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Chari
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| Posted: July 23 2006 at 9:48am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
Chari, any thoughts from Northern California (where having a baby is much less of an "ordeal" as I understand it)? |
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Elizabeth, I am not at home as you have probably noticed  and, I am NOT in Northern CA.....I am sitting in a lovely old San Fran home  ....but I do have some comments. I have only read the first few posts, and this last one...so, I am not sure what has been covered. I do not have time for more right now....gotta long drive ahead of me today, including a brief visit to Anne  ......and mostly over 100* weather the whole way....and my AC has decided to barely work.....ugh  ......and not much time at home....so, if I forget to come back to this.....I am notorious for forgetfulness .....do gently remind me
Prayers for you and your wee lass.
Oh, and, as one who followed along closely in the melodrama of your last delivery .......I want to support you in this attitude for this delivery......I think you are mirroring how MY response would have been both times
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Chari...Take Up & Read
Dh Marty 27yrs...3 lovely maidens: Anne 24, Sarah 20 & Maddelyn 17 and 3 chivalrous sons: Matthew 22, Garrett 16 & Malachy 11
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MarieC
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| Posted: July 23 2006 at 4:15pm | IP Logged
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Elizabeth,
I haven't had any c/s's but I wanted you to know I'll be praying for you.
Elizabeth wrote:
| I ended up with an emergency c-section that day. |
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FWIW...my sil had her c/s emergently and had a poor experience. She had a planned c/s 6 weeks ago and said just knowing and making a few plans made a world of difference. Hope the same is true for you.
Elizabeth wrote:
| I'll look into alternatives to Percoset. I absolutely cannot take that and have the baby with me. |
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Would they let you have stronger meds if you had someone stay in the room...dh or a friend (or friends who could take shifts w/ you)?
Best wishes!!
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Marie
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KC in TX
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| Posted: July 23 2006 at 9:50pm | IP Logged
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Elizabeth, I'm so sorry you've had pain for so long afterwards. I can't think what would have caused it. In my culture, the mother is not allowed to do anything for 3 weeks except feed the baby. Usually, the mother's mother comes in and takes care of her until those three weeks are up. If the mother is unable, there are women who do it for pay.
Everyone else has covered it pretty well. My first section was not necessarily an emergency, but it was done pretty quickly. Then I decided to have the rest by Csection because I was so afraid of going into labor only to result in a csection again. That recovery is extremely difficult. The next one was much easier. My last one was very, very difficult, but I think it's because I did not get to rest as much afterward. My older children really needed me more this time around.
Take the meds (ibuprofen), walk upright (this one is really important), ask for assistance to sit up.
Oh, I will pray for you. Each csection became harder and harder for me beforehand but we sailed through. I will pray you don't have to have one. My last two were breech right until delivery.
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: July 24 2006 at 2:35am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth, my experience may not be much help as I had an unusually easy c/section recovery and needed no pain relief at all except paracetamol (= Tylenol?) for the first few days. However, we don't have the luxury of single hospital rooms. I was sharing with two other ladies who had c/sections on the same day as myself so got to watch and discuss their recoveries too.
Getting up and down from the bed hurts, but is worth the effort. We were encouraged to spend as much time out of bed as possible after the first 24 hours, either walking or sitting in an upright chair.
Peppermint tea is good for trapped wind. The hospital I was in provided it. If yours doesn't, you could take some with you.
I found the best nursing positions were either lying down or sitting quite upright with the baby on a pillow. Sounds as though your hospital is not as sympathetic to nursing lying down as mine was  . Hospital policy was that having your baby in bed with you to nurse was fine, but that they did not encourage co-sleeping so if a midwife spotted that you had fallen asleep in bed with your baby she was supposed to put the baby back in the crib. In practice, some of the midwives turned a blind eye and just let the baby stay put .
Was anyone ever able to give you a reason for the chronic pain after your last c/section? It is six and a half weeks since mine and all I have is slight tenderness if the area is touched or pressed. Definitely no pain. I don't know how normal that is, but I do know a number of people who have had c/sections and none of them had long term chronic pain. I does sound as though you were incredibly unlucky
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: July 24 2006 at 2:39am | IP Logged
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One other thought on pain relief ... I wasn't allowed ibuprofen because I had been struggling badly with asthma, but you can alternate doses of ibuprofen and paracetamol (= acetaminophin / Tylenol?), allowing you to take doses at shorter intervals. That might be an option for you if you can't take the stronger drugs.
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Kathryn
Dh Michael, Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06) (11/07)
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esperanza
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| Posted: July 24 2006 at 8:45am | IP Logged
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Choosing a better surgeon.. 
ARNICA..a dose before surgery and then dosing after as needed.
I have been taking 3 packets of Emergen C also each day following surgery. (down to 2 a day now ..I also needed help with swollen lymph gland in my rt breast)
Lots of moving around and lots of pillows 
I was also already taking three pills of Krill Oil ...(wish I knew how much to take for my own needs, though)
I pray you find a good alternative to Percoset..I took these as needed..my pain wasn't intolerable. I find that the Percoset, for me, really took the edge off and helped with after birth pains... and I was more inclined to move more freely about ...twisting over in bed and walking upright. My worst pain was my carpal tunnel aching hands
Maybe you won't need to use any of this advice and you will birth your baby ...but if not I hope all your trips to the chiropractor help with your c-sec recovery
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In His Peace,
Tammy Gonzalez in VA
dh-Johnny
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and Jacinta-06
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MEBarrett
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| Posted: July 24 2006 at 8:51am | IP Logged
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This is all so good to read. I was informed last Thurs that if I don't go into active labor before hand (I'm 2 cm dilated) that I will have a C-section on August 7th.
I have never had one so all of this is very helpful.
The twins are both breech and they have really no room to turn. The doctor said it wouldbe painful and unlikely to be successful to try to turn them externally. However if the lower one is in a good position on the 7th they will induce for a vaginal.
So I'm totally up in the air.
I am grateful for all of the advice posted here and for Elizabeth thinking to ask for it. I am going to print out the whole thread!
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Mary Ellen
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 25 2006 at 6:16pm | IP Logged
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I agree with Mary Ellen. Such wonderful advice posted, this is a good resource. BTW, still praying for you, Mary Ellen. It's so great the twins are hanging out for so long!
Molly, I love your "Elegant Simplicity" approach to having a baby. A special suitcase, new slippers, beautiful nursing clothes and pjs...all the feminine touch.
I did want to ask you about stains. I had a problem with bleeding, and I was very reluctant to ruin the nice things I bought. Although the hospital gowns weren't pretty, I didn't have to think about "How am I going to get that out?"
Sarah, very scary about the uterine infection. One of my sisters has had 4 c/s and the incision got infected...but that is nothing to how scary yours would be.
And for all of you with advice with binder and clothing support, were your incisions horizontal and low? I had a vertical and very high incision ...just wondering out loud if advice would be a little different?
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 25 2006 at 6:18pm | IP Logged
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Chari wrote:
Elizabeth wrote:
Chari, any thoughts from Northern California (where having a baby is much less of an "ordeal" as I understand it)? |
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Elizabeth, I am not at home as you have probably noticed and, I am NOT in Northern CA.....I am sitting in a lovely old San Fran home |
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This is a tangent, but I always considering San Francisco to be in Northern California....
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Donna Marie
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| Posted: July 25 2006 at 7:34pm | IP Logged
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MEBarrett wrote:
This is all so good to read. I was informed last Thurs that if I don't go into active labor before hand (I'm 2 cm dilated) that I will have a C-section on August 7th.
I have never had one so all of this is very helpful.
The twins are both breech and they have really no room to turn. The doctor said it wouldbe painful and unlikely to be successful to try to turn them externally. However if the lower one is in a good position on the 7th they will induce for a vaginal.
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Mary Ellen,
if it helps...I had one twin head down and the other in the breech position. Two days before I went into labor, twin "b" turned and I didn't even know it! I felt like I was carrying the load a bit differently, but that was all. I have no idea where she found the room to do it!!
How far along are you?
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Donna Marie from NJ
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Finding Elegant Simplicity
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Donna Marie
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| Posted: July 25 2006 at 7:35pm | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
Chari wrote:
Elizabeth wrote:
Chari, any thoughts from Northern California (where having a baby is much less of an "ordeal" as I understand it)? |
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Elizabeth, I am not at home as you have probably noticed and, I am NOT in Northern CA.....I am sitting in a lovely old San Fran home |
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This is a tangent, but I always considering San Francisco to be in Northern California.... |
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Golly...me too! 
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Donna Marie from NJ
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Finding Elegant Simplicity
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 25 2006 at 7:37pm | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
| This is a tangent, but I always considering San Francisco to be in Northern California.... |
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That should have said "considered"...too hasty!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Molly Smith
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| Posted: July 26 2006 at 5:16am | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
| I did want to ask you about stains. I had a problem with bleeding, and I was very reluctant to ruin the nice things I bought. Although the hospital gowns weren't pretty, I didn't have to think about "How am I going to get that out?" |
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I've never had a problem with stains, but I think I'd just toss the nightgown and not worry about it. I always bring two or three to the hospital, and I'm sure they were all from a Target-like place (they weren't specifically nursing, just had button down fronts so they could be easily adapted), so they didn't cost much. Something pretty does not always have to be expensive. They are just soft color backgrounds with floral prints--no special fabrics or style, hence probably why they were so cheap. If I had to throw one out, the $5 or maybe $10 I spent in the first place would have been worth the day or two of comfort. I would never bring a "real" nursing gown (actually, I've never bought a real once since they're so darn expensive) because it would be heartbreaking to ruin it.
Of course, if the stain occurred at home, I'd work like crazy to get it out  ! BUT, I have different rules for the hospital...
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: July 26 2006 at 5:26am | IP Logged
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I've done the hospital thing a time or two and not always with babies...so I know the stain answer .It was learn it or spend weeks in a hsopital gown. Bring a bottle of Oxyclean to the hospital with you. Spray the stain when it happens and sned it home with your dh (or better yet, your mom, if available). As long as it was sprayed pretty quickly, the stain will come out when it's washed.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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MEBarrett
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37 weeks, 4 days.
I always get new pj's for the hospital. This year for Mother's Day Dave and the kids gave me nursing pajamas and a matching robe. Lavender with tiny white polka dots. Very pretty. I also ought a pair of lavender/white floral pajamas.
I think it helps to feel pretty in the hospital. I ring my make-up and a utane curling iron (no cord) so I don't look like death when people come to visit. I think you feel better if you look better. I have used Elizabeth's method of dealing with stains and had no problem.
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8kids4me
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| Posted: July 26 2006 at 8:20am | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
And for all of you with advice with binder and clothing support, were your incisions horizontal and low? I had a vertical and very high incision ...just wondering out loud if advice would be a little different?
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My outer incision is vertical, the uterine is horizontal, so for me the binder was a real life saver!
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JennGM
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8kids4me wrote:
JennGM wrote:
And for all of you with advice with binder and clothing support, were your incisions horizontal and low? I had a vertical and very high incision ...just wondering out loud if advice would be a little different?
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My outer incision is vertical, the uterine is horizontal, so for me the binder was a real life saver! |
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Yes, that's what I had. Good to know! Thanks!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Sarah
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| Posted: July 26 2006 at 8:57am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
Did they make an exception for you or was keeping the baby there within the hospital policy?
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(regarding keeping the baby with you in the OR)
Your pediatrician HAS agrees to it, even better if you have it in your baby's birth plan. IMO, the baby's birth plan is even more important than yours because she doesn't have a voice like you do to tell people what not to do.
Even though dh is a doc, he has carefully written out plans for both of our hospital kids, had THEIR doc sign it, and made sure it got over to the hospital beforehand (& we bring a copy that day with the ped's signature), that way the nursery nurses know what's going on before you have to fight them. I think they appreciate the heads up that things will be different for their schedule).
DH also said that because our dd was screaming and active and was very pink, he kept her with us in the OR. Things may have been different if she were in a more questionable state. It is not uncommon for c-section babies to have some breathing issues at first. There is something about the labor process that they think helps with breathing and the c/s babies miss out on that.
Also, they can take your baby's temp right in dh's arms. But, the pediatrician has to agree to all of this, not your OB.
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Philothea
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I had bad, chronic incision pain after my C-section, too. It has just now subsided and my son is 2 years and almost 3 months old. You're not alone.
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SeaStar
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I had two c-sections... No problems with the first, but with the second I was at a hospital that requires babies to room in with the mother. The mother is given no help- which is fine for vaginal births but very difficult if you've had major surgery. If you have a c-section, getting in and out of bed is very hard, and I could not lift my baby up and out of the bassinet by myself, even though it was right beside the bed. The nurses were not happy with me asking for help so often, so I finally just kept dd in bed with me, and then they criticized me for that!
I only stayed two nights- then went home where help was available 24/7.
If you have a c-section, my advice is to check into what type of help you will have at the hospital if your dh is at home taking care of other children!
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: C-section support
