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August 2016 Moms
charmedlifex3
member
C section support thread - Week of 8/15
charmedlifex3
member
I know I could use this -
Do you think this would be better as a weekly check in or as a one of we can use for support / resources?
Do you think this would be better as a weekly check in or as a one of we can use for support / resources?
Re: C section support thread - Week of 8/15
Maybe let's start with talking about the circumstances of our C sections, how many weeks or days post partum, and anything we are struggling with? Had great success with / wins?
My C section was an emergency C section, following 12 hours of natural labor and 2 hours of pushing. I am 6 days post partum, and just found out today there is a complication with the surgery site. The doctor wanted to re-hospitalize me today when I went in for a follow up, but agreed to let me try to treat at home. We've been having an amazing breast feeding experience, and my milk just started to fully come in yesterday. I would be admitted, but the baby would not - Even beyond the breast feeding ramifications the thought of being separated from my baby right now freaks me out. Hard enough I had to turn his care over to my mom (except for cuddles and feeding!) I know how lucky I am to have so much support, but the baby blues keep getting to me, and reminding me of all the mini milestones I am missing. I missed his first at-home bath today. Not worth making this worse by participating, or risking ending up in the hospital again but still... I'm sure my mom did a great job, but... He's MY baby and I wanted to and it kills me the best thing I can do to be the best mom to him I can is not be there for him for things which matter to me, so I can be there for things that matter to him. Like feeding him in a few minutes.
My doctor told me that my LO was head down at my 36 week appt. Five days past my EDD my water broke and we went to the hospital. They get me all geared up in a nice labor/birthing room and the on call Doctor comes in to see how far I'm dilated. I'm already 3cm, but the doc doesn't feel any hair. They wheel in the US machine and it turns out she was breech. So they tell me I need a c section and I'm the next one in line. Hour and a half later I'm holding my LO. It wasn't at all what I planned or really wanted, but we're both here and healthy. It really threw me off, just being shoved into the situation because I never really expected to have a c section, so I never really prepared myself for one. I dunno if it's making the start of recovery harder but being a FTM I have nothing to base this experience off of. I'm definitely ready and waiting to get to the "it gets easier/better" time that everyone tells me about.
ETA: added in section story
I was a RCS and am 12 days pp. I was originally scheduled for 8/22 (EDD 8/26), but because of a complication with the umbilical cord, it quickly got moved up to 8/4! Talk about a surprise! LO was born at 36w6d. I've been very pleased with my recovery this time around, my recovery with DS1 was terrible. I guess it was time I got cut a break this time lol.
TTC 9/2013
BFP#1: 9/28/2013, EDD 5/28/13, MC confirmed 10/15/13, D&C 10/17/13
BFP#2: 1/10/2014, EDD 9/19/2014
I am a RCS, 5 days PP. I had to have an "emergency" c section with DD after a failed induction. I didn't progress past 5cm snd my blood pressure was up and down. They had the pit up as far as it could go and it just wasn't doing anything, it was causing contractions but not ones that would help my body progress. Once they stopped the pit, my contractions completely stopped as well.
This is time around things were much, much smoother. I don't remember much from having DD and I remember things hiring me really hard, really fast after having her. The recovery while not terrible, was still hard and I dealt with a lot of body image issues that I think we're caused by a case of undiagnosed PPD.
@Allisun85 I know this probably isn't much help now but if you plan on having more kids, this c section and recovery have been so much easier. I felt like I missed out on a lot with DD but this time around I can do more. It's still hard but I remember being on the OR table after they placed my spinal and prior to this I had been a nervous wreck. I thought I was going to have a panic attack. But once the spinal was place and I was laid back I remember feeling such a peace wash over me(probably from the spinal lol). I wasn't nervous anymore, I was calm, they brought DH in and we got to meet baby G. I'm probably rambling because it's 2am but it does get better. Everyday things get a little easier and it was hard for me not to let the baby blues just completely take me over but I had to learn to just roll with the hormones instead of fighting them to feel normal. Does it suck crying 6 times a day for seemingly no reason? Yes but it's all natural. What a glamorous thing pregnancy, childbirth and post partum life is.
No major complications. I had to be on magnesium for 24 hours afterwards and with that I had to be on a saline drip. My body absorbed that saline like it was water, I ended up getting 5.5 total bags so I was EXTREMELY swollen from days 4-11 pp. it was miserable.
I am currently 24 days pp (wow. didn't realize it was that long). My only win is that I made sure to walk/stand as soon as I could. I do think I overdid it last week, on Saturday I was got really sick and just run down. I even asked DH to stay home from going to meet a friend for beers. I never do that. But I needed his help.
I went for my 1st walk tonight. Walked 1 mile around our neighborhood. It took almost 30 minutes and it was SUPER slow, but I did it!!
Married May 2014
DD born August 2016
Baby #2 due December 2017
I really hoped to avoid a second C, but after 3 weeks of prodromal labor the possibility of a successful VBac dwindled. For me that was the hardest part. Watching my chance of a 'normal birth' shrink day by day. I now know scar tissue can affect future dilation. Peanut was born 8/4 without any complications. Last yr, on 8/6 we lost due to a ectopic rupture. It was so devastating. I've relied so much on DH and his cool headedness....I'm more of the red-headed temper type. I've had a few breakdowns since being home the last wk, but things are slowly getting more 'in sync'.
Edited for 4am ramble. So tired
I had a scheduled c-section on August 4th due to baby being breech. We tried everything to get him to flip but he was really jammed in there. I delivered at 39 weeks exactly and now I'm 12 days PP.
Mine was a pretty good experience, very laid back. I got my spinal at 7:25 am and heard my baby cry at 7:34. Recovery has been better than I expected but still not super easy.
I luckily had time to get used to the idea, but I still struggle a bit. Sometimes I feel like there was more I could do to get him to flip, or I should have waited longer, or something. But he's here now and healthy, so I'm trying to focus on that.
My c-section was somewhat expected but how long the doctor made me labor until he finally decided to do it. My water broke on a Thursday night and I didn't have any contractions so we had to go in that night for monitoring and membrane sweep. It was decided to start Pitocin in the morning and I was barely 1cm.
They turned up the Pitocin throughout the day. I got to 4cm and -1 station and asked for the epidural. Epidural was amazing. I got to 6cm and still -1 station and then stalled for a couple of hours. The doctor said for me to continue laboring for another hour and we'll make a decision. An hour later, I jumped to 9cm and still at a -1 station. He had me start pushing to try and bring C down the canal farther. I started pushing and the back labor began. It felt like I was being stabbed repeatedly.
Once I mentioned back labor, feeling everything and not progressing past -1 station , the doctor decided that a c-section was going to be best option. By this point, it had been about 26 hours since my water broke and I was exhausted. The OR was finally prepped and staffed. I wasn't tolerating the drugs very well and kept vomiting but luckily, I couldn't feel much. The doctor pulled C out and he was happy and healthy through the whole ordeal and face up. After C was out, my uterus gave out and wouldn't contract to control the bleeding. I ended up losing 1.5 liters of blood and needed two transfusions.
After all of that, I was able to get out of bed Saturday afternoon (about 16 hours after surgery) and go to the bathroom and sit in a chair. I'm 18 days pp and feel so much better. I'm able to move around much easier and the swelling has finally gone down.
Emotionally, I was pretty disappointed about having a c-section, even though I knew not to get too caught up in a birth plan. I just wonder if there was something else I could've done to prevent it. Even though baby is here and healthy and that's all I should want, I still cry when I think about it, and I can't even really explain why.
Recovery is going really well. I had my two week follow-up yesterday and got the go-ahead to take a bath and use tampons. OB said a couple more weeks until sex and at least a year until next baby. Worried about possible repurcussions with my next pregnancy, but I don't think there's anything I can do at this point.
You really went through some difficult stuff, I'm glad that you're recovering well!
I hope you're healing well!
Also, if you want pictures of LO coming out, ask the staff in the OR (if you don't think DH can handle it LOL). I had a nurse snap some shots of mine and they are absolutely incredible!!!
TTC 9/2013
BFP#1: 9/28/2013, EDD 5/28/13, MC confirmed 10/15/13, D&C 10/17/13
BFP#2: 1/10/2014, EDD 9/19/2014
showing me, but had to wake me to get my attention.
From there he was sent to the NICU for breathing problems and then blood sugar problems. Thankfully it was only 12 hours in the NICU and everyone is alright.
I was totally unprepared for this type of birth. His birth completely differs from our first. I remember regretting the induction but the nurses insisted that waiting until 42 weeks would have only made things worse. I find myself wondering if my incision is "normal" and struggling to accomplish things with our 3.5 year old. Anyway, thanks for the post and here is my official hello!
I am 3 weeks postpartum. I had very much wanted to avoid a c-section, though it was recommended due to the projected size of the baby. I was induced week 39 for medical reasons. After 30 hours of labor, including 18 hours of Pitocin I was having regular contractions but just not progressing. My OB and the secondo opinion she kindly brought along explained the risks of going on with pitocin for any longer or in higher doses. The assumption was that the baby's head just was not able to descend and put pressure on the cervix to get labor to be productive. Breaking my water was not deemed safe because of baby's position. I agreed to a c-section, and I was terrified.
I had never had surgery before. I do not think I have ever been as frightened as I was when I walked into the operating room to get the epidural started. My OB was very reassuring, as was the entire surgical team. We had discussed a gentle c-section and this was accommodated as much as possible, but both my and the baby's heart rate dropped as surgical prep was happening so they has to rush a little. My husband almost missed the birth.
I will never forget seeing him held up to the window in the curtain, or how he stoped crying g when they pressed his face up agains mine for skin to skin right after birth. The procedure was scary though, all that tugging was strange and the way you are numb but feel it was so disconcerting.
My memoris around the birth and recovery are a little spotty from the drugs, which saddens me. Our LO had low glucose and did spend a few days in the NICU, but we got to room on the first 12 hours, which I am grateful for.
My recovery has been challenging. I had a hemotoma and my stitches started to bleed 3 days pp. It was very painful. That part of the incision came open again 1 week pp and after I had been dischstged from the hospital, which meant a trip to the ER - where the 1st year medical student cleaned out my 1 inch deep wound without pain killers and had my DH act as her assistant, causing him to nearly pass out (the nurse got him apple juice, but still no one got me a tylenol, wth?). I got new stitches and get to keep going it the nurses clinic for wound care.
I have been able to be up and walking, but I tire out easily and the incision aches. It u hard to bend over, get up and down holding the baby, or sit with the baby resting on my lap as it puts pressure on the incision. Even pumping can be a challenge because you need to lean forward and that smooshy the incision area.
A maxi pad help cushion the area and keep it dry. I put a pillow on my lap when holding the baby. I gave learned to take my motrin, though I am still reluctant to take anything g more heavy duty that they sent me home with because it disrupts breatfeeding.
The first 2 weeks I had baby blues and thatadd processing the c-section harder. I felt inadequate, like I had failed my baby by not being able to vaginally birth him. That combined with hormones, the NICU. and breast feeding concerns I was just not doing well. My DH finally told me to stop seeing the c-section as a failure, that he was proud of me for choosing to go ahead with it. That he knew how much I didn't want one and was scared but I made the decision anyway - that helped.
In the operating room my OB (whole pulling the baby out) said, "oh he is big! You made the right choice." And she was correct. He was 11 pds, 5 oz, it really was for the best.
TTC 9/2013
BFP#1: 9/28/2013, EDD 5/28/13, MC confirmed 10/15/13, D&C 10/17/13
BFP#2: 1/10/2014, EDD 9/19/2014
I was was ok with it but my hubby was really scared something would happen to me. I was fine and DH got some really cool pictures. My dr wasn't on call at the time but he came in to preform the surgery. Love my dr so much for that.
My my recovery has been pretty standard. I'm 11 days pp and I ventured out for a walk for the first time yesterday. I have been taking Motrin if I feel sore but I'm feeling pretty good. I can get up and off the couch/bed without any more pain.
The cat scan found an abscess. I was admitted to the hospital and underwent a second emergency surgery to drain it, by a team using image guidance. (X Ray and ultrasound.) I declined the sedation since it was counter indicated for nursing, so the surgery was done with novacaine. It was horrifying.
The hospital has been super accommodating. They gave me a large private room, and are allowing me to keep my baby with me 24/7 as long as another adult is here to be legally responsible for the baby since they are keeping me on morphine.
Its been really hard on my whole family. My husband is struggling with keeping it together and being productive at work. My parents are basically parenting my child for me - doing all the diaper changes, taking him to his first doctors appointment. I get to feed him and hold him - both supervised so I don't pass out and drop him.
I'm absolutely crushed by all this. I just want to be home with my family celebrating all these mini milestones.
@kwilliams3402 actually my postpartum bleeding has been a lot less than I expected. 10 days out and I am down to really needing just a pantyliner. Keep an eye on it, and make sure you call your doctor if you aren't improving. I ended up needing a transfusion of blood a week after the C section since I was going the wrong direction. I also lost quite a bit of blood during the operation.
Married May 2014
DD born August 2016
Baby #2 due December 2017