C-section recovery stories PLEASE

[mommyheather]

I am having my first c-section in a few days and I am a little nervous as I don't know what to expect afterward. Any stories would be GREAT (good or bad)!! Also I live close to my other children's school so they won't bus them Would it be possible for me to walk a mile and a half round trip to get them about a week after a c-section??? Any opinions will be GREATLY appreciated
Thanks ladies!

 

[Emmylou27]

With DD I had an emergency section and recovered really well afterwards. Had the section on the Friday morning, was up and showering on the Saturday then was discharged on the Sunday morning. It was sore initially, you have to listen to your body, take the meds offered and take it slowly but once you get up and about you start to feel better quickly.

My daughter was transferred to another hospital so from the time I was discharged, hubby and I were making a 60 mile round trip each day to be with her. Getting in and out of the car initally was painful and certainly for a few of the days that week we were walking about 1/2 mile from the car park which was pretty hard going - again though, as long as I took it slowly it was do-able. The second day we were up there I think I managed about a miles walk very slowly - I was feeling so much better my head thought I was alot more capable than my body did!

Luckily for us DD came home after a week. The only thing was at the end of that week my feet were soooo swollen which should have gone down by that point but because I'd spent the week on them instead of resting was to be expected.

I think personally I could have managed a slow mile and half a week or so after the section but everyone recovers differently. The best advice I could give would be to rest, start movement slowly but get moving although you must listen to your body and try not to overdo it.

I'm planning another c-section this time, so it can't be that bad - especially as I have a fear of knives and people messing with my back!!

Hope it all goes well for you hon

 

[mommyheather]

With DD I had an emergency section and recovered really well afterwards. Had the section on the Friday morning, was up and showering on the Saturday then was discharged on the Sunday morning. It was sore initially, you have to listen to your body, take the meds offered and take it slowly but once you get up and about you start to feel better quickly.

My daughter was transferred to another hospital so from the time I was discharged, hubby and I were making a 60 mile round trip each day to be with her. Getting in and out of the car initally was painful and certainly for a few of the days that week we were walking about 1/2 mile from the car park which was pretty hard going - again though, as long as I took it slowly it was do-able. The second day we were up there I think I managed about a miles walk very slowly - I was feeling so much better my head thought I was alot more capable than my body did!

Luckily for us DD came home after a week. The only thing was at the end of that week my feet were soooo swollen which should have gone down by that point but because I'd spent the week on them instead of resting was to be expected.

I think personally I could have managed a slow mile and half a week or so after the section but everyone recovers differently. The best advice I could give would be to rest, start movement slowly but get moving although you must listen to your body and try not to overdo it.

I'm planning another c-section this time, so it can't be that bad - especially as I have a fear of knives and people messing with my back!!

Hope it all goes well for you hon

Thanks Emmylou27

 

[stephwiggy]

if possible i would see if a friend can do the school run for the week afterwards - for 2 reasons - the physical recovery can be hard in that you will have a major op.. and new bubs.

for me i had various other issues to deal with so it took me 3-4 weeks but if you are generally healthy and have kept semi active i would say 2 weeks woudl be viable.

watch out for infection... it can creep up on you... it did with me so any readness and or ouzing (sp) and as soon spot any issues do see the doc..

also trousers and pants make sure that they are not sitting at the c-section level for a while..

thats all i can think of for now xx

 

[MommyMichele]

I am having my first c-section in a few days and I am a little nervous as I don't know what to expect afterward. Any stories would be GREAT (good or bad)!! Also I live close to my other children's school so they won't bus them Would it be possible for me to walk a mile and a half round trip to get them about a week after a c-section??? Any opinions will be GREATLY appreciated
Thanks ladies!

uh, I would say NO! That's way too much hun! Can you get some one to take you there to pick them up?

I'm having my 6th section in just over 2 weeks, no complications from any of them. Rest a lot, drink lots of fluids, ask for help, stay on top those pain meds and eat before taking them. No lifting any but baby.

 

[sue247]

I also think that walk would be way too much. I had a c section with my son, i found walking quite hard for a while, even a short walk - i would have to walk slowly and stop and rest every so often. A 2 mile walk is a lot, i could not have done that. Take it easy for a couple of weeks just to heal!

 

[Pink_Tinks]

I had an emergency c-section on a thursday, was home and normal on Monday. yeah ok had to take things a bit easier than normal, but i was walking about 2 miles a day 2 weeks after havinf Harriet.

my recovery did go very well; you just have to mkae sure you dont over do it.

 

[aob1013]

Alot of people made out how awful a section was and how i would be laid out for weeks, but i can happily tell you that isn't the case .. for me anyway.

I was up and about the next day, had a shower, had a poo .. even managed sex on day 9! Yeah it hurt for the first week to move about, but as long as you keep up with your pain relief you will be perfectly fine. Make sure you get up and about as soon as you can. I was out on day 2.

I hardly bled, and a week afterwards i was back to myself. I am now back to my 'normal' self!

 

[ellie27]

I had a very positive experience.

I had Anna by c-section monday 11am and was out of the bed and in the shower on my own at 10pm, walking around the next day and out hospital on wednesday morning.

The girl in the bed beside me had her baby before me and still didnt get out the bed that day - she was still in hospital when I left.

It was agony that moving for the first time but I think if I didnt push myself and get up I may have taken a lot longer to recover.

I wouldnt be thinking of all that walking.

I took things easy, well I was still up and down on my knees changing my daughters nappy!

My wound got infected - that was the worst part! So dont have pants/waistband anything along your stitches.

 

[BLONDIE35]

My 1st c-section was elective so was very calm and organised. Had her on the Monday morning and was home by Wednesday. Just make sure you don't overdo it but a little bit of exercise like a gentle walk is good and not too much lifting as this helps recovery.

Big knickers that come up to the belly button is good as they don't rub on the scar and nighties are good whilst you're in hospital.

Hope it all goes well. xx

 

[AngelzTears]

Sounds like I'm one of the few who has had a rough-ish recovery. When I was getting IV pain meds in the hospital I was able to get up and shower the day after I had my baby, I felt great. But once they took me off that though I couldn't hardly do anything. Every position I could get into hurt like crazy, and I had to be helped in and out of bed. I couldn't even sit up enough to get my baby out of her bassinet so I had to keep her in the bed with me the first few days. It's been 10 days since I had my baby and I can get out of bed by myself now and sleep on my side finally, but I still can't sit up if the baby is in my arms. There's no way I could walk a mile and a half in my condition!

 

[alaskanwhitec]

I'm seven days post c-section, I do well, I can walk a flight of stairs....But when my pain meds wear off, I'm sore. Stay on top of your meds and you should do fine!

 

[jenmc226]

Cramps, bloating, painful gas, painful bowel movements. If they recommend you to stay on a liquid diet - don't cheat!!!!
I did 2 days of liquids after C-section before going back to solids. I think the cramping was more painful than any of the labor pains I'd had prior to the C-section. Maybe not quite as sharp but constant and unrelenting.

I refused pain meds after my C-section. They wanted me to take vicodin. From experience I know vicodin gives me awful migraines and I'm put in a position where I need to take more vicodin just to make the migraines go away. They gave me a little mini-pain pill that i did take while I was at the hopsital. I left the hospital a day early and never filled any of my perscription pain meds.

I really don't remember the pain being bad at all. It was only bad if something touched/brushed/bumped the incision or if i tried using my stomach muscles for something - like doing a sit-up. I did not, however, have a newborn at home to care for. My son didn't come home for 3weeks as he was born premature at 34 weeks. Possibly I'd be singing a different tune if I'd had to care for a baby right after the surgery.

 

[BoBo14]

I had section thursday at 10.45pm and was up having a shower at midday on friday. It was very painful getting in and out of bed and had my partner not been able to stay in my room i dont know how i would have looked after my little boy. I had to spend 6 days in as baby was poorly. Im home now (1 week later) and feel much better. Have managed to walk very gingerly around tesco but still cant sleep in my bed and have borrowed my dads recliner chair to sleep in.

I cannot imagine walking far as i know i would be in agony and im amazed at the quick recovery of other mummies. Well done guys. You will know your own limitations and i would just advice not to push it or your overall recovery may take longer x

 

[Dilek]

Ive had an op similar to a c section, and my recovery took a while, esp re the walking. What no one has mentioned it this, Your ABS kill. SO u have to take it slowly using the abs, like getting up and down, and thats why u walk gingerly. But take the pain relief and keep active without overdoing it.