C-Section Tomorrow - Last Minute Advice?

Dragonfly1226

Hi everyone! I have a scheduled c-section to deliver my twin girls first thing tomorrow morning. I am so excited to meet them, but I am definitely nervous about the surgery. Do you have any last minute advice? Anything you wish someone had told you beforehand or helpful hints to get through the recovery or the next week? Anything helpful to have at the hospital that I mightn't be thinking about? TIA!

snowgirl427

Good luck tomorrow!

Lets see... I had the shakes like crazy but was also induced so I'm not sure which meds caused it. Definitely bring a bathrobe. They will have you walking the next day and it will make you feel better. I also wore my own nursing nightgowns.

This may be tmi but I had trouble going afterwards. They let you eat once you pass gas, but actually going to the bathroom wasn't happening and I was feeling bad. If it happens ask for something! They gave me a suppository. Not my proudest moment but boy did I feel better!

Mama-Bear

Get up and walk, stay on top of your pain meds (they're safe for BFing, don't try to suffer through the pain).  Enjoy your baby girls!

Mark&MandyLa

First of all, good luck with your c-section tomorrow! I wish you and your twins good health and a safe delivery/recovery!

I'm assuming that since your c-section is planned you will be having a spinal block? If so, there was one thing that my anesthesiologist told me during my surgery that I am am thankful for, and that is that sometimes a spinal block will numb you up to your ribs and make it harder to breathe (he told me to tell him if that happened). This def' happened in my case, and had I not known the possibility of that ahead of time I would've freaked out on the operating table. I didn't mind the insertion of the spinal block (it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be), but I recommend conversing with the nurses while that's happening to help distract you.

My doctors and nurses were all aware that I was SUPER nervous (I had never had surgery before) so they did everything they could to help keep my mind at ease. If you are nervous, I recommend talking to them about it before the surgery. 

RE: Recovery. Get up and walk as soon as you can! Don't be alarmed if you have gas bubbles/pain, but let your doctor know if you experience them. Don't strain yourself! Be sure to rest as much as you can. I made the mistake of doing too much after returning home from the hospital and I ended up quite sore (thankfully I didn't bust my incision). I was also told that c-sections often have longer periods of postpartum bleeding (I don't know if that is accurate or not), but I know I bled for 8 weeks... which is quite a bit longer than I anticipated.

VPGIRL06

Good luck!

 

Recovery-

• ask if they can give you milk of magnesia. I drank these 2-3x a day, and it helped me have a not-so-painful BM (TMI) 3 days after my csection. 
•  keep a running record of when you last had your pain meds-BELIEVE ME, you won't think you'll need them until it's too late. I would think I could tough it out, then fall asleep for 30 minutes, wake up and feel like I was hit by a bus.  Take them around the clock for the first week or two, then I'd at least try to taper off whatever narcotic you're on.
•  if you notice you're feeling anxious before your next dose, keep a record of that and if it's persistent, try to sub IBprofun. I have a low tolerance to narcotics and actually developed anxiety before my next dosage, and it would go away when I took it. 
• walk walk walk as soon as possible. It sucks, and standing up feels like death, but it gets better. Plus once you're home, taking LOs with you out into the sunshine in late afternoon may have some help with day/night confusion
• SLEEP.  my husband and I took shifts the first 6 weeks because your body heals during sleep, not when you're awake.  Have people come by to help so you can take naps..I know with twins it'll be hard but I think I recovered fast because I was able to sleep as much as I did (usually 5-6 hours first stretch of the night followed by some 1-3 hour stretches for the rest for the first 6 weeks)
• You might bust open your incision at some point....don't stress. Go see your OB, and they'll probabley just tell you to keep it clean.  Mine opened about 2 1/2 weeks PP, and I just cleaned them until they healed
• If they offer to bring the babies to the nursery DO it.  They may bring them back in 2-3 hours for food but that's 2-3 hours you could be sleeping without mommy sixth sense waking you up. I expressed BM and gave them a bottle to give to her the last night so I could get as much sleep as possible-they took her from 11-630 and she only ate once during that time. BF is a personal choice so I know you might not want to give a bottle but I really recommend nursery time.
• Make sure you're hydrated before going into the surgery. Since I was in labor so long before my csection, I couldn't drink water from 200 pm Sunday until 1200 pm Monday (SERIOUSLY) and it was awful.  

 

Lil Kate

Good luck tomorrow : walking is key to help relieve some if the gas that gets trapped inside from the surgery. Don't try and be brave.... Take your meds.... Shower when you can... It will make you feel so much better. Don't be afraid to have the babies sleep in the nursery so you can sleep. Be proactive with seeing them after delivery... Not sure how your hospital is but mine doesn't allow the babies in recovery.... I finally got pushy when it was taking too long for a room and they brought DS to me. Bring flop flops for the shower. Stay the extra day if the offer it! Don't be too nervous... The spinal isn't bad... Just relax and embrace every moment.... You have 2 beautiful babies coming!

Brissett

The worst part of the c-section for me was after they deliver the baby and tell you he is ok your husband goes over to attend to the baby and you are basically left there on the table ( for what seemes like forever) while they stitch you up.   I kept reminding myself to have patience but, it was so difficult to lie there without my husband or my baby.   I just wanted them both to be closer to me. Having patience is my advise.... I'm not so good at that

mnj05

Good luck tomorrow!  

Not something you want to hear, but I think I would have handled it better had I known, but the nurse will push on your stomach a couple of times to check for gushes of blood and make sure you're clotting correctly. This happens after the pain meds are worn off (at least for me it was) and it hurt so.freaking.bad. My nurse came at me out of nowhere and the second time she did it, I didn't tense up as bad.

A nurse uncovered my incision the day after surgery and I was not comfortable with it. All of my staples were internal so there was nothing on the outside but I still was uncomfortable with it. DH finally convinced me to push for more gauze to cover it back up and I did. I felt so much better, dumb I know but I did.

 

 

Dragonfly1226

Thank you so much everyone! You have some great tips! I really appreciate your sharing and taking the time to give such thoughtful responses.