Here is my birth story - sorry its so long but once I started writing it I couldnt stop - luckily Lottie has been asleep while I wrote it! 
The C-section took 20mins from start to finish!
Violet Amelia (Lottie) arrived by elective C-Section on Tuesday 9th November 2010 at 2.58pm. I had been being monitored by growth scans as Violet had been measuring big for most of the pregnancy with a v large head. The day before her weight was estimated at 4 kilos (9 lbs) and so the consultant recommended an elective c-section the following day when I was 39+2 (or 39 on my notes).
I have private medical insurance so I arrived the following day at 10am and was shown to my private room (very nice & with a sea view!!!) various nurses, doctors and a midwife came to see me over the next few hours to do fetal monitoring, put in a canula (sp?) in my left hand for the drip, take some blood and then at 2.30pm I was asked to change into a operation gown and taken down to theatre. It is the hospitals policy that no one is allowed into theatre so my husband waited in the room.
There were lots of people bustling around in the operating room nurses, male midwife, anaesthetist, assistants and it was really busy but calm & very clean and reassuring! A midwife from Finland who was over doing some extra training stayed next to my head and chatted to me the whole time. A drip was inserted into my hand and then I had to sit up and have an epidural I can honestly say that it didnt hurt even a tiny bit! The anaesthetist just told me to stay very still and a second later it was done! I had a warm feeling move through my thighs and he said that showed it was working properly. As the epidural took effect I kept saying dont cut me yet, I can still feel my legs! and they reassured me they wouldnt!!!
. Its the strangest sensation I felt like the Ready Brek man like I could feel the outline of my legs but I couldnt feel them. Its best not to try and move them as it feels very strange! A sheet was put up so I couldnt see what was going on and I could feel them fiddling around down there as they inserted the catheter but there was no actual feeling.
Then it was all systems go I could feel a bit of rummaging around in my tummy and the Finnish midwife was still chatting away to me we were talking about her children etc... At one point I started laughing because there was a bit of tugging and it felt like I moved down the operating table a bit!!!
The only way I can describe it is wearing one of those fancy dress sumo wrestler suits (not that Ive ever worn one!) and someone punching you you can feel a soft blow or movement but not a single bit of pain whatsoever.
8 mins into the op the sheet was pushed out of the way and there was my baby being held up just after being pulled from my tummy! The consultant said Its your baby shes very big!! and gently smacked Violet's bottom and she was crying. It was AMAZING! The screen then went back up and Violet was whisked away into the next room to be examined and cleaned up etc. It took 12 mins to finish me off and staple me up and I just lay there in a happy daze while they did this, then the Finnish midwife brought Violet to see me all wrapped up in a blanket with a little hat on. They lay her next to my face and I said Hello Baby! with tears of happiness running down my cheeks. They then said they were going to take baby to the nursery for further checks and to be looked after until I came out of recovery. They said they would introduce Lottie to her Daddy on the way. Its the policy at this hospital that whatever type of birth you have that you have to go to recovery for 2 hours after the birth and baby is then brought to you once you are taken back to your room.
So I am wheeled into recovery with a massive smile on my face and lay there while they did my blood pressure and put some different things into the drip. This was the only bit that I didnt like as I had just had a baby but then she was taken away and it was like Id never given birth. I asked when I could see my baby and they said as soon as I had recovered the feeling in my legs so I kept trying to move them and eventually I could rock my feet from side to side and from then jiggle my legs etc. I think I was very determined as a woman in the next bed in recovery had had her c-section about an hour before me and she was released at the same time as me.
DH was waiting for me in the room and then Violet was brought to us and we had lots of cuddles and both our Mums arrived more cuddles, tears and happiness! Violet is a very hungry baby, she is 4.1 kilos or 9 lb 04 oz and they had to give her a bottle of formula just after she was born as she was so hungry. I was told to do combined feeding so thats how I started but I am now formula feeding her as I didnt get on with breast feeding - its just not for me, and Violet would suck and suck but nothing was coming out and I dont think the latch was quite right as I ended up with v sore nipples (Lansome cream or whatever its called is ace for that). She also has slight jaundice so the doctors told me to feed her on demand as much as she wants as we need her to wee as much as possible to get her liver and kidneys working properly and flush everything out. I was also told to put her moses basket in front of a sunny (closed) window whenever possible, in just her nappy to get sunlight on her skin. The jaundice has virtually gone now but she does enjoy her sunny time good job we live in Spain!
I stayed in hospital for 3 nights...
Day 1 Tuesday operation. Had a catheter and a drain on the incision and a drip for pain relief and glucose etc as I wasnt allowed to eat anything until day 2. Had some tummy pain like after birth type period cramp pains but nothing too bad. Couldnt get out of bed obviously! But I was still left to look after Violet through the night!!!!!! It was very hard had her milk on the bedside cabinet, cot on my left side and nappies and wipes on the bed. How I managed Ill never know! If I had known that I would be left to look after her then DH or my Mum would have stayed with me. This is the only negative thing about the experience as I had to stay awake all night with a restless Lottie as I couldnt reach to keep getting her in and out of her cot.
Day 2 Wednesday catheter and drain came out, given a bed bath and told to try getting up. I wont lie it was very hard as I had to learn how to move without hurting the staples in the incision but I managed to get into a chair and then back into the bed and then later I tried again and made it to the bathroom etc this day was the hardest getting used to moving about, but by the evening I was feeling a lot better. I sat in bed and put on some mascara and lippy and felt a bit better!
Day 3 Thursday drip was taken away, I showered, put on some make up and pottered around the room. Did a poo with no problem at all (TMI!) and made sure I told every nurse and doctor that came to see me! They said that as I was doing so well, incision healing perfectly and was up and about that I could go home the next day!!!!
Day 4 Friday After lots of checks on me and Violet we were allowed to go home at about 1pm
All in all it was a fantastic experience and no one should be scared of a C-section. My tummy is virtually healed and I have to go back next week to have the staples out. I havent been taking ANY pain relief since I left hospital (my choice - I have paracetamol to take if I need it) so thats 2 days now, and I am up and down stairs and looking after Violet, up in the night with her and basically just hanging out with Lottie as a little family, while DH and family look after me. I think a positive attitude is the key and just to know that the first 24 hours will be tough but once you get through that then you will feel better each hour that goes by.
Sorry its so long! Just one more thing I highly recommend support pants or a girdle type thing for after the birth My Mum went and got me a Playtex support pant type thing and its fantastic for supporting the scar as I move about and it also supports my now empty tummy! Another great thing is the Mamas and Papas vibrating bouncer chair - Lottie loves it - it vibrates or has a heart beat type movement and plays 3 different sounds. DH and I agree that its one of the best things we've bought.
Having a baby is the best thing to have EVER happened to me and I cant tell you how much I love Violet and DH and I love having our own family. I am SO happy and every time I have to get up in the night (Im averaging about 3 or 4 hours sleep at the moment!) is an absolute pleasure.
So a very positive birth story from one very happy Mummy!
Heres some pics of the last few days - I cant believe I only gave birth 5 days ago!!!
The C-section took 20mins from start to finish!
Violet Amelia (Lottie) arrived by elective C-Section on Tuesday 9th November 2010 at 2.58pm. I had been being monitored by growth scans as Violet had been measuring big for most of the pregnancy with a v large head. The day before her weight was estimated at 4 kilos (9 lbs) and so the consultant recommended an elective c-section the following day when I was 39+2 (or 39 on my notes).
I have private medical insurance so I arrived the following day at 10am and was shown to my private room (very nice & with a sea view!!!) various nurses, doctors and a midwife came to see me over the next few hours to do fetal monitoring, put in a canula (sp?) in my left hand for the drip, take some blood and then at 2.30pm I was asked to change into a operation gown and taken down to theatre. It is the hospitals policy that no one is allowed into theatre so my husband waited in the room.
There were lots of people bustling around in the operating room nurses, male midwife, anaesthetist, assistants and it was really busy but calm & very clean and reassuring! A midwife from Finland who was over doing some extra training stayed next to my head and chatted to me the whole time. A drip was inserted into my hand and then I had to sit up and have an epidural I can honestly say that it didnt hurt even a tiny bit! The anaesthetist just told me to stay very still and a second later it was done! I had a warm feeling move through my thighs and he said that showed it was working properly. As the epidural took effect I kept saying dont cut me yet, I can still feel my legs! and they reassured me they wouldnt!!!
. Its the strangest sensation I felt like the Ready Brek man like I could feel the outline of my legs but I couldnt feel them. Its best not to try and move them as it feels very strange! A sheet was put up so I couldnt see what was going on and I could feel them fiddling around down there as they inserted the catheter but there was no actual feeling.Then it was all systems go I could feel a bit of rummaging around in my tummy and the Finnish midwife was still chatting away to me we were talking about her children etc... At one point I started laughing because there was a bit of tugging and it felt like I moved down the operating table a bit!!!
The only way I can describe it is wearing one of those fancy dress sumo wrestler suits (not that Ive ever worn one!) and someone punching you you can feel a soft blow or movement but not a single bit of pain whatsoever.8 mins into the op the sheet was pushed out of the way and there was my baby being held up just after being pulled from my tummy! The consultant said Its your baby shes very big!! and gently smacked Violet's bottom and she was crying. It was AMAZING! The screen then went back up and Violet was whisked away into the next room to be examined and cleaned up etc. It took 12 mins to finish me off and staple me up and I just lay there in a happy daze while they did this, then the Finnish midwife brought Violet to see me all wrapped up in a blanket with a little hat on. They lay her next to my face and I said Hello Baby! with tears of happiness running down my cheeks. They then said they were going to take baby to the nursery for further checks and to be looked after until I came out of recovery. They said they would introduce Lottie to her Daddy on the way. Its the policy at this hospital that whatever type of birth you have that you have to go to recovery for 2 hours after the birth and baby is then brought to you once you are taken back to your room.
So I am wheeled into recovery with a massive smile on my face and lay there while they did my blood pressure and put some different things into the drip. This was the only bit that I didnt like as I had just had a baby but then she was taken away and it was like Id never given birth. I asked when I could see my baby and they said as soon as I had recovered the feeling in my legs so I kept trying to move them and eventually I could rock my feet from side to side and from then jiggle my legs etc. I think I was very determined as a woman in the next bed in recovery had had her c-section about an hour before me and she was released at the same time as me.
DH was waiting for me in the room and then Violet was brought to us and we had lots of cuddles and both our Mums arrived more cuddles, tears and happiness! Violet is a very hungry baby, she is 4.1 kilos or 9 lb 04 oz and they had to give her a bottle of formula just after she was born as she was so hungry. I was told to do combined feeding so thats how I started but I am now formula feeding her as I didnt get on with breast feeding - its just not for me, and Violet would suck and suck but nothing was coming out and I dont think the latch was quite right as I ended up with v sore nipples (Lansome cream or whatever its called is ace for that). She also has slight jaundice so the doctors told me to feed her on demand as much as she wants as we need her to wee as much as possible to get her liver and kidneys working properly and flush everything out. I was also told to put her moses basket in front of a sunny (closed) window whenever possible, in just her nappy to get sunlight on her skin. The jaundice has virtually gone now but she does enjoy her sunny time good job we live in Spain!
I stayed in hospital for 3 nights...
Day 1 Tuesday operation. Had a catheter and a drain on the incision and a drip for pain relief and glucose etc as I wasnt allowed to eat anything until day 2. Had some tummy pain like after birth type period cramp pains but nothing too bad. Couldnt get out of bed obviously! But I was still left to look after Violet through the night!!!!!! It was very hard had her milk on the bedside cabinet, cot on my left side and nappies and wipes on the bed. How I managed Ill never know! If I had known that I would be left to look after her then DH or my Mum would have stayed with me. This is the only negative thing about the experience as I had to stay awake all night with a restless Lottie as I couldnt reach to keep getting her in and out of her cot.
Day 2 Wednesday catheter and drain came out, given a bed bath and told to try getting up. I wont lie it was very hard as I had to learn how to move without hurting the staples in the incision but I managed to get into a chair and then back into the bed and then later I tried again and made it to the bathroom etc this day was the hardest getting used to moving about, but by the evening I was feeling a lot better. I sat in bed and put on some mascara and lippy and felt a bit better!
Day 3 Thursday drip was taken away, I showered, put on some make up and pottered around the room. Did a poo with no problem at all (TMI!) and made sure I told every nurse and doctor that came to see me! They said that as I was doing so well, incision healing perfectly and was up and about that I could go home the next day!!!!
Day 4 Friday After lots of checks on me and Violet we were allowed to go home at about 1pm
All in all it was a fantastic experience and no one should be scared of a C-section. My tummy is virtually healed and I have to go back next week to have the staples out. I havent been taking ANY pain relief since I left hospital (my choice - I have paracetamol to take if I need it) so thats 2 days now, and I am up and down stairs and looking after Violet, up in the night with her and basically just hanging out with Lottie as a little family, while DH and family look after me. I think a positive attitude is the key and just to know that the first 24 hours will be tough but once you get through that then you will feel better each hour that goes by.
Sorry its so long! Just one more thing I highly recommend support pants or a girdle type thing for after the birth My Mum went and got me a Playtex support pant type thing and its fantastic for supporting the scar as I move about and it also supports my now empty tummy! Another great thing is the Mamas and Papas vibrating bouncer chair - Lottie loves it - it vibrates or has a heart beat type movement and plays 3 different sounds. DH and I agree that its one of the best things we've bought.
Having a baby is the best thing to have EVER happened to me and I cant tell you how much I love Violet and DH and I love having our own family. I am SO happy and every time I have to get up in the night (Im averaging about 3 or 4 hours sleep at the moment!) is an absolute pleasure.
So a very positive birth story from one very happy Mummy!
Heres some pics of the last few days - I cant believe I only gave birth 5 days ago!!!
I will remember this if I have to have a c-section. It's always the "big, scary" operation but it sounds like you made the best of it for you and your daughter (who is beautiful btw). 
I think a lot of first time mums panic a lot about what would happen if they eneded a c section etc, I know I did, and the reality wasnt half as bad as you imagine!!!!
