February 2016 Moms
jenntuhyy95
member
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C-section
jenntuhyy95
member
Hello! My original due date was February 1st but now I am excited to announce I have a scheduled c-section on January 30th early in the morning! I have had a normal as in pretty much every symptom known to woman pregnancy and he has been beyond healthy this entire time... Two weeks ago he wanted to turn himself right side up and become what we know as breach. Does anyone have any advice for a first time mommy with handling a c-section? Thanks so much!!
Re: C-section
As far as the actual procedure--piece of cake! I was so nervous with the second one, because I was knocked out for the first and didn't really know what to expect. I was worried about nothing! Just relax and enjoy the birth of your baby!
Also, find some nice, loose-fitting underwear and pants, so you don't rub against the incision too much.
As for advice,
- Use the mesh panties that the hospital provides and take them home with you to use at home if you can. Some people don't like the mesh ones, but I found that they are nice because you can throw them away when damaged by blood. Not to mention they are super soft. If not, wear some loose fitting ones that don't rub your incision. For instance, I typically wear hipster style, but the elastic band lines up right on my incision, so you may have to buy a different style.
- You are still going to bleed, just like if you had a vaginal birth. In the hospital, you will bleed pretty heavy too. Again, same as the panties, take the ones the hospital gives you home to use. Also have several types of pads on hand at home, the heavy overnight ones and the regular ones you would normally use for your monthly. You will still bleed for a couple weeks at least.
- Be prepared to require someone else's help with baby while you are in the hospital. Don't rush trying to get up and move around. Stay put and rest. Recovery takes time! And the same goes for when you get home. I felt like I needed to be taking care of my baby, the house and husband once I got home. You don't have to be super mom! Rest and don't be afraid to ask for help.
- If you are planning on breastfeeding, be aware that sometimes it takes a bit longer than normal for your milk to come in. By not pushing a baby out, your boobs don't get the message that baby is here and ready to eat. We had to supplement in the hospital so out little girl got enough to eat. Our little girl cried and cried and I knew she was hungry but the nurses and even the lactation specialist insisted that she was getting enough. We finally insisted on giving her some formula and she stopped crying. So trust your gut! I plan on exclusively breastfeeding, however, I have already bought some Enfamil nursettes for the hospital just in case. They are 2oz premade formula bottles that will help if baby isn't getting enough.
- Watch your incision for infection after you get home. Its hard to clean with the staples in, and the incision is obviously tender too. But be sure to clean it well. After a week, the doctor took my staples out and my incision had started to show signs of infection. Nothing major, and was quickly cleared up once I was able to wash it better.
I hope this helps some! Good luck!I do second the awesome mesh panties are a must to wear and I have a friend who used depends for women when she got home. I haven't gotten any but in considering them.
My other advice besides seconding everything posted above is I am not going to have a lot of help so I am borrowing a walker to help get to and from the bathroom when I am alone until I can do it without.
Everything everyone has posted is dead on. I'm only on day 3, so I don't know about long-term, but I would also add:
Easier said than done, but don't obsess over it ahead of time. I'm glad he came earlier than planned because I was already starting to lose sleep thinking about laying on the operating table, being cut open, etc. The whole thing was surreal and not scary at all. I had been working on a playlist of relaxing music because I thought I would freak out or cry the whole time, but turned out I didn't need it. My OB and the OB on call (whose house we were supposed to go to for the Super Bowl - random!) did the surgery. We talked about football and movies the whole time, which was under 30 minutes.
Nothing was as painful as I expected, and I am the world's biggest baby about pain. IV didn't really hurt, Foley catheter (which my hospital does before the spinal tap) was slightly uncomfortable for about five seconds but didn't hurt, lidocaine stung but spinal didn't hurt. The only exception was the first time I had to get up and walk around my room - around 12 hours post op. I was doubled over and in tears the whole time, and mentally cursing my friends for failing to warn me about this. However, the next morning I showered on my own, could stand up straight, and was walking the halls (albeit very, very slowly). I've been trying stay on top of my pain meds (Percocet + Motrin) and take them about 20-30 minutes before getting up and doing anything.
Invest in some Always Discreet disposable undies. They're like Depends and are much easier than the mesh panty / ginormous pad combo, and they support your incision without irritating it. (For me, the giant pad kept falling out of the back of the mesh panties.)
Use an abdominal binder for support when walking, but you may want to loosen it or take it off when lying down. On two occasions when I was nursing, the binder started getting incredibly tight and the skin around my incision felt like it was burning. The nurse said gas/bloating from the surgery and uterine contractions from nursing can cause the binder to stretch and contract, and it can pinch the skin.
Stay in the hospital as long as you can! My doctor said I can go home today, but I'm going to stay till tomorrow evening since insurance will cover it. Now that I'm up and moving around some, my husband is going back to work for a couple days so he has more time with me when we're home and I need help. Plus the nurses here are amazing and taking great care of me and baby, so I am taking full advantage of that while I can.
This is more of a personal preference, but I've enjoyed having lots of visitors at the hospital. I don't have to get out of bed to answer the door and don't have to worry about keeping the house picked up, getting guests something to drink, etc. - which I know I would feel obligated to do at home, even if they said not to. And the nurses will screen your visitors and kick them out if you need some rest.
Finally, don't overdo it! Even if you feel great, take it easy and let others take care of you.
Hope this helps! And good luck to everyone!