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D.C. Area Babies
Tell me about your c-section...
When I went to the doctor's last week for my 36 week appointment I was 1cm dilated and the doctor thought she felt the head. After ordering an ultrasound just to be sure (and keeping me on a monitor for 20 minutes, all while my husband was snowboarding in CO!) she realized she felt the baby's butt. Sooooo... I was given the option to schedule the procedure where they manually try to turn the baby, but from what I've read/heard it only works about 50% of the time and it doesn't seem worth the pain. At my appointment this week I'm going to say definitely no for the procedure and I think go ahead and schedule the c-section.
I delivered DD vaginally and of course can't remember much from our birthing classes 2.5 years ago so any help/advice is much appreciated! How much more do I need to pack? I have friends who wore their own clothes and friends who stayed in gowns. Do you usually bleed as much after? I'm guessing I won't be able to lift DD for a while. If I get the go ahead for exercising around 6 weeks do I need to wait longer for running? I kept running pregnant until around 6 months and then I slacked off... I'm hoping to train for a half marathon (my third) over Labor Day weekend.
I'm nervous but have accepted that this is how it will be. My main concern now is making it until my scheduled date instead of having an emergency c-section!
TIA!
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Re: Tell me about your c-section...
I had a c section due to a host of factors and honestly, my recovery was easy. Afterward, I had to wear yoga pants that were cut higher than my low rise to avoid my incision. While in the hospital I wore empire waisted soft cotton dresses. I could not stand sitting around in the hospital gown but anything with a waist band that hit low was not my friend.
I don't recall bleeding a lot after but it has been 3 years ;-)
As for exercising, I was back on the elliptical regularly somewhere around the 6 week mark. I went easy at first and slowly worked back up to my old pace/ duration. My Dr let me know when it was ok for me.
The best advice I can give is to stay on top of your pain meds when you first have the surgery. I tried a few times to not take them and I paid for it dearly with extreme soreness/ pain. Also, walk around as soon as they let you. I really pushed myself (within reason) and I feel that is why my recovery went smoothly.
I hope that helps a little! Good luck!
pp has good suggestions, def. walk ASAP after they say it's OK, it's going to be hard at 1st but it's the key to your recovery.
I did not bleed much (but can't compare to vag birth as I never had that), but I think it's less than w/ vag delivery. You can ask to be released after 2 nights, if all is OK with you and baby, you don't have to stay 3-4. No need to pack anything extra IMO.
you are not supposed to lift anything heavier than the baby for about 6 weeks and not supposed to drive or do stairs for 3 weeks. I did not follow the stairs rule at all - either time and was fine; I followed the no-driving rule the 1st time but couldn't the 2nd time (much harder when you also have a toddler to take care of)
I unfortunately have zero time to work out, once I stop pumping, I'll get back into it.
good luck, it's not so bad!
I went through a few hours of labor and then had an emergency c-section which may have made it a bit more traumatic on my body (they also had trouble wrangling the baby out since her head was stuck in my pelvis). So, my experience may have been a bit different than a scheduled c-section.
For me, the c-section was harder than I would have anticipated. I stayed in the hospital for 3.5 days and felt that I really needed it. They were trying to send me home earlier and I just didn't feel ready. As far as exercise, I walked some around 4-6 weeks but I didn't really feel "myself" until about 8 weeks in terms of just being able to do regular things. As far as more strenuous things like sit-ups, I wasn't ready for those until about 12 weeks. I don't run but I know I definitely wouldn't have been up for it at 6 weeks. I did bleed after for a number of days but I don't know if that's normal or not for a c-section since I did a lot of pushing during labor.
I agree with the pp to stay on top of your pain meds. I didn't want to take too many in the beginning because I was afraid of becoming addicted like I had seen on some Oprah show but I paid for it. Next time I will gladly take whatever pain meds they give me. Also, I would just recommend to listen to your body and take everything at your own pace. I think everyone has different experiences and I found that I sometimes got frustrated that I wasn't healing as fast as I wanted. It just takes some time and patience.
I had a c/s because DS was footling breech. But I had PPROM at 32 weeks, so I didn't have an option for turning him. I stayed in the hospital for 4 nights and wore the hospital gown the entire time, but I also didn't have a bag with me since his birth was a total surprise. I tend to heal pretty quickly from surgeries and think I was off my pain meds after 7 days or so, but definitely couldn't do any major lifting for at least 2 weeks. After that I kind of eased back into lifting heavy stuff. I'm not much of an exerciser, so I didn't really try at the 6 week mark. But I think you will just have to feel things out for yourself. Do expect to feel some pain/pulling from your incision area for a few months afterwards. Make sure you pack some granny panties to wear in the hospital. You don't want the waistband to sit below your belly. Also, the hospital will provide mesh underwear, which I liken to a mesh bag of onions. I think they are horrendous, so I'm bringing my own undies this time.
Thanks ladies! I'm adding big granny panties to my list of things to buy and I'm in the process of digging out my stretchy nursing tops and yoga pants. I'm hoping to finish packing my bag in the next few days. I only need one going home outfit for baby, right? I think DD just wore the basic hospital onesies after she was born until we brought her home.
I bled for at least a month after DD was born so anything less than that will be a nice change. I don't expect I'll feel up for running at 6 weeks but hopefully I can start walking around then, if not before, and gradually work myself up. I know it will be hard with everything else - I'm also a little worried about nursing/pumping while recovering and giving attention to DD.
Thanks again - it definitely helps reading other people's experiences!
TTC #1 Cycle 14 - IUI#1=BFN, IUI#2=BFP | TTC #2 Cycle 8=BFP!!
PP had a lot of good suggestions. I had a C/S w/ son due to placenta previa (so like a "do not pass go" on the labor front). Make sure you take the pain meds, and the stool softener. Make sure you get some gentle walking in. Plan on dressing extremely comfortable while recovering.
Don't let the pain meds also let you feel you can do anything however. Make sure you do take it easy when recovering. I think that was my downfall - trying to accomplish everything while medicated.
I had a c/s in August, and it was a pretty good experience. I only experienced a little pain after b/c I kept on top of my pain meds. I also made sure to be up and walking as much as possible. By day 2, I was walking all across the hospital by myself.
I'm a runner too, and I started back again right at 6 weeks, even though I was still bleeding a bit. I took it real slow, did 2 min run/1 min walk intervals, and did all my first runs on the treadmill so that if something hurt or didn't feel right, I could just stop and not have to worry about getting home. By about 10 weeks, I was easily running 3 miles although at a slower pace. However, I was on strict bedrest from weeks 22-35 of my pregnancy, so I'd lost a lot of endurance. Now, 5 months post-partum, I'm training for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, and ran 10 miles last weekend for the first time in a long time. I probably could have been up to this mileage sooner, but finding the time to run has been tough. All this to say that if you have a good mileage base already and have been running throughout your pregnancy, you should be able to do the half at Labor Day, just dno't expect it to be your best run ever. Oh, and like a PP said, my c/s scar feels funky when I get to higher mileage. After about an hour of running, i can feel it. It doesn't hurt--I just notice it.
ask your OB about getting the "pump," you have to carry it w/ you the whole time you are in the hospital but it's worth it IMO. What it does is send the pain meds directly to the incision and thus, does not get into breast milk.
My recovery wasn't as easy as pps. It was probably 3 weeks before getting out of bed wasn't so painful it brought me to tears. After 2 weeks, my incision randomly got infected.
I wouldn't start rigorous exercise unless your dr. gives you the OK. It was at least 8 wks before I felt close to my normal self.
I had an attempted aversion (the procedure you were talking about) followed by an emergency c. Side note, you might want to consider talking to your doctor about doing what I did: they gave me an epi and attempted the aversion in the OR. If it went right, they were going to immediately induce, if it went the way it did, they were able to do an immediate c-section with the epi in.
I had absolutely no pain after the aversion and c-section, but I did bleed a lot. And forever- it was extremely heavy at first and lasted about 6 weeks. Also, milk doesn't always coming in as quickly with a c section. I recommend using the hospital pump if it's an option. I have been doing a lot of reading, and I'm actually going to buy a hospital grade pump this time because it's better at getting milk flow going.