Tomorrow is the *BIG* Day!

[OctoberMommy2010]

I'm so excited! Dr's office called today and said they could move up our c/s. We are now scheduled first thing tomorrow morning (surgery at 7:30am!) That is a lot more appealing than 5:00pm. We get to meet our little mystery peanut in less than 24 hours. :yay:

C/S Mamas - do you have any advice? Is there anything I should know prior to going in? Is there anything special I should plan to take with me to the hospital? Thanks for your help!

[truly scrumptious]

No advice but just wanted to say congratulations and good luck! Hope everything goes smoothly and you're home with the LO soon!

[citymama]

Congrats and all the best with the birth! Enjoy your new baby cuddles. :heartbeat:

[luckytwenty]

Good luck and how exciting!!!!

I have had two (one emergency, one a few days earlier than scheduled) and have another one coming up.

My advice:

1. Make sure you have someone who can drive you around for at least a few days after you're home from the hospital. You can't drive while taking the pain meds, and I used mine for about a week.

2. Post partum underwear will matter a lot because of the incision! Those mesh panties they give you at the hospital are great. After that, you won't want anything to be near the incision, including pants and panties.

3. Get up and walk around as soon as they say you can. I did, and I think this really helped me recover fast.

YAY!! Happy birthday to your baby tomorrow!!!

[Drag0nflygirl]

Welcome mystery peanut! :yay:

[jgenie]

Congrats and good luck tomorrow!!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Good luck!!

One that I read is to chew gum while recovering in the hospital. Gets the saliva going and that stimulates the digestive system.

Beth

[happymom]

Congrats! How exciting! You can do a search for advice about c-sections, but off the top of my head-

1) Take your laxatives!! You do not want to deal with constipation in addition to recovery. Even if you are feeling ok, just take them to prevent constipation. Trust me.

2) Big granny panties to hold the gauze in place, like PP mentioned.

3) Follow their instructions about not lifting and avoiding stairs. It really makes all the difference in recovery.

4) Noone told me this in advance (well, my c-section was emergency so maybe thats why!), so I'm filling you in in case you dont know already. I was not allowed to eat solids after the c-section until I passed gas. Its embarressing to even type that, but its true! Just giving you a heads up. They want to make sure your systems are working properly etc. DD was born at 7:15 on Friday morning and I did not eat until 4pm Saturday afternoon.

Good luck! So excited for you!:yay:

[BabyBearsMom]

Even if you feel okay, follow the rules about lifting and stairs. I was feeling fine after a week and tried to do some light lifting and went up and down the stairs a few times...HUGE mistake. I was in terrible pain and it took me several more days to recover.

You are going to do fine. Congratulations!

[KrisM]

4) Noone told me this in advance (well, my c-section was emergency so maybe thats why!), so I'm filling you in in case you dont know already. I was not allowed to eat solids after the c-section until I passed gas. Its embarressing to even type that, but its true! Just giving you a heads up. They want to make sure your systems are working properly etc. DD was born at 7:15 on Friday morning and I did not eat until 4pm Saturday afternoon.

Good luck! So excited for you!:yay:

Depends on the doctor though. After DD, I had soup and a sandwich in recovery. That was around 8pm and less than 2 hours after she was born. The next day I ate completely normal. I recovered faster and had more energy because I had calories in me. I did the same with DS2, at my request.

For the actual c-birth, if you want your arms free, let them know. If you want the curtain lowered a bit to see over it at the time of birth, let them know. If you want to see the baby close up before they wisk him/her off to be cleaned, etc, let them know.

Yes to the get up advice! I got out of bed ASAP and moved myself to a chair. It was so much nicer than the bed.

At home, I used a laundry basket and filled it with anything I needed in the morning while upstairs. DH brought it down for me. I reversed it at night. I included a book, water bottle, slippers, etc. It was easier than telling him what I needed.

Good luck and congratulations!

[HonoluluMom]

No advice on c-section, just congratulations and good luck!

Just a few practical tips.

Be sure to really savor the first few hours and days with your little one. If you feel up to it, write down your feelings and thoughts and the events as they happen. Because so many things happen the hours and days after birth, you may not remember how you felt the first time you fed your LO, the first night you spent together, the first time you changed a diaper, etc.

Also, be sure to take a lot of pictures and video and make sure you get photos of YOU with you LO (I have tons of pictures of DD and DD with family, but only a few of me with DD).

Good luck!

[cindys]

Good Luck tomorrow! How very exciting!!

I have had 3 c/s's and all I can say is just enjoy every second with your new baby and take lots of pics....

And dont be afraid to use your pain pump or to let the nurses and your family help you and take care of you :)

Cindy
Mama to 3 boys...19, 4 & 23mos:heartbeat::heartbeat::heartbeat:

[bostonsmama]

I recently went to a breastfeeding class (don't know if this is your plan), but the LC said to ask the nurses to leave baby's hands unwashed b/c baby's like the smell of your amniotic fluid still on them, and it's comforting/not so traumatic, esp if baby has to wait to see you for a couple hours while you're in recovery. After a C-section, if you have to wait more than 2 hours to see baby (the optimal window for a first breastfeed), undress baby to a diaper and put him/her against your bare chest between your breasts/under your chin, straight up and down for kangaroo care for at least a half hour. You can put a blanket OVER the two of you to keep baby warm, but not between you and baby. This should wake baby up a bit, and when you start to see him/her making feeding cues (rooting, bringing fists to mouth, etc), then attempt your first feed.

Good luck!

[luckytwenty]

I recently went to a breastfeeding class (don't know if this is your plan), but the LC said to ask the nurses to leave baby's hands unwashed b/c baby's like the smell of your amniotic fluid still on them, and it's comforting/not so traumatic, esp if baby has to wait to see you for a couple hours while you're in recovery. After a C-section, if you have to wait more than 2 hours to see baby (the optimal window for a first breastfeed), undress baby to a diaper and put him/her against your bare chest between your breasts/under your chin, straight up and down for kangaroo care for at least a half hour. You can put a blanket OVER the two of you to keep baby warm, but not between you and baby. This should wake baby up a bit, and when you start to see him/her making feeding cues (rooting, bringing fists to mouth, etc), then attempt your first feed.

Good luck!

This is GREAT advice, but hopefully won't be necessary! I've had two c-sections and was able to nurse within 20 minutes both times.

[MoJo]

Looking forward to welcoming your mystery peanut!

[ThreeofUs]

No advice but hugs!!!

Best of luck and can't wait to see your new Little One!

[Indianamom2]

No c-section advice, but I just wanted to send you a great big "Good Luck!"

Enjoy every precious moment of getting to know your new little baby. It will go incredibly so much faster than you can imagine.

Best wishes for a safe and healthy delivery and a speedy recovery. :cheerleader1:

[catsnkid]

I had one at midnight due to failure to progress while being induced.. I had breakfast the next morning. Bring along anything special to eat or drink you like.. I was thrilled to drink my diet coke after being away from it for 2 days. I didn't take any narcotics following c-section, I was afraid I would fall asleep while holding baby. But get a take home prescription, you never know.. I had to use mine for dental pain as I got a big filling 10 days later.

[nicoleandjackson]

How exciting! Best of luck to you!