Need BTDT C-section advice-long

[Nooknookmom]

Hello,

Here I am again! I may need to have a C and would like to hear from you how the deliveries went and how long/painful your recovery times were.

Due to some really bad back issues, and depending on how big this babe is, I may have to make the decision to have a C. Rather than put all of the force, contorting, etc. on my lower spine during a vag del.

The trouble I have w/ a C is, I would not have access to any help afterwards. My parents & in-laws live on the East coast (I on the West). DH will not be able to take time off b/c we run our own business and can't count on employees to actually do their jobs (another post, lol).

We have two large dogs that sometimes get into *tiffs* and I need to break it up. I don't know how much I can be pulled, how much I could lift, etc.

I could barely get off the couch after DD 1 was born due to an Episiotomy & severe tearing. I can't imagine the pain from a C and having to get up and down by myself.

So, I would love to hear from all of you experienced Mamas! TIA

[schums]

DS was born vaginally, and DD was a planned (although last minute) c-section. If I were going to do it again, I'd go for a planned c in a heartbeat. For me, the recovery from the c-section was SOOOOO easy compared to DS. I was playing on the floor with DC the night I came home from the hospital. I was a little slow getting up from the floor (and bed) for about a week or so, but other than that, it wasn't bad at all. After the first couple of days home, most of the pain was gone, even when getting up off the floor/bed. I don't think I took more than regular strength motrin after I left the hospital, the pain was that minimal. We did set up a changing/napping area on the first floor (wasn't supposed to climb stairs much a first), which did help a lot. Really, the worst parts for me were 1) the constipation and resulting first BM (I know, TMI) 2) not being able to drive for 2 weeks (only a pain for the second week, really) and 3) the itchy scar/stitches.

As for help, I'd see if someone from your family could come out for the first week you're home (even if you have to fly them out yourself). If not, I'd look into having someone come in to help even just a couple of hours a day while DH is at work. As for the dogs, no way could I have pulled apart 2 large dogs that were fighting or playing until 2-3 weeks post c, and even then I'd probably have felt it.

After my c-section, the doc said no lifting anything heavier than your baby for 6 weeks. Yeah, right, I had a 30 pound 17 month old at home. I tried to minimize the direct lifting (usually sat and had him climb on me/the couch) as much as possible tho.

HTH, and feel free to ask any other questions!
Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)

[egfmba]

Just had my second C a few weeks ago, so this is still fresh in my mind.

I had lots of people around after my first C, but no help, so it was a painful recovery, took much longer to feel better.

This time, I laid around for a week after the baby was born. DH waited on me hand and foot, and all I did was nurse DS2. Huge difference. I was ready to drive after a week, didn't need the pain meds any longer after a week, and now, at 3 weeks, feel almost as though I didn't have surgery at all. Huge difference!

I know you said you don't have a lot of helpful resources right now, but find a postpartum doula to help for at least 2 weeks after baby's born and you'll minimize recovery time and pain, IMO. Any less and you'll have a more difficult time.

FWIW, I went through labor both times before the C (second time I was trying VBAC, but had same problems as with DS1, so couldn't pull it off). I've heard a C w/o labor (contractions) is even less painful, but I've no personal experience.

You won't be able to lift much after the birth, and even getting out of bed will be a challenge at first (so will coughing, peeing, etc.). So, please do whatever you can to find some sort of assistance in the form of a postpartum doula.

The dogs are on their own, IMO. You pull them, you run the risk of pulling something in you that shouldn't be pulled, I think. Ask your doctor about the limitations they'll impose after the birth to get an idea of what you're facing. I was told nothing heavier than the baby in a carrier for the first several weeks.

Good luck, and wishes for a speedy, easy recovery.

eva

[bubbaray]

I've had 2 c/s's. 1st was an emergency c/s, 2nd was scheduled. The scheduled was WAAAAY easier to recover from, if I only had to choose between an emergency and a scheduled section, I'd take the scheduled hands down. Not saying a section is something I'd necessarily choose over a vaginal delivery, but if I had to have a section, definitely a scheduled is the way to go.

With both, I was up walking around later that day (both were breakfast procedures!). In the hospital for 3 days with both, feeling pretty good on day 2. Only pain relieve was regular strength Tylenol and Advil, no narcotics. Kinda tender, but nothing that limited my mobility (unlike what you see on the baby shows on TV). Took Tylenol/Advil combo for about 5 days post surgery (3 days in the hospital, a couple days at home).

Lifting, that's another story. Nothing heavier than the baby for 6w. No vacuuming. We have a large dog (80lb lab) and I definitely did not walk him on the leash (when he could/would pull) until 4w or so. I would say count on lifting nothing heavier than the baby and no pulling for 6w.

For me, the help I needed from DH in the early post-partum period had to do with recovering from the fatigue of the third tri and the surgery, as well as getting the hang of BFg (again). It wasn't so much related to the c/s, KWIM? Also, with #2, I needed more help with DD#1 -- couldn't lift her, etc..

I would hire a post-partum doula (I did both times). We have basically no family to help out either, though FIL did come into town for #2 to help with #1. Maybe your parents/ILs could come out and help?? Friends, church congregation, etc??

I kinda think the reality TV baby shows do a bit of an injustice to c/s recovery. I know quite a few people who have had c/s's and none of them received narcotics (like percocet) post partum, nor did they have mobility problems like I've seen on TV. In fact, I had more complications than anyone I know of IRL (had some problems with PP infections with #1, but that didn't limit my mobility).

If you have questions, feel free to PM/EM me.

ETA: I had no driving restrictions either time. I've never met another mom who had driving restrictions post c/s IRL. Maybe its common with moms who get narcotics post-operatively?? Not sure. The only thing that stopped me from driving in the first week was sleep deprivation, nothing to do with the surgery.


Good luck!

Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: 01/2007

[gatorsmom]

I've had 2 c's. The first one emergency, the second scheduled. Frankly, I thought the recovery was the same with both- I needed rest and help for the first full week out of the hospital. I stayed in bed a lot that first week and focused on the baby. My mom was with me for the first c-section. She did laundry, tidied the house, cleaned, washed dishes, and was there if anything needed to be done and for support. She also bathed the baby.

The second time my mother-in-law was there to care for our 2 year old while I was in the hospital and only for 4 days after I came home. I remember thinking I really needed her help for another 3 or 4 days. I was in pain and needed the meds but didn't want to take narcotics and be out of it with my 2 year old running around. KWIM? My husband couldnt take time off work and so lots of things didn't get done around the house. I basically stuck the 2 year old in front of the tv, laid around in my pjs and nursed and changed diapers. Not much else got done. You can't lift anything more than the baby and you shouldn't be moving around alot. A c-section is major surgery. So many people forget that.

With both deliveries, I remember feeling a lot better after the first week. Things start to pick up pace a bit and the pain has eased a lot. But you still can't pick up anything heavier than the baby.

Could you kennel the dogs for a few weeks? Or at least one of them? I asked my mother-in-law to fly here from Texas to help us. It was great one-on-one time for her with her grandchildren without mom around. Maybe you could persuade your parents or ILs to come help?

Oh, and hats off to those moms who took no pain medication other than tylenol and advil. I had to take percocet for the first week with both deliveries. The pain was just too much.

That being said, the fact that it was scheduled in advance was great. I was able to get all my ducks in a row and every thing prepared ahead of time. HUGE asset.

HTH!
Lisa
Mom to Gator July 2003
And Cha-Cha July 2005

[egoldber]

I've had three cesareans, one unplanned after a failed induction, one emergency and one planned. With all 3, I took percocet for about 10 days following the delivery. I was able to get out of bed and get around within a day following delivery, but for very limited distances.

Ironically, my third and only planned section had the worst physical recovery. I had some trouble with my incision not wanting to close. It never got infected, fortunately, but if I had overdone it, it easily could have. It took several weeks for the incision to fully heal, whereas with my first two the incision was almost totally healed by my 6 week check up. This time it took almost 12 weeks.

There is NO WAY I could have dealt with two large dogs following any of my c-sections. I had full-time help (MIL) for at least 4 weeks after my sections and I think that was about right. At 2 weeks I still needed help. By 4 weeks we driving each other a little nuts. So 3 weeks may be the right length of time LOL!!

So I guess I would be cautious of extrapolating from other people's experiences to your own. About 1 in 10 people who have surgery (including C-sections) experience some type of wound infection following surgery. And most doctors don't recommend driving for about 14 days following the surgery.

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

I've had 2 c's. One emergency,the second planned. The planned was definatly easier to recover from. The hospital kept my epidural line in for the first 2 days after ds was born and ran demerol through it so I was up and about as soon as they took out the cathater and let me out of bed. I think the hospitals pain managment helped speed my healing. After the demerol was percoset and I took that in the hospital steadily and as needed at home(mostly at bedtime).
The restrictions seem pretty much the same for everyone. No driving for 2 weeks, no lifting anything besides the baby,down the stairs in the morning and up at night. All pretty ordinary.
See if you can get some help in some way, flying in one of your inlaws or parents sounds easiest. You'll be glad you did. The last thing you need is to push yourself and get adhesions or wind up back in the hospital. HTH

[MissyAg94]

Recovery from my C-section wasn't bad at all for me. I didn't take pain meds after I left the hospital and I really didn't need much help after a few days at home. I would be concerned about the dogs, however, as you do need to be careful with the incision(s). All in all my birth and recovery were pretty easy. The worst part was getting out of bed the first time in the hospital. OUCH!

[erosenst]

I had a more-or-less planned c-section (planned a few days ahead of time, so didn't go into labor). The recovery was MUCH easier than I had anticipated. No real problems getting in and out of bed, driving after a week (and could have sooner, but nowhere to really go), off pain meds by the time I was home, no real limitations on stairs, etc.

A few things, though (didn't have time to read the prior posts, so sorry if I'm duplicating):

* Somehow, I missed that it was abdominal surgery, and was shocked by the bad gas pains one night in the hospital. Take all the gas meds they offer, and walk as much/as soon as possible.

* Stay all four days in the hospital, no matter how well you're feeling. If things are going well, ask the doctors to write orders that you're not to be disturbed the last night.

* Take all the pain meds - much harder to catch up with the pain than to stay on top of it, and there are no hero points awarded for NOT taking it.

The only real "problem" I had was that I spotted/bled for 12 weeks. ANYTHING that involved my abdominal muscles increase that - like pulling the kitchen trash bag out of the trash can. I didn't have add'l help at home, even though we had arranged for it if needed. I did have to learn to let stuff like that, and carrying laundry baskets up and down stairs, wait until DH was home.

Good luck -

[vonfirmath]

>ETA: I had no driving restrictions either time. I've never
>met another mom who had driving restrictions post c/s IRL.
>Maybe its common with moms who get narcotics
>post-operatively?? Not sure. The only thing that stopped me
>from driving in the first week was sleep deprivation, nothing
>to do with the surgery.

My sister had the no driving restrictions after all 3 of her C-sections.

[Leeannpk]

Just wanted to 2nd Emily's suggestions -

Stay all 4 days in the hospital and rest. It really does make a huge difference! I have had 3 c/s and with the last one I asked my doc for Ambien all 4 nights. I sent DS to the nursery (they brought him to me to nurse 2 or 3 times between midnight and 7 am) and I slept beautifully each night. I also took all my pain meds in the hospital (percocet and motrin) whether I felt like I needed them or not. Staying ahead on the sleep and meds made my recovery with #3 much, much easier than #1 & #2.

Congrats on your impending arrival!

Leeann

[wencit]

I had heard so many negative things about recovery from a C-section that I was prepared for the worst. But in all honesty, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. In fact, I tell people that learning how to breastfeed was more difficult and painful than recovery from this major surgery!

I did take notes from this board, however, and followed what I could remember in my sleep-deprived state. In the hospital, I got up and walked around as soon as the doctor would let me, as I heard that would speed up the recovery time. I took my pain meds because, as a PP stated, I did not want to be writhing in agony from pain medication that wore off (had that experience with my epidural during labor and was determined NOT to let that happen after the birth, LOL). At home, my mom came and helped me out by cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, etc. Basically all I did for the first couple of weeks was nurse and sleep whenever I could. If you could possibly wing it, I would highly recommend either flying in your parents/in-laws or hiring a postpartum doula. No way would my recovery have been so smooth if I had not had any help. Also, some mother's groups have "in-a-pinch" or similar programs, so you might want to look into that. Even hiring just a mother's helper type person would be enormously helpful.

All in all, I felt about 90% recovered by the end of the second week. Of course, everybody is different, but it wasn't the horror scenario that I had imagined in my head.

Congrats on your impending little bundle of joy!

[hez]

Everyone's different, obviously. I would, however, advocate finding someone to help you for at least 2 weeks-- whether it's friends, family or 'hired help'. We have one big dog, and it was a relief not to have to walk down the stairs to let him out, for instance. And I wasn't supposed to drive for 2 weeks, which makes it difficult to get in for those early well-baby visits unless you have someone to drive you.

After two weeks I sent my mom home & we managed. In hindsight, it might have been nicer for her to be here for one more, but I had asked her to come around my due date to keep me company. Three weeks total was enough time with her-- it just could have started later.

Lastly, take your pain pills, gas pills, etc. on time. I wrote up a schedule to help me remember what time everything was due. I got off track once and paid for it. Everything was manageable otherwise. Of course, I say that, and there's 3 1/2 years of haze clouding some of those memories ;)

[elephantmeg]

I was sent home with instructions not to do laundry/cooking/cleaning x2 weeks and my MIL and my grandma took turns staying with us that first week (DH had just changed jobs and had to go back to work when we got home from the hospital). I think 1 week of full help and then a second and maybe a third week of part time help would have been perfect-although with another child etc to care for, well, I think I would look for full help for at least 2 weeks! I had trouble at 6-7 weeks walking our small (25 lb) beagle-I felt that her pulling really stretched my incision. In terms of pain, I got 2 doses of toradol IV in the hospital and then took motrin the rest of the time. I was sent home with percocet and took 3-4 of them (out of 30!), I found that by mid afternoon I needed something more than the motrin which I took religiously. They also had me on colace to prevent constipation and that combined with tons of fruits and veggies worked great. Can one of your parents come (or each for a different week with your DH doing the weekend so you have some time just the 4 of you? Looking ahead to a second c-section sometime in the future I think I will welcome and plan for a bunch of help-so DS gets time with me and fun time too and I get naps and food.

BTW DH's cousin delivered sometime before I did and had episeotomy and was on pain meds much longer than I was. She also ended up with yeast so that probably made it harder too.

HTH and good luck!

[gisele]

I had an emergency C-section the first time, and a planned C-section just this past Dec. The planned was way easier. I was up and about much sooner than the first time, but I think part of that was due to the very long labor I had. The first night isn't so great, but once the catheter and IV are out the next day and you can get up and move around it was ok. I didn't have too much problems with digestion and gas. I was eating eggs and bacon the next morning. I also ate prunes (checked them on the hospital menu!) to help get things going so I didn't have to take any pills. I had a few BM while I was still in the hospital so not constipated at all. I took Vicadin for a day, and just ibuprofen the rest of the time. Before leaving the hospital I was getting in and out of bed myself and walking around. When I got home I could get around fine, breastfeed fine (I started breastfeeding in the recovery room, less than an hour after she was pulled out). I took ibuprofen at home for about a week and then didn't need it anymore. I only had a little soreness around the incision.

[o_mom]

Every c-section mom I have met has had driving restrictions for 7-14 days. One it took a month before she even felt confident that she would really be able to hit the brakes hard.

However, I will note that that my discharge instructions after a vaginal delivery also said don't drive for 7 days. It was after I took DS2 to the ped and BF support group that I finally noticed them.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I read that chewing gum hlps with the gas pains b/c it gets more saliva flowing and thus passing through the system. Something simple to try if you don't feel like eating or drinking much..

Beth