C-section tomorrow for 1st baby. Any tips/advice?

[dreamerkr]

Hey guys! I have my ELCS tomorrow at 38 weeks for my first baby. Does anyone have any tips or advice? Anything would be helpful at this point and much appreciated!

Make sure you have loose comfortable clothes to wear afterwards, take some peppermint tea to have the next day (belly bloated and midwife advised this to get rid of the wind), take all the help you can - don't try to be independent... it hurts!! Remember you have been through major surgery and give your body time to heal.
But mostly enjoy your beautiful bundle of joy, it's overwhelming and I found my c section brought on lots more emotions than natural birth... allow them to be what they need to be. Good luck, parenting is the best job in the world - the most tiring but the best xxxx

Ah so exciting, good luck! Things I'm glad I had in hospital was a long cabled phone charger and a large water bottle as wasn't easy reaching most things. Mine was unplanned but having a planned this time and due to covid my husband could only visit for an hour so was stuck alone not able to move for quite some time!
At home my husband rearranged some things so I reduced my need to bend down, for example putting things I might need higher up and we got a cheap changing table off fb market place for downstairs so I could reduce the need to go up and down the stairs. Quite simple things but really made a difference.
One thing I'd also do this time is take a cushion to put against me on the drive home, that was not a nice experience@!
Good luck, I had a great c-section recovery so hope yours goes well too.

Hi! Sounds obvious but try to relax as much as possible . There will be quite a few people in the room, I wasn't prepared for this with my first one and it really made me anxious. But with my second one I knew this would be the case and it was a breeze to be honest . My last one six months ago I was allowed to bring a playlist on my phone they played on a speaker, is that something you'd like ?
It was pretty chilled out , I had my phone and was texting away!
For the recovery try and get up and moving as soon as you can . I was out of hospital the next day, although it is can stay longer if you need it . All the best !

Take the pain relief on a schedule, don’t wait for it to hurt. Get up and moving asap afterwards, it’s not easy but honestly it really helps! Screw the housework for a month as bending/twisting is the worst for recovery.
Good luck!

Look at natural.c section info and see if it's of interest to you. Lots of information out there about the microbiome and how to reduce the impact of baby missing out on the journey thru the birth canal.

If you want to improve your chances of a good start to breastfeeding see if your midwife can give you information on colostrum harvesting before baby is born. Make sure everyone knows you have colostrum with you so it actually gets used if needed instead of defaulting to formula.

Make sure you have no nail varnish on your fingers and toes.

Do a trim of your public hair around your knicker line....or they'll ask you to do it in the hospital with a crap disposable razor. Maybe ask your midwife about that too.

Take all the drugs they give you!

Ask for skin to skin directly after the birth (& it is a birth). It's so good for mammal mothers to have some of the birth goo from baby actually touch your skin - really helps with bonding. Google it

Ask how long you can have skin to skin before weighing baby. Some hospitals will wheel you into recovery with baby on your chest skin to skin - every hospital is different (unfortunately)

Prep easy to digest good, soups etc, and task a member of the family (or 2) with keeping you fed...both in hospital and for the next few weeks. You are recovering from a big operation and have the double whammy of caring for a newborn. Prioritise your rest and recovery over housework or looking after house guests.

Oh lovely first cuddles. I hope it all goes well.

I had a pair of yoga pants with a enormous fold down waistband. That was super comfy to wear as no pressure.

Bring home all the drugs they offer and don't get robbed off with some paracetamol. Manage any pain properly for a few days and don't wait for it to hurt first.

Weirdly post surgery like someone gave you the abs work out from hell. Like you've been punched hard and laughing/sneezing etc hurts. You will lever yourself up and down as though still heavily pregnant as otherwise you are using the muscles that have just been damaged.

So choose your chairs/sofas carefully. Too low and you will have to roll out sideways. Tricky when holding a baby. For feeding sit as upright as possible before someone hands you the baby. You can then settle into a comfy position. Again, you will engage your sore abs muscles to squirm more upright if you have a babe in arms.

It was a week to 2 weeks if memory serves. After that you can hopefully slow down the meds and will be more mobile.

Liquid iron supplements (in orange juice) if anaemia is an issue.

My only child was born via EMCS.

Afterwards, I always took the painkillers offered by the nurses, even before I really needed them. I think this really helped. The pain kicked in about a day after the surgery, but I was as ready for it as possible.

During the surgery, I had a catheter put in. I didn’t like the idea of it and had it removed as soon as the nurses would allow it. I regretted this - for a few hours afterwards, I could feel my bladder filling up, but I couldn’t empty it. I was so glad when this resolved itself. The actual removal was painless, by the way.

For about three days after the CS I had a big cannula with dangly attachments in the back of one hand. The made changing nappies more difficult, so I’d ask for help.

Once I was able to get out of bed, I had to find a new way of getting up without using my abdominal muscles. I can’t remember exactly how I did this, but I think I sort of rolled out, feet first.

I had a fairly easy recovery. It was nowhere near as bad as I’d feared. If I had a second baby, all things being equal, I’d prefer to have another CS.

Get up and about asap. This is really important for recovery and preventing clots. And when you're up, stand up straight. You will want to hunch in a protective way and it feels a bit like you will tear open when you stand tall but it's just the pulling on your wound and muscles in a way that's unfamiliar. Hunching will just make other muscles sore.

A CS is just weird. It's not scary really. You can feel things but with no pain. So you will feel them rummaging - somebody on here once said imagine you're a handbag and somebody's looking for their keys - and you will feel pressure but you won't feel pain. Be prepared for them lifting your legs once you're numb and thinking "who do they belong to?!"

I could move my legs well while still in recovery and once back on the ward, could move around. I had the catheter out within a couple of hours each time and was up and about and in the shower within 3-5 hours. Home the next morning both times.

I didn't have any pain and didn't take any painkillers. Only discomfort was trapped wind which I felt in my shoulder. This is normal and peppermint helps. Tea isn't as good as the capsules which are stronger. Our hospital makes up peppermint water for CS patients on a schedule. Check with the midwives as too much isn't recommended when breast feeding.

Sliders are good for showering, big pants and soft waisted trousers are the best clothing options. The physio will see you before discharge and go through how to move while recovering.

You might have a sluggish bowel due to the surgery. In fact it's likely. Hence the trapped wind. Don't be alarmed by the passing of said wind. Plenty of fruit and fibre to get things back to normal.

I was starving post both CSs as I'd laboured as well but assuming you're nil by mouth, you may well be hungry too. Take snacks!

Thank you so much guys!

Good luck!

Good luck today xxxx