If I’d explained during recovery it would be “really sore, would never do it again” type of post.
But I’m due DC2 in March and although I’m going for a VBAC, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid at having another c-section if I needed to.
DC1 was born at 47 weeks due to IUGR; the c-section was calm, everyone was chatting away. Baby was out within 7 minutes of me being numb.
I was most nervous about the spinal and if I would get the sickness rush when you blood pressure lowers (I did, I told him I felt sick, he put something in to counteract it and it was over in 30 or less).
Also with the spinal when they say “let me now if you get pins and needles sensation” - I thought that meant gradually, it’s not, it’s a shooting of pins and needles in a split second and it made me jump with the needle in my back so I wish I’d known beforehand it wasn’t a gradual thing 🤣 was fine though, didn’t hurt, didn’t do any damage.. I just felt a right fanny jumping out of my socks.
Feeling numb was fine, I was wanted when they put the compression socks on “you might not want to watch as most people don’t like seeing us do this while they numb as your legs feels like they’re still on the bed while we’re doing it” - so I decided I’d watch, wish I hadn’t. It was weird, very surreal feeling seeing your legs in the air in someone’s hands but feeling like they are heavy on the bed. I won’t watch next time it just gave me a weird feeling🤣
Accept the drugs if you itch; I didn’t and I looked like a hero on addict scratching at my face for a couple hours after DC was born! Next time I’ll accept the drugs but I have anxiety around having medication so didn’t want to at the time.
Don’t be afraid to ask for more pain relief if you need it; the midwives were really on top of my pain for the majority but there was once when we asked 3 times for our next lot of pain relief and it still didn’t come until my friends mum came onto the ward to see me (midwife) and got me some 🙈
Getting up stings, not badly, but the knowing you have an incision on your lower belly while getting up makes the stinging mentally worse. Use your arm strength to pick you up and try not to tense your stomach muscles.
Recovery is sore, no doubt. The best way to recover is finding a good balance of doing absolutely nothing but holding and feeding the baby but also making sure after maybe the first few days-week start getting up and wandering around the house (I don’t mean start doing loads of laundry) just making a cup of tea, wander into the garden for some fresh air. As moving the muscles a little can aid healing too.
With the pain, for me anyway, I got about 2/3 weeks in and thought I was never going to feel normal again, felt like I was improving much at all on the inside, less stinging on the actual outside cut but still so so achy inside.. then one day I woke up and it was like someone had flicked a switch in my pain, I felt 70% better overnight, then recovered more and more by the day from there - so when you feel like you’ll never feel normal, you absolutely will, and soon!
Don’t wash your incision with soap, just let water run over it, don’t let anyone tell you to dry it with a hairdryer, you’ll blow lint into it and it’ll get infected.
Double up on the super thick maternity pads, put one in for bleeding as normal, then one stuck to the inside of your knickers over your incision; it he’ll draw out any moisture which helps heal, and it acts as a hit of a cushion to press on when coughing, laughing, sneezing ect. I think this is probably my best piece of advice for anyone having a section, are the big thick pads on your incision, was life saving!
The first poo: I read horror stories about the first poo after the c-section, it absolutely terrified me. I asked in the hospital for laxatives to go home with and they gave me lactoluse. I took it as instructed, then when the time came I cried walking up the stairs remembering what I’d read, my mum stood by the door for moral
support.. it was absolutely fine; pushing make my muscles ache, the incision stung a tiny tiny tiny bit, but my god.. if I could throttle the people who wrote the horror stories online I would have 😂 I worked myself up so much about it to the point of tears and the actual event was nothing! Obviously like when your straining to sit up, lie down, cough ect the incision and muscle is sore, it was no different to that when going to the toilet. So whatever horror stories you read, take with a good pinch of salt. I’m the biggest wuss in the world and it was a fine experience.
The only thing that hindered me was my own anxiety, I have general anxiety anyway and have done since my early teens, I’ve had therapy ect and it will always stick with me but I manage. I think if I didn’t have so much anxiety already I would have had a really positive recovery in the moment. But because I spent the entire 12 weeks worrying about the smallest of things it made me hate it. - but if I need another I won’t be half as anxious as I was the first time around.
Take that as you will, I like to try and be as transparent as possible, it’s not all sunshine and roses, but it’s not all doom and gloom either. Wishing you the best luck! 🥰