*Baby Corner*

[sara535 15]

Eveline I totally agree with you about the C section thing, I wasnt planning it at all and was totally emotionally unprepared. I had a rough time delivering my son vaginally a few years ago but I thought it was because he was so big and I was certain that this time with a smaller baby and it being my 2nd that I would just kinda walk in hospital and shoot her out in an hour or two and be out shopping with my mother in law a couple of days later. So the disappointment plus the exhaustion of already being in labor and in the hospital for more than 24 hours certainly added to my stress at the time. I also think that if I have to do it again in the future it will be easier and better knowing what to expect. So my advice, like what Stina said earlier, is that every expectant couple should just read up and learn a little about the procedure and the recovery because it COULD happen to any of us and being caught totally off guard about it just makes it worse.

[chri'stina 190]

Eveline-I do feel for you, even though I had a c-section too, I didn't push before it which would have been even more disappointing and exhausting I'm sure. I was already exhausted from just long labor but not pushing. I do relate though to what you are saying. I didn't actually take a shower until I got home...it had been 4 days since my last when I finally had one! I just didn't have the energy to try showering at the hospital. Just going to the bathroom was tiring, and Sujeet had to help me with everything.

Edited March 14, 2008 by stina&suj

[Eveline 9]

ALso cons for the c/s is the possibility of infection of the scar or even the team of surgeons leaving stuff in you. It happened to two friends of mine...might just be the military hospital but still, it is scary.

Anyway, as I said. If I have to have another C/S I guess I can live with it better. We'll see. THe pushing was exhausting and it hurt like hell. What was even more exhausting is the doctors standing in front of me just shaking their heads and talk quietly to one another. It's scary and you don't know what is going on. I know Adam wasn't in distress, I think I was the one in distress.

[BelwinMills 0]

Thanks for the advice ladies. I have a big scar on my belly already from my appendices. They cut me from the bell all the way down to the pubic area. They had to operate twice because they didnt get all the gain green out. So its a nice huge war scar. I was in fact not expected to even make it through alive. It took me 4 months to recover. So I have been through war and back. So I think giving birth will be ok. I just worry about getting home. I have 20 stairs to climb to make it to the living area of the house and another 20 stairs for bedrooms and bathrooms. Doc said stairs should be fine and the cut will be small. I am just wishing my due date wasnt around my husbands finals. He is going to have a rough time taking care of me and the baby. I am going to look up more info on c-sections. You ladies have been great thanks for sharing your stories.

[yassmine2878 1]

How bad will a C-section be? My doctor said it might be the way I have to go because of my condition. I have had multiple surgieres before and they were rough. I think a C-section can't be worse than what I have gone through before. At least the after birth will be less. That is one plus I have heard. Vaginal doesn't look a walk in the park either. I am just wondering what I will be doing C-section or vaginal. I wish I was not allergic to so many kinds of medication's. Only one more month to go to find out. If she weighs 8 pounds or over it will be a C-section for sure.

Mine went fabulously. The c-section was the easiest part of the pregnancy. However, my doctor and I planned a c/s from day one because Im high-risk. Knowing I would have the c-section ahead of time probably had alot to do with my good outcome. I didnt have to worry about when I would go into labor, I knew exactly what to expect, etc. Its 3 weeks later and I feel pretty darn good. Ive been driving for a week and tackled Walmart alone with the baby just a few days ago.

[chnst 6]

@belwin: wow that seems like a lot of stairs to climb... I guess it will take you a while to get up there with or without a c-section.

Kudos to you for still working with a group of kids!

I did about 3 straight hours of housework today and then some cooking and I got so exhausted that I don't even remember how and when I crashed on the couch, but I woke up at 10pm and still feel tired.

@yasmine: haha I had a dream of "misplacing the baby" too ! And I woke up with the exact same feeling u have when you lost your purse or your cell phone.... well I'm glad I'm not going nuts and this kind of stuff happens to you ladies too!!

@Evi: my mom had a sucessful vbac 24 years ago. She had me via c-section and 22 months later had my sister vaginally.

as for the discussion about c-sections: either way, vaginally or c/s scare the sh** out of me right now. I want to have the baby with the least amount of pain/distress, preferably whilst being asleep...

Thats why i was kind of set on having an epidural but hubby and I have just watched a childbirth dvd where we were told how bad that is for the progressing of labour. that it could either lead into a c/s or you will be so numb "down there" that you can't be of any assistance to push, so the baby has to be "vacuumed" out or pulled out via forceps.

Then you have to deal with an episiotomy. What a nasty word in itself!!

gee, having a baby nowadays seems like having a disease that requires so much medical attention, even surgery.

I hope for mother nature to be by my side on the big day.. most women in my family had smooth labours, so I'm hoping for the best!

Those of you with C-Sections: how did you manage the pain? What kind of drugs did they give you and did they work?

How long did you stay in the hospital? was your baby in the nursery or with you at all times?

[keltic 1]

Then, the doctor kept coming in, pushing on my scar to see if my uterus was going back. I felt the blood basically shooting out of me (sorry TMI but true). I was crying in pain.

did the doctor explain what he was doing and why? it is done for all postpartum women... when you feel a hand on the incision, it is not pressing the incision except to provide support for the other hand which is massaging your fundus (the place on your uterus where the placenta detached from)... it is to help the uterus contract and get the blood out that has pooled (if any)... in doing so, the uterus gets smaller and firmer, leading to less bleeding... if it is not done, you could bleed into your uterus too much and go into shock from loss of blood... and due to all those wonderful hormones that allowed your ligaments to soften and stretch to accomodate the baby, there has to be support at the pubic bone when massaging the fundus so that the uterus doesnt prolapse (come out of the #######)

[keltic 1]

as for the discussion about c-sections: either way, vaginally or c/s scare the sh** out of me right now. I want to have the baby with the least amount of pain/distress, preferably whilst being asleep...

Thats why i was kind of set on having an epidural but hubby and I have just watched a childbirth dvd where we were told how bad that is for the progressing of labour. that it could either lead into a c/s or you will be so numb "down there" that you can't be of any assistance to push, so the baby has to be "vacuumed" out or pulled out via forceps.

Then you have to deal with an episiotomy. What a nasty word in itself!!

gee, having a baby nowadays seems like having a disease that requires so much medical attention, even surgery.

I hope for mother nature to be by my side on the big day.. most women in my family had smooth labours, so I'm hoping for the best!

Those of you with C-Sections: how did you manage the pain? What kind of drugs did they give you and did they work?

How long did you stay in the hospital? was your baby in the nursery or with you at all times?

epidurals can slow labor... esp if given too early... however, they can also help labor along if it helps the woman to relax enough to let her contractions do the work of dilating and effacing the cervix and get some rest to have the energy for pushing... and most women i have seen, wind up with a tear or episiotomy whether they have an epidural or not...

after my c/s, i had toradol thru my iv in the first day... then it was motrin and percocet... i really didnt use the percocet much, just when i knew i would be up and moving a lot... by 4 days out, i didnt use it anymore... motrin was all i needed... i left the hospital a day before i had to... i just wanted to be in my bed... my baby was in my room with me at all times, with the exception of when the docs had to examine the baby or when any testing was done, etc... if i had wanted him in the nursery, he could have gone... i just wanted him with me

best of luck with your delivery!

[Eveline 9]

@Keltic: YEs he did explain why he was pushing on my scar. Maybe it wasn't even my scar but slightly above that but to me it all hurt. I just wanted to sleep and everybody to leave me alone. They also showed me where to feel every now and then and for some reason the spot they showed me was the exact same spot that I could feel during surgery. THe pain would start right there until they gave me another dose to numb it out. Weird. Well, I could feel the uterus growing smaller and firmer withhin those days, also I felt it contract during nursing. I can't say that lochia is less after a C/S, I bled for six weeks after. Stairs I didn't walk the first day and I slept in the living room but the night after that I was so fed up with not being able to be in my own bed (after almost a week in the hospital) and I took the challenge. It wasn't that hard to walk stairs since you mostly need your legmuscles not so much your abs. the bigger problem was getting in and out of bed cause you need your abs for moving around.

I got percocet and motrin and a stool softener and some other stuff that I don't remember. The first time I took the percocet I threw up so I switched to Motrin and went off the meds after about 5 days. I felt good then and also since I was nursing I didn't want Adam to get too much of it. After a good week or so I felt better..or actually, as soon as they pulled the stitches (four days after surgery) I could move easier and things got better. Still, getting Adam in and out of the car was impossible, also when he was older he always kicked me in the scar while nursing. It was numb on some parts, and hurt on other parts. Now I think it's good. The numbness is gone, there's no more pain, the scar looks good and nobody is gonna see it anyway since it 's so far down. I don't have a problem being in a bikini or so. It's part of me, I have a story to tell and so I accept it. At least I can answer the question "mommy, how does the baby get out of your belly?" by showing the scar (at least until the kids are old enough to understand all the cruel details, hehe).

[chri'stina 190]

Those of you with C-Sections: how did you manage the pain? What kind of drugs did they give you and did they work?

How long did you stay in the hospital? was your baby in the nursery or with you at all times?

I didn't feel any pain for about 12-15 hours after the c-section since you are pretty numb still in that area. They put stuff through my IV too, but I don't remember what. Then after that, I was on motrin or percocet, depending on how bad I felt. I was sent home with a prescription for Darvocet. I took it for about a week.

I was in the hospital for 2 nights, 3 days. I left late on the 3rd day. I was glad to go home though. The baby was with us almost the whole time after the initial couple hours that he was in the nursery, only left us when/if it was time for a blood drawing for him, or his hearing test. We had him overnight and everything.

[Eveline 9]

@Stina: Same here. Adam was with us the whole entire time. The hospital didn't have a nursery (only the NICU). Some moms pushed the babies outside the room so the nurses would watch them for an hour or two but I didn't want that.

[BelwinMills 0]

So with a C-section you will stay in the hospital a little longer for recover.

Thanks Yassmine for making me feel a little better about a C-section.

[Eveline 9]

Yes, maybe a day or so longer. I delivered on a Thursday I think and I was sent home on Saturday. My friend also delivered on Thrusday, she went home Friday.

[BelwinMills 0]

Yes, maybe a day or so longer. I delivered on a Thursday I think and I was sent home on Saturday. My friend also delivered on Thrusday, she went home Friday.

O.K. that is what I thought.

[~Chad~ 0]

They moved Lira's due date from July 4th to July 14th. So far everything seems to be fine. Dannielle is on her way.