C section

My plan was to go natural with my twins, however baby A, who was in position since hour zero has decided to keep flip flopping the past few weeks and even change positions mid ultrasound. My doctor feels a c section is the better option and safer option at this point. For those that have had a c section, can you share your experience? Also any tips for before, during and after would be helpful! Anything I may feel during or how to care for myself before and after!

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I had an emergency c-section with my daughter and will be having a repeat-C this time around too. My biggest suggestion is as soon as they let you get up and move. The more you walk the better you feel. I felt pretty good after my c-section. The worst pain for me was the gas pain I got up in my shoulder after the surgery. They can give you gas pills so you can ask for those. The hospital I delivered at gave out belly binders too which was helpful the first few weeks home. My doctors also had me use the thick hospital pads over my incision, soft pad side on the incision, to prevent anything from irritating the area. If you have any questions, let me know!

C section

I've said this a million times, but I had a c-section last year and I was walking around the next day, taking dd for hour long walks a week later. The whole experience was calm, she never left my side and my abdomen was sore but nothing terrible.

Not many of my friends have babies yet but of the ones who do I was the only one who had a c-section and I recovered significantly faster than any of them. They all had extremely long labors, tore horribly, some couldn't sit right for months. Obviously everyone's experience is different but I couldn't have been happier with how I brought dd into the world.

C section

Personally I would never choose to have another ever again. I had one after a failed induction. It was very rough for me, not just recovery but actually being awake while my insides were being taken out of me. It was extremely painful and a total mindf*ck. My recovery was not easy. Definitely walk as soon as you can. Warm ginger tea helped as well.

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I had no issues with the surgery really. They kept warning me I may feel nauseous but I was fine...right up until they brought dd over so I could finally see her. That's when I almost puked lol.

I was up walking a little by the end of the first day. The second day I was walking to and from the nicu, showered, and felt good. Walking is definitely helpful. At the same time, don't push yourself! Take it easy bc otherwise at the end of the day you'll be hunched over in pain.

My recovery was relatively easy. I was bordering on an infection in my incision though so I was put on antibiotics and had to get it checked a few times after discharge. All the appointments were rough bc you have to coordinate babysitters as well as rides to the doctor. It's definitely good to have plenty of help lined up.

Overall I had pros and cons to both types of deliveries. I wouldn't choose a cs if I didn't need it but it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd anticipated.

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I've had both. Wouldn't choose a C section if I had the option but it wasn't THAT bad. Just had DH keep talking to me during the surgery to keep my mind off it. Had to tell my doctor to stop telling me what he was doing but I get squeamish like that.

As most others have said, get up and moving ASAP. Don't overdo it but do get up and walk as soon as you're allowed. It hurts but I never took anything more than Tylenol and Motrin for the pain, just made sure I stayed on top of taking them when they were due.

Try to steal some of the mesh undies they give you in the hospital. They are amazing and I didn't realize how bad my "huge" granny panties would still feel. Guess I didn't buy them large enough and they kept wanting to rest on my incision. Also, pants that you can pull up to like your belly button and are super loose are helpful. I didn't want anything anywhere near my incision for a while.

If your bed at home is high you might want a step stool to get in and out. I know it helped me a lot in the first few days, as getting in and out of bed was pretty painful. I stole my older kid's bathroom stool.

C section

I have had one vaginal birth and one csection birth. Both had pros and cons to the delivery and recovery. Sending you a pm.

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I had an emergency csection first time. It was easy and not that scary. I recovered well. I am having another one and am not overly nervous based on my first experience.

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I had a planned c-section and honestly it was great. I didn't have to deal with labor.. the surgery was easy and like everyone else said walk as soon as you are able to. My recovery was fairly easy... hope everything goes great for you!

C section

Thank you all for the advice everyone I really appreciate it!

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I've had 2 sections and had completely different experiences with both. My first was not your typical experience. I had HELLP syndrome and was pretty sick for a few days after. I wasn't allowed to walk for 2 days following the section and ended up passing out the first time I stood. I also had terrible pain as I wasn't allowed to take anything more than Tylenol.

My second section was planned to keep the risk of HELLP low. I was walking later that evening and my pain was manageable. I didn't even feel the uterine contractions like I did with my first.

My best advise is to get comfortable underwear that won't aggravate your scar. They will give you underwear while you're there, but when you get home you'll still be pretty tender.

C section

I had two. I opted for both. First unplanned after failing to progress and an epi that didn't work and then I had a repeat in October at NSUH. Both we're very different experiences. The planned CS was cake!

Here's the long version of my experience.

It's all very civil. The day before youll go for pre op testing. They take blood, check vitals and give you an antibacterial body wash to wash with the night before. The day of you check into the hospital, you sit in waiting room, and they call you when their ready. You go to a pre op room and have your vitals taken, put on your gown, get an IV and liquids, all of your doctors will come in to talk about the operation and you'll sign stuff (your Ob and the anestheiologist). When it's time they'll wheel you into the OR. In there will be the OR nurse or nurses, anesthesiologist, your doctor and pediatric nurses may be there too (sometimes they come in after youve been giving the epidural or spinal tap). You'll sit on the table and get hooked up to various monitors. Then the nurse and anesthesiologist will give you the epi. Typically you sit hunched over back arched in the operating bed (which is surprising narrow). The nurse will hold your hand and calm your nerves lol. After that's done you'll lay down. You may get the urge to throw up. I did..I let them know, the nurse instructed me to tilt my head to the side, she ran over with a pan, while the anathesiolgist administered an anti nausea medicine through the IV which helped instantly. They'll bring in your DH or whomever is with you (1 person only during a CS). Your DH will be given scrubs to wear before he enters. Your doctor will come in if not already there. All the doctors and nurses do a roll call basically, annouce who they are and their role, who you are and why your there. They'll make sure your completely numb by doing a few tests. I was asked if I could feel a cold swab. Once you are fully numb they'll start. You won't feel a thing. The epi and other drugs may make you feel very drowsy. At one point I thought I may fall asleep, I couldn't keep my eyes open but I was fully awake and talking / joking with everyone. The baby is out within about 15 minutes. Youll feel A LOT of pressure when they remove the baby. If all is well, they'll show you the baby and then clean them, test them, etc. I think the baby was away for about 10 minutes. Then they gave me him and I did skin to skin while being stitched up. Definitely ask about this if you are interested. Closing you back up is the longest part maybe 20 to 30 minutes. I held my DS for basically the entire time. We had nurses take pictures and what not. It was really great. Then they'll bring the baby to the nursery for more tests and you to recovery. Baby will be brought to you in recovery room once testing is over. I started to BF in recovery. You'll stay in recovery with the baby until you can fully move your lower body (about 2 to 3 hours). In recovery they'll check your vitals every few minutes and you can finally have a drink!!! Once your good, they'll bring you and baby to your room.

You won't be in pain as the epi will be left in at least overnight but take all the pain meds away. You want to always stay ahead of the pain. I took all mediction prescribed and as recommended. I was up and walking night 1. A nurse helped me to the bathroom to get changed and cleaned up a little and put the belly binder on me (which feels great). You'll probably have the caterer in the first night (they put it in after your epi in the OR) so no worries about getting up to pee. The next day they'll likely remove that and the epi. You may not be able to pee for a few hours I remember it took a while and the nurses will measure what comes out that day.

Tips:
Walk as soon as possible and as much as possible (will help you heal and relieve any excess gas build up).
Request a stool softener if it's not given to you
Have DH or someone stay the night if possible
Send baby to nursery at least the first night so you can rest(it's also so hard to stand to get the baby)
When your home take it easy! You may feel great but give your body time to heal.
Use mederma cream to help fade the scar once given the OK by your doctor and "massage" the incision area
Take the mesh undies from the hospital home. Ask for extras. They are super comfy and won't irritate the incision.
Take the belly binder home too.

C section

Message edited 1/8/2017 11:36:34 PM.

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Don't be a hero. If you need the good meds during recovery, take them! Take the colace as well.

A blow dryer on cool air is great for drying the incision after a shower.

Don't be afraid to send the babies to the nursery so you can get some rest. Personally there was no way I could take care of DD overnight. It took me 15 minutes just to get out of bed to pee!

C section

Find it if your hospital has the mesh undies. Stony brook didn't give them nor did they give a binder.

Super loose undies and pants are a must, no rough elastic on the waistbands- just very soft and loose. They did give me menstrual pads to put over my incision and I wish I'd taken even more home. My mom couldn't find ones like it when I ran out.

C section

I have had two scheduled C-sections. They are a little scary but the main thing is to be calm and level headed. I tried not to focus on what was really happening and talked to my DH through the whole thing. I made sure I got up and walked as soon as possible. Both babies it was within 8 hours of getting out of surgery. Take your pain meds!!! The baby will be fine if you are nursing and they help so much! Stool softeners, good yoga pants with the waist flipped up, drink a ton of water! You will be fine!

C section

I had an emergency c section. I felt pain when they first went to make the incision so I spoke up and the anesthesiologist upped the meds. You definitely will feel them pulling and pushing to get the baby out but there was no pain after I spoke up. I did fall asleep after the baby was delivered and woke up again while they were stitching me up. It was definitely no as bad as I would have expected and I would definitely have another if I get pregnant again. Definitely get up and move around but don't over do it.

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DS was breech so I had to have a c-section. Honestly, it was a breeze. The recovery was a bit longer than my VBAC, but certainly not a "bad" recovery. The first day was the worst and it got progressively easier after that.

Honestly, every recovery is unique. I had friends who had much harder vaginal recoveries than either of my recoveries.

As for the surgery itself, I was in labor when I had the c-section and I was just so excited to meet DS that I was definitely not as freaked out as I thought I would be. There's a sheet up so you can't see anything. DH and the anesthesiologist were both by my head so I could ask any questions and I always felt like someone was "caring" for me while every other doctor was performing the surgery and taking care of DS once delivered.

My advice is to walk as soon as they let you (I think 12 hours) and let the nurses help you as much as you need in the hospital. Also, don't over exert yourself. No matter how you delivery, you just had babies, so take it a bit easy and let other people help you! You have the rest of their lives to be super mom...and you will be!

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I've had three. My first was not scheduled and notgood. I felt pain and even though they upped my pain meds it didn't help. They said the amount of morphine should have made me pass out but I didn't. I attribute this terrible experience to having the section after a long labor and my epidural being administered incorrectly initially (they punctured my spinal column).

Needless to say, I was so scared going into my 2nd, which was scheduled. But it was a breeze, except for a few seconds when pulling baby out and I had a moment where I couldn't breathe.

My 3rd, which was last July, was a great experience. They were able to give me the baby immediately after, which hadn't happened in the previous two. I felt no pain, no discomfort, nothing during the procedure. My recovery from this one was longer because my incision was oozing for 6 weeks and it was sometimes painful.

Tips- walk asap. Get some super large undies, mesh if you can. I bought some off amazon because Huntington doesn't have them. Take the pain meds! This last time I ended up being on the Oxy on and off for 6 weeks. It wasn't what I wanted, but you need to do what you need to do.
Make sure to take it as easy as possible for the first two weeks. You'll need to avoid stairs if you can so think about sleeping arrangements.

C section

Thank you all! Taking everyone's advice and getting ready.
Has anyone tried the Tena or Depends mesh underwear? I bought underwear for delivery thinking I would have a vaginal delivery and realizing I need to change what I have.
I made a list for my doctor for Wednesday's appointment. Things like instant nausea or any side effect I know will send me over the edge a little so I'm going to ask in advance for anti nausea medication and such.
A few people mentioned that their DH comes in after the spinal, DH isn't able to be in there? I'm nervous to not have my DH with me at all times.
Also, we are banking cord blood and need to contact viacord within 2 hours of delivery, is DH able to leave the room to do this or should I have my parents call?

C section

Also I have very poor response to pain meds- for example I had a drop of morphene once and had a full blown meltdown chest pains, couldn't breath for an hour should I write everything down in advance for the team?