Anyone with a similar story that can share?

1017Shannon

Hi all! I posted something similar on another board, but wanted to know if anyone had a similar situation. I thank you in advance for anyone who shares!

I had an awful/extremely painful recovery with my first baby (who is now 18 months). Four hours of pushing/hemmorhoidectomy a week later, followed by the flu/diarrhea which made hellish pain even worse. 8 week recovery that nurses dubbed as "top ten worse they have ever seen."

Forward 18 months...I'm pregnant with #2 and terrified of recovery already. It is overshadowing the excitement. It is making me a nervous wreck thinking this could happen again. Don't know if I can go through with it again!

I switched hospitals/docs because I think that had some to do with it, and my new OBGYN said if I wanted a C Section it was my call. But how can I make that decision? I am stuck in the mind set of "Nobody understands what I went through and how awful it was...and nobody can help me make a decision!"

Please let me know if any of you opted for a c section (or didn't) with the second after an awful first experience and how did it go? THANKS MUCH!

Ritzy19

I know exactly how you feel because I was really torn during my second pregnancy as well on wether or not to have a RCS or try for a VBAC.  With DD1,  I ended up with a CS nearly 22 hours after my water broke.  I had terrible back labor because she was in the posterior position (head down, but face up) and was fairly large (almost 9lbs).  By the time they "called it" and said we needed a CS, I felt so completely out of it mentally and just beyond tired physically (hadn't slept in about 48 hours) that the whole experience seems a blur in retrospect.  The worst part of my recovery was the first few days after surgery, but I was pretty sore for quite a while afterwards. 

The second time around I thought "how am I going to do this recovery if I have TWO kids to look after now?!" and I was worried mainly about the recovery time and severity.  Although I was worried that I'd try for a VBAC and end up in the same boat as before, and then I'd be regretting that decision.  I struggled with it for a while, but ultimately decided on a RCS.  According to my Dr., the second time around is usually much easier than the first because the area has already been cut once before, so physically it's not as hard.  Also, I found that going in for a scheduled date/time made it so much easier from a practical standpoint.  We dropped DD1 off at my parents' house the night before and it was very calming just being able to wake up, go to the hospital, and have a baby.  Being well rested (as much as I could have been with all my excitement!) helped the 2nd time around as well.  I also felt much more mentally "present" the second time.  I remember more of what happened, and just didn't feel like I was in a fog like I did the first time.  My recovery was SO much better the second time around.  I was laughing and taking videos of my new baby in the recovery room, out of bed and walking around by about 9 hours after surgery, and just all around in better spirits.  By about one week after surgery I felt pretty much back to normal, and during that time nothing was really painful I was just moving a little slower than normal.

Good luck with your decision.  Hopefully my story sheds a little light on things for you.  Congratulations!

meg1974

I didn't have the same experience as you, but I will say that my recovery was  MUCH easier the second time. I'm not sure why, maybe because I had already been through it. I was off my meds a lot sooner, up and walking a lot sooner, etc. The tough part the second time was that I had a toddler to take care of, but I had my mom and husband here to help which made it easier. 

I made the decision to have a repeat c/s b/c of the reason for my first c/s. It had more to do with me than the baby, and I thought there was a high chance it would happen again. I also did research and weighed the pros and cons and decided that was best for me. But, everyone's situation and decision is different. Plenty of people have had successful VBAC's,so that might be the option for you. 

Either way, the recovery is just a few weeks in comparison to a lifetime of joy with your LO, so I wouldn't let it cause too much anxiety. Just make sure you have help after the birth, and you will do fine! 

nosoup4u

I pushed 4+ hours with DS1, along with having a pretty long labor beforehand. I was exhausted when I had my c/s, and then he was unexpectedly hospitalized for a week after birth. The whole experience was mentally/emotionally hard to handle, and then the physical recovery on top of that made me just hate my c/s.

I planned for a VBAC with DS2, bc I just didn't want to go through a c/s again. My biggest goal with his birth was to have the least exciting birth ever, for him and me, as much as I could help it.

He was a successful VBAC and it did make it easier to deal with what happened with DS1 overall. I think even if he had ended up as a RCS, it wouldn't have been as traumatic as my first, because I knew I had done everything I could to have a VBAC.

Good luck deciding, I would post this on the VBAC board also!