C-Section Recovery

I shared my birth story a few weeks ago – read it HERE. I’ve received a lot of messages on Instagram about my c-section recovery so I decided to do a blog post about it.

Thoughts on recovery before having a c-section:

I was really anxious to have a c-section because I didn’t know what to expect. I was worried that my body wouldn’t recover in terms of having my stomach go down to normal/flat compared to having a regular (vaginal) birth. I also didn’t know what the scar would look like and was a little worried about that too. I read online stories about women talking about how they forever had a pooch above their scar after their c-section. I also couldn’t find many before and after pictures online of people’s stomachs before and after having a c-section. I know it probably sounds selfish that I was so concerned with how my stomach would look afterwards but honestly I was worried about it.

Spinal block:

A spinal block is similar to an epidural, it numbs you. A spinal block is a one time injection and with an epidural, it stays in you so that the doctor can give you more medicine if need be. A spinal block is the type of anesthesia used for a scheduled c-section. The doctor numbs you before he does the spinal block. The initial numbing shot just feels like a prick or a shot – not bad at all. I didn’t feel the spinal block. I went numb within a few minutes after the spinal block was performed. Your legs start to feel really warm and tingly when you are going numb. The anesthesia did not make me feel nauseous.

First few hours after surgery:

I occasionally had hot flashes which happens no matter how you have your baby because all your hormones are going crazy. I also had the shakes which I think was caused by nerves, adrenaline, and the anesthesia. But there is so much going on and you are wrapped up in all the emotions of having a new baby so even if you don’t feel good, you really don’t care because you are so focused on your baby.

Pain:

As I mentioned in my birth story post (read HERE), after the surgery, the anesthesiologist gave me two injections into my flanks (sides of my stomach) which made me pretty numb in my abdomen for 18-24 hours. I did start feeling some soreness and that is when I began taking Motrin. The pain seemed to always be the worst at nighttime. I always felt better in the morning. I never had pain severe enough to take narcotic pain medicine. I took Motrin about every 8 hours while in the hospital and once I got home for a few days.

Writing this post about 5 weeks later, I still have soreness right above my incision. It almost feels like a sunburn. Somedays it is more uncomfortable and some days I don’t notice it at all. My incision area feels a little numb but I know that once I heal, the feeling will come back. My incision is a skinny purple/red line right now. I bought scar away sheets to put on the incision which I will start using soon.

Standing up for the first time:

I read online that a lot of people reported feeling like their insides were going to fall out when they stood up for the first time. This is not true or was not true for me. I just felt really sore and stiff when I stood up for the first time. I had surgery at 8am and did not get to stand up or get out of bed until about 10pm that night. The rest of my hospital stay, I continued to be sore and stiff but it got better each day. I was able to walk the hallway one night. I was also able to walk out of the hospital when we headed home, I didn’t need a wheelchair.

Catheter:

They placed a catheter in me after I went numb from the spinal block. After a c-section, you have to stay in bed for a little while and can’t get up. I didn’t get to stand up until 10pm. The nurses removed my catheter at this time. After the catheter was removed, I was told I needed to use the restroom and urinate twice before I could take a shower. For some reason, I couldn’t go to the bathroom or relax enough to go once they took the catheter. It was so uncomfortable and I felt like I needed to go so bad and this was at 2am. The nurses told me if I didn’t go eventually they would have to be the catheter back in and I wouldn’t be numb. I definitely didn’t want that to happen! I literally said prayers and did everything to try to relax and finally I peed. Apparently this can happen after having a catheter in because your body gets used to the catheter constantly emptying your bladder.

Bleeding:

Just like after a normal birth, you bleed for a few weeks after you deliver. At the hospital, they give you mesh underwear and pads to use -you can’t use tampons. The mesh underwear was great because you can just throw them away and they went up high so they didn’t rub my incision.

Breastfeeding:

I was worried that because I didn’t get to hold Madison and do skin to skin right away that we would have some sort of difficulty breastfeeding. But, I didn’t have trouble breastfeeding even though I didn’t get to hold her until I was in recovery from surgery.

Breastfeeding does make your uterus contract which helps your uterus go down to its normal size and also helps your stomach go down as well. When your uterus contracts, it can be somewhat uncomfortable. I didn’t think it was that bad. It was less than a period cramp pain.

Swelling:

My legs and feet got really swollen from all the fluids that they gave me at the hospital. I could only wear sandals at the hospital because that is how swollen my feet got. My body didn’t seem to get very swollen during pregnancy besides my face. It was a shock to me how swollen my legs and feet got. The swelling went down after a few days.

Pitocin:

After the c-section, I was given Pitocin in an IV to make my uterus contract. Your uterus gets really big while you are pregnant because the baby grows in there. So once you have the baby, your uterus has to contract to become smaller. Usually your uterus goes back to its normal size by about six weeks post partum.

Post partum belly band:

After surgery, the hospital wrapped a band around my stomach which helped hold my stomach in some and take weight off my incision. The hospital where I delivered had mirrors that had shelves on them in the bathroom so I could never really tell what my stomach looked like from the side. I could only look straight down at myself. I did notice it had gone down a lot by the end of the first day and it continued to go down each day. I bought postpartum bands to wear once I got home. When I got home, the band they put on me at the hospital no longer fit, it was too big.

The bands that I bought and used are HERE and HERE. One of them was larger so I wore that first and then wore the smaller ones as my stomach got smaller. I wore the bands 24/7 for the first 5 or so days post partum. I don’t wear them that often anymore because they can show through some clothes. I just wear them around the house or sometimes to bed now.

Weight gain & loss:

I gained 42 pounds during pregnancy. I was honestly shocked that I gained so much. I do think a lot was swelling and water though because my weight dropped pretty quickly after I had Madison. I was so worried that this would not be the case. I think breastfeeding has definitely helped me get back to normal. I am not watching what I eat/drink. As of today, I have 5 more pounds to lose until I am back at my pre-pregnancy/normal weight!

I have not been able to work out at all. This week, I have a checkup with my OBGYN and so I will ask her if I can start working out again. Even when I can start working out, I am going to take it easy because I don’t want to have any complications.

At home:

I was worried about having a c-section because the nursery and my bedroom are on the second floor. I didn’t know what it would be like to climb stairs. It turns out that it wasn’t bad at all. I just took things slow.

Help:

When I came home from the hospital, I didn’t want anyone to stay with us. I knew I would be able to take care of things on my own and I wanted Tommy and I to bond with Madison. I also like my own space and am a pretty independent person. We did have friends bring dinner which was nice! I had Madison on Wednesday and Tommy went back to work the following Monday.

In conclusion, recovery was not that bad – definitely not as bad as I thought it would be!