Gina
Latest posts by Gina (see all)
- Things to Know About Having a C-Section - February 4, 2013
- 10 Gross Things You Hope Your Kids Will Never Do (But Probably Will) - January 21, 2013
My first son was delivered via c-section at 35 weeks after an ultrasound revealed he ceased growing due to placenta previa. I knew early on in my pregnancy that it was a possibility I wouldn’t be able to deliver vaginally, but being in denial, I never bothered to ask what the recovery process was life if I did indeed go under the knife.
I figured, by comparison to pushing a baby out and getting ripped from the rooter to the tooter, a c-section would be a cake walk.
Sitting in my OB’s office, hearing that I was heading over to surgery and would have a baby by happy hour, I was scared and ill-prepared. I didn’t know what I was in for, exactly. I just figured they’d wheel me in, I’d lay there like a corpse, and then hours later I’d be sitting up in bed, holding a baby, looking glowing and happy in an adorable robe like Rachel in Friends.
Sucker.
This is, after all, major surgery. I mean, my husband saw my intestines being pulled out, for crying out loud. If that doesn’t buy you a night out by yourself when the baby is older, I don’t know what will.
If you’re thinking that a c-section is a possibility for your next birth, perhaps my ignorance can spare you a few headaches and worry. Here are some things I learned:
The operating room is as cold as the polar ice caps and the stuff they put in your IV only makes it worse.
With my first c-section I was shaking so much I was convinced the anesthesiologist would miss his target with the spinal block and I’d come out of surgery a paraplegic. I had absolutely no idea my body was capable of shimming that fast. Watch out, Shakira, those hips don’t lie. They’re scared shitless.
Think you won’t feel a thing? Think again.
While you won’t feel them cutting or feel pain, no one told me I’d feel all this tremendous pulling as they pried my son out of my body cavity. My OB warned me “Okay, you might feel some slight pressure.” Slight? This is not a flu shot, people. I don’t call the sensation of someone yanking a bowling ball out of my loins a slight sensation.
Don’t say no to drugs.
They get you pretty doped up in surgery and at first I willingly took the hard core pain meds they give me. But at around 28 hrs post surgery I felt pretty good and though “Nah, I’ll skip meds this shift.” Bad idea. Worst idea I’ve ever had. You’re not only dealing with the pain of getting your insides ripped open and sewn back together, but you’ve also being visited post-delivery cramping because the baby isn’t paying rent anymore. They tell you to stay one step ahead of the pain. I prefer to be a football field ahead.
Your ability to laugh like a normal human being will be put on hold.
Ditto for sneezing, pooping and coughing. The advice is to hold a pillow over your incision if you need to perform any of these actions, and though it may help a tiny bit, you’ll still find yourself making motifications. Your sneezes will become the tiny, restrained kind that only Disney Princesses can attain. While in the hospital with my son, my husband cracked a hilarious remark that caused my body to produce such a high-pitched hyena snicker that the nurses went running to call the psych ward.
Think your intestinal tract was screwed up when you were pregnant? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
With my son, I didn’t take a dump for seven days. SEVEN. POOPLESS. DAYS. Mass quantities of fiber didn’t get things moving along. Five days after delivery I finally got the urge and 50 sweaty minutes later, I came up empty. It was as if the kids climbed up the ladder of the high dive, tip-toed out to the edge of the board, took one look down and said “No way in hell, lady” then made the slow, shameful climb back down. Arm yourself with some goodies like apricot nectar and prune juice. Think “retirement home beverages”.
The area around your scar will never, ever, ever get feelings back.
The skin around my incisions still has very few nerve endings, four years after my last c-section. That area will still get itches that I can’t scratch, but I power on, digging at it like a meth addict. I have high hopes I might regain sensation, but at this point, I have as much chance as Lindsay Lohan staying out of jail.
Yet, despite knowing all this, after my first born, I still had another baby via cesarean. Being prepared for what was to come definitely helped ease my jitters. That, and sneaking a case of prune juice in my overnight bag.
{ 207 comments… read them below or add one }
You’re spot on! But there’s one thing I love about having the c-section, ahm..(clears throat) I’m still tight in there! :) plus I can sneeze without peeing.
That was funny!! And true. I’ve had four C-sections. It did get easier with each one. I can’t imagine doing it any other way now. Pushing a bowling ball through my Vajajay never sounded like much fun. Thanks for the laughs.
I’m jealous! I’m guessing it was the pregnancy itself that did me in, as I can’t sneeze, laugh, or cough without leaking, and it’s been 3 years since my last baby was born (they were both c-sections).
One word for you. Kegels!
Same here….I was fine after my vaginal birth. I looked a little different, but everything else worked well. After my c-section, not so much. It’s been nearly two years and I still haven’t totally regained my bladder control.
YES! I totally agree with you Jen. I had my son via C-section and my husband says as am tight down there as pre baby. I also have never once peed when I sneezed or coughed. Those are the ONLY consolation prizes tho. I too have no feeling in my stomach 3yrs post partum & get the “itches you can’t scratch” b/c there is no feeling. And I’m left with a glorious fat over-hang that is prone to topical yeast infections along my scar during hot weather. Sexy.
The itch thing drives me crazy. While I don’t have the shelf of skin over my scar as badly as I thought I would, the fact that I have no feeling there gives me the willies.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
See I had my son vaginally and the funny part about that is, I was the only woman in the whole Maternity ward that did so. I was also the youngest. Even funnier, I tore a little bit in delivery, and afterwards? I was TIGHTER down there than Before, AND i got to avoid that nasty incision scar, keeping all my tummy nerves in tact. The myths about vaginally delivery? mostly just that, myths.
Yes, check that one off in the Pro column!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Yup, had two of those myself. All sounds familiar.
I remember the first time, the day I was supposed to leave the hospital (Christmas day by the way), I didn’t take the laxative I had been handed because I thought I was already overmedicated and didn’t want to take yet another thing. When the dr dropped by to sign the papers to let me go home he asked me (in front of a roomful of people) if had… ahem… evacuated. I said no and he told me I wouldn’t be allowed to go home until I did, probably the next day.
The hormones were already taking their toll and images of another sleepless, painful night in the hospital and of the whole family waiting at home to celebrate Christmas lunch with us started the tears. I wailed so much a nurse came in and passed me a glycerin suppository when no-one was looking so an hour later, I was out of there! So yes, drink all the prune juice you can.
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The worst is that they don’t let you eat until you either pass gas or poop, and like the blog author, it took me DAYS before this happened. If not for the immense pain searing through my lower abdomen, I would have murdered a few nurses! My second time around, at a different hospital, they actually TRIED to get the process to move faster by giving me laxatives and all that, whereas the first hospital would do nothing of the sort.
It’s also a good idea to keep taking the laxative as long as you are on the pain meds b/c those actually cause constipation, which can be equally as painful as the c-section at times!
After the 2nd delivery, the nurse happened to explain casually why they won’t let you eat until you’ve passed gas. And I was terrified to eat a meal after that. What if I hadn’t actually farted and now my intestines were all a jumbled mess? Horrifying…I left with stool softeners, laxatives, everything short of an enema.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Thanks for the morning laugh. After my last C-section, I kept asking for blankets. Since they keep their blankets in a warmer, I left the ER with three covering my still-numb, still shaking body.
And every time someone made me laugh after my section, I always yelled out “STITCHES Ow!”
Ah this brings back memories. My stomach still has very little feeling down near the scar.
Also I was stupid and tried to recover too fast, this probably didn’t help my post partum depression but I was determined to not have anyone look after me. If I have to have a csection next time, I’ll be doing things differently.
I didn’t have a c-section & I have no issues with “tightness.” For all the reasons above and others I’ve read about, I’ve very glad I had the midwife I did & she was able to avoid a c-section for me (my labor wasn’t progressing well at first and it looked like it was going that way.)
I hear you, people talk about getting a c-section because it will be so much better than pushing a baby out. Are they crazy, I would have given anything to not have to pull or roll myself out of bed. Just when you think you get to sleep relatively normal again, forget it, I couldn’t sleep on my stomach even without a baby in there, totally sucked!!!
Yep! I nearly pulled over a “nurse” they sent in because apparently she didn’t get what “I have no stomach muscle control” meant.
I had 3 kids vaginally, and was planning on my fourth but he came early with placenta previa so I had to. IT was a nightmare. I would not have chosen it if I didn’t have to. But the Dr did a great job and the nurses at the hospital helped me get back on my feet pretty quickly. I do say it was not fun, but I am just glad he is here and safe.
You hit this dead on!!!! I have had 5 csections!!!! It never gets easier.
5?! Dang girl!! You’re much braver than I!
Ditto. Holy abdominal pain!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Well my original birth plan was a joke!! I wanted to deliver vaginally but it just wasn’t happening. After being in labor for 3 days my Dr finally decided to perform a c section with my first. I was so terrified that something like that might happen again (although I had a different OB/GYN and a different hospital) I didn’t even bother asking about a vbac for my 2nd!! Not to mention with baby #2 my water broke 2 days before I was scheduled to have him and for the 8 I sat in the triage waiting for my dr to get me into the OR I didn’t have a single contraction!! So I just came to the conclusion that my body doesn’t want me having babies through the va-jay. And I’m ok with that, especially since I had my tubes tied while I was on that operating table.
My OB did ask me when I was open if I wanted a tubal ligation, but it all felt too new and raw to make a decision. In retrospect? One stop shopping sounds kind of nice…
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
The hospital I had #2 at is a Catholic hospital and I had to have approval from the board of Nuns before it could be done, so my tubal was planned months before I had him. My husband and I both discussed and thought about it for a while and just knew that 2 was enough for us. I don’t have any regrets =). Everyone’s different and for those who want more than 2 kids (and actually take care of them) more power to ya! After already having one (who was 3 when #2 came) and knowing the costs of having another baby, affordability was a big factor in our decision. I looked at how much it will cost us to put 2 kids through college and about pooped my pants! I’m glad we just had the 2. =)
Mine was an emergancy section and was terrifying, I’m now 40+ weeks with number 2 and have to go on friday for a section if this lil girl doesn’t show up.
I wish I hadn’t been so blind to the fact that I could wind up having a section the first time and done some reading about it. I’m not looking forward to the new scar itching at all :(
Good luck! I think it’s easier the second time around, knowing what to expect. And I think recovery was easier as well. Still, it took 5 days to poop and 4 days for my milk to come in. I guess there’s just some things my body is slow to react to.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
My first was also an emergency and I had not read up on it or prepared myself so it was a terrifying experience. I agree that it is easier the 2nd (and 3rd) time around because you already know what to expect and can prepare accordingly.
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I’m still holding out hope that she’ll come before Friday but she seems to be stubborn like her mummy :)
The strange thing is that the only thing I’m even nervous about is the epidural/spinal even though I’ve had one and didn’t have any issues with it the first time O.o
I guess your mind just picks one thing to focus on and that is mine.
Fingers crossed this time will be a bit easier :)
I guess everyon’es experience is different. I felt NO pressure (even though I thought I would), my scar feels fine these days (11 months pp) and I took very LITTLE pain meds. However, I did have TERRIBLE nausea and can agree 100% on the “modifications” you’ll make to things like laughing or coughing. And standing up straight for the first week.
What, you don’t like the hunchback posture?
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
same here, my first one was an emergency and i was pretty drugged up so i don’t remember much but i never had that much pain, my sec one i had almost no pain and was trick or treating with my older daughter a week later. the only problems i had with both c sections are the bowel obstructions after but i know now that a laxative and enema will take care of that problem
My experience was exactly the same as yours. My scar is fine. Very little pain, within the week I was walking completely upright and all was good.
I’ve had two, the first was emergency and they had me so drugged up there are a couple of days where I only remember just tidbits, I was there for a week after. But something that happened after the second that I do not remember from the first, is the nurse massaging your uterus…HOLY SHIT LADY I JUST HAD SURGERY DOWN THERE!!!! Pretty sure the last time it was done, right before they discharged me btw, that BITCH was trying to make my belly button touch my spine! That was def. The worse part of the whole ordeal, for me anyway. And the incision did seem to stay sore longer the second time around.
My nurse had me doing that as well. It’s supposed to help, uh, expel all that “stuff” that would have come out during a vaginal delivery and help get your uterus shrink back to size. Hurts like hell, but I think it helps in the long run.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I used to be embarrassed about having 2 emergency C-sections (as if I could have controlled the circumstances of our children’s development and my body’s reaction to them) until I heard a comedian describe his own Cesarian birth this way, “Most folks use the door, I used the window”.
Love it!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I really didn’t think a c-section was bad, at all. No tearing, no pee accidents, and I was driving and walking around within a week without issue.
I describe the c-section baby removal as feeling as though I was a purse someone’s rummaging through to find keys at the bottom. No pain, just weird feelings.
Exactly! Rummaging around. In my pelvic girdle.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
You forgot to mention the lovely stomach bulge over the incision scar that you’re left with, which no amount of diet or exercise seems to eliminate.
FOR REAL!!! I asked on my 3rd if I could get a tummy tuck while she was in there. It didn’t happen dang it!
Amen.
Totally Agree!
I’m guessing we all had male OB’s cos a female MD would surely ‘understand’ the need to remove the ‘shelf’…lol I totally asked to have a little more skin cut out the second time…no luck!!! lol
Yep,def HATE that overhanging stomach,and I don’t care what anyone says,there is NO amount of sit ups,or diteing,or cream,or lotion,or anything else that will get rid of it. Its a tummy tuck or nothing. I HATE the way my stomach looks,its uncomfortable,and makes me look 10 lbs heavier. The entire experience was a nightmare,but I can move on and come to terms with that,my stomach tho is a damn reminder every…damn..day,and it pissese off to no end.
It’s all true. Nevertheless, we love our babies no matter how they get here.
I had a lonnnnggg labor with my first baby (as in two days long) so I had to have a c-section. Even if I could have pushed her out, I was too exhausted to do so. But that tough labor and c-section made the initial few weeks soooo hard. I couldn’t lift the baby myself. I was in a lot of pain. The surgeon had nicked my bladder and made me wear a catheter for TWO WEEKS! I think the trauma was part of the cause of the pain and difficulty I had getting breastfeeding started. And the emotional trauma of the whole thing affected bonding and caused some postpartum depression.
I just had my second baby and am so blessed to have had doctors who supported me in getting a VBAC. (I’ll admit in the middle of pushing, I was tempted to forget all of the above and tell them to “just cut the baby out of me” though!) My recovery has been insanely better. Emotionally, physically, everything…I didn’t even begin to approach recovered until 8 weeks postpartum with first baby. At six weeks postpartum after second baby, I feel great.
That part about the poops though…those are perhaps even more painful with vaginal childbirth. Holy hemorrhoids, Batman! Nevertheless, there are so many other benefits to vaginal delivery that I’ll take it!:-)
I hope your post won’t scare ladies who HAVE to get a c-section. If you’re prepared for what it’s like and have a good support system, it can be ok. You get through it. You do what you have to do. But avoiding major surgery if you can is always a good idea.
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I agree. Vaginal delivery wasn’t an option for me, but up until I had that defining ultrasound, I was armed with my birth plan. And I hope this post doesn’t scare people either. I was alone and unaware of ANYTHING, so all of this came as a shock. Looking back, I wish I’d done more research about c-sections. I guess I just figured if I kept my head down and kept preparing for a vaginal birth, my will would make it happen.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I have to say, I did have a c-section (not by choice) by my experience wasn’t as dreadful as yours. Maybe I just got lucky. I have the best dr in the world and he made it as stress free and pleasent as a surgery could possibly be. I was up that night going to the bathroom on my own. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t tickle but obviously everyones experience is different.
I do think that the situation you’re in makes a difference. With my second,I knew I was going to have a c-section, and it wasn’t an emergency situation, so the energy about it was different. As was the recovery. With my son, he was in the NICU and I couldn’t nurse, which probably didn’t help with hormones either.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I had 3 vaginal births and was back on my feet within an hour of each. I was bored and walking around the Maternity ward for two days trying to make the nurses and other moms laugh. I don’t envy the ladies that get c-sections. My vagina won’t ever be the same, but I think I got it pretty damn easy.
Eek, don’t forget the (evil) nurse who comes in to give the deep tissue “massage” to the incision area to make sure uterus is shrinking and avoid clotting.Evil winch. I know I’m deep down thankful but that is the part that makes me whimper and cry remembering. I don’t get to take the good pain meds (deathly allergic). I remember the pain with both kids, well. :-(
I had general anesthesia for my c-section, and when I woke up, I had the nurse’s wrists in my hands, and she was pleading for me to let her go! Even before I woke up I was trying to stop that massage!
So true! Mine was an emergency C-section in another country and they wheeled the shiny silver incubator up beside me so I could see everything happening on the other side of the curtain. I remember looking over in horror thinking “Oh my god are those my intestines piled up on my chest?” They were. They sent me home 22 hours later with just Advil and penicillin. Thankfully I had no clue what could go wrong. Ignorance is bliss. As I’m preparing for a second in a couple months everyone promises it will be better in America. Fingers crossed!
I just wrote a post below about my sister in law having a c-section in Germany just a few days ago. Read it. It’s number 28. American c-sections are so much better. Do not refuse the pain meds.
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My spinal wore off too soon with my last c section! i felt way more then just pressure it was not cool. Add to that having a cough from post nasal drip!! My doc had me on pain meds and cough meds. The nurses had no idea how I was not crying with how much I was coughing and nearly crapped themselves when I got out of bed and got dressed 5 hours post c section.
I didn’t have a choice with either of the births of my 2. I had an emergency c section with the first and it was terrifying. I thought I could feel them cutting me open so they ended up giving me a general anaesthetic. I couldn’t walk properly for 2 weeks.
I was so freaked out about the same thing happening the next time I opted for a general again. This time I healed so much more quickly but I do remember the pain when I coughed or sneezed.
Oh, the bulge! Still have it, nearly two years later.
I had an emergency c-section and hadn’t read anything about c-sections. I knew nothing about them. Everything was a surprise. I was in complete denial that a c-section was even a possibility. My recovery wasn’t so bad, all things considered. Just keep your expectations for yourself low, and don’t compare your recovery (or body!) to women who had vaginal births!
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A lot of this sounds familiar. For me, a few hours after the surgery, the pain meds started to wear off and the nurse told me I wasn’t “scheduled” for my next round yet, which resulted in me vomiting from the pain. Try doing that with recent stomach incisions; not fun. The nurse was putting a pillow on my abdomen with her full body weight as I heaved. I couldn’t get out of bed for 24 hours because it was too painful; all I managed was sitting on the edge of the bed and standing up for a minute or two. One thing I would recommend to speed along your first BM – Colace. I took one when I got home from the hospital and managed to pass one without pain or effort the next morning. I was fine in that department going forward after that. And yes, don’t pretend to be brave and decline the Percoset – it’s a Godsend!
Thankfully, I didn’t have to add nausea to my woes. How dreadfully awful for you! My nurse also made me a “cocktail” of warm prune juice and sprite with a Milk of Magnesia chaser. Still, my body held on those poops and would. Not. Let. Go.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I have had 3 C-Sections…each a different experience. My first was an emergency and I was so out of it, I woke up and my wrists were tied down to the operating table. I was not happy with the birth but my son was healthy. My 2nd C-section was so painful because the meds didn’t take and the anesthesiologist wouldn’t believe me and commented, “You’re just nervous dear”. Uhhh…you think? My doctor finally put me out to sew me up. My 3rd was perfect and I didn’t feel a thing…pressure but wasn’t terrible. I was awake, not out of it and enjoyed the birth….FINALLY..3′s a charm. http://www.mommymasters.com.
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I had to respond because just days ago, my sister in law just had a c-section in Germany. The baby was breech, she asked us American’s advice, we said c-section, as that would be less stress on the baby than trying to be turned or be born bum first. Big mistake. First, she didn’t get numb, they started cutting and she could feel it. They knocked her out. When she came to and hurt – SHE WAS DENIED PAIN MEDICATION!!! All she was given was Ibuprofin every 8 hours. Then, why on earth they did this …. it makes no sense to me – they put her on pitocin for a day AFTER SHE HAD THE BABY. No pain meds. She called my brother at 2 AM screaming in pain. She begs and begs for something, and they tell her it hasn’t been 8 hours yet, not time for an Ibuprofin. Plus, she is put in a room with 5 other women. No television. No telephone. Just a wooden cross on the wall. What a horror story. So, while reading this story you’ve posted and all the cringing I did, it makes me glad we are here in the US.
And – may I make a poop comment :) I had my back fused (no this is nothing to do with childbirth) when I was 24 years old. Two weeks from hell is the closest description I can come up with. Had meals being brought in for days. I ate. I did not poop for 17 days. Yes, 17. I had been taking the stool softeners (2) prescribed. Did nothing. Try digging that out when all you can do is sit up straight, not bend and sob. Horrid. So I liked some of the comments above on what to take. Colace? Looking at my 4th back surgery here in a few weeks. I will keep that in mind. Oh, and I’m only 34. Not some old prune juice drinking lady :)
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17 days? Holy crap is right. Apricot nectar mixed with 7-up worked for my first c-section. You may want to try something like Miralax too if it’s okay with your doctors.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
And the drive home where you are positive that your husband is hitting every pothole and bump on purpose because he obviously hates you? Awful.
We luckily lived close by and my husband was pretty gentle with the driving. The older child was not as forgiving when I came home with my daughter.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Oh dear god the memories. I delivered my twins via c-section. To provide some perspective, I’m 5-1 and at the end, my belly measured at 50 weeks (I was 38 weeks). Little did I know that after the delivery, my belly would still look like I was full-term pregnant, except instead of 2 wiggly babies, I had massive amounts of gas from all the air that got inside my body during surgery. I felt like a giant whoopy cushion.
50 WEEKS? As in 47, 48 49, 50? The gas that makes you feel like you’re having a heart attack? Yeah, that’s no fun either.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Yup 50 weeks. Like as in 25 times 2. Like as in no human should have a stomach that big, but I was rewarded with two full-term nearly 7-pounds-each twins. And stretch marks on top of stretch marks. :)
This is so true! The only thing I would add, at least for me, the first time I stood up after I thought I was going to die. Like actually fall down and die because it felt as though all my organs were going to fall out of this glued incision. It THANKFULLY only lasted a minute or two but it was terrible.
I did not get any incision massages- my uterus went down via nursing, that was painful enough. I had to get up and have chest x-rays 4 hours after I got back from my room, and I remember holding back tears the entire time and secretly hating ever getting pregnant. I also was blocked up- the noises and feelings my bowels made still haunt me. I had to spend a week in the hospital, and due to the crappy food and just sleeping and nursing all the time, I lost my preggo weight fast.
My last delivery was an emergency C…… The worst part was when they were putting me back together again. Whatever they were doing down there kept hitting my stomach, triggering a gag reflex, making me cough and pop all of my parts out again. The doc was yelling at me, my husband was yelling at me, and all I kept doing was dry heaving and scrambling my innards all over the OR table. Couldn’t help it. They finally drugged me up into near oblivion so they could finish stitching me up. It was awful. Oh, and afterward, when they were doing the first “up and out of bed” movements, my blood pressure bottomed out and I passed out in the bathroom. Good times.
Yikes !!! I see you are a nicer person than I am, I would have started yelling back when the doc was yelling at me. As far a husbands go, I would have reached for his.. you know… to let him experience some of the pain… lol
Overheard at my NYC book club:
Friend #1: “I’m going to have a C-section, because I have no interest in giving birth vaginally.”
Friend #2: “That’s so Upper East Side of you, A. On the West Side, we at least give it a try.”
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You might also warn women who opt for C-sections that the doctors my get the baby out but live clamps behind in your gut..little parting gift.
Hearing the nurses and the doc rattle off the checklist is both interesting and terrifying. I joked “You guys got everything?” but I don’t think it was taken to well.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Not to mention the withdrawal from the Anesthesia! I not so fondly remembering Vomiting the very first time I finally got to hold my first child. What a moment! And I was so exhausted because it was an emergency c-section after being in labor for 16 hours. At my hospital you were encouraged to have the baby in the room and I was only starting to get up to walk at 2am. My husband had to leave at 6am and I asked the nurse if she would take my daughter to the nursery. She made a snarky comment about how I was going to have to take care of her eventually. Bitch!!! She wasn’t allowed in my room again. My 2nd c-section was much easier because it was scheduled. I was rested and ready and knew what to expect. I still vomited the first time holding my 2nd daughter. At least its a story that I can share with both of them. My recovery wasn’t bad though, I was walking and driving and going up stairs only days later. I think it made my husband appreciate me more though after seeing my intestines outside of my body. He really appreciates what I went through. I do hate it when other mothers “pity” me because I didn’t go through childbirth vaginally. The one person that did no longer is allowed to speak to me either.
I guess it just depends on where you deliver. Our hospital was very Pro-Mom in that they made sure you got your rest. And while rooming in was encouraged, they’d take your baby to the nursery, no questions asked, and bring them back for feedings. They actually encouraged me to stay the full length my insurance would cover with my 2nd because they knew I’d be going home to a 3 year old. The nurses were so helpful and supportive that I actually cried when I got discharged. But I’ve also heard the horror stories as well.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
My first pregnancy was triplets and they decided to come way early! (26 weeks) and so I had an emergency c-section. My second pregnancy, I was told I had to have another c-section and for my third pregnancy… yep.. another c-section. I never had any problems after. The key is to get up and walk around the minute you can feel your legs !!! The coughing and laughing and sneezing… yeah that sucked having to have the pillows around all the time for that. So 3 pregnancies and 5 kids later, I’m still happy I had the c-section. I couldn’t imagine trying to push a kid out from there. I was there when my sister delivered her son. Scared me silly !! So for all you mommies about to go under the knife, take your meds, keep pillows handy, know that pooping will be the scary ( I mean… I never thought the idea of having to go would scare me. Unfortunately it didn’t quite scare the crap out of me), and as soon as you can feel your legs… GET UP AND WALK !!!! I had a faster recovery time than the other mothers who wouldn’t get out of bed because of the pain.
I do agree that getting up and making laps in the maternity ward can get you back up to normal sooner than later. With my second, I knew I wouldn’t poop for days, and spent the better part of an hour before surgery trying to “eliminate” before heading to the OR.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I just need to add one more thing to the list. I had a scheduled c-section with my son. After delivery he wound up with pneumonia. Apperently this can often happen and I was totally unaware. Since they don’t get the fluid pushed from their lungs as they come down the canal it stays there until the doctors/nurses get it out. I was fortunate to be in a hospital with a “special care unit” but he was on an IV and oxygen for 3 days and stayed for a week.
I didn’t know that pneumonia was possible, but that makes sense. Both my kids were delivered in Colorado, at high altitude. So both of them were blue at birth (blue hands and feet), which is pretty normal for c-section babies as they don’t get the pressure of your pelvis to get the fluids out. Luckily neither one of them required much oxygen.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
SOOOOO true and hilarious. Especially about the poop. I hadn’t gone for a week before my csec and after I didn’t go for another week and a half. HOLY HELL. My poor butthole. Trying to push a giant rock hard turd out while trying not to strain too much because your csec scar hurts….. I’ll definitely have lots and lots of prune juice handy for the next one.
If only this post had been around before my first c-section. The only thing anyone told me was that I should move around as soon as possible. This was not very helpful when I was completely high on pain medication.
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None of this scares me. I pushed out a baby that REALLY didn’t want to leave my uterus and was eventually vacuum suctioned out and I tore straight through my ass hole. Yup, a 4th degree tear. Everything you say applies to me. I still can’t shit right, 2 years later. I don’t give a shit what ANYONE says, I’m having a c-section next time.
Ouch! My friend ended up blowing her uterus out during her first delivery. Yeah…Im’ma let that image sit with you for a bit…completely scary! Talk about needing some Kiegels!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
You’re right about everything, but I would still choose c-section over vaginal any day of the week. I had just as much recovery time with vaginal because of the GIANT TEAR in my girlie parts thanks to my nine-pound baby. I didn’t have any trouble pooping after the c-section, actually, come to think of it… I’m the poster child for regularity, though, not sure if that has anything to do with it. With my vaginal delivery, it’s not that I *couldn’t* poop, it’s just that I was *TERRIFIED* to…
Oh this is going to be one of those “TMI” kinds of days, isn’t it? ;)
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I think it all depends on the person having the csection and their mindset etc. Was this your first pregnancy? You prob would have been just as scared and nervous etc had you delivered vaginally. You still would have had a needle in your spine for the epidural. First deliveries are hard no matter what because you have no idea what to expect. After being in labor with my first for 36 hours, because I didnt dialate properly, my Dr. said said we should go ahead with the c-section. I felt the pulling when the baby came out, which I dont think was nearly as bad as you described. I am not a fan of the drugs at all because they make you feel loopy and they also leave you constipated, which is probably why you had intestinal problems as you say. Ask any Dr. the drugs are the reason you didnt poop for seven days. After my 1st c-section, I went on to have a c-section with both my second and third child. I found the experience great. I got up in the am took a shower, threw on some makeup and headed to the hospital. The baby came out, I said no to any of the narcotics and opted just to take motrin. I was up and walking around the day after both the second and the third c-section like nothing ever happened. So sorry to hear that you had a bad experience, but like I mentioned above it all depends on whether or not it was your first birthing experience and it depends on the individuals personality having the c-section. Hope you and your baby are doing well.
I had 3 amazing, empowering non-medicated births. No tearing and no needle in my back. I wish people would stop making generalizations about vaginal births as well.
I agree Annette. I think it goes both ways. Section moms always cling to this idea that they’ve “preserved” their vaginal tightness. Like giving birth naturally is somehow going to open you up like a windsock. I’ve had two children vaginally, the second was unmedicated and an even 10 lbs at birth. I didn’t tear at all, no incontinance issues whatsoever, and I am just as “tight” as I ever was (by my own account and my husband’s-his exact words mid-coitus being “Oh my god you are still so tight, how is that possible?!” Lol). My point is, not every vaginal birth ends up with a sad story. I hope women realize that. And after reading about some of these c-section stories, I’m more grateful than ever for my vaginal
*deliveries :)
Congrats on your great personality, I guess?
I do agree that nerves and knowledge can have an impact on how your body reacts, but would also say that every person, every c-section is different. My second delivery was infinitely easier to recover from than my 1st. My body still went through all the same things though – shakes in the OR, constipation, etc. But I was more equipped to handle it. And not that any of this was horrible (well, being backed up was) but I was unaware of any of it prior to surgery. But perhaps some OB’s are more gentle than others when they pry the baby out. Maybe some anesthesiologists are more liberal with their medication. Maybe some women’s bodies don’t respond to the artificial stuff they put in your body to make it think it went in to labor. And I’m sure if I had another c-section now (but let’s not tempt fate, shall we?) it would be a completely different story than my first two.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
After just having a c-section 5days ago, this hit home!
Congrats! Hope you’re recovering well.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I had 4 c-sections and I’m nodding my head along to every one of these. So spot on.
With my last one I tried the “I don’t need the strong pain meds” in the hospital on the weekend that all the nurses were learning how to use a new electronic medicine dispensing system. MISTAKE.
My advice, no matter how much of a superwoman you are, just take the damn things.
I have an extremely high tolerance for pain, and learned the hard way that no one is above the pain of a c-section. I agree on take the meds learn from someone else, it’s definitely not a mistake you want to make yourself!
I have a pretty high pain tolerance as well, but I still couldn’t go without the drugs. Granted, I took the bare minimum just to keep functioning. I did NOT dig Percoset. To the post of one of the above posters, I’m positive it contributed to constipation, but it also made me loopy. But it’s one of those situations where you won’t know how fast and hard the pain can hit until you’ve gone too long without pain meds.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I had a csection at 36 years and it was a very good surgery..nothing to be scare of, I did not take any drugs , spent only two days at the hospital and I was driving and in my feet after 4 days….the best thing ever….
Where I live you cannot drive for 6 weeks after a c-section. If you get in an accident they will not cover you for insurance, not to mention, according to my insistent questioning to my MD of why I am stuck in my house for 6 weeks, the force from the accident would be enough to bust your incision and spill your insides all over the steering wheel!
Yep, we can’t drive for 2 weeks. And again, I think it all depends on your situation. If you can walk out of the hospital 2 days later and not need drugs, than kudos to you! But it shouldn’t be your expectation going in.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Yeah its 6 weeks where i live as well (legally speaking).
I found out the hard way that laughing and sneezing after a c-sections is nothing compared to having them try to remove clots after the freezing has worn off after my second of 3 c-sections!! To that point i had survived 66 hours of labour and 2 sections without more than a whimper or growl but that made me yell pretty good!! It didn’t help that they didn’t explain at all what they were about to do, which was probably best since i likely would have refused to let them touch me if they had!! lol
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thanks for the laughs but not all fun and games my first c-section i felt them cut me open i felt the cold knife the whole time.. felt like i was being murdered not having a baby.. and my husband had to sit back and listen to me scream.
AND, you still have to scrape yourself out of bed and drag your pathetic opium-riddled body around the house to take care of the baby once you come home. The meds work against you because they make so so drowsy, yet you’ll only get about 14 hours of sleep over the next 3 months. And you’ll probably have to entertain an onslaught of family, friends & neighbors in the jammies you’ve been wearing for the last 3 days.
Nothing makes you feel like Frankenstein’s monster better than trying to get out of bed after abdominal surgery.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I had a section when my twins were 35.5 because Baby B, our daughter was IUGR. Trust me, if I could have pushed them out I would have. The epidural and surgery weren’t so bad but the catheter sucked, plus they put it in wrong and had to do it twice. After the procedure they gave me morphine which caused me to vomit. Have you ever vomited when your stomach muscles have been sliced in half? Not cool. I couldnt poop by the time they kicked me out so I had to have an enema. Both babies were in the hospital after (A for 11 days, B for 26). I left them there after three days. Once home I was expected to get out of bed everyday to be at the hospital to feed them. I couldn’t even get out of bed on my own. Because of the catheter I got a bladder infection and then my incision didn’t heal properly. Easy easy out? I don’t think so.
Ugh, I definitely didn’t expect the constipation. I didn’t poop for 11 days! My husband had to give me TWO enemas before things started moving smoothly again. THAT was definitely a level I’d hoped to avoid in our marriage, but I was desperate by that point!
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What better way to cement your commitment to each other than to giving someone an enema!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
LOL, I think that’s how HE felt. I was decidedly less excited about having him tinker around back there…
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I was and still am a research nut, I researched the hell out of pregnancy and delivery. I like to know what I am getting myself into. I didn’t think I would need to know about c-sections because I wasn’t planning on having one. Humans plan, God laughs. I was so stupid. When I found out after 12hours of labor that I was going to have to have a emergency c-section I was ill-prepared and un-educated. I panicked all the way up to and through the procedure. It was a horrible experience with a very long recovery. I ended up getting an infection in my incision and had to be on oral and IV antibiotics for a over a week. I had to have a nurse come to my house and change my dressing and give me my antibiotics. Recovering from a unplanned c-section, learning to breastfeed, dealing with the insane crazy person emotions after, and caring for a new person was the hardest thing I have ever done or will do (unless I decide to do it again). Everyone says that the experience fades…I will believe that when it happens I think.
Oh lord, the shivers! I was shaking so bad they couldn’t hardly get my spinal tap in. The doc kept telling me to try to sit still…like i was trying to shake so hard that it hurt!? 2 hours after and i was still covered in heated blankets up to my neck. I don’t think it helped that i was scared shitless as well as cold!
Also, the “slight” pressure they said i might feel? I swear i thought i was dying! I couldn’t breathe (for what felt like) 5 minutes as they shoved all my organs into my lungs. The doc and the bf kept reassuring me that i was going to me fine but i remember laying there with quiet little tears pouring out of my eyes!
One of the most terrifying experiences of my life. I would have totally done vag delievery if i had the option!
I never knew that the shivers was normal! I thought I was having the worlds worst panic attack. I shivered so hard through the entire procedure, I was constantly pulling at the tethers they use to tie your arms down. I was so sore in my chest and back afterwards!
Oh I totally had the convulsions too. It’s so freaking cold in there, and after pushing for four hours and then having to have an emergency C, I think my body was just revolting. I was also very sore in my shoulders and back from it. I agree that those who said the little “massage” in the recovery room may rival the hemorrhoids – I swear I almost punched the nurse. I was in the hospital for six days with blood pressure issues but moving was next to impossible (also added onto my my gigantic bloatedness) but once I got home (with my husband hitting every hole in the known universe and not understanding why I was tearing up), I do distinctly remember standing in the shower while my mom helped wash out my incision. I also slept in a recliner for two weeks, which seemed to help some. It’s all a blur, but I’d probably do it again. But I may ask that they remove the pooch that I can’t get rid of no matter how hard I try.
And when I was shaking I kept thinking “Wow, I don’t think I’m that nervous!” and tried to calm myself down. Yet trying to stop shaking only made the shaking worse! Plus, laying on that table with the screen up, not being able to see anything except for the nurse and my husband’s eyes isn’t too comforting.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Oh i know, my bf was leaning OVER the screen watching them rip my insides out. I screamed at him to quit looking because his facial reactions were freaking me out!
That is so horrible! But the facial reactions thing made me laugh out loud, sooo true!
Thet didnt tie my arms down, thank goodness! I would have really freaked! I was shaking so hard my back and shoulders ached for a few days too.
OMG! The things they don’t tell you. Had a scheduled CS with my first due to an unstable coccyx (I already have enough pain from it…don’t need it permanently dislocated trying to shove a 9-pound bowling ball out my va-jay-jay). The morning of, our friend whose wife has had CS’s with all of her kids called to warn my hubby “whatever you do, don’t look at the container on the wall…or her stomach.” I seriously had no idea until then that my intestines would be flopped up on my outside. *shudder* And I made the mistake of looking at my anesthesiologist’s face and saw the reflection of my guts in his glasses.
WHAT HAS BEEN SEEN CANNOT BE UNSEEN, Ladies!
Second, thank God the anesthesiologist warned me just before shoving the needle in my back that I’d feel like I wouldn’t be able to breathe, but not to worry because I still would. That would have scared me shitless had I not been told. Like full-on panic attack.
And OMG, the phantom itching that you can’t scratch…EVER! And the occasional pain from the scar in (on?) my uterus. W.T.F!
I think there’s a picture from my son’s delivery that my husband didn’t let me see for a few weeks. When I finally got around to looking at it, I had to check it like 10 times before I got the courage to ask “is that my innards?” And the slow creeping sensation of losing feeling in your body as it creeps up to your chest is one of the most bizarre things.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Mine wasn’t a slow creeping sensation. It was BOOM! Needle went in, immediately couldn’t feel my feet, I was immediately laid flat on my back, and couldn’t feel my waist. Thankfully, he warned me about that too.
And I can’t believe your hubby had the presence of mind to take a PICTURE OF YOUR GUTS! I’m simultaneously horrified and awestruck!
Well, he was actually taking a picture of the baby being taken out…my guts did a perfect photo bomb.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I’ve had both…they both suck!!
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I think the title of this post is a little misleading, as it only represents your experience with a c-section, and not what every woman who undergoes a c-section should expect. A lot depends on the woman’s anatomy, the positioning of the baby, whether the c-section is emergency or elective, and so on.
I delivered one of my children vaginally and one via an elective c-section. Hands down, the c-section was so much easier from beginning to end. It didn’t hurt a bit. I had no aftereffects of loss of sensation from my scar – in fact, you can no longer see my scar at all (it went away completely after about 4 years). My recovery was actually easier than when I delivered vaginally.
Do I think elective c-sections are for everyone? No. But in case, given my prior delivery history and other issues, it was a very positive choice and I would hate for any woman to think that c-section must = horrible experience after reading your post. Every woman is different, and so is every birth.
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I couldn’t agree more, every birth and every person is different and will have a different experience. Will they have these exact ones? Maybe not. But I wish someone had told me that these were even possibilities before I had surgery. The way I had been told that sometimes you might crap yourself during a vaginal delivery. Will everyone do that? Probably not. But if you know that is a possibility and that it’s normal, you might not feel so freaked out when if it does happen to you.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Oh, and when he pulled my son out, the first thing I said was, “Oh, THANK GOD! I can BREATHE!!!!” LOL!
My doctor told me for weeks that I would need a c-section because my baby was large and I held out until the day before we were to go in because I was scared of all I read online about recovery. Amazingly, it was a great experience! The only thing I felt during delivery was the crazy shaking on the OR table and nausea. The thing no one warned me about that really bothered me was that my face and eyes were itching like crazy from the pain meds after delivery. They gave me Benadryl, but it only lessened it and the itching lasted for 18 hours. I really couldn’t have asked for a better birthing experience, though. It’s amazing how each of us has our own experience even though our bodies are doing the same thing.
My best friend’s incision broke open about 3 times after her c-section. The first time was when she was getting in the car to leave the hospital for the first time… they wheeled her right back in. And it took probably 4 months to finally heal. I’ll pass thank you.
Take stool softeners at the hospital. Makes that first poop a lot less scary!! Also, make sure to take the pain meds and relax. Give yourself plenty of time to heal.
I wasn’t prepared at all for my c-section either. The pulling and tugging that I felt was the worst!!! Then I was so sick afterward I cold hardly hold my son. I was throwing up almost every 5 minutes. ( I was on a magnesium drip and I think that is what caused it)
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After 12 hours of labour and only getting to 4cms dilated and baby’s heart rate dropping for a minute after each contraction the doctor decided we should do an emergency c section. I was in so much pain at that point I was willing to do anything. We had to wait for the anesthesiologist which took 45 minutes but they had upped my pain meds by then so it was ok. I hadn’t wanted an epidural because my last trimester was filled with severe panic attacks and I didn’t want to have one while stuck in the bed. I remember the OR being cold but the only thing that truly freaked me out was being tied to the table after the epidural. Still freaks me out thinking about it. I don’t remember any pulling but after the doctor got my son out I remember it taking a long time before I heard him cry. A little scary when you are tied to a bed and can’t see. I guess it just takes longer since they haven’t had all the fluid squeezed out of their lungs. I’m surprised I didn’t feel pulling as my sons head was so stuck in my pelvis that the doctor bruised him he had to pull so hard getting him out. He had finger shaped bruises on his head the first couple of days. Recovery wasn’t too bad. I had to stay flat in bed for 12 hours but that was overnight so it was ok. Pooping was another story. Took me 4 days and boy did that teeny little wet fart (tmi but that’s what it appeared to be) hurt. The only drugs I was given were Tylenol and Advil afterwards and I was left with the bottles and a sheet to keep track of my self medicating. After 4 days I was sent home and felt so good on the way that I suggested we stop and pick up some newborn clothes since they told us baby would be 10lbs and he was only 7 lbs we had nothing to fit him. Dec. 23rd is not the day to go to Walmart after getting out if the hospital after a c-section. Big mistake. My recovery was great except having to let hubby drive for the 2 weeks that is required up here.
All that being said. If we were going to have another baby I would definitely go the c-section route again. I know not everyone has a good experience but I much proffered it to the labour pain.
And I forgot to mention the thing that freaked out hubby. The nurse came in just after they wheeled me into my room to show him the “modified football” hold. The one you use after a c-section birth if baby starts to cough so you can get any left over stuff out of their lungs. It involves taking the not even hour old baby and putting his neck between your thumb and index finger (with baby facing down) and lying him along your arm so that you can tap him lightly on the back and use gravity to expel the disgusting looking substance onto the floor. Hubby still talks about being really afraid of that one. Poor guy.
My little guy was an emergency c-section because the cord was wrapped around his chest, preventing him from being able to make an exit. They gave me 3 prescriptions: iburprofen 800, Colace, and Percocet. Then, they forgot to sign one. Can you guess which one? No one cares about stool softener or ibuprofen, but when you are standing at your pharmacy with a tired husband, a 4 day old c-section incision and a newborn, you cry when you realize which one they forgot to sign.
Oh my goodness! This is hilarious AND true! Especially about the freezing cold OR and the inability to poop. My 1st c-section was unexpected and by the time I made it home I sent my sister to Target with the firm instructions “Biggest panties you can find. Think Granny panties, then go bigger.” Because any elastic on or near the incision was unbearable.
OB’s answer when my husband asked what the corned beef-looking thing was on the table? “Her uterus.” At least there was no episiotomy …
LOK..corned beef. Bet your husband will never eat THAT again!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
*LOL
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Another word of advice: Don’t allow ANYONE to give you ANY crap about the fact that you had a C-section. It’s your life, your baby, your doctor, your wisdom. You do what’s right for your family and no one else has the right to rip you to shreds for that. After my 2nd C-section, I received an email from a woman in my life is nearing her forties, never been married or had kids and she had some ridiculously horrible things to say to me about the fact that I chose to have a 2nd C-section. Everyone around me was livid when I read the email out loud while holding my sweet, healthy newborn baby boy. We made the best choice for our situation, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
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And I do think it requires a shift in perspective. After the letdown of not being able to delivery vaginally with my first, I started saying that I “delivered via cesarean” instead of “I had a c-section.” Somehow it self-confirmed that I had delivered a baby, not gone in for root canal. I would ever belittle anyone for going either route, nor would I berate someone for choosing formula or breastfeeding. You make the best choices you can for you and your family. When all our babies are running around on the playground in 1st grade, no one will be able to pick out the c-section babies from the epidurals or the natural births. In the end, all we can hope for is a healthy baby to hold.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Agree completely. I was devastated that I wouldn’t ever get to deliver vaginally, so the email that I got just hit too close to home. You never know why people choose the way they do, and it’s no one’s right to judge!
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Just saying…delivering vaginally isn’t without issues. Yes I pee when I sneeze…and even other times, too (UGH). The first time I had a 3rd degree tear DOWN THERE and received countless stitches and left a crapton of scar tissue behind. I had pain DOWN THERE–literally–for years. Some that made me double over in the middle of the store. “What’s wrong?” people would ask…thinking I was having appendicitis or something with the way I would double over. “Oh it’s just period cramp.” Some people would understand. Others would think I’m crazy. Couldn’t say “Oh it’s my vagina–it hurts.” Although…more women might understand that. Haha. I digress… I was in so much pain I couldn’t sit, stand or lay down. I could NOT move. After a week and a half I was on my THIRD bottle of percocet, it was awful. My crotch was SO swollen…omg…
The second time I made sure the doc did the episiotome instead of just letting me tear and that still hurt like hell, but not as bad as tearing. I still have pain down there, like getting stabbed. Doc says there’s nothing that can be done; just heat and ice (because I want to walk around with an ice pack on my crotch…sitting around at a baseball game with the odd looks…NO THANKS…). Just like any injury-area.
Either way, people are going to have difference experiences. My Sister in law just had a c-section and two weeks later she was up and walking around without a limp, without a problem…nothing. She said she felt much better in a week and was moving around with little help. Others, I’m sure, have different experiences. It all depends upon I think your doctors, your support network how you recover. The damn doctor who delivered my first child should not have allowed me to tear (oh did I mention–he was vacuum assisted–the nurse later said it was surprising she didn’t do an episiotome but she guessed they were in a panic because my son was starting to get distressed) and I would have felt much better, faster.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I just sneezed and I have to go use the restroom. *sigh* Being a Mom is SO glamourous, yes?
I’m so sorry you had such a horrific experience! You’re right, that OB should be slapped. Because it wasn’t scheduled, my regular OB didn’t delivery my son, and the guy that did had ZERO personality. With my second, it was planned, it was MY OB, and it was more relaxed and easier.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Well, in their defense, there were about 5 babies being born at the SAME time, it was during a snowstorm and one of them passed away and there was only one OB/GYN (it was a county hospital). My son was in distress and his breathing was shallow so I REALLY think their main goal was just to get him out safely. I can take one for the team! ;) The main goal was that he was safe. I freaked out about the notion of having a c-section, so I think this was a last ditch effort to please me and keep him safe. Since it was a county hospital, I had only seen that OB/GYN maybe once, if at all. I had a different doc everytime I went in for checkups. I really didn’t know enough to have THAT talk with the doc (to snip or not to snip…that is the question…)
But my son spent the night in the NICU but was released 12 hours later and 9 years later he’s just fine!
Although…the good news is that I had a FANTASTIC epidural and a stellar nurse (who was male–surprised me that he was SO AWESOME!) and I honestly didn’t feel anything. ANYTHING. It was after the drugs wore off that it hurt. LOL
What I WANT to know is–you get those women who have those easy pregnancies, it barely hurts to push and they’re all smiles along the way. I know TWO women this happened to! TWO OF THEM! What the Hell? How did they get so lucky?
Well we’re strong–we can handle it right??
YAY! Thank you for this. I had 2 c-sections due to high blood pressure and I remember putting on my pants a year later and still feeling a flash of burning pain along my incision scar. And I shook uncontrollably for an hour after my first c-section. They need to make this required reading for all birthing classes! It isn’t just a walk in the park and it definitely isn’t “the easy way out”.
I feel your pain! After 5 days of Pre-Labor, 11 hours of pure back labor pain, and 2 epidurals, (the first one didn’t work), 4 hours of pushing with everything that I had, I was told that we had to do a C-Sec. At the time, I was so exhausted that I felt a small sense of relief and terror at the same time. The C-sec didn’t go well and it took another 4 hours with a lot of blood loss. That progressed into multiple infections, and 6 months with a wound specialist (apparently that happens with an 8cm tunneling wound). And through the entire thing, I had SOO many people who were not afraid to tell me that they were mad at me for having a C-Sec. If I had a $1 for every “I told you so”…..I think that every woman wants a beautiful, natural and pain free 20 minute birth. But the reality is, if it weren’t for the C-sec, who knows what complications we would have incurred. The C-Sec prevented my son from having to go to the NICU. Therefore it was well worth it! I stick my tongue out to anyone who feels different!
Oh..I almost forgot the peeing after! We were in the hospital for a week after the baby was born. We live about 35 minutes from the hospital, we stopped 6 times so that I could go potty in random McD’s and I STILL completely peed through my pajama pants…How embarassing!! I had zero bladder control.
Whew, I guess I can count myself lucky that I didn’t have any issues after the catheter. Like you need any more fluid finding its way out!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Staying ahead of the pain is something we should all heed. No is tougher or more badass or “better” if they don’t take the meds. That shit is prescribed for a REASON! Congrats to you for making it through and thanks so much for sharing this!
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You’re welcome! The pain meds is a tricky thing. Some comments have said they just took advil post-op. But unfortunately it’s one of those things that you won’t know how much you need until you NEED it. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll try just advil. But seeing as how I’d never had surgery before, I didn’t want to take any chances.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I decided I could not take the “good” pain meds. The constipation was NOT worth the pay off, and I tried EVERYTHING .
Hm. Not my experience AT ALL. I was walking the next day. Home in 2 days…had all 6 of my daycare kids back in 2 weeks. I thought it was a breeze. Did same thing 2nd time around. My scars arent very visable and dont notice any numbness.
The nurse said to me, while they were taking me to the operating room to have my emergency c-section, “I hope you love this baby even though he’s coming out through your stomach.”
True story.
(I ended up having 3 c-sections over the years, and luckily I was able to love each of my children! I’d never heard that vaginal births were requirements for motherly love…)
That comment makes me so sad! Why would she say that? I hope she doesn’t have any interaction with adopting parents.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
As a healthcare provider, I can say that the nurse probably had her heart in the right place. Should she have said that, eh probably not, but there is a lot of science that suggests (please note, this is not the case for every woman, and not at all an implication of a lack of love on the mother’s part) that women who deliver via cesarean can have a harder time bonding with their baby than a woman who delivers vaginally. I’m sure the nurse has witnessed this, and wanted to reassure the mom, but it didn’t come out right. Luckily some measures are already being put into place to help section moms and babies bond a bit better (skin-to-skin on moms chest as soon as possible, more rooming in, etc). Those first few moments are so critical and I’m glad to see protocol being altered to benefit moms and babies. We’ve come a long way from my mother’s section deliveries when she wasn’t able to see me or my brothers for almost a whole day after we were born, but we still have a long way to go.
Excellent point, I hadn’t thought of that. I guess I’m just lucky in that the hospital I delivered was very pro-bonding, so it wasn’t an issue. They did everything they could to get moms in there with their babies, encouraged kangaroo care (for moms AND dads) in the NICU, etc. But I don’t know how I would have felt if I hadn’t had those first few precious moments with my babies. I can see how you’d lose connection easily.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Great timing, I just had a c-section 11 days ago and this is spot on. Only problem is you made me laugh, and that HURTS!
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Um, hello? Where’s your pillow? :)
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
I’ve never been so happy to have three vaginal births! Thanks for the laugh!
You’re welcome!
YES! The constipation was worse than the incision. And since I was stuck in the hospital due to other post-birth complications, I was actually screaming & crying in the middle of the night & the nurses couldn’t even give me milk of magnesia or even friggin’ prune juice “until the doctor arrived with instructions at 6am”. WTF.
Longest. Night. Of my life.
But yes, lovin’ the tight, unwrecked vaj. YEAH!
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That is why you sneak your own potions in…
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
I was put on a Lasix IV drip. If I had know what horror was about to occur, I would’ve smuggled in a whole lot of things. Ha
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Ugh…am I the only one who ended up with diahreah instead of being constipated?! The 3rd night after i had my son i ended up with the worse case of diahreah thanks to all the stool softners they gave me. I remember being in tears trying to “run” to the bathroom every 20min, with my gut wrenching incision pain, inbetween tring to breastfeed. NIGHTMARE!
I can’t even imagine!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
Loved this! I think I had horrible luck with my son since i was forced into labor for 5 days, then they finally did the c section. Yes 5 days of my doctor cramming his large hands up there flicking my cervix to get me jump started! 5 days of those pills up on my cervix to jump start it.. then 24 hours of petocin. I was not doing anything..ANYTHING! The doctor finally said we will have a baby, and do c section (I think it was after I swore I’d steal a child from the er if I did not have mine). I was in such pain, but the c section for me was the easiest and best! After having such pain and being poked, twisted, and having intense contractions..and nothing happening. When I got that shot in my back it was like a trip to heaven since I could not feel my contractions. I also was finally able to eat the next morning after they starved a pregnant woman for 5 days (juice, and jello do not count) since they thought anytime they may need to do a c section. I think reguardless natural birth, and c sections.. both are simliar since they both include delivering a baby!!!!! It is a long, difficult, challening, crazy process we all have been through! :)
Ugh, 5 days on a water diet? I’d rather have a colonoscopy. You’re right, that is horrible luck! Glad you have a health baby as a result, though!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
After four ‘normal’ deliveries, I needed an emergency c-sec with my next child. I expected pain, discomfort and to be walking like a hunchback for a few days. I didn’t expect the weirdest sensation ever….being able to feel the sensation of the surgeon rummaging around inside my abdomen. At one point during the surgery I looked up and saw, in the window of the pre-op room door, the reflection of my surgeon HOLDING MY GUTS. Six and a half years later, that image still makes me squirm.
I was allowed to go home less than 48hrs post surgery, I was such a good (pain in the arse) patient. Two days later I decided that it would be a really good idea to go into town to shop for a new set of salt and pepper mills, on my own. After all, I’d ‘only’ had a baby. Yeah, I know, wtf right? I got what I needed and was meandering out of the store when I felt a really odd pain, followed by a wobbling sensation inside me. I suddenly fely faint and had to sit down right there on the floor. A sympathetic assistant called a cab for me. I went home, threw myself (sobbing) at my husband, swearing that I was never leaving the house again because my insides just nearly fell out of my vagina. I laugh about it now, but I was really shit-scared at the time. Hubby called the midwife, who came out immediately, calmed me down and explained that it was my intestines etc settling back into place. No-one tells you this stuff!
Oh….and what’s with the travelling wind that NEVER leaves your body and frequently ends up in your shoulder?!
Two days? I don’t know how you people do it. Or maybe I just enjoyed having the nurses wait on me hand and foot and knew that once I was discharged, I was on my own, but I milked the whole 4 days. They did give me one of those things you’re supposed to breathe hard in to to help my lungs and get that gas out.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
That was dead on! I had 3 different deliveries! 1st born natural. 2nd Emergency C-Section so the cut was vertical and 3rd was normal c-section. So I have an Anchor Belly!! My 1st “C” recovery was horrible. For the 3rd “C” the Dr. asked if I would like to have the same cut as the 1st so I would not have an “Anchor” belly. I told him that I will not be shopping for any new husband now or the future and that he will love my new beauty mark. lol Thanks for the memories of pain that I thought I had buried deep back in my mind. lol :)
And then when you’re in the shower with your kids as they get older, they’ll point and ask. I like to tell mine it’s my little keepsake.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
Oh, the memories! When I lost the feeling in that area, I got scared and called the doctor’s office because one minute I had feeling, then my daughter thumped her head down on my stomach (ouch!) and then it was gone. The nurse practitioner who answered my phone call started laughing at me because I was crying. I got mad and told her “no one ever told me that would happen, Bitch.” and hung up.
Ouch!
I was drugged so heavily during my first c-section that I began to hallucinate, and at one point told my friend that I could see nothing but a wall of fire. I also critiqued out loud to my friend the crass and insensitive conversation of the surgoens as they removed by son from my body, which left the operating room silent but for my other various slurred observations and visions.
Regarding the feeling thing-I will never forget the feeling of having my insides crammed back IN after they took the baby out and sewed me up. They jammed that business in there like I was a ragdoll gettin’ stuffed with polyfill.
Also, I will never forget being absolutely certain during my second cesarean that I was no longer breathing, and having to try and stay calm and take the word of a person I had never met before that in fact I was.
Yes, having a c-section is a piece of cake. Here’s to not pooping for most of a week!
Yes, hooray! Enemas for everyone! And zero core strength for months! I love the image of being stuffed like a ragdoll. That’s exactly what it felt like.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
Amen! I had two and they are no walk in the park. I laugh when I hear about celebrities choosing to have them. Maybe they’re given better drugs than the rest of us?
The big surprise for me was that the second one was MUCH longer and more painful than the second. And caring for a newborn and a toddler had me wishing I had attempted a VBAC.
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Yes, better drugs and posh maternity rooms with waiters and fancy thread count sheets. Then there’s the No Driving rule that truly sucked afterwards. I remember attempting to walk my son to daycare in the stroller with my daughter, and at one point we were ALL crying. Took us 40 minutes for an otherwise 10 min walk.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
YES to every single one of those items. Ten years later and MANY abdominal strength-building exercises later, and I still have this nerveless pooch below my navel, an angry looking scar, and the overwhelming urge to duck and cover (the incision) every time I sneeze! Also, was I the only one who had staples taken out after two days? The fear of walking around after major abdominal surgery with only tape holding me together was the most gruesome thing I’ve ever lived through.
I think my staples were taken out the day I got discharged, and replaced by those steri-strips. I’ll take those over the staples any day, as those definitely freaked me out the first time I saw them.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..Let’s get physical…
oh my goodness the tape! I hated that they took the stapes out! I ended up triping getting out of our suv and tore mine back open! I don’t know why they don’t use disolvable stitches!
I had 2 cs less than 2 years apart. A lot of the things I’m reading sound very much like my own experience but something that nobody mentioned is that I had a very intense sudden pain in my upper right chest and shoulder as they were taking my daughter out. I told the nurse and she said it happens sometimes. It lasted for a few hours after. It was really strange, I didn’t have it with my 1st
Yep, I think that’s the gas pain that I remember. Feels like a heart attack, right?
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
It was written very cute and funny, but every bit of it is true! Had 2 myself and have watched several in the OR at the Hospital that I work because I work in OB and take care of postpartum Mom’s and babies. I’m glad I had my babies BEFORE I watched! Lol! It never ceases to amaze me though, how everyone has a totally different pain tolerence.
I don’t think I could even give birth in ANY method if I had seen it done before! And yet, it also never amazes me what we’re all capable of.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
Glad to read this-my OB (new one, not the one who delivered my first baby) told me earlier this week that if I went for another baby, she would offer me the option of scheduling a C-section, seeing as how my first birth resulted in a vacuum assisted delivery, episiotomy and 3rd degree tear. I’m taking her up on it-my friends who have had C-section deliveries said they were in pain for two weeks. I had pain in my girly bits for over two months, and almost three years later still have issues down there. My OB with DD wouldn’t hear of me having a C-section, even after three hours of pushing and me being at my breaking point-she made the call to cut me and pull my baby out, not me, even as I was telling her to do the C-section and that I didn’t want an episiotomy. I’m rambling, but I still get pissed off/tramautized thinking about it :( Plus trying to tell people why I was having such a rough recovery was hell-everyone assumed since I delivered vaginally I should have been up and at ‘em after a few weeks.
I’m sorry you had such a rough experience, but I hope the second time around proves a bit less painful!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
I laughed so hard when I read this and even though I’m 8mths out from my 2nd c-section it still hurts to laugh too hard but this was worth it!
I didn’t have a choice with either c-section but there are still days that I look at my 3yr olds head and think, yep that c-section was Gods Christmas gift to me!
Even knowing what I know now I wouldn’t have changed anything…my c-sections saved both mine and my children’s lives and having my two beautiful babies is worth going through hell and back any day
Exactly! Though, my son was only 4lbs (IUGR and a preemie) so vaginal delivery might have been a piece of cake, who knows? It just wasn’t meant to be.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
My son was 4lbs 14oz (6wks early due to a placenta prévia and pre-term labor) so from a head size stand point he would have been a much easier delivery than my sweet daughters big head but medically it would have been very bad.
I suppose everything happens the way it’s meant to… At least that’s what I keep telling myself about the major insanity in my very blessed life :-)
Holy crap, spot on with the not having enough info before the surgery.
I just had my Baby 5 days ago and I’m still shaken but what I felt and went through in the surgery before they ended up having to put me completely under.
I was made aware early on in my pregnancy that there was a high chance that I would have C-section but they wanted to see if I could have a natural labour first and only go for the other option if we had no choice.
After over 14 hours of contractions and labour and not dilating properly the Doctors decided it was time to go for the caesarian, only like “Gina” stated I was told over and over again all I would feel was pressure.
Not only did it still feel like I was contracting, for some reason the Anaesthetic wasn’t fully kicking in. They kept trying this little test on me where they would prick my abdomen with something sharp and ask me what it felt like, after a while if numbed down to felling like someone jabbing me with a pen. They said ok that’s good we’re going to start now. Only they starting Cutting and not only did I feel the cuts I also felt the full blown pain that came with the cutting and the separating of the skin and fatty tissue etc… They then put me under very quickly.
I woke up scared, confused and groggy post surgery not sure what to think.
Like I mentioned earlier I’m still shaken by that feeling, maybe even horrified to the point that I might not want more children and be content with 1 just so I didn’t have to go through that again.
Now don’t get me wrong I’m thrilled and ecstatic to have a beautiful baby girl to take care of and I don’t regret having gone through what I did.
Perhaps in a few years time I’ll have changed my mind and want another child and if I do decide to go down that road and again the C word comes up I’m going to demand that they put me under right away.
Well, first of call, congratulations on the new baby! But what a scary story! I do think some people’s bodies need just a bit more drugs than others. My dad usually needs enough anesthetic to put down a horse.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
Okay, 21 years ago on October 18,1991, my Julia emerged.
I had placenta previa and bleeding, and was put on bed rest at 12 weeks. I had high blood pressure, had to take meds for it. I had gestational diabetes, controlled with diet until week she arrived. I was put in the hospital on 14th, with insulin and possible toxemia/preeclampsia. By 16th we were discussing c-section on 18th. Amnio done to determine lung function. Fifth ultrasound performed to do amnio, and finally, hint that baby was a girl, and had her legs crossed. Amnio offered 3 results. One test indicated her lungs were ready, one said no, and 3rd said maybe. For both our sakes, we went ahead.
I was 325# at conception, and 408# at delivery. Morning of delivery arrived, surgeon, primary care present, no neonatologist. He was stopped for speeding, delivery pushed back until he arrived. Spinal given, drapes up and I feel like I can’t breathe. I get to hear her first scream, and she is whisked to nursery with neonatologist. She had low blood sugar due to gestational diabetes of mine. She was getting her tiny heels stabbed every two hours. I didn’t get to see her till I was out of recovery, after my evil sister-in-law that used to work in nursery held her first. That stings to this day, even though I’ve outlived the aunt. I finally get to cuddle her during night. She has umbilical iv, and was under oxygen hood most of first day as precaution, but the steroid injections were assumed to have done the job on lungs. She weighed 8 lb, 12 oz, and was 20 1/2″ long, with 14 5/8″ cranium. She was premature, gestational age varied by doctor. Surgeon swore she was only 4 weeks premature, but by last period calculations she was 6 weeks early. Neonatalogist weighed in with a developmental stage of 8 weeks premature. She was doing better with sugar levels, then calcium level issue left her shaky at times. Third day brought bilirubin lights and news that my father, her grandfather lost his battle with cancer shortly after being told of our surviving her birth. I was released to go home that night. Day four of her life, I called my mom to come check my incision (old school vertical to umbilicus). I had underwear that was wet, but not from urine. She informed it looked like raw hamburger. I returned to hospital with suspected infection. There were no empty singles in ob, so she was in nursery, and I was at the opposite end of our small hospital. Surgeon arrived to stitch me up, got me numbed up. It was decided because of body fat not healing well, stitches might work better than staples. I was under a water circulating heating apparatus to promote healing. Julia was ready to go home at one week, but I was still there. I got to use the quiet room for a visit before daddy took her home. I was released the next evening. My step-dad was watching her when I finally got her in my arms to stay. I had stitches removed over two hitches. They said I was barely saved from being eviscerated when the c-section separated. At 3 months, RSV hit, and we spent seventy-two hours with humidifier running keeping her sleeping at a 45 degree angle or better around the clock. We took turns holding her in a recliner. This is the amazing young woman, that at 13 told me, “Easy is highly over-rated!” How I love her! She was worth every unsure, tortured moment of pregnancy and delivery, but, YES, SHE IS AN ONLY CHILD!!
Oh, yes, I forgot that I only made it to dad’s calling the evening before his funeral, which included 21 gun salute for his serving in WWII. I was at ER getting put back together, and readmitted. I was torn between fear for my daughter, myself and grieving the loss of my father. I was able to breast feed when all was said and done, but I had to supplement with formula. She vomited both regular formula, projectilely with soy formula. We finally discovered eventually, she tolerated regular formula with lactaid drops. Never easy. NEVER EASY!!
That is a crazy story! But it sounds as if you have one amazing outcome from it. Your daughter sounds like was worth it.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
Amazing post, Gina, and oh so true. The shakes were horrific. The relearning to walk traumatic. And I think the worst part was the inability to hold your baby, to hear him/her crying and wanting to hold him/her more than life itself and being unable to because you have to be stitched up like a Thanksgiving turkey. A friend had her tubes tied as part of the gig. That meant 90 minutes!
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Thanks, Keesha. My husband has video of me wobbling down the hallway to the NICU on day 2, and I looked like Tim Conway’s Old Man from the Carol Burnett show. With my son, I knew there would be no chance of either of us holding him until the assessed the situation (neither one of us got to hold him until 6 hours later). But at least with my daughter, they put her on my chest right after she was born, took her to the nursery while I got stitched up, then brought her straight to me in recovery to nurse. The two situations couldn’t have been any more different.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
I’ve had 3 C-sections in India. Here they know quite well what they are doing since most everyone has one. They are more common than natural deliveries.
Natural was my goal but my first was an emergency delivery at 33 weeks (broken water bag, no labor, you get the picture). I was terrified going in as I had no idea what to expect. With my second I had labor but no progress so my doctor insisted on the repeat C. By the time the third came along, I happily agreed to a planned C and got a tubal ligation at the same time.
All of these things were so true, though I never had the constipation, thank God. They also kept me in bed longer, 36 hours with the first two and 48 with the second. My back hurt so bad after lying down that long. They also kept me 5 days each time.
I wrote something similar to this. It is the kind of advice I wish I had found prior to my first delivery and hopefully it will help someone else.
http://dayslifedreams.wordpress.com/mommy-to-mommy-2/caesarean-deliveries-what-to-expect/
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Man, that IS a long time to be laying down. I’m surprised they didn’t want you up and walking around afterwards.
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
3 c-sections. One word, GAS! The pain of trapped gas is not understood until it happens to you. Gas-x is a must have, even over pain meds. AND after every birth the uterine cramps get much worse.
I don’t know if my cramps were worse the second time around, but being that I knew it would happen, I was prepared for it. I don’t think anyone told me about it the first time, and I remember laying in bed, my husband had gone to see the baby, and I suddenly was overcome with cramps and pain. Didn’t see that coming!
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
Add in your incision reopening itself as your trip out the SUV, and the doctor letting it stay open, thus closing back up on its own. Say hello to daily nurses coming to your house to pack you full of gauze!!
Ugh. I’m sure that trip replayed in your head over and over like a blooper reel. Is the scar bad as a result?
Gina Jacobs Thomas (@totallyfullofit) recently posted..SteveSongs on Kid Tune Tuesday…
Nah, the scar isn’t bad, maybe a little crooked because it was an emergency. It the emotional scarring thats way worse! Yikes!
Wow! My c-section was much easier than my vaginal delivery. I guess I had a really rough vaginal delivery; it required forceps, suction and blood transfusion. I didn’t feel like myself for a long time after it.
I dont think I should be congratulated on my personality, I was just saying that everyone has a different experience. So posting the details of a horrible experience that someone had with a c-section, might actually scare someone who has never had one that is about to. Whether you deliver vaginally or by c-section, the delivery can be good or bad based on the person and many other variables as well. At the end of the day the birthing experience can’t be all that bad if so many of us are willing to do it a multiple of times : )
My c-section was a breeze! No pain but then again I have a high tolerance. I would do it again in a heartbeat
I absolutely agree on the laughing thing. It was so pathetic, I love to laugh, but every time I did, I felt like someone was ripping open my incision.
However, I disagree about the lack of feeling around the incision. It’s been almost 2 years since my C/S, and I recovered full feeling after about a year.
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Omg I LOVED THIS!!!!!! I’ve never laughed so hard…as I sat beside my husband laughing so hard it brought tears to my eyes he asked me what I was reading…of course I shared with him, he too found this hilarious!!!!!! As a mother of 2 (( both c_sections)) your description is 100% accurate…thanks for the good laugh!!!!!!!
Ha! Gotta love c-sections, my first was on 9-11-01 (daughter turned complete breech after being in position) then 4 years later I had my second one… apparently my first doctor was an idiot and did a vertical incision back in ’01, I decided to just do a c-section with my second since we did with the first, and my husband traveled a lot. Well when I was on the table the doctor says well good thing you didn’t go into labor, that would have been Catastrophic, apparently I only had one layer left before I ruptured from the vertical incision… My doctor tried to tell me I needed my tubes tied right then, but I wasn’t in any kind of state to make that kind of decision right on the spot… soooo 14 months later oops! I was pregnant with my 3 child, after a vertical incision and a “window” as they called it, my doctor was a little upset with me… I was put on bed rest at 6 months and my daughter was taken a month early to prevent a rupture. Thank heavens though, because she only had 3cc of fluid left. Needless to say no more babies for me, even though I wanted more. But I will say recovery was a whole lot easier with #2 and #3 would have been easier if they hadn’t ripped my round ligament when they tied my tubes. (that was worse than all 3 c-sections and my attempted version all put together OUCH!!!)
Yes, I have had two c-sections. Agree with all you have mentioned. With my second, my incision became infected and burst. That lead to a second hospital stay and wound care. Not a fun experience for sure.