help with c section :-(

[chloe11]

well it looks like i am going to have a c section!! twin 1 is still breeched and doctor has no hope it will turn! lol! i had a scan on monday.

i am not scared of the actual operation as such, but i am worried about after.

i know it might sound vain some of the things i am concern of.

1) will i end up wih a "pouch" area where the scar will be?? pepole have been worrying me about this a lot! they say that my stomach will always be saggy in that area! i have always had a really flat stomach and really good stomach muscles and i am scared thats all going be the opposite from being cut open!!!!

2)will i be able to carry my twins? i am really worried that i wont be able to look after them and feed them and get up to change their nappies etc the first few weeks, well first few days especially! i do not want to be relaying on other people too much!!!

3)how long does the pain around the scar last? how soon after can u wear jeans that go on top of the scar?

4)will it be easy to feed them or will the pressure of holding them or laying them on the feeding cushion to BF?

5)how long is actual recovery time till you feel normal?

6)do you lose weight slower than you would if you had a natural birth?

thank you so much ladies!!!!!!!! i know some questions might sound vain but i cant help worry about them!!!!! i am more concerned about the twins and looking after them properly but also about how c section will after me in a physcial point of view!

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[littlelegs83]

Hi

I havent been left with a pouch by my scar. I did take a while to lose weight and get a flat tummy back, but thats mainly because i decided to take it slow.

3days after op i felt i could do everything as normal with dd. I think i felt normal about a couple of weeks, and was driving in two weeks after op.

 

[sunshineray7]

1) will i end up wih a "pouch" area where the scar will be??
Some people do say that they have a sag where their scar is, but I've never had this, although my tummy in general was saggy for a while!! You're not supposed to do strenuous exercise after a section for about 12 months.

2)will i be able to carry my twins?
I was able to picky son up out of his Moses basket when we were discharged, this was 2 days after my section. I did find it tough in hospital but you've got to just ask for help.

3)how long does the pain around the scar last? how soon after can u wear jeans that go on top of the scar? I had pain for a good couple of weeks but was very bruised from an emergency section, I've heard it's a bit better with elective. I wore normal trousers after about a week.


4)will it be easy to feed them or will the pressure of holding them or laying them on the feeding cushion to BF?
I struggled to feed because of latching problems and don't think I got enough help in hospital. Once I was home I found it much easier to feed whilst lying on my side.

5)how long is actual recovery time till you feel normal?
About a week and a half after my section I walked to my workplace with ds, which was about 10 min walk each way and felt like I'd overdone it when I got home but after 3 weeks I was back driving and felt more normal.

6)do you lose weight slower than you would if you had a natural birth?
I breastfed and found that the weight literally dropped off. I suppose having a section would hinder you a bit because you're not meant to exercise for a while.

 

[chloe11]

thank you so much for your honest answers!!!!!! they really have helped! i just have no idea about c sections and all the afterwards of it!!!!!!!

i do have a very supportive husband who will be able to help me around and my mum is staying with us for a while (she lives abroad) but i would like to do most of the things on my own! it scares me the idea of not being able to walk for very long for a few weeks, i was planning on taking them out and i have a couple of weddings to attend!! but i guess we will
pass that bridge when we come to it!!!

i am glad to see that you guys havent ended up with saggy skin as such around the scaring area!!

i will try and get as much help at hospital as possible! i can already imagen myself being one of these annoying woman who keep asking questions and keep pressing their buzzer!!! lol! ah well!!

once again - thank you so much xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Amber100]

I had a c section 12 days ago & from day 1 never had a pouch, in fact the scar is so neat you can barely see it. I had the section late afternoon & was up & changing, feeding my baby the next morning. I was very sore for about 5 days but nothing unbearable & by day 7 I was out having lunch & a little wander round the shops. Since then I've been out every day & felt great. I've never had any problems with breastfeeding & whilst I wouldn't want to wear anything too rough against my scar I've been in normal clothes since being home which was 2 days later. Hope that helps!

 

[chloe11]

I had a c section 12 days ago & from day 1 never had a pouch, in fact the scar is so neat you can barely see it. I had the section late afternoon & was up & changing, feeding my baby the next morning. I was very sore for about 5 days but nothing unbearable & by day 7 I was out having lunch & a little wander round the shops. Since then I've been out every day & felt great. I've never had any problems with breastfeeding & whilst I wouldn't want to wear anything too rough against my scar I've been in normal clothes since being home which was 2 days later. Hope that helps!

that sounds like a very good story!! def making me feel less scared about it all!!!

thanks so much hun! and congrats of course about ur LO!!!!

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[jenmc226]

The hardest thing with my C-section was getting out of bed in the morning. After lying still in one position for several hours it was quite painful to bend and move. But once I was up and about it wasn't bad. Similarly the nighttime feeds were very difficult. If your husband is taking time off of work definitely ask him to help with those feeds, even if he just brings the baby to you in bed to feed.

I was functional before I left the hospital. I think by 1wk out I was no longer inconvenienced by it at all.

Also, note that I don't really care for painkillers. With my first C-section I was given hydrocodone (Vicodin) which I refused to take. I had it in the past and it gave me awful migraines and made me feel terrible. With my second C-section I got percocet. I had no bad side-effects and did take it irregularly when I was feeling sore.

So part of my "painful" recovery was self-induced by choosing to not take painkillers.

I play competitive ice hockey. And I think I was back skating 3 weeks after C-section and was back playing games with my team 4 weeks after. My doctor did NOT approve. But I felt up to it and did take it easy. At my 6wk check-up I did get my doc's official approval to resume my normal activities, including hockey.

I don't have a "pooch" so much by my scar, but I do have a numb area below my scar. I do not have any surface level feeling in my skin there. I had the same issue with my first C-section and I did get feeling back after a couple years. It hasn't been a couple years yet since my last C-section but I'd expect I'd eventually get that feeling back again. It's not particularly bothersome.

 

[Florance]

I had an emergency c section almost a month ago. I wasn't able to move around for a good day and a half because I had a fever and I was on IV; however I started breastfeeding as soon as I got out of the post op recovery room. I buzzed the nurse for help quite a bit because I wasn't able to get in and out of the bed easily to pick up my baby; the nurses were also very helpful when comes to breastfeeding. I find it to be helpful t have a nursing pillow while breastfeeding because it takes the pressure from the baby's weight off your scar. I have heard stories of people who delivered naturally and got a tear down there, and they actually found it harder to breastfeed because it was painful to sit down. In that regard, I didn't find breastfeeding after a c section that bad at all; at least I could sit down properly! I was walking around slowly within two days after the section. I could probably go faster but I wanted to take it slow so my scar would heal properly. I took it easy for the first two weeks but the scar was not painful; I only had Tylenol for pain management after day 1 and I did not need it for very long. As for my belly, I think it is too soon to tell if it would be floppy, but I am losing weight fairly fast probably because of breastfeeding. After my staples were taken off and I had a showe, I felt much better already. By week 3 I was out and about (with the usual restrictions of going out with an infant of course), feeling pretty normal. I can fit into my pre-pregnancy pants already; maybe not the super tight ones but definitely dress pants and what not. Get all the help you could get from your husband and mom; the more rest you get in the first while after the surgery, the faster you heal!

Good luck with your c section!

 

[arj]

Just stalking this thread as I have twins too with a 50% chance of a C section.....

(hi Chloe)!

 

[katy1310]

I can answer some but not all of the questions, because Sophie was born at 27 weeks so things like the one about picking the baby up/breastfeeding etc don't apply to me as she was in NICU and I wasn't allowed to hold her till she was 3 weeks old.

I didn't get a pouch as such, but did have a bit of a tummy for a while - it's gone down with time though.

I was feeling much better after about 3-4 days - the first day was the worst, and getting out of bed wasn't pleasant for a few days but once I was up and moving around it was much better. I found it easiest to take my time getting out of bed - it was easiest to roll onto my side and then get out of bed from there.

Showers were quite nasty but I noticed on day 6 I felt back to normal in the shower.

I didn't wear jeans for a couple of weeks but I was doing a 120 mile round trip every day to see Sophie in NICU, so sitting in the car (obviously not driving!) with the seatbelt on etc was enough without having jeans as well! I wore jogging bottoms for the first couple of weeks.

I wouldn't have said the pain was really unbearable at any point - I won't lie, it was very sore, but it was manageable with decent painkillers.

Hope this helps xx

 

[lisa1986]

1) will i end up wih a "pouch" area where the scar will be?? NOPE I DIDNT, SCAR IS TINY AND TIDY

2)will i be able to carry my twins? I WAS UP AND ABOUT THE NEXT DAY, I WAS 'SLOWER' THAN NORMAL BUT ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF

3)how long does the pain around the scar last? IT WAS TENDER FOR A FEW WEEKS, NOT PAINFUL AS SUCH how soon after can u wear jeans that go on top of the scar? STRAIGHTAWAY

4)will it be easy to feed them or will the pressure of holding them or laying them on the feeding cushion to BF? I WASNT ALLOWED TO BF SO NOT SURE, BUT OTHER WOMEN ON WARD WERE BF AND DONE IT FINE

5)how long is actual recovery time till you feel normal? I FELT NORMAL ENOUGH AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS BUT AT ABOUT 6 WEEKS TOTALLY NORMAL, THE TENDERNESS AND ALL WAS GONE

6)do you lose weight slower than you would if you had a natural birth? HAVE NO CLUE BUT YOU CANT EXERCISE UNTIL 6 WEEKS AFTER DELIVERY I THINK. I RECKON RUNNING AROUND AFTER TWINS YOU DONT NEED TO WORRY BOUT LOSING THE BABY WEIGHT LOL

Good Luck hun, everyones different, but my c sec was 100% fine experience. xxx