My C-Section Advice

First of all, let me preface this post by saying I DO NOT recommend a c-section. I have had 3. And if we have another baby, I will have to have another one. I hated having to be cut open to get my baby out. I hated the potential risks and I hated the recovery process. I wished I could have had a natural delivery without anesthesia! I did so much research and read different stories and talked to different moms. But in the end, my body did not want to cooperate. Simply put, I never went into labor (even after 42 weeks) and I can honestly say I think I was meant to live in this day & age where c-sections are possible. Without them, I probably wouldn't have survived or my babies wouldn't have survived. 


I am the type of person that will do lots of independent research and ask a bunch of questions to my doctor so I know all potential outcomes and I'm aware of my options. I had a horribly slow recovery with my first-born, and a pretty darn fast recovery (all things considered) for my third-born (now 6 months old), and along the way I've learned a some tips that make the process go a little smoother. I've been asked several times what those tips are within the past several months, so I figured I'd write them here, for easier access to those of you who'd appreciate it.


One last thing before I get started. These suggestions are just that: SUGGESTIONS. They may not work for everyone. Different body types, medical history, or allergic reactions to medications could make some of these tips obsolete for you. 


1. Notify/ask your OB/GYN and Anesthesiologist for a spinal block with Duramorph (morphine) instead of an epidural. This is for a couple reasons. Lately it has become all the rage to have an epidural put in, then they LEAVE IT IN (but adjust the dosing) for a couple days! They say this is great because you don't feel any pain and you can sleep and take care of your baby better (supposedly).  1st of all, leaving an epidural in for a couple days is expensive. Sure, insurance pays for most of it, but you pay a percentage! 2nd of all, when you have an epidural in, YOU CANNOT SHOWER! I can't imagine not showering for 2 days after having a baby. Ew. 3rd of all a spinal block wears off within a couple hours, so you can move your legs and what-not, and the duramorph controls your pain level so your milk comes in no problem.  I strongly feel it is important to feel some pain (not a lot!... nothing more than a 3 on your 1-10 pain threshold) so you know your limitations. If you are completely numbed up with an epidural for two days, you might feel like walking around everywhere the next day, then by the time they take it out, you find out you overdid it and are in much more pain and take longer to heal. Pain is our body's way of telling us our limitations. Also, with a spinal block they will take out your IV and catheter around 24 hours after surgery, so you can take a SHOWER! Can you tell I love showers? I also feel more normal when I don't have tubes and wires connected to me, that make moving around awkward. 

2. They will offer to give you percocet and a mega-ibuprofen pill to control pain. ACCEPT but take with caution. Ibuprofen is essential to keep swelling at bay. I took that one every 4-6 hours for the first week. I would only take the percocet as needed because it has side affects that are different for everyone (and not usually positive). They might suggest every 4 hours, but I would play it by ear. When your pain level gets to a 3, take it. 

3. By day 2, ask for an abdominal binder. This is a wrap thing that goes around your midsection that compresses things so it is less painful to move around. I used to find myself 'holding' the site of my incision when I was walking around. Then a nurse told me about an abdominal binder, then gave me one and holy cow it made SUCH a difference! Sadly, I didn't discover this until my most recent surgery! 

4. Don't wait more than 12 hours to start moving, even if it is only moving from a laying back position to sitting up on the side of the bed at first. Movement (albeit SLOWLY) will prevent severe gas pains. Be sure and start trying to walk around (with help) by day 2. Oh take plenty of those stool softeners!

5. Ask your OB/GYN to let you eat when you feel like it, and to not place limitations on your diet. Of course you aren't going to want a cheeseburger right after having had a baby. But the protocol diet restrictions post c-section are liquid only until something like 12-24 hours after surgery, then gradual introduction to normal food. I had to endure this with my first c-section and it was AWFUL!  I wanted real food so much sooner! So with my next 2 doctors I asked them to write on my chart to let me have food when I feel like it and they obliged. In reality, you don't want anything but fluids for several hours after (you feel nauseous and may even throw up). But with Alex and Kaila, who were both delivered around 8am, I was ready to eat a small meal by dinner. This helps with energy levels and milk production!

6. If you are breast-feeding, try to breast-feed within the first hour after the baby is born. Sometimes, some people, have a harder time getting their milk to come in after a c-section (wasn't the case for me AT ALL! I drowned my babies in milk practically... poor things...) so the sooner you get started with the stimulation, the law of milk supply and demand will start to work in your body. 

7. Know how you react to different anti-nausea medications. They give you some right before surgery, so, if you know which one you react well, to, recommend it. If you haven't taken it before, ask for the one with the least amount of side effects (I think there's 3 different ones). They gave me a commonly-used one with Owen, and it made me so sleepy and groggy, that I didn't want anything to do with him until it wore off. I seriously didn't have the patience to nurse, so they gave him formula until it wore off (about 4 hours later). 

8. The Duramorph can make you itchy. Not like crazy itchy, but for some people, it's a side effect. It made me a little itchy everywhere, and they have a medicine to counteract that.

9. Drink LOTS AND LOTS of water! It helps with healing & milk production. It might make you look a little swollen, but once you start moving around it will dissipate. 

10. Ask them to let you leave by day 3. With Kaila, they kept telling me I should stay another day, but I was like, GET ME OUTTA HERE! Not like mad or crazy, but I was sick of hospital food and I missed being home with my babies. And the minimum stay in the hospital after c-section is like 72 hours I think? But they like to suggest 96 hours. If you are able to pass gas or even better, have a bowel movement, they will be more convinced you are ready to leave. 


Ok! That is about it! Oh, one more thing. I would say, if you are planning a c-section or you think that it might be a possibility, try to learn as much as possible about the process to make it less scary. Also, maybe practice breathing and relaxation techniques. This would be helpful because if you get super nervous and worried, they will probably give you high blood pressure medicine during surgery, which makes you SUPER TIRED allll dayyyyy longggg. I found this out the hard way (with Kaila). I was like, "Why am I so tired?" I couldn't sleep, but I also couldn't keep my eyes open. Then I put 2+2 together and realized it was the high blood pressure medicine.