@AlM93 I had one 2.5 weeks ago. My first was a natural birth, but the one I just had breach amongst other things, so we had a planned C section. I was pretty nervous, don't love the idea of being cut open, having a needle in my spine etc, but I'd say that overall it has been a better experience than my first.
Re. the actual C section, I was told to fast from 12 hours prior, turned up that morning 2 hours before it was due to start. They pushed through 3 bags of IV drip fluids, put me on a monitor for the time before etc. The dr doing the anaesthetic was really good, the nurses really nice, it was so bizarre walking to the operating room just like oh hey this is totally normal. They used some local numbing something before the spinal, so I felt an initial bee sting from that and then that was all. They had me lie down, said that I would begin to lose feelings in my legs, which I did, and then they tested to see if I felt anything (I assume a needle, but who knows). I was also told it was normal to feel cold while the anaesthetic kicks in, but I had the ooposite and felt hot and a bit sick so told them and they must have adjusted something in the IV as I felt normal very quickly. The OBgyn doctor came in, did the initial incision, chatted to the other doctor also there, very relaxed. There was a little pressure feeling when they popped out the baby, i think they apply pressure to the top and pop them out the hole. It was really very fast. I've heard it is usually 5-10 minutes after the start, and you are in recovery by 30-45 minutes. Theres a good podcast I was told to listen to called maybe baby by kate lawler and in one of the episodes a guest talked over her experiences of a natural birth and a c section. I'd recommend listening to that.
Re. recovery, mine has been fast. I'd been told to get up and moving as soon as possible which I did. I started taking 10 minute slow walks 3 days after the surgery and now im 2.5 weeks after it and I feel very normal again. If I overexert myself the incision will feel a bit stingy the next day. Take the painkillers at the times you are meant to for at least the first week, I was off them completely by day 10, up walking around, bending over. The weirdest thing was the water retention post surgery which took a week or so to go down. I had sausage feet for a while. I used a belly band and then leggings with compression top to help support the incision. I had a friend who had one and used an ice pack inside the belly band on the incision, though her recovery seemed slower than mine. On the upside with a c section, i'm having no feelings of "i'm going to pee myself" when walking/jogging/sneezing this time which is honestly such a relief. My main fear post C section was covid, as I can't imagine needing to cough without being able to move my stomach fully, it would just be incredibly painful. So please mask up/stay away from crowds. Hope that helps!