4th time mum, 1st c section. Advice and tips welcome x

[Bennetgirl]

After 3 straight forward, quick labours, no 4 is proving tricky.

Flipping between breech and transverse at 34 weeks, on the large size and we now know I have an extra lobe of placenta across my cervix!

I have two teenagers and a nearly 3 year old. Any hints and tips to help before and during recovery will be greatly appreciated.

Honest advice or what to expect very welcome. I've never had an operation so don't really know what to expect in terms of pain.

Can you lie in your side afterwards? Can you sit comfortably and get out of bed? Thank you 😀

I loved my C-section. It was fabulous. I had it with my 3rd (after a really gentle gas/air, hypnobirthing 2nd).

I'd heard lots of horror stories about having difficulties bonding with the baby and not being able to move but honestly it was a really positive experience for me. I figured after having two naturally, I was due a restful birth and it was great.

My only tip would be prepare mentally to relax. I listened to my favourite music on headphones so that I couldn't hear all the bustle and chitchat in the theatre and was in my own peaceful little world.

Pulled in some extra help around the house. Did the normal baby stuff: Pre-cook, freeze meals so they are easy to whip out.

Take it easy and make the most of it. It is a major op, so you deserve to spoil yourself and have other people wait on you as much as possible. I was back to moving furniture around within two weeks - that is probably not recommended! I could have milked it a bit more tbh.

I don't remember any pain. It was uncomfortable having the anaesthetic but only momentarily.

Basic stuff, you already probably know like keep the wound clean.

That's about it. Enjoy lying back and waiting for your baby to appear - like magic! :)

I just had one last month, it was amazing! I’d never been in hospital before (first baby) and I was really worried about it but it was so completely fine, even the recovery!

Trying to think what I did or wish I did…

-to calm myself down before it I did an abdominal birth course from the the mindful birth group. It was good but probably not necessary
-I watched Eilidh Wells’ c section videos on YouTube, they were great and allow you to really picture it all before it
-I packed sliders instead of shoes to leave hospital in (these can also be worn in the shower). I was sooo glad I had these, there was no way I’d be able to do up my shoes, especially since my partner wasn’t allowed in to collect us due to covid restrictions

• I packed a long dress to leave hospital in but it was green rather than black so I ended up not wearing it as I was scared it would show up blood if I bled through. I had taken big high waisted joggers so I wore them instead, lifting one leg up at a time to get it into the legs of them was a bit uncomfortable though so I’d take a black dress in future
• I took colparmin capsules because I don’t like peppermint tea. People tell you to take that to get rid of trapped wind that can give you a sore shoulder. I didn’t have any so I presume they worked!
• big high waisted cotton pants is an obvious one! I also bought slightly more dainty pants that were very high waisted to wear after a few weeks when I didn’t want to wear the huge pants under leggings etc 🙈

-a bottle with a straw

• buy in lots of paracetamol and ibuprofen before going to hospital for coming home
• a 3m long phone charger cable for when you’re not able to get out of bed at first
• nighties instead of pyjamas, you’ll have a catheter in. They helped me get into my nightie in recovery while the catheter was still in. I bled through one of them during the night and had to change into my spare one. I was then worrying what I would do if it happened again as I’d only brought two so I’d maybe take an extra or don’t pull the nightie down past your bum so the blood just goes onto the pad they have on the bed rather than on your nightie. The blood really wasn’t that bad for all I’m saying that and only lasted 4 days properly then was much much less, barely even blood
• a black dressing gown
• I took slippers but didn’t ever wear them, was only in for one night
• I didn’t end up wearing a bra the whole time I was in there but had packed loads for some reason
• also didn’t need socks as I had the stockings from surgery on and had to keep them on for 10 days
• face wipes were handy to have, just to make me feel a bit better
• I took deodorant but wish I’d taken a roll on as people on here had commented before I went in that it’s much easier to put on with a newborn lying on you. I had to wait til the next morning to go to the toilet and put mine on
• a pillow left in the car to put over your stomach then fasten the seat belt over it just to make yourself feel a bit more secure going over bumps. This wasn’t as bad as I expected but it was nice to have it for a bit of comfort
• I took a pen to fill in the feeding chart

On the whole it was nowhere near as difficult as I’d expected at all. The surgery itself was brilliant, so easy and quick! The only painful part was the cannula going in then it was fine 😊 the spinal was nothing, at all! I didn’t feel pain while in hospital at all really. Even standing up for the first time was nowhere near what I’d heard some people say it is. The nurse helped me get up 8 hours after the surgery and I walked to the chair beside the bed. I’d seen a lot of people on here to say whenever you even start to get feeling back in the incision area ask for a painkiller before it starts to hurt so I did that. I got liquid morphine when I asked and I didn’t feel a thing. Literally the only bad bit of it all is going from lying down in your own bed at home to sitting up, you just can’t do it. You have to roll onto your side and put your legs over the side of the bed then use your hands behind you to push yourself up instead of tensing your abs at all. It hurt slightly if I sat too far back into the sofa as well and tried to get up for the same reason, a hard chair was easier. Luckily I have a towel rail right infront of the toilet so used it to pull myself up and lower myself down onto it. Id say it was painful for the first week at times like that (completely fine the rest of the time though - no pain and walking is fine). The second week getting up became a bit easier but it wasn’t til the third week that I could do it again.

I could lie on my side in the second week with my pregnancy pillow but lying on your back is definitely comfier. I used my pregnancy pillow to sleep sitting up a bit so that getting out of bed from completely flat wasn’t as bad. If you avoid the sitting up thing the rest of it is honestly painless 😊 I managed to go out a walk with the pram on day 7 and by 2 weeks I was going long walks. Just don’t do too much walking about the house in the first week, if you need something ask for someone to pass you it rather than getting up. I was moving about too much and the blood got heavier on day 3. That’s the only time I pathetically cried 🙈 wish I’d taken it a bit easier

Good luck, itl be great 😊 I’ll 100% be having another one x

Amazing, thank you both so much 😀 Some really great advice there.

Did you have your remove all makeup etc? I wear eye make up 24/7! Also, I have a ring on that I cannot budge now, will that be an issue? x

They will put tape over the ring.

Yeah no makeup or fake tan I was told and the picture of me when he was first born is awful but needs must 😂 no lashes or gel nails or anything either. I just did none of it for weeks before I went in incase I went early

My notes said you were allowed a wedding band taped up so you should be fine

I was absolutely fine with make up - I won't be without my liquid eyeliner!! Nail polish was a no.
Recovery - only thing I didn't expect was anti-clotting injections I had to administer for 10days afterwards.
Definitely couldn't lie on my side - it pulls the wound because the muscles just can't support it. My saviour as a committed side sleeper was a V pillow; I can't recommend this enough! I slept propped on this & it allowed me to tilt to the side slightly with some support. Also, I became a pro at using V pillow to sit up - start your arm exercises now!! Basically, I kind of did a tricep dip in bed and shuffled myself (and pillow) until against the wall, so I was sitting without using my stomach, and could then swing my legs over edge of bed to get up. Wasn't easy, but once you've mastered it, it's great!
The pain wasn't exactly fun but was manageable; less painful than contractions, but more unpleasant (to me).
Re: incision, If you notice any redness/swelling and discharge, always check with GP just in case. And take it easy - I split a stitch (ouuuccchh) by sitting up too soon and that ended up mildly infected.
The only way I can describe how I felt was exhaustion & beat up, how I'd imagine you'd feel after a car accident (I have been hit by a car so have some frame of reference!). I needed lots of iron too as lost a fair amount of blood (seem to remember they debated transfusion, but decided I was fine), so keep an eye on that. It's hard to explain; essentially you are learning to walk again with your stomach muscles having been cut so it works everything else instead. I had bad back pain (have never had before or since) if I stood too long. So in summary, rest, vigilance, and take good care of yourself nutrition, sleep & rest wise (with a new baby! Ha!!). Took me 6 weeks to not feel a bit broken.
14 months on, the scar still aches if I have clothes pressing against it, and I'm still quite numb, which is normal apparently!

Can go either way.
My 1st cs was great, had it at 38wk with breech twins. No pain after and felt pretty normal the day after surgery (1 night stay). I had an infection but it was painless and cleared up after a week of antibiotics.
2nd cs I laboured for over 20 hours before going in for my cs, started to get scar rupture as baby was very big and lost a lot of blood. Felt terrible the 1st few days and had a lot of pain (stayed 3 nights). I normally sleep on my side but it was too painful to do that for a few weeks. I had 2 weeks of antibiotics for an infection and a surgical seroma. Baby is 7 weeks now and things have settled but it can be a bit tender if I've been quite active (was sore after I mowed both our lawns last week).
I have 2 scars now, most recent is bigger and it's numb between them. After the 1st I only had tenderness at start of af and after heavy deadlifts. Not back to training yet so not sure how it'll feel but hoping it'll be no worse than before, I'm itching to get back in the gym.

I had 3 good vb's before my cs's too.

Thank you everyone 😀

I'm starting to feel really down about it now. I think because I've had such great labours third seems like a bit of a disappointment. I'm worried about recovering with a 3 year old and teen dds.