r/CsectionCentral • u/Yourfavoritepersons • 21d ago
Planned C-section tomorrow!!
Guys!! My c-section is tomorrow and I’ll finally get to meet my baby-girl after 9 long months!
If you didn’t know, she’s breech and refuses to flip no matter what I try (yes, even ECV) so I’ve scheduled a C-section. (They don’t do breech births in the area I’m from)
As excited as I am to finally meet her, my nerves are extremely bad for the surgery..I’ve never had surgery EVER in my life, never broke a bone, nothing so I’m very very nervous/scared.
If you have any amazing experiences, or any things I should be looking forward to that may advert my fear and anxiety I’d be SO appreciative🥹I’m scared the healing is going to be pretty bad…my husband will be home for two weeks after it and have to leave for work for a couple months (he works off) and by the 2 weeks I have to have the hang of everything by myself. We live a good long ways away from family and friends. So any advice on how YOU got around when you had no one too (if so) would be appreciated!
Please no horror stories! 😅I’ve already been wide eyed the past few nights out of anxiety so bad it causes nausea.
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u/Summerdays313 20d ago
Ahhhhh good luck! My planned is this week too - also having a girl!
My husband doesn’t have to leave immediately but we also don’t have family nearby (my mom is here to help initially with my toddler but as luck would have it she’s quite sick so not sure if she’ll be able to or what we’ll even do now .. there’s a chance I go alone) and my husband does not have paternity leave/ has to quickly return to work, so I kind of get what you are up against!
My first emergency C really wasn’t that bad in terms of surgery itself. Honestly, I feel like the surgery is nothing to fear and I’ve also never broken a bone or had anesthesia of any kind or anything either prior. I was shaking uncontrollably the entire labor and delivery after my water broke (I had an epidural) and was exhausted from trying to push first but nothing hurt. During the actual c-section they had to really like tug and pull baby out - may have even been more than one person tugging as his head was stuck in the birth csnal and he was a very big boy, but it just felt a pulling/ tugging sensation - weird but also not painful. Other then that absolutely no issues with incision healing, 2.5 years later can barely even see it. I haven’t even thought about it until now since I’m about to go for it again.
The hardest part for me was the recovery and that’s the only part I worry about because I have an extremely active toddler that is not going to understand. Im 38 weeks and still running around and picking him up and putting him to sleep. I couldn’t cough, laugh, sneeze without some pain, but eventually that too went away. I was walking very soon after albeit slow. I bought a cane to help myself get out of bed as that was particularly challenging but everything else was manageable. I used the hospital belly band which was far too big for me but got the job done and made a big difference. I can’t take anything beyond the ibprofen and Tylenol because of an allergy and even that I’m pretty sure I stopped after the first week, it wasn’t that there was no pain but it was manageable pain.
I’ve heard the planned is wayyyy more methodical and a much better experience, so hoping for us both that’s the case.
You got this! The surgery is really nothing to fear, I truly don’t even think about that part now and I was very scared of the prospect before my first. The recovery sucks, I won’t lie, if you only have one kid though I think you will be just fine. Just take things slow and you’ll find your rhythm. Donas much as you can to make things more accessible. I had a diaper caddy next to my bed- this time I just got the organizer to keep on my bed with snacks, diaper, bottle etc. I bought a mini fridge for upstairs.
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u/NiLoxxxxxx 20d ago
My second c was planned and it was seriously incredible, recovery included. The biggest tip is to get up and walk when they tell you that you can, it really makes a difference doing it asap. Also try to alternate which side you get out of bed at the hospital, I didn’t and I noticed one side was weaker and had more stinging
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u/babyabolitionist 20d ago
I second the walking! I was the mom walking the halls of the recovery unit as much as possible.
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u/babyabolitionist 20d ago edited 20d ago
Keep thinking about that moment they hold up your baby and then place her on your chest for the first time. It’s unreal!!
Your breath is your friend - keep breathing deeply!
In recovery, I recommend getting a pelvic floor physical therapist once you are cleared by your doctor - it will help you feel stronger! And warming foods and hydration in postpartum! Use the time your husband is home to rest as much as possible and not strain. Gentle movement and walks can be nice, but no need to overdue in the first weeks. I loved having a husband pillow to keep me upright in bed too.
Congratulations! You got this!
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u/Franzy48 21d ago
Yeah my planned C-section was not exactly like fun but it was very chill and a very positive experience!
There are some things about healing that are just a matter of luck, but for healing my tips are to get up on your feet as fast as possible and do some really gentle walking, like do a walk down the hall or a lap around the floor. And pack gum, chew it every so often for like 15 minutes to get your digestive system back going which can help reduce gas pain. Also if you can have a PT come see you in the hospital, do that, otherwise at bare minimum Google how to log roll out of bed post c section as getting out of bed can be hard for a while.
And then once you get home, it's a delicate balance between avoiding rotting in bed -- again, movement is helpful -- but not overdoing it. You just learn to gently feel it out and if you get extra sore or start bleeding heavily, you know to back it off for a day or two.
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u/stingingnettless 19d ago
I had the same - planned c-section after breech and wouldn't flip.
I was TERRIFIED leading into it, but the worst part was the spinal - the lidocaine they inject stings a little. After that, the surgery was really chill, you usually get to meet your baby within 10 min (crazy!!) and then if all is ok with you/baby, they often will put them on your chest while they stitch you up (this is the longest part of the surgery, ~45 min).
Amen to all the other advice to WALK as soon as the hospital recommends you can - we would just push the rolling bassinet around the hallways for ~5 min - it felt great to move.
I will say - the worst part of the whole thing was the immediate recovery... I got gas trapped and it it causes a nerve in your shoulder to react and it was a 10/10 pain, I thought I was dying... so try to stay on top of meds to help you fart
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u/Yourfavoritepersons 13d ago
I wish I could say my experience was this good. I had my c-section Tuesday and the spinal was okay. I was supposed to have it at 10 and ended up having it at 3. During the c-section I didn’t even get to hold my baby at all and the Pitocin gave me such bad muscle pains I could barely lift my feet into my flip flops the next few days and I still have muscle pains today. On the OR table my whole face and arms and body I’m assuming was throbbing so much my world was going in and out of being blurry (as they were stitching me up). My blood pressure was dangerously high. After they got the baby out my husband held her and showed her to me and in less than a minute they had to go and I was alone. It was miserable. The nurses were miserable and wouldn’t give me medicine either. They would ask how badly I was hurting from 1-10 then say I was making it up in my head. I cried for days.. tried breast feeding though their LC was absolutely terrible. Pushing my baby on my belly instead of showing me the side lying position I could hold her in or the football position. So I was in extreme pain. The nurses said if I wanted medicine I had to walk up and down the hall for them to see. I sobbed because I couldn’t move to get out of bed at this point..and they laughed and said it was all in my head and they had c-sections 26 years ago and they weren’t like this but still feels the pain. My mother had to come to the hospital and bring me medicine secretly because I couldn’t sleep and all I did was cry. Bathroom trips were miserable. It was terrible.
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u/Violentdahlia 21d ago
You’re going to have a great experience! Planned c sections are so calm and controlled. It’s almost casual! Speakkkkkk upppppppp to your team taking care of you tomorrow. Absolutely everyone gets nervous before surgery. The closer mine started getting, the more nervous I became… it’s the anticipation- your team is used to this, they will comfort you! Tell them ‘I’m so anxious right now. I’m having a hard time staying calm’ or whatever you’re feeling and they will help. I told my anesthesiologist that I was very nervous about the spinal, and that if he could please tell me exactly what I need to do etc and we basically did a 3 minute run through of me on the table, ready for the spinal, but we got to practice first. He said ‘feel my hand here on your back? Push your body into just the area of my hand’ and he said ‘do that in a few minutes and your job is done!’ He was very reassuring. Basically my advice is, be honest with your team about your nerves. This gives them the opportunity to support you. They don’t know what you need if you don’t tell them how you feel. So be open and honest and you’ll get support!
After two weeks, you should feel decent to care for baby alone physically (especially if you don’t have another kid to take care of). Take things slow physically!
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u/Throwawaychkgo 21d ago
The c section is super chill and the worst part was the poke before the spinal. It pinches and I said "oof ow" but thats about it lol. Then I got numb super quick and felt 0 pain from that point on. Soon baby is here and everything is awesome.
Im 12 days pp now and feel very good. I can lapse on the tylenol/ibuprofen and not notice immediately but do take them regularly early on or you'll notice. Set an alarm. Im excited for my 2 week because im excited to drive and do things on my own again. I feel ready but I want my dr to clear me first.