How will I feel in the days following a C-section...?

[spur999]

Any advice and tips will be greatly received.
My partner seems to think I will be able to spend the day with him and the kids less than 24 hrs after the op... apparently other women are up and running immediately after so I have been accused of being a drama queen! this has sent my pregnancy hormones through the roof.
I had a natural birth last time and I was in pain from the stitches and was struggling with breastfeeding... Not in the mood to be observed by 2 kids all day - also I was dealing with new baby and nurses/drs etc. Please let me know what is realistic here...is it unreasonable to request some time to recover? Also, when is the best time for visitors...Thanks so much

[Nicolet123]

Hey, I had a caesarean with my first born when I was 18 years old. you will be feeling delicate afterwards scared you will burst your stiches. you wont be doing anything strenuous for a while not even turning to pick up baby.. you'll e really slow to walk up stairs and just walking in general.

you'll have to take it easy no running after kids so your partner will have to do some running around after you and the kids.

[Cinnamon2013]

It's good that you posted here. Your partner needs (ie it is essential) to understand what it will be like for you after the operation.

I had a 'good' elective c-section (after a EMCS previously). I was so relieved it was better than the previous i kept telling my partner how good I felt. When we got home he turned down offers of help with our toddler and expected us to get on as usual, including with toddler. I was in a lot of pain still and also had a complicated regimes of pain-killers and blood-thinning injections to keep track of that was not compatible with caring for a toddler. Oh, and a baby!

I still carry some resentment that he didn't appreciate how really hard it was for me in the early weeks - but ultimately I should have expressed much more clearly how serious it was.

Saying you're a drama queen show he really doesn't understand. He needs to talk to your midwife or another professional. Don't ignore the issue.

Good luck.

[Citizenerased123]

@Arborea, sorry for the delayed response. Having any abdominal surgery will cause the bowel muscle (which normally pushes digested food along it's length) into stasis, ie it stops moving temporarily and is then sluggish as a result of the morphine type drugs that you might receive. So the point of adjusting your diet pre-op is to try to avoid foods that wil clog up the gut as that will cause more pain when gas builds up and can't pass down the bowel. I would avoid very heavy foods like red meat and things that aren't so easily digestible like chicken skin and have lots of vegetables and higher fibre foods to try and make the bowel as clear as possible before the c section. Good luck with your c section!

[Arborea]

@ Citizenerased what's a low residue diet? Can you give us a few examples of low residue food? I'm hoping for an ELCS this time: last time it followed 4 days eating manky hospital food after a failed induction, but all being well I'll be in more control of my eating choices beforehand and would like some pointers!

[Pjmaskswrecksmyhead]

I'm almost 5 weeks post 3rd c section OP and feel ALMOST back to normal (apart from 3 stone to shift ). However the 1st week was very tough going with 2 other DCS under 5. DH brought both DC to visit that afternoon for about a half hour (private room.) It was chaos and I cried when they left panicking about how I would cope at home. I asked to be kept in hospital a 3rd night but was turfed out! The day after I came home newborn DS had lost over 10% of birth weight. I realised I was trying to do it all with the other 2 and not sitting feeding all day long like you're supposed to on those early days. So between my mum and DH, the older 2 were shipped off outside with mum and for a sleepover at nanas. Baby and I went to bed for a day and night. His weight increased dramatically in 2 days and the binding time was amazing in a busy house. I just wasn't able to manage so soon after major surgery the pain is manageable but tough. I imagine it would he so much worse if you didn't look after yourself properly and take it so so easy in those early days. Best of luck

[spur999]

Thanks again for all the great advice. It's been very very helpful!

[Citizenerased123]

Hello OP,
I hope you're not getting too stressed about having a c- section (some of the posts above sound terrifying and I do feel very sorry for those that had a difficult time). I have had 2 c-sections (1 emergency and 1 elective) and I was fortunate and had no problems on either occasion. I was uncomfortable for the time after the c section when I was bed bound and had the catheter in, but as soon as the catheter came out, I was able to walk to the loo without any difficulty and could shower within 10 hours of the c section. I found that the scar wasn't that painful apart from when I coughed (and I had a chronic cough from a viral illness last time). What was really painful was the build up of gas in the bowel that occurs as a result of the surgery due to bowel stasis. I wish I had eaten a low residue diet in the 2 days before the procedure as that does help by all accounts. As soon as I could release the gas (TMI - sorry!) I felt so much better and had no problems mobilising around the ward and when I got home. I know plenty of other people who also had straightforward recoveries so hopefully you will too.

Of course, bearing in mind what your body will be going through, it is perfectly reasonable for you to take it easy and concentrate on you and your baby and not to have to deal with visitors. Only you will know what you feel up to once you have had the c section, so I wouldn't plan anything in advance.

PS I found the Snugglebundl extremely helpful post c-section as you can pick the baby up with one hand so it's easy to transfer them from their cot to you without any assistance and without getting out of bed.
www.snugglebundl.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKEAjw5cG8BRDQj_CNh9nwxTUSJAAHdX3fP3tl80F-rbP7K1scHQcb_HWCDtdC0wGfWJhabTpI8RoCqNDw_wcB

[Bluecarrot]

Don't really remember the recovery from my first other than crippling back pain from previous injury that was worsened by pregnancy.
Second was a dream recovery. Off pain killers within 24 hours, walking easily etc. even did some laundry within 48 hours of birth ( only the gross stuff!) but as I also had a labour before the cs I was physically drained. I could have slept 15 hours a day easily and I was v quick to cry etc.
I'll be a single parent this time around but if I did have a partner to help out, if he expected me to do more than sleep, feed the baby and cuddle our kids, he'd have a good kick in the....

[galaxygirl45]

I've had 2 - I'd roughly say i took painkillers for the first 4 -5 days, and even then found lifting/moving things very awkward and the tiredness is overwhelming. Having major abdominal surgery and a newborn isn't easy, and try doing too much you'll pay the price! Visitors are fine in small doses but need to be reminded you've had surgery, I did find it pretty uncomfortable getting up and down from chairs etc as you feel like your stomach is going to explode through your stitches (it doesn't but its a weird feeling). They tell you no lifting or exercising for 6 weeks for good reason, and that's to let your body heal. I had lots of saltwater baths and took arnica tablets to help with healing but the best cure is rest, and lots of it.

[ColinFirthsGirth]

It may be different now but when I had my son by c-section I had to stay in for 5 days and acutally stayed in for 7 days. 24 hours after the operation I could still barely walk. I was in pain for 3 weeks. That was with a first baby, if I had had other kids I would have taken longer to recover I think. Your husband seriously needs a reality check! It is major surgery.

[kiwiscantfly]

I had my first baby in the UK via ELCS and had two nights in hospital, came home to rest due to lack of sleep. I was shattered and mostly running on adrenaline. Second was born in NZ where I had two nights in hospital (private room this time not a ward, much more rest) and then two nights in a birth centre which is a bit like an old school convalescence home, private rooms and midwives on all. I really needed that time to recover, bond and establish breastfeeding. It was so good going to the "baby hotel" as we called it I'm doing it again next week for DC3. Long story short, even with a relatively pain free ELCS you'll still need plenty of recovery time. Take it easy, overdoing things will set you back.

[FrancesHaHa]

Chances are you may well be in hospital 24hours after the op. - I was in 2 days, 1 still using a catheter.

Whatever you do, please take it at your own pace. I tried to do too much too soon after a ECS - combination of painkillers masking the pain and DP not really understanding, and encouraging me to push myself too quickly. I was still in pain 8 months later, and even now get the odd twinge, 5 years later.

I'm sure there are few other times in life when people have full on surgery, and are expected to be up and about, on top of being sleep deprived.

[spur999]

Thank you all for your replies. That is very helpful indeed... I feel much better now :)

[Racheyg]

Hope all goes well op

[Fomalhaut]

Oh and i lost a couple of litres of blood too - that alone makes you feel squiffy. I passed out a few times shuffling to the loo.

You tube a full c section - preferably with a nice close up of them going through the fascia and pulling the core muscles apart... Make him watch. Then give his head a wobble. On no account should you be doing anything strenuous for a bit - you could do yourself a lot of damage! He needs to step up and do some bloody childcare and cooking!

If he's likely to be a twat about it, I heartily recommend batch cooking to fill the freezer and getting family help in.

[Racheyg]

I think it depends on the individual. I had a emcs with ds1 and elcs with ds2 there is a 22 month age gap.

I was up and about the next day and played with ds1 on the floor.......but that is only because I felt up to it. Do not push yourself and let your body tell you when your feeling up to it

[Amanda89x]

I had an emergency section 4 weeks and have needed two courses of antibiotics because it got infected from me doing too much too fast. Please make sure you look after yourself as much as possible (I know this is really hard with a newborn and another child)

[Fomalhaut]

Jeez. He's being unreasonable. I had a section and I felt like I'd been run over. First 24 hours you're just aiming to get out of bed and shuffle to the sink. You'll likely still be catheterised too.
You need to remind him that several layers of skin, fascia and some of the big muscle groups have been gone through - it's major surgery. Even if you're lucky in and not in much pain you need to physically be careful for a few weeks after - the whole core has been opened up, you can't just be lifting and running around, you could do yourself a lot of damage!

My recovery was thus;

Day one - lots of pain, bearable as long as I moved very cautiously. Up once, catheterised, only able to shuffle with a nurse helping
Days 2-4 in hospital, it took me two days to be able to turn on my side for example.
Day 5- home. Needed help up and down stairs. Unable to move fast or lift
Week 2 - felt much better. Overdid it a bit and set myself back, bled a lot
Weeks 3-6 gradually back to normalisation- although spd pain still there - the scar still hurts with certain movement nine months on.

My dh did all the cooking, cleaning and general running around for the first couple of weeks so I could look after the baby. Your dh needs to realise, and take on board, that you will not be back up to speed for a couple of weeks.

[Bottomchops]

Can he just watch some on YouTube or something? Dickhead.

[Bogoffdailymail]

eurochick the section glide - so that's what it's called! Grim!

[louisejxxx]

He sounds like an ass.

I had a section at 9pm at night...I can't remember if I was up and about the next afternoon or the one after that. Ds was in a children's hospital down the road and 2 days after the section I had to be wheelchaired to the car park at the hospital entrance because I just wouldn't have been able to walk that far at that point. Carrying a lunch tray back to bed was a struggle.

You need to get him a reality check because he sentiments are in no way reasonable.

[SansaClegane]

It always took me weeks to recover, not days! Your husband IBVU!
I always thought it was a bit mean that women are expected to 'get up and get on with it' after a c-section; you wouldn't expect that of someone who's had an appendectomy or similar.
Walking, going to the toilet, showering, even sneezing/coughing are incredibly painful in the early days. Add to that trying to look after a newborn and getting breastfeeding established, and then maybe also looking after a couple of toddlers, and it's practically unachievable.
I had complications after my last ELCS and was very lucky that my mum offered to come down and help us out for a week, leaving me to just feed / look after the baby and do fuck all else.

[littlepooch]

I had what everyone said was a "quick" recovery. But even so I was wiped that first evening (DD was born just before 6pm) and the midwives didn't get me up and standing to use the loo until the next morning. I couldn't have contemplated any visitors until the day after the cs, just my parents came late that afternoon to see me. Even though I was back in my feet relatively quickly I was still sore and found simple things really hard like going for s walk or getting out of bed - my DH or my mum had to help me. I was very very careful and I think that helped my recovery.

It's major surgery. Everyone reacts differently. But what everyone needs is the love and support of those around them. I wonder where he got this idea, that you're being a drama queen?

[ShowOfHands]

there is no woman on earth who doesn't struggle out of bed the first time and not need strong painkillers

Not true. I wasn't in pain at all and took no painkillers. This is NOT the norm though.

[GoldenWorld]

Sorry forgot about visitors.

If you're only in for 24hrs and your c-section is in the morning then normal visiting time is fine in the afternoon but be prepared you might not feel up to it. If it's in the afternoon, I'd recommend against having visitors just because I've seen quite a few women vomit afterwards and you may feel lousy.