C section questions please help

[xkatyx]

Hi everyone, I'm due to have twins delivered my c section properly in the next 6 weeks.
As I have been in and out of hospital with steriods etc because babies seam to want to come out early, I have decided to pack my bag!

I have the usual stuff packed but was wondering of anyone would recommend anything extra for a c section?

I have 3 children all delivered naturally so this is a first.

I'm really nervous

Hi xkatyx i have had 5 sections and the things i would really recommend are big knickers! The really really big apple catcher granny knickers! They come up higher so wont rub on your wound.

If you are intending to bottle feed you need to check if your hospital provides it cos my local hospital doesnt. If thats the case then stock up on some of the little bottles of formula and presterilised teats as i had to walk the entire length of the ward to the milk room and back again less than 12 hours after my last section.

Take plenty of snacks like cereal bars to keep you going hospital food is grim.

You will have a catheter in until your bladder has recovered so i always packed a nightie for that time and the pj's for when i was mobile enough to get out.

Oh and good luck!
I would also say as a c-section veteran, you dont have to feel like you cant participate in the birth of your children.

I always asked for the screen to be lowered while the baby was being delivered so i could see it being lifted out.
My first section was an emergency and so rushed that i felt a bit detatched from the whole situation but the planned ones were actualy very peaceful positive birth experiences.
And i'm so jealous! 2 babies! I feel really broody atm

Agree with big knickers, also arnica capsules to help reduce bruising/pain and a feeding pillow. Oh and take someone into the shower with you once you are allowed up. I know 2 people who nearly collapsed.

Congrats in your twins and I hope you have a lovely calm c-section experience (I had 2 )

Yy to big pants, right up to navel to stop the top rubbing on your wound and to a nightie, although my catheter came out pretty quick afterwards as they want to make sure you can wee after the epidural and op.

Also some soft elasticated waste trousers, or pyjama bottoms to wear as anything fixed presses on your tummy and will be painful.

I would also recommend a small soft cushion to hold against your tummy post-section when you cough or sneeze, less painful i found (thats also good for when you are discharged, to stop you feeling every single bump in the road!)

Thank you all very much!! I have massive knickers 3 sizes bugger also some tight short things that apparently let the wound heal!! Either way I'm fully stocked up on pants :)

I never heard of these tablets? Are they safe to take?

Luckily are hospital had milk supplied, I think I'll be buzzin for help with that though as it will be a little walk.

Thank you vajazzler, I'm petrified about the whole thing an still in denial, packing my bag ha actually freaked me out. C sections are so new to me an I don't know anyone in RL who has had one, but all I seam to hear is horror stories.

Also I heard about peppermint water for wind???

Hi

Congratulations!!

Cesarean is major abdominal surgery so be prepared to feel the area very painful. It will be hard on the first week and even harder on the first few days. But you will progressively get better!

Getting out of bed first time was hard. Def have your partner / mum / best friend or nurse helping you to have first shower as you won't be able to do it alone. Even going to the loo I needed my boyfriends help!

Take very nice smelling toiletries with you - it's great to smell lovely when you are feeling pain!

I was very particular about what I ate afterwards as I felt very vulnerable in the stomach area. Boyfriend brought me strawberries, sliced magoes, melons and pineapple as well as little cartons of apple juice. I found go ahead cereal bars were very nice too.

Take a bottle of water that is small enough for you to drink one handed and big enough to hold more water than just a cup. They will leave you a jug with water but you really want to get nurses / people to top the water into bottle for you.

Stay in hospital for at least 4/5 days and get yourself a private room if you can. They sent me home after 2 days and you will quickly miss the hospital bed. Getting out of a normal bed after c-section is very painful for the first 5 days.

Be positive and think that at least you will know exactly what time and date your babies will be with you - and you can look forward to that. You won't have the horrible contractions and your 'play area' will be intact when this is all done ;o)

Hi
I'm a new Ozzy mum to this site!
I'm having a 10+Pounder baby boy on Wed via C Section & I'm
slightly terrified about it!
I've had Major SPD since 12 weeks so my recovery period they
say will b 12 weeks also!I'm not feeling very confident dealing with
a huge Bub & being on Crutches after the birth.
Anyone out there had to deal with this or similar with any good advice???

Keep a mobile phone handy when you come out of hospital.
I was upstairs in bed feeling like I was ignored, couldn't bang on the floor etc, so keep a phone handy incase you need to get out of bed.
Also, sleep on the edge of the bed so you don't have to move too much.
I felt as if I couldn't bend in the middle, I think your stomach muscles go because you don't bend like you do when you are not pregnant and I was worried about the stiches as well.
I ordered off ebay a cup you use laying down, that was useful.

Also, I drank water too quickly after having my DS2 and I was sick in the recovery room, nothing was there because you don't eat before a section, but I was told that you have to drink enough to have your cathather out.

Get one of those steps from ikea, they make it easier to get out of bed.
good luck, I've had two sections, first better than second, take all the drugs that they give you!

katy these are the arnica tablets i took and the MW/consultant was happy for me to take them. It is best to take a couple before and then afterwards as directed on the packet.

moomsy i am not sure you get a choice as to whether you stay in hospital or not, but they may keep OP longer if she has twins and they are early. I transferred to my local MLU for a 4 day stay after leaving hospital as i was having feeding issues and the food was lovely there

chubba you may want to start another thread with 'Csection and SPD' in the heading and you will likely get more replies

chubbs I had a c section and my SPD had virtually disappeared after the baby was born. In fact I felt better post section than I did throughout the pregnancy because of the amount of pain I was in. At least with the c section you can take lots of drugs! I was also on crutches.

I do feel it sometimes still in the hips when I'm laying down but I'd describe it as twinges rather than pain. At 2 weeks post c section I has able to walk slowly no crutches by 4 weeks I was walking faster than I had been in a long time!

OP I would take pillows with you to lay on and get comfy on in the hospital and also to put between your tummy and the seatbelt for the drive home. I still travel with a blanket or something soft inbetween when I can as it still feels tender.

Definately echo the big pants, lots of them. 5 weeks later and I'm still wearing them and will be for a while longer as my stitches are still a bit sore if something rubs on them and prone to a little bit of bleeding. (nothing dramatic don't worry)

Most importantly, take all the help you can, especially if you're having twins. The hospital I was in was excellent, they changed nappies for me, helped me over and over again with breastfeeding, lifted my baby up to me but if they don't get your husband to ask for you or ask yourself.

I had a not too bad experience at all with my c section and that was after a 3 day labour. Good luck and I hope all goes smoothly :)

another suffer of spd here, so bad i was hospitalised in one preg, however i have had natural births each time, including 10lb13oz ds4, in a birth pool, i was lucky enough to see a specialst about my spd and he actualy recomended a natural birth in an upright postion as this can help re-align the pelvis and therefore help the spd, it certainly worked for me :)

just an alternative veiw point :)

anyway if you are having your c-section, good luck and take it easy afterwards, lots of good advice here :)

Peppermint oils capsules for trapped wind - very effective, very easy to take (I still don't know where I'd buy 'peppermint water' - never seen it anywhere!). You can get oil capsules from Holland and Barrett - maybe Boots as well, or a large chemist.

Just worth adding - I had no constipation or gut problems after the op at all. I'd been warned about constipation (although was told by a MW that it was caused by being immobile.... and I made an effort to move around as soon as I could stand) - I drank a lot of water, ate fresh fruit - common sense stuff really.

I'm sure everyone's experience will be different, but I think it helps to think of these things as 'possible' side effects rather than 'inevitable'.

I had emcs for my DS and although completely unprepared for it I was v surprised at how quickly I recovered. I was only in hospital 24hrs and didn't have any major problems getting in and out of bed, just forgot I'd had major surgery a couple of times in the night and tried to leap out of bed-ouch!
Surgeons all seem to have different techniques, eg mine took catheter out in surgery so ended up wetting bed whilst still under spinal block! Also very different stitching techniques which can also make a difference to recovery.
Yes don't be afraid to buzz in the night for help getting babies out of crib and getting to toilet etc

Good luck and congratulations on your twins

re; the big pants. Ideally you need high stomach control pants that come up to your belly button. Normal pants in a bigger size will probably sit across or ride down over the scar. Mine were just cheapy stomach control pants from Primark.

The more you rest at first the easier your recovery should be.

The midwife told me to get arnica tablets. for my planned cs I'm not a fan (or believer) of homeopathy but I did heal up quite well and popping the pills were a welcome distraction while I was lolling about doing nothing in hospital.

IME try not to scoff too much food afterwards. I was nil by mouth from 8pm the night before my cs and started on herbal teas and soup the following tea-time. You might be a bit sick when the anaesthetic wears off so it's easier to let your stomach settle before you get proper food into you.

Tena lady pants! The proper kicker type ones they do.

No dont laugh, I found them useful for 3 reasons - they are brill at absorbing the lochia and they are fairly high waisted and very soft and comfortable so wont rub on the scar, and you dont have to bend down to take them off (bending down for a couple of days after a c section can be a bit tricky), you just rip the sides.

Dressing gown for the walk to theatre, I forgot mine

Thank you everyone this has really helped alot!

I also suffer really badly with spd but thankfully after labour it disappears.

Ok so to put on my to get list

Herbal tablets
Water bottle easy to drink out of
Pillow
Fresh fruit lots of water after

Lots of rest afterwards, thankfully my dh is fab he really is and my mum and sister are fantastic too so Lots of help available :)

Haven't had time to read all the other responses, but good luck!

I had twins by c section and I'd recommend ....

A sports cap bottle so you can drink one handed at any angle! (no cap to undo)
Squash to make up in the sports cap bottle - the wards are warm and warm squash tastes better than warm water.
A couple of pillows (get DH to bring them up once you're on the ward), to help you hold both babies safely at the same time. Put them in bright cases so you don't forget to bring them home (pillows, not babies)

Good luck I had a routine section and recovery with my twins - hope you do too

I'm another twins/CS bod.

A straw so that you can have a drink in recovery while lying down.
Read up and be prepared for the SCBU experience. Hope its not needed, but better be prepared than not. OK, that's a twin thing rather than a CS thing....

Also another question, at the moment I can't lie on my back at all I can't breath, so when u have to lie down to have the csection do you have to lie flat?

The bed is angled to the side if I remember correctly. Not sure why, I think there is a proper medical reason for it but I don't remember!

I would say prepare a bag at home with spare nighties, knickers, etc so if you have to stay more than a few days your partner can bring you more stuff.

Lots of snacks. Mints and mint tea bags - good for preventing constipation.

Ear plugs (my DS would come and visit me during the day and look after DS, and I'd put the ear plugs in and have a nap. It was difficult to sleep at night as other mums and babies are up and about.)

When you will get up for the first time after the surgery, you are likely to leak blood and waters and for me, in both c secs, I flooded the floor. No pad would have been large enough to absorb the lot. It's as if everything came out at once - very embarassing. So maybe an old towel that you can hold in place when you stand up for the first time and throw away?

Thank you blueberry, I hate that first gush, I had after vbirths and just flooded the place!

As its twins they said I will get my own, which will be lovely as it is so hard to get any sleep at all.