I'm 33w with di/di twins and baby 1 is still in a very bad transverse breech position.. Its likely I will have to have a c-section as a result if she hasn't flipped by the time I go into labor.
I am wondering if any of you had a c-section which was scheduled and could share your experience and recovery experience with me. I had DS1 vaginally and would like to prepare for the option/outcome of a c-section.
I had one, I will write more when I have time.
great thanks. I would really appreciate hearing from others who've had the experience as I know little about them
I had a scheduled c-section. Talk to your doctor about it ahead of time. How long is doc comfortable letting you go in your pregnancy? Plan the recovery period-- will you be in your room or recovery room, how soon can you have your babies with you (assuming no nicu).
My twin delivery was not terrible. It was scheduled, I was not in labor. worst part for me was the placement of the epidural.
My twins went with my husband up to the nursery, I was taken to my room after surgery and asked right away for the babies to be brought to me.
My recovery went well. There was a short blip of high blood pressure. Lactation consultant was ready to help me figure everything out.
My singleton recovery (also a c-section) was easier, despite the fact that I labored for 34+ hours before the section.
I had one due to IUGR. I talked a lot to my OB beforehand because I was hoping for a vaginal delivery as I had with DD1. He knew my concerns and that I wanted to be with babies in NICU ASAP. My OB got me a consult with the anesthesiologist beforehand so I could discuss med options. Since I knew my babies would be in the NICU, I needed to be up and about ASAP. I decided to go with an epidural but have that removed immediately after surgery and put a pump in. Having a CS really sucked IMO (because I wanted vaginal and because it's surgery), but I made it through. They always say stay on top of your meds and I had heard that but didn't always follow that advice as I was always in the NICU and would forget. The "pain" would hit hard and fast--it was more like a severe burn than pain. Very odd. I stayed in the hospital for 4 nights and only had the pump until the next day--then I opted for ibuprofen with occasional percocet. I went home on ibuprofen only. I felt more or less fine and started driving myself back to the NICU within a couple of days.
Hopefully your twins will turn so this will all be moot. Have you discussed a version? I was hoping for that as an option for mine, but one twin was too little and both Drs advised against it in my case.
Best wishes and feel free to PM me (my take a bit to respond since I'm trying to stay afloat here, lol)
not yet. I was hoping to talk about it this week but my appointment got changed and now I have to wait a few weeks..
I talked to the doctors and was able to push the delivery date further one week. They wanted the protocol 37 weeks, I got 38 weeks instead, so no big feat, but still better than nothing. When I was asking for an even later date, they told me to look at my blood pressure readings for a few days (which became high) and decide then, so I did. I decided against pushing the date even further because my blood pressure started going from bad to scarier and I was afraid of sudden pre-e.
The doctor insisted on putting in a port, 20 hours before the operation, I tried to talk her out of it but didn't succeed. She put it into the elbow, so every time I had to move my arm, the elbow would bend and the f*#~$% port would hurt. So I talked to her and the port was out, replaced with a new one far below the elbow, so it didn't bend, didn't hurt and I could ignore it. I had to get pretty confrontational for that, I wish I didn't have to.
The operation - husband was in scrubs, by my side. The anesthesiologist was awesome, she was very reassuring and I had the impression I was in good hands. The epidural didn't hurt at all (and the injection site never hurt after the operation either - my neighbor in the room complained that hers did, I got lucky.)
For the operation they put up a curtain so we couldn't watch. I was warned that when they take out the babies, they can push against the upper stomach and that could get me queasy, but that didn't happen. I was lying there, talking to my husband, thinking "they started, ok now they are really working", and then all of a sudden I heard a baby cry. It happened so fast, I didn't expect it so very quickly - what a surprise! They showed me the babies and took them to do the warming / suctioning / etc.
After the operation I was in bed for 24 hours. I got up briefly in the next morning, to walk a few steps, but it hurt too much so after the first try I stayed in bed and only walked once again in the evening. The catheter was out the next morning after that (the nurses wanted it out sooner but I insisted.) So on day 3, I was walking around at 1 mph. Day 3 was much better, pain-wise.
The stitches and the pain: I don't know if I was given any opiates for pain on the day of the operation, I think I would have noticed (I had them before for other pain issues so I thought I could tell if I had any.) No one had any patient-administered pain relief systems or anything, no "push the button for an immediate refill." Nurses came in and gave me IVs, and that was it. They asked if I was in pain, I'd say yes, and a new IV went in. They didn't work too well, so I wondered if my pain was that stubborn, or if I were too wimpy, or what. Two or three days later, I noticed that the labels on the IVs said "Diclofenac" and "Paracetamol". I was happy I hadn't seen them before, because that's not really pain relief. Paracetamol? Really? No wonder I still had lots of pain.
Getting out of bed was awful, word to the PP who said it's a terrible burning feeling. Getting out of bed sideways, or lying down sideways was torture. I used the grip above the bed, and raised myself up with that - first part is sitting up, the next part is swinging the legs to the side of the bed, and all is good.
Word to whoever mentioned the gas pain - I think it's so bad because the intestinal landscape shifts right under the
wounded uterus, and disturbs it. I wish I had these with me - I never used them before so I had no idea what was available:
http://www.goodmalls.de/produkt,472825714,antiflat_tropfen.html
http://www.myaposhop.at/OTCkatalog/htm/sab_simplex_tropfen.htm
I recovered quickly because my mom was in the hospital every day, from early morning through afternoon, and then my husband was there in the evening. The nurses took the babies from 11pm to 7 am on the first two nights (I had the catheter and didn't walk.) I don't know how I would have survived all alone.
On day 6 I was discharged, and we went home. They took out the stitches before I left, I was lucky it didn't hurt.
We live in a big city so we don't have a car (think center of Boston, or Manhattan - car is more of a nuisance than convenience), and hence no baby car seats, so we put the twins in the pram and took the subway right home.
A word of warning - don't lift your toddler (or two babies at once for that matter.) My aunt managed to burst the seam 4 (four!) months after the operation. Being back to the hospital for another one is not fun.
doubledouble you situation sounds a lot like mine. Do you also live in Europe? I'm nervous about the pain medication after words-- Paracetamol.. wouldn't surprise me if that is all they gave me. Will add to the list of things to ask the Doctor :)
My parents will be here for 2 weeks after I give birth-- so at the very least I have some help and Im trying to line up someone else for after that but we can't afford much right now..
We also live in a town/city with no car, so we walk or bus it everywhere which isnt the same hassle as in the US. . thanks for the warning about lifting-- thats going to be rough for me.
Yep, I hear you. Looking back at it, I think the pain meds (or lack thereof) were a blessing in disguise, or I might have started to move around doing things much earlier than I should have, and could have injured myself or delayed the recovery. Be vocal about pain.
Diclofenac pissed me off, because I have gastritis and I was wondering "Why does my stomach hurt so badly for the last two days?" - yeah that's why, you hospital dolts.
A side effect of the epidural that I forgot to describe: not feeling the urge to urinate. After the catheter is out, it could be tricky. You just won't feel or know the need to struggle out of bed and wobble to the toilet until the bladder is full to 125% capacity. Especially in the middle of the night, that sucks - you wake up and have about 3 seconds to get there. 
Have a few pads *and towels*, and a bed liner square stashed in your bed, in case you call the nurse and she's not there quickly with the bedpan. 
At least you have an advantage of this not being your first child - on top of recovery, I was also freaking out about breastfeeding, pumping, and caring for the babies. (And of course it's extra work for you with the toddler, but still, you have knowledge and experience.)
very much agree this is an upside (as it is a down). I'm much more relaxed and open to what works then I was with DS1 where I felt like everything had to be done right or I was a bad bad mother. This time I realize happy mom = happy baby and getting burned out will do none of us good- even if his CD are perfectly all washed/cleaned/folded etc
I had TTTS and so had a scheduled c sect at 36 weeks. If you rather not read scary outcomes then please skip my post.
My pain meds did not work and I felt everything. It was horrifying and the most painful experience of my entire life. I wanted to share this to tell you it is possible and if you feel any sensation at all when they test you for pain do NOT proceed no matter what they may tell you.
The best part was that my boys were healthy and no problems breast feeding.
Forgot to add one more detail - you'll be given blood thinner shots because of thrombosis risk. If you have stinging nettle (brennnensel) in your pregnancy teas or nursing teas, don't drink them - it's a blood clotting herb.
what was the recovery like vs 'natural' birth..? I remember being really sore with DS1 for a few days after his birth and had a lot of longer term discomfort internally due to some tearing, uterine prolapse etc.
I had a "scheduled emergency" at 37 +5 because of a serious size difference. Very eearly the placentas merged and we were treated as an identicle pregnancy even though my boys are not identicle at all, from their blood types to their navels.
I made a slight mistake on my weight so the anesthesiologist gave me slightly less medication. It didn't hurt, but I felt things being tugged and pulled in there. I had a spinal only and after two hours I could feel my toes and was wheeled out of the recovery ward. My husband was in with me, but my mom had to wait outside. My mom stayed with me in recovery and DH went with the boys, one to the nursery, one to the NICU. Two hours after surgery I was taken to my room and I pumped to bring in my milk. D was brought to me and I nursded him. A few hours later my need to see my baby was greater than my need to faint, so I took a shower and went to the NICU and nursed R. I was alergic to the pain medication, so I was on tylenol mostly for the pain. I was in the hospital for five days and the recovery was easy for me. I did get a bladder infection from the catheter though. It took me a week to figure out what it was because I'd never had one before.
For me the recovery was not too painful and I healed quite quickly. This was also my first pregnancy and so I didn't have any lifting issues.
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