C-section mamas of 2+ children

alyssa7

Was the recovery different for your c-sections?

 A friend told me the other day that her first was an unplanned c-section and second was a planned c-section. First c-section recovery was relatively easy but the second was a bit longer. She said it had to do with the hormonal release that goes on in your body while you're in labor so b/c that didn't happen, her recovery wasn't as fast.

I had an easy recovery with Charlie and was hoping to have the same experienc with the first. If what my friend is saying is true about the hormones and recovery, I'm thinking of asking my dr. if I can go into labor naturally but the plan is to have a c-section.

alyssa7

p.s. the reason I'd like to plan to have the c-section is b/c I have a very small pelvic bone and Charlie wouldn't fit through and I started to swell so I'm confident I won't be able to get a baby through so I don't want to attempt it. I wanted to put that out there in case anyone was wondering why I would think about having my body start the labor process and not follow through with a VBAC

fricksgirl

Both of my c/s were planned and both were easy recovery.  Second one even easier because I knew what to expect. 

I was very active throughout my pregnancies and I'm a regular exerciser, which I've been told helps a lot with recovery.  I joke about saying the delivery of my second was like a spa vacation.... I only kind of joke... I'd lov eto have 4 days in bed with only a newborn to worry about after 9 months of taking care of a 3 year old while pregnant!  Ack!

Good luck.  And my c/s were the same reason- narrow pelvis.

Meritage

I had 2 planned c-sections as well, so I've never gone through labor and can't speak to whether or not labor hormones help with recovery.  I've honestly never heard that.  I can say that both recoveries were easy for me, and the 2nd time was even easier (and faster) because like H said, I knew what to expect.

soon2Bkranz

I haven't had a c-section. But everybody I know that has says the 2nd and 3rd were easier. Hope thats the case for you as well

futrkingsley

My SIL had two c's and said both were recoveries were easy. I had one (on the same day as her second), after a LOT of labor and my recovery sucked. I think It really depends on you and how prepared you are and how the pregnancy is going. I have heard that laboring prior to the cesarean helps the baby do better upon delivery but most docs doing a planned cesarean aren't going to go for that given the uncertainty of the timing.

jsugrin

My 2nd recovery was more difficult, and I think for two reasons. 1. I had my tubes tied and had more pain and sensitivity during the recovery and 2. my surgeries were only 15 months apart so my body wasn't all that healed by the time we were doing it all over again.

I think that had I not had my tubes tied it would have been the same process.  And in all honesty the part that was more difficult was a short time line.  By the time I was released from the hospital on I'd say things were easier the 2nd time around.  The first one I remember how hard it was to get out of bed myself the first week and all of those kinds of manuvering things were just easier the 2nd time around.

AvaLikeLava

Both of my recoveries were pretty easy and fast. The second recovery was the same as the first, no worse, but no better. My first was an emergency, the second was "planned". I quote planned, because my OB and I agreed we wouldn't set a date for it (unless I went late). We would wait for me to go into labor, but report to the OR instead of delivery. And that is exactly how it happened. I don't know if that any hormonal release influenced the second delivery to be as easy.

Lexi & Orion's Mommy

my first was an emergency and my 2nd was planned. I think the recoveries were about the same. Although with Lexi i wasnt thinking about my recovery too much because we had a good friend going through a major life change. He had 2 sons and a daughter born 2 months premie and a wife that died in labor, this all happened 4 days after Lexi was born, so there was a lot of stuff going on at that time and i just remeber taking care of the boys and my newborn. As for my 2nd c-section, since it was planned, i didnt have any qualms about recovery since i had already been through it before. What was hard was taking care of both kids, and not being able to pick up Lexi during those first few weeks.

RevJG

My first was an emergency after 48 hours of labor, the second was scheduled.  Recovery from the second was MUCH worse.  I think a couple of things contributed to it including the fact that I had bronchitis the second time and could.not.stop.coughing for the first 3 days post surgery.  I also was just really sick.  The pain was much worse the second time around and it was much longer before I felt anywhere near normal.

Another thing was that during my first I was exhausted and out of it from such a long labor and I slept through most of the birth (don't get me started on the psychological aspect of that). But I don't remember huge parts of it and it was very, very quick-at least in my memory.  I already had an epidural and that's how they administered the medication.  The second time around I was acutely aware of everything going on.  I walked to the OR and had to sit on the table while they administered a spinal, which pretty much made me want to crawl out of my skin.  The birth was quick but it took FOREVER (seriously like 45 minutes) for them to put everything back together and because it was 9:00 am and I was totally present mentally, I was aware of every single thing and it sucked.  

My second pregnancy was high risk and so I was at a different hospital with a different doctor.  Doctor was awesome, hospital was not.  

alyssa7

Thanks everyone, I feel a lot better after reading your experiences. I am a little interested to see how I'm feeling during the surgery. With Charlie, I was on major drugs, totally out of it, etc. So that should be interesting. Thanks again!

love22

My second recovery was harder for a couple of reasons.  

1. The surgery was harder.  My first C/S was an emergency so they got DS out really quickly less than 5 minutes.  With DD it was a good half hour+ before she was born.  

2.  DS had a lot of issues with BFing and I didn't have the time to focus on my own recovery.  

3.  I had a toddler to take care of so I didn't have the chance to just sit and hold the baby. 

4.  I had a small amount of residual tissue so about 3 weeks post partum I started bleeding very heavily with intense cramping so even now at 7.5 weeks postpartum I'm still spotting. 

amyfelice

Wow, i'm feeling really bad about how difficult my recovery was. I had labor and then c-section, but only one. So I can't compare a planned to an unplanned. I feel like a real wuss!!! Lol.