Csection yesterday - daren't move. Tips please!

[Rarfy]

Hi

As the title says i had a csection yesterday morning. They've removed catherter this morning so i know i am up and around today but i daren't bloody move.

Anyone have any tips? Is it mind over matter. Ive kept on top of meds so no real pains whilst laid in bed but i did get a shock last night when i stood up to get changed.

Why on earth i thought i would just be up and about i had no idea. Feel a right dick now!

Congratulations Rarfy on your baby girl. I had 3 sections and my advice is - hold your stomach 'in' with one hand whilst supporting yourself with the other. Dont crouch over whilst walking, stand as upright as possible. Take it slow - its amazing how quickly you will feel much better! My problem after my first section was blood loss - I stood up for the first time and the post baby blood decide to flood out, all over my new slippers and the midwifes shoes and the floor. I was mortified.

Dont get your husband to pull you up -whilst in hospital, get the bed adjusted to the right height so you can stand easily without having to push up - but when you do stand up, put both hands on the bed next to you and use them as a slight lifting device - if that makes sense!! When rolling over in bed, hold your stomach in with your hand/arm.

Your scar will be either single stitches (unlikely these days) a single running stitch or staples and will run horizontally from hipbone either side. It will shrink as your stomach goes down.

Re the gas - yes take all the peppermint tea you can drink and lose your inhibitions about letting out noises and smells

Ahhh congratulations.

I definitely think it’s mind over matter. I was very very shaky the first time I stood up, and I sat back down again pretty quickly. But the more you do it the better it will be. I was walking around the park (albeit very slowly) a couple of weeks later.

If you're breastfeeding, the midwifes will want to keep an eye on your peppermint consumption. Don't mainline it as it can affect supply. You are fine to have a cup every 4 hours and this should help with the trapped wind pain.

Hand expressing colostrum is a bit of a black art I found, don't be afraid to ask for help. I found I couldn't get very much for at least a day (had to hand express for dd1) even with help. There is a technique to get (the c shape compressions) which once you get makes it easier. Still messy trying to hoover it up with a syringe. Persevere (providing you want to) and even a little colostrum is great. If she needs formula top ups don't worry, do what makes you and her happy. DS had two bottles in his first week as my milk was slow to come in and then we breastfed for 11months so it doesn't always spell the end of breastfeeding (despite what some say) but if you don't want to breastfeed don't let anyone make feel bad about it.

For c section recovery (I have had 3), I echo what other say about taking all the pain relief you can (you don't get caught medal for pushing through it) and moving as much as you can without overdoing it. If you feel tired rest. Make sure clothes don't rub against the scar as that is how I got an infection this time.

Hand expressing colostrum was a two person job for me. I, um, squeezed and the midwife sucked it up with a syringe.

My DS was a very sleepy newborn. Try not to worry, easy to say I know but I was panicked about him starving almost immediately.

I found everything much easier once I’d left hospital. It’s easier to find your own swing of things once you feel like you don’t have to ask permission to do everything!

Small slow movements and do not be scared to ask the midwives to hell. You should be being helped to the loo etc.

I promise by day 3/4 (which seems a mile off) you'll be feeling much better. And a week in you'll be fine.

Hold a towel to your tummy when you cough!

Take all of the drugs they offer for as long as possible.

When you get home, lie back and air your tummy as much as you can, especially if you're a lady of a certain size - letting your wound dry out is better than it being in a moist little fold of flesh.

Post natal staff are overworked, sadly. I found hospital very stressful (was in for a week after a c-section with BF/baby weight loss problems). A couple of things to humanise my cubicle helped me - just a few things from home.

The wound will look a bit like barbed wire on your tummy. A bit scary to look the first time but it'll be ok.

Nothing much to add - I’ve had 2 c sections and due another one next month but I found once home, to help with sitting up in bed ask your DH to tie a bedsheet to the bottom of the bed to help you pull yourself up.

Hi OP, I’m recovering from a C section from last week. The first 3-4 days were the worst, I was quite weak from blood loss during the surgery. I made sure to take all the prescribed painkillers to deal with the pain. As someone suggested, a rolled towel held against the tummy was handy to move around and get in/out of bed. Things are much better a week in, I’ve been able to walk 5-10 minutes locally, I plan to build up gradually next week as I’m already going slightly crazy cooped up indoors. The recovery hasn’t been as bad as I thought. I had trouble passing wind too so was on a liquid diet , finally a cup of hot water with peppermint oil did the trick 😄 take it easy and get as much help as you can with nappy changes, picking up the baby, bending down etc.

Firstly congratulations! Secondly, as others have said, take all the drugs - for as long as you need! And I found wearing giant knickers that came up to my waist and so didn't irritate the scar really helped. And loose trousers, and I didn't worry about showering too much. I remember walking for the first couple of days was hard going but it gets easier very quickly. Oh, and I took a lot of Movocol :) Good luck!

Congrats!!

Definitely:

• allllll the drugs...DH made a timetable for me and reminded me when I could have what!

• the massive maternity knickers from Asda made me feel VERY safe - I felt super vulnerable in tbeshower! DH helped me in and out each time.

• if you have a low sofa then stack pillows under and behind you so it’s easier to stand up

• don’t rush! I did too much too soon and probably set myself back a couple of days.

• get up SLOWLY - the worst pain for me was the 2nd day after when I was at home. I hadn’t taken drugs in the middle of the night so in the mornnng when I sat up I was in sooo much pain! Get DH/DP to put his hands by your feet and push against them with your feet and use your hands to pull yourself up the bed!

• LET PEOPLE DO STUFF FOR YOU!

Best of luck, enjoy being a mummy! X

Take any drugs they give you and the laxative. I found day 3 the worst as the anaesthetic has properly worn off but the drugs aren't strong enough. Then suddenly it improves. If you have a removable stitch it gets loads better after that comes out too.

Move often but gently.

Congratulations and good luck!

Had a ELCS 3 months ago and the best advice I can give are these:

• buy a shower gel that has a hook, so you don't have to bend to pick it up.
• buy high waisted knickers so it doesn't rub on your scar.

And as for getting up and around I found that hard too, I just had to scoot to the end of the bed and use the rails of the hospital bed to pull myself up, going home in my normal bed was the hard part.
• try and walk as straight as you can, I didn't for 2 weeks and my back was done in from all that stooping over!
• hold a pillow over your scar when you laugh and cough, I adopted this kind of goofy pant noise when I laughed for a few weeks so it wouldn't hurt!

Congratulations on your baby.

I would recommend taking your painkillers regularly for the first few days, and take a laxative if you think you need one. I got horrible constipation from my painkillers which combined with a c section wasn't nice.

I wore knickers that came above my scar line.

Moving about does help even though it can feel like your insides are falling out.

Just don't lie down, I made that mistake and couldn't sit myself up.

OP I had a caesarean 20 odd years ago. First few days I needed help getting to the shower / loo. Don't rush it . Went home after 5 days in hospital and had to have help getting upstairs. Didn't drive for 6 weeks ( on advice. ) It does get better after the first bit , but do take it slowly - it is major surgery ) It does - from my experience only - get better but take all the help you can get. I was so envious of those who had had "natural births" who seemed to be be up and popping about quickly. That said - 20 years on those first few days / weeks have paled into insignificance. I was told not to lift in the first few weeks anything heavier than a kettle. Oh I also had a bit of trouble with breastfeeding & Ds had to have colostrum. He's 6ft now and quite healthy.

I am old enough that when I suffered a slight infection from breast feeding I put cabbage leaves down my bra . I am sure times have moved on

Very many congratulations on your baby daughter.

Cabbage leaves , cold ones , are still good for sore breasts .

@bengalcat - good to know it wasn't just an old wives' tale. No idea how it works - I eventually had to see the doctor ( would it have been mastitis? ) but the cabbage leaves were soothing. Thank you Actually & I will whisper this lest OP hears it - the initial breast feeding was harder and hurt more than I thought. But like the CS - it went after a while and all turned out well.

The hospital gave me a copy of this leaflet after my c section and I found it really helpful, both at the time and over the next few weeks: www.meht.nhs.uk/EasysiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=2433&type=full&servicetype=Attachment

Congratulations on your baby girl and I hope you're feeling a bit better already!

Congratulations!!!

Drugs you’d have had would be diclofenac immediately after delivery which would mean no ibruprofen for 12 hours, after that you can take ibuprofen too. Paracetamol & dihydracodiene taken together are pretty effective and can be taken whilst breastfeeding, codiene can’t be taken whilst baby is receiving your milk as it transfers where dyhidracodiene is metabolised differently. Stay on top of it all the time, my trust send mums home with it on prescription if section birth.

Take it easy, it is major surgery. When getting up, roll on to your side and push up from there into sitting position, means you’re using less abdominal muscles.

Re feeding, expressing/feeding between 1-4am is highly recommended at least once, hormones required for production are at there highest at this time.
Hand expressing is recommended over pumping in the early days as pumping can interrupt supply.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/expressing-storing-breast-milk/#expressing-breast-milk-by-hand
This website gives advice on doing it.

But, if you want to formula feed do it, don’t be persuaded or feel pressured to breastfeed, she is your daughter and it has to be right for you when you get home too.

Was it an emergency section under GA or did they know previously that they wouldn’t be able to site a spinal? This makes a difference as to pain levels as if it was a cat 1 GA then they wouldn’t have messed around and as said previously they may have been slightly more rough due to risks to you both.

I knew beforehand it wouldnt be spinal as it was major previa placenta and anterior so they thought they would have to go thru placenta.

Thank you for all your tips. You will be pleased to know i have been up seeing to the baby a few times today and across the corridor to the loo a few times. It does get easier but i find the getting out of bed the worst like i can feel the scar stretching/sore.

Im going to try pulling knees up to chest. Ive not quite managed to roll on my side yet as nerves get the better of me so might give that a go tonight.

Ive been on the peppermint tea. 3 cups today and it has helped A LOT! Hoping to get some sleep tonight which might helo for tomo and i might brave a shower then too!

She has latched 3 or 4 times today. Not big feeds literally minutes but she did it and seemed to enjoy it. Ive not topped her up today apart from once first thing.

My top tip for when you get home - tie a dressing gown belt or similar to the headboard of your bed, and use it to pull yourself up to sitting when you need to get up in bed
It means you don’t use any of your stomach muscles, and get go from lying down to sitting quite easily, which is great for feeding

I’ve had 5 sections
Best advice I can give is take all the pain medication offered even if you don’t think you need it, you do
Ask for some lactulose too as painkillers often cause constipation
Try to get up and walk about slowly as much as you can as it really helps with recovery to be up as soon after as possible

I've had three c sections and I swear by support pants - like spanks. I know sounds crazy but I just bought high waisted support leggings and pants and it helped massively with the pain when laughing, sneezing and anything else. It also meant I was back into my prepregnancy jeans in 10 days (that was NOT the aim, just a welcome side effect - possibly breast feeding helped there too). You can get specialist 'corsets' which can adjust to bigger and smaller as you shrink back - I did buy one of these the last time but hey sre really expensive and I went back to using my normal support leggings and pants which worked better anyway and were more comfortable. It helped so much. And take all drugs. And if you possibly can, buy a high pram to avoid bending and lifting (Stokke Xplory saved me)

Congratulations! I’ve had three sections-
If you want to get up when in bed, I’d recommend getting onto your side slowly, once you home and using your arm and hand to push up to sitting then it’s a bit gentler. I always found stairs hard - not sure why- but going sort of sideways is definitely easier. Also a midwife told me to try and sit back off the scar, so not sort of slouching forward so much over it when sitting feeding etc- I did this for the second two and I think it helped with the pain. Mint tea is great for after pain of trapped wind ( glamourous!) id day just take it all at your own pace, don’t rush, it took me a couple of weeks each time to feel like I was getting up and around. Good luck x

I havent managed to get onto my side yet feels like the stitches pull too much.

Was having a terrible night last night then figured i can lower the bed almost to the floor which is a massive help (still not quite found a pain free / scare free way of exiting but definitely better).

Then decided to make the executive decision to move to formula for both our sakes. Cup fed baby swaddled her and she has had a good few hours as have i. Night started off hellish and i have woke feeling like a new woman. Still havent dared move from bed just yet haha!