I’ve had two planned sections, though my first was kind of unplanned as baby arrived sooner than the planned date.
First time I stayed 3 nights but that’s because I had some issues around a urine infection. Second time was just one night and discharged the following morning.
Surgery was straight forward. I had gel nails done a couple of days before my second c section and it wasn’t an issue. I also waxed but the official advice is don’t shave and don’t wax.
They try and get you on your feet quickly as that helps with recovery, so as soon as epidural / spinal wears off, they encourage you to get up. But it would still help if you know how you packed your bag and where things are so that you can direct your partner / midwife to anything you need from your bag.
You do still get the post birth poo with a c section, which I didn’t expect at all, so it was difficult to go with a fresh surgical wound. So second time, I had a high fibre diet in the run up to my date so that things were generally softer, and fortunately didn’t have to deal with any post birth issues.
You can ask for skin to skin right away, and you can ask for delayed cord clamping. Just a separate question of whether they listen to your wishes… You can also request music and have a play list.
One thing that can be a surprise is how many people are in the room. It’s quite a few people in there which feels a bit much at times.
People often say milk coming in is delayed with a c section but both times, my milk came in 2 days after the birth.
Post surgery, I wore my granny knickers that I wore during pregnancy for several weeks. And once my wound had healed, I massage it regularly.
That’s all I can think of for now. Good luck!