Positive ELCS Stories please!

[Countdowntofour]

I'm having my third ELCS next week (first baby was a traumatic vag birth). Both my last csections were fine but the last one was almost 5 years ago and I'd love to read some lovely ELCS birth stories if anyone wouldn't mind sharing. What I most remember is feeling lightheaded during my last one, and the pushing sensation of the spinal!
Thankyou! The more detail the better :) x

[DuggeeHugs]

DC1 was an EMCS and DC2 an ELCS. Both were great deliveries.

With the ELCS (7m ago) the wait seemed to drag - it turned out there were 6 emergency gynae procedures ahead of us. But once a slot came free, around 5pm, the prep was really quick.

I can remember the anaesthetist and theatre nurse were lovely. The theatre nurses' checklist of questions included 'are you pregnant?', which is no less baffling now than it was then. The spinal was placed quickly but I had to have an extra cannula added to the other hand because maternity ward had put the wrong one in (and forgotten to put the fluids up but that's another story). According to DH I was 'a bit rambly' after the spinal. Actually I just kept telling the anaesthetist what I could feel until he was happy it had taken effect. It was really odd knowing he was using freeze spray but it felt like warm water. When the surgeon arrived we were really pleased because it turned out to be the same doctor who delivered DS so it felt more personal.

As she began we had a quick word game to distract me and, before we'd finished, the surgeon suddenly said 'it's a girl!' and held her up. I'd vaguely registered being pulled about a bit but that was all. I had a quick cuddle before DD was taken to a table just beside me for cleaning up, weighing (all the staff joined in with weight guesses), DH cutting the cord and photos. I'd had a rough third trimester with lots of reduced movements. While DD was being weighed the surgeon came round the curtain and told us we'd made absolutely the right delivery choice as DDs cord had been wrapped three times around her neck and she'd almost certainly not have survived a VB. It was a relief to finally understand what had been causing all the worry. Then DD was tucked in for skin to skin while they finished sewing me up. DD has a very loud cry so everyone in the next theatre heard her arrival and popped in to congratulate us as they'd just finished their surgery.

Apparently I'd failed to bleed in the correct direction because there was blood everywhere - DH got a bit worried as there was quite a lot on the theatre floor - so I had to be changed and moved to a different bed before leaving theatre for recovery. That was a bit weird as I was tilted a lot and everything was quite gory.

Then off to recovery. The midwife who had been in the background in theatre vanished before we reached recovery but thankfully DD latched immediately we arrived so there were no problems. The rest of recovery and the evening on the ward were very relaxed, barring a raised temperature. By 2am the iodine still all over me was really itching so the midwife helped me to the bathroom and removed the catheter. I could wash, use the loo and get into my pj's while the ward was quiet. It was very civilised and I felt so much better afterwards. It wasn't for another 12 hours that the discomfort set in but it was far more manageable than after the EMCS. We were sent home 24 hours after delivery, which was great.

I'm sorry that's a bit long, but I've suddenly realised how nice it is to have a wholly positive birth story to share rather than the mixed bag story from my first experience

How long until your CS?