively. Ugh. 

How is baby? Up 1 lb and 2.5" at 2 week check up!! 

Any other questions / issues? So I found some things online to help dry up my supply, but looking for any suggestions at this point. Using cold compresses, ibuprofen for pain, starting cabbage leaves as soon as my husband gets home from the store. Anyone have anything else helpful?? 

kwilliams3402

NBphotogirl said:

Days Post Partum?18

How are you feeling? Pretty good. Been taking  walks a couple nights a week. Not too far, definitely not too fast. Only taking ibuprofen for sore and engorged boobs. Incision seems to be healing very well. Just a little tightness on the one side yet. 

Wins or whines for the week? Holy sore boobs Batman! Decided today to stop pumping. Too many issues and no sleep with pumping exclusively. Ugh. 

How is baby? Up 1 lb and 2.5" at 2 week check up!! 

Any other questions / issues? So I found some things online to help dry up my supply, but looking for any suggestions at this point. Using cold compresses, ibuprofen for pain, starting cabbage leaves as soon as my husband gets home from the store. Anyone have anything else helpful?? 

I've heard suds fed can help. I feel your pain... Exclusive pumping (basically what we're doing plus supplementing with formula because baby is lazy) is hard. I contemplate quitting daily.

BritMC18

Kinda late to the party, but SO glad to see this thread.  

Days Post Partum? 14 days

How are you feeling? See "wins or whines".

Wins or whines for the week? My whine is that I really don't enjoy breastfeeding at all. I've got a great supply and she latches on just fine, but the feedings last forever. She's really bad about only eating for a super short period of time and then passing out asleep. Nothing wakes her back up. Especially at night time it's super draining on me. I just get really depressed by the whole process. So, I'm in the process of switching over to exclusively pumping. She takes a bottle wonderfully and feedings take a lot less time and it makes me a lot happier of a mama. 

How is baby? Baby is doing great. She's gaining weight like a champ and overall a happy camper.

Any other questions / issues we can help with?

BritMC18

@justaudrey - I noticed you said you dealt with oversupply previously. I'm currently experiencing this - I feed her/pump, apply ice packs immediately, but am still completely full well before her next feeding and it's torture!

How did you cope with that, if you don't mind my asking?

kwilliams3402

BritMC18 said:

Kinda late to the party, but SO glad to see this thread.  

Days Post Partum? 14 days

How are you feeling? See "wins or whines".

Wins or whines for the week? My whine is that I really don't enjoy breastfeeding at all. I've got a great supply and she latches on just fine, but the feedings last forever. She's really bad about only eating for a super short period of time and then passing out asleep. Nothing wakes her back up. Especially at night time it's super draining on me. I just get really depressed by the whole process. So, I'm in the process of switching over to exclusively pumping. She takes a bottle wonderfully and feedings take a lot less time and it makes me a lot happier of a mama. 

How is baby? Baby is doing great. She's gaining weight like a champ and overall a happy camper.

Any other questions / issues we can help with?

Our boy is not good at breastfeeding... He's either passing out or too angry to work for it, so he gets 90% of his breastmilk via pump. Pumping is hard work, but just chiming in to say you're not alone in switching!

haboobjob

@BritMC18 I pumped a lot or hand expressed to comfort if it was near DD's next feeding. When feeding, I would pump one side while feeding the other. I totally know now that it probably wasn't helping the case since it was signaling to produce more but after having mastitis, I didn't care. I just wanted it out of me. I leaked everywhere for months and months until my supply finally regulated around 4-5 months. The plus side is that I had an amazing stockpile of frozen milk for trips and mixing for baby food later on down the road. Downside was that I was basically trapped to either the baby or a pump for months.

I liked warm compresses, hot showers, massaging, and hand expressing or pumping for comfort (as little as possible) just to alleviate the pressure. Do you need to pump after feeding everytime or could you get away with skipping it? 

carstekj

Days Post Partum? 7 days!

How are you feeling? Feeling good. Still sore if I go too long without pain meds or push myself too much. But overall I'm doing laundry, baking, etc. During pregnancy I have a lot of pelvic girdle pain, so the pain from my c/s is better than what I felt prior to the c/s. 

Wins or whines for the week? WIN - My  mom came up for 3 days to help with the older kids (3yrs and almost 5yrs). WHINES - I made the appointment for this little one to see our craniofacial surgeon who will determine via ct scan if she has the same birth defect (craniosynostosis) as our other 2 children have. If she does she'll need an invasive surgery around 4months. This brings me a lot of anxiety, even though we've been through it before... the appointment is Sept. 6th.

How is baby? She's awesome! She has had a few all nighters that totally drain me. But other nights she gives me a 3-4hr stretch of sleep which makes up for the all nighters. She's slowly gaining her weight back. She was born at 8lbs 8oz and when we left the hospital she was 7lbs 11oz and yesterday she was 8lbs 1oz... so we're getting there!

lindseyb918

So nice to read everyone's stories! This recovery (and motherhood in general) really feels like two steps forward, one step back. Slowly getting easier! 

Days Post Partum? 3w5d

How are you feeling? Pretty good today, but it really fluctuates. I'm taking my first postpartum bath (with a glass of cabernet!), and it's absolutely glorious. I may have cried.

Wins or whines for the week? WIN - Nursing has been the hardest part for me so far, but I'm finally getting a stash built up which really quells my anxiety. I just feel like I have some freedom knowing that there is extra milk for him in the freezer in case I'm not around. 

WHINE - DH is back at work, and when he gets home, he doesn't really jump at the chance to take LO off my hands so I can pee, eat supper, etc. I know he worked all day, but being home with an infant is equally exhausting, and I do all of the night shifts as well. I just need a few minutes to myself to feel like a human again. I'm going to the Dixie Chicks concert Saturday which means his first night alone with LO, so hopefully he can relate to how I'm feeling after that experience. 

How is baby? Baby is awesome. I laid him on his back yesterday and he got to his belly somehow! I'm a FTM, so I don't have much of a comparison, but he seems like a pretty good boy. If he cries, it's hunger, gas, or discomfort, so no unreasonable demands

rvamom90

How is everyone doing this week? Promised I would put this up weekly!

Days Post Partum? 3w6d

How are you feeling? Overall, pretty great. 

Wins or whines for the week? 

Win: DH went back to work this week so it's been my first week home with Colden all by myself. Everyone is still alive and well! 

Whines: My incision opened superficially in one spot so I had to get a steristrip put on at the doctor's which meant taking C out by myself. Also, pp weight-loss has stalled and I'm dying to get these extra 15-20 pounds off as I come to terms with my pp body.

How is baby? During the day, C does pretty well. He'll scream for about two hours between 10/11pm-12/1am and is pretty inconsolable which makes nights a little tough. 

Any other questions / issues we can help with? 
Anyone else struggling with pp weight-loss?

bearsandbeets7

I let DH finally take the steri-strips off of my incision after my check today because the doctor said we should've taken them off days ago. Holy crap, I was not expecting it to hurt! I whined about those more than the CS itself!

cait5413

@skelly1990 yes I also feel like weight loss is stalled. I try to remind myself that it took 9 months to put it on and it's only been 3 weeks. But I think it is possible that I have one of those bodies that holds onto the weight while breastfeeding rather than Burning It Off

kriley602774

Finally joining the party.

Days post partum: 3w1d

how are you feeling?: Good overall! I really can't complain much about this recovery because I felt TERRIBLE after my first csection 2 years ago. I am thinking that this is what csection recovery is supposed to be like, lol! 

Wins or whines:

WIN - My 2yo son is doing better about listening to me. He has really been pushing his limits and my buttons since LO arrived. I completely understand that this whole life event must really shake up a toddlers world, so I expected some misbehavior. He still fights me to the death about changing his diaper though, ugh, it's so exhausting. 

WHINE - Ok, I'm going to be lame and have 2. 1 - the outer edge of my incision was still super tender and a couple days ago a tiny spot opened and its occasionally draining some pus. I have been cleaning it and helping drain the tiny collection and its already looking better and is a little less tender. But dang it, 3 weeks out I thought I was going to be good! Lol 

whine 2- my husbands grandmother decided she needed her farmhouse rented out by September 1st..... There was a lot of work that needed to be done to make this rent-able. So needless to say, DH has been working his job during the day, coming home to help with DS1 until bedtime, then leaves to go work on the house. He holds LO maybe 10 minutes a day. I have been frustrated because these first few weeks are when I've needed his help the most and he hasn't been able to be around to help (which also again makes me so thankful for an easy recovery). He knows how I feel and isn't thrilled he's missed these first weeks. It was just terrible timing for the house and not to mention LO came 3 weeks early too! Thank goodness, his work on this house will be done after tonight and I'll have my husband back!!!! I can't wait! 

How is baby?: she's doing wonderfully! Today was her due date and she is 3w1d already. She had her second follow up this week and has passed her birthweight. Only at 10th percentile for weight - she's a whopping 7 lbs LOL but eating like a champ and growing, so no worries! 

charmedlifex3

So I'm kinda having trouble processing something that happened during my c section. I knew at the time I was woozy and felt tired, but I didn't know the couple of times I shut my eyes "just for a moment" my vitals crashed. Badly. 
I also didn't know that the time period they asked Dh to leave for at the end was both abrupt and long, and that that is not standard. I thought he went out right before I did, he said it was 30 minutes or maybe a bit longer. 
I don't really know how I feel about it. Confused? A little shocky? Dh is really bothered by it, and freaked out by the complications. Before all this started, he wanted three... Now he is scared to even talk about number 2, he says he doesn't want to ever come that close to loosing me again. Honestly I think the c section affected him more than me mentally. I'm still waiting for it to hit me I think.... I've been so busy trying hard to get well and not miss this special time I haven't dealt with my feelings (or even admitted to them)

lblu43

@Allisun85 I can't imagine what you or your DH are going through. Processing traumatic events though can take an silent toll on you, even if you do your best to ignore or avoid the subject. Take your time recovering. Embrace your new role as mommy, but don't forget that healing comes on many different levels. That goes for DH too.

rvamom90

@Allisun85 You and DH definitely went through hell and back with your csection and recovery. I think your feelings of confusion, etc are justified as well as those of your husband. Have you thought about going to therapy together to discuss what happened? They may be able to help you both process what happened and move forward.

tmk0325

How is everyone doing this week? Tired! So very tired. The boys eat every 3-4 hours so I pump every 4ish.

tmk0325

Stupid phone didn't post my whole thing and it was long and I really don't feel like retyping it! Ugh! Basically 9 weeks out and physically healed from the c section. I am EP and it's taking its toll. I've dealt with yeast, recurrent clogs, time issues, pain, bruised nipples, you name it. If I didn't average 200 ml per session and the twins weren't being exclusively fed by me I would be so done. If I had a real small supply I totally would be switched to formula. It's emotionally draining. The boys are doing great though and getting big! More than double their birth weights!