C section moms

OhBaby+2013 · September 2014

Hey ladies, I am having a csection this time since DS pretty much destroyed me during his delivery. I'm a bit nervous about the c section, though I know it is absolutely the best choice for this delivery. Does anyone have any stories, tips, advice, anything to share to help me prepare?

chrissynena · September 2014

I'm electing for a RCS (the reason I had a c section the first time was 36 hours of labor and only dialating to 4) What I remember about my c section is the crazy amount of pressure I felt when they were digging around trying to get her out. I mean like oh my goodness your taking my breath away. There was some discomfort down by my catheter, but I think because they kept jiggling it.

I had a really really good recovery, and ended up being discharged a day early. Be prepared for them to want you to get up and move fairly soon afterwards. That was pretty tough.

Sorry no advice or tips really. I did like however the whole process took 30 minutes.

spainy17 · September 2014

I had a C birth after 36 hours of labor and also swelling shut after getting to a 5. Because of the long labor I felt pretty crappy so I am anticipating that a RCS would be much better.

I used a belly band for the first six weeks and it was a huge help. It covered my incision and helped support me when I was up and about. I had brought one to the hospital but I ended up using one the hospital provided. I will definitely ask for one next time.

Dh also set up a step ladder for helping me get into bed and it really helped.

Weird thing I didn't realize would happen? You still bleed like a stuck pig. That surprised me.

Oh and for the love of everything holy, take every stool softener they offer you. I did and I still ended up really constipated afterwards. If I have a second one I will start Miralax immediately.

court115 · September 2014

I had to have a C-section with DS and the biggest thing I can tell you is to not be nervous! Like @chrissynena said, the pressure of them pulling everything is a really strange feeling but it really doesn't take that long. I think it took longer for them to put me back together, so to say, than it did for them to get DS out. I think the biggest thing that shocked me was how quickly I lost all feeling when they got the spinal injection in.

As far as the recovery, my surgery was at 9am and my nurses had me up and walking by late that afternoon. I did have to leave my catheter in for 24 hours (I think) because I wasn't steady enough on my own to walk to the bathroom until then. It wasn't a terrible recovery. I do remember feeling some discomfort at the incision site but nothing terrible. My incision is really low - as in, if I'm in a bikini, you can't see it - and it's really faint. It did take me a few days to get good with walking long distances or up and down stairs.

Good luck! Do you have any specific questions or things you're wondering about?

OhBaby+2013 · September 2014

Thanks ladies. With DS I could hardly walk for almost 12 weeks pp and I wasn't fully healed until about 5 months pp. my OB has told me a C should be far better than what's had last time in terms of recovery. I think I'm most nervous about the recovery. My mom is comity stay for a couple weeks as DS is 30 lbs and I know I'm not allowed to pick him up, so she is coming to help with him. @spainy17 do you know what kind of belly band you used from the hospital? Did anyone else use a belly band? I've heard mixed reviews and I'm wondering if it would help. I think I'm just nervous becauseive never had any type of surgery before and I'm worried that the anesthetic will make me violently ill. I get very sick off morphine and when I had my epidural wih DS I was very ill.

spainy17 · September 2014

@OhBaby+2013 It helps that I am a nurse because I specifically asked for an abdominal binder that they use on sugical patients that have belly surgery. My OB nurse was a rockstar and ordered one up for me.

I had brought a belly band that I had purchased off of Amazon but it ended up being too short to cover the incision and that support is what I wanted.

portentosa · September 2014

I'm in my 4th week recovering from an emergency c/s for DD.

My labor was super fast... I arrived at the hospital at 6cm and got to 10cm in less than an hour, but DD was coming out face first so I was rushed to the OR for an emergency c under general anesthesia.

The first week for me was awful, I could barely move without help and often had turtle-stuck-on-it's-back moments where my DH had to literally pick me up. I imagine a planned c/s wouldn't be so bad though because you wouldn't have the muscle soreness from labor on top of the c/s recovery.

Despite such a rough first week I started to feel better going into the second week and was off my pain meds by week three. Going into week four now and I almost feel normal.... still stiff getting up when I've been sitting too long and my incision site is still tender. But when I'm up and about I feel pretty good, so much so that I overdid it a bit putting the stroller in the back of my car. Definitely take it easy, I regretted the stroller thing the rest of that day.

ETA: Saw your concern about meds. I wasn't allowed meds during labor because I was too far along. They knocked me out for the c/s, but I had a morphine drip when I woke back up and I took home Norco 5 and Motrin when I was discharged. They gave me Norco 10 at first but that made me very dizzy/sick, the lesser strength agreed with me much better.

chrissynena · September 2014

That recovery sounds awful. Hopefully this is much better. I did not use a belly band last time. I don't remember having morphine with my c section. I have a pretty high pain tolerance so I only used the "button" once and that was because the nurse said you need to try it so we know you're not allergic. It was Norco. I did take it at home a few times for sleep, it have me a rash on my legs. I think when you have a scheduled c section they give you a spinal instead of an epidural.

court115 · September 2014

Definitely see if your nurses will get you an abdominal binder. One of my nurses got one for me and it was wonderful. It offered much more support than the regular band. I wore it a lot while I was up and moving around for about 6 weeks.

OhBaby+2013 · September 2014

Thanks! I appreciate you guys taking the time to respond. I will look into an abdominal binder. I'm in Canada so not sure if they will have that available in the hospital or not but I will look into it. I will definitely be getting the spinal but knowing how I react to other pain mess I'm still nervous. My doctor has already advised me to discuss it with the aeneathesiologist to make sure he is giving me the best mess for me. He told me they'd likely put me on a super strong gravel type medicine right away just to help.

Want a personalized experience?

C section moms

Re: C section moms

Choose Another Board

Search Boards