Cesarean Support Circle-June/July - Page 2

[KKmama]

Hey, Carie, my VBAC baby was born on the 19th of May!

[shelbean91]

I had my post partum check- all is well. I'm feeling pretty normal physically- I still think it's strange to have to have a c-section after 2 vaginal births, but I'm ok with it. If I knew then what I know now, we probably could have avoided the c-sec, but with the info available at the time, that was how things played out (water broken for 36 hrs, ds ended up presenting forehead first).

I asked doc if there was a reason I wouldn't be able to VBAC if we should decide to have another baby- he said it shouldn't be a problem, but he wouldn't be allowed to deliver b/c he's not an OB/GYN, but a family practioner. I don't know if it's his insurance or state laws or whatever, but he could do another c-section or refer me to an OB who would be able to VBAC. We're not planning on any more, but who knows how things will turn out.

[kimberlylibby]

I'm here.

Preparing for my c/s any time now.

Just hanging in there with the pre-eclampsia.... at this point if anything changes pre-e wise, we'll go ahead and do the gutting.

Does that offend anyone that I refer to it as my gutting? I don't want to use that word if it does. It's honestly how I refer to my c/s in my daily life though.... I even use that word with my ob.

But if it bothers anyone I don't want to use it.

I'm nervous about recovery with my 18mo dd... with bedrest she is really missing me, and every day she gets more and more impatient for mama to come play with her.

Kimberly

[HoneymoonBaby]

I'm here. I had a C/S on June 14th. I'm finally starting to feel a lot better, but I'm still bleeding a little bit. Don't know if that's normal.

[kimberlylibby]

Kirsten: You can bleed up to 6 weeks and still be "normal".

I only bled 1 week at period-level and then a few days after that of spotting.

I had af back around 1 month pp. Blech!

Hope you feel 100% soon!!

[Henry's_Mamma]

Originally Posted by kimberlylibby

Does that offend anyone that I refer to it as my gutting? I don't want to use that word if it does. It's honestly how I refer to my c/s in my daily life though.... I even use that word with my ob.

It made me laugh so it doesn't bother me.

Good luck w/everything, and keep that baby cooking as long as possible!

[shelbean91]

I bled for a full 8 weeks. It was heavy for the first week or two and then light for the next 6 weeks. I honestly thought it would stop any time, but it didn't.

[tammylc]

Here's another long bleeder - every time I thought I was done and would go somewhere without a pantyliner, I'd live to regret it. I had less than a week of real bleeding, but I had a little bit of lochia for at least 6 weeks.

[eilonwy]

Hello! I never thought I'd be here, but here I am. My little girl was born via emergency c-section just over two weeks ago (birth story.) I'm actually here because I have a question: what can I use to clean my incision? It's leaking some smelly puss and it's kind of tender and sore again. I know that this is, in large part, because I've been so stressed and doing a lot of running around (Rivkah is not well) but I think I've developed an infection. My husband keeps telling me to use alcohol on it, but that's his answer for everything and just thinking about it sounds painful! : But what else can I do?

I think that another part of it is that I've been feeling (physically) very well. Much better than I did a few weeks pp with my son (very traumatic vaginal delivery). I've had lots of energy, and no pain at all around my incision site after the first few days. Having such a high pain threshold made me more inclined to be active, and made it hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that I'd just had major surgery and that I needed more time to recover. I'm hoping that I haven't messed things up too badly for myself, but I really haven't had the opportunity to relax over the past two weeks. *sigh* I guess it's more important that I realized.

[Peppermint]

AFAIK- just soap and water are best for cleaning, but I never had any puss.

I really suggest you slow down now, since you haven't yet, it was major surgery!

Your birth story was amazing and a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to you, you are one strong mama.

It is great that you did what was safest for your baby, you said in your post that she is "not well", did something happen since her birth, since the birth story sounded like all was ok?

Here at MDC, no one expects to "end up here" in the c-support thread, which is why it's so important. I wish everyone would read here when pregnant, so that if something like your situation happens, they will know what to expect/demand , I know that I never expected a c-birth the first or second times around, it really caught me off-guard and the first time I really wished I had read up on the possibility.

[eilonwy]

Oh, the birth went fine, it was actually way easier than my vaginal delivery. I was fairly relaxed, partly because I didn't believe it was actually happening (I'm still not sure I believe it!) but mostly because a) the cesearian really seemed to be necessary and b) I know that the OB who did the surgery doesn't like doing cesearians (because I asked about the practice's statistics when I was 37-38 weeks.) The doctor said "We took heroic measures so that two women could deliver vaginally today, but I know when to hold 'em and I know when to fold 'em." :LOL

It's still hard for me to wrap my head around the surgery, because aside from the fairly recent development of pus, I've felt amazingly good the whole time. Even the immediate post-operative pain was nothing compared with how I felt after my son was born.

Rivkah's being ill has nothing to do with her birth; there's something wrong with her kidneys (we don't know what yet). It's terribly stressful and I hate not knowing what's going on, but at this particular moment I feel totally resigned to letting whatever happens happen. I can't keep grappling with shadows, so I'm dealing with what I can see-- her thrush (which is finally going away), changing her pants, giving her nursies, and carrying her in the sling (which she adores ). We're just taking things one day at a time, and trying not to sink when several days attack all at once.

[its_our_family]

Congrats!! I'm glad it turned out to be a good experience!

I'd ask your ob about the puss. If it has a funny smell its an infection most likely and you do NOT want to have to deal with a bad infection!

I just used soap and water on my incision. I have one of tose shower heads that detaches. I would stand with the water on "light spray" for 10-15 minutes. It felt soooo good and I knew that I got it clean!
Congrats again

[TexasSuz]

Oh, if you have puss get to the doctor right away. A pocket can form in the walls of the skin and cause an infection. Leaking puss is bad. Mine went away in about 2 weeks with the proper medication and cleaning but it was so not fun!

Good luck.

[townmouse]

hello!

I may be facing a c-section. My gestational diabetes and lupus are working together, causing the placenta to deteriorate at a faster than normal rate. We're watching things closely, but I think I can tell how this is going to pan out . Its been a stressful, emotional pregnancy, but thankfully I do trust my OB. That's something, anyway!

I'm here because I need a crash course; C/S 101. I don't know where else to ask! How does an AP, crunchy mama prepare for a c/s? What do I need to find out? What do I insist on?

I'm arranging for a visit with the head L/D nurse, and a tour of the hospital. I'm going to meet with our ped. to sign waivers, etc ahead of time about no circ, no vax, no eyedrops, etc.

My mom is coming up, to be at the hospital with dh and me. Her thought is that maybe they won't even want to let me hold the baby, since he'll be well over 10 pounds. She thought if she was there, to stay with me, we'd have better chances of keeping the baby in the room. Also that way, either she or dh could be with Toby at all times. Does that sound logical to you all? I know that our nursery has windows all around, and there shouldn't be any reason why they'd have to take Toby out of dh's sight.

What do I need to know about recovery? I'm a veteran BF'er, how is it different after a c/s?

thanks for any info. Like I said, this week I'll be investigating, finding out our hospital's policies, but I could really use your input.

Oh, and is there anything weird I should expect about the surgery itself? Stuff in preg. books is kinda vague, if you ask me.

Maybe I won't have to do this. Maybe he can be born vaginally. I just need to be prepared.

[tammylc]

nak

Townmouse- Here's my birth plan for my planned c/s - you might find it useful. It's cobbled together (stolen?) from a bunch I found online, including here. I'll post again with more thoughts when I'm not typing one-handed...

---
Birth Plan for Tammy and Eric

As this is a planned Cesarean birth, we are looking forward to a positive birth experience. We want to participate in our birth to the fullest, and have it be as much like a birth as possible, rather than like surgery. Our preferences are listed below. Your help in attaining these goals is very much appreciated. We fully understand that there may be unexpected situations that are not reflected in this plan, and are willing to cooperate with medical staff in pursuit of the best possible outcome for mother and baby. But we ask that informed consent be sought before any procedure or medication is used.

Please note that although they have different last names, Tammy and Eric are legally married, and thus Eric has the legal right to make decisions regarding Tammy's care, should she be unable to make her own decisions.

Tammy would like the catheter put in after anesthesia is administered.

Tammy would like a verbal description of the birth as it occurs, and welcomes conversation during the process.

Tammy should be allowed to wear her glasses throughout the surgery, as she is very nearsighted and has difficulty seeing without them.

Tammy would like to see the baby immediately after birth. If at all possible, she would also like to be given the baby to hold. If Tammy is unable to hold the baby immediately after delivery, Eric will do so, and should be allowed to stay with Tammy as long as possible before moving to the recovery room.

Please wait until after the first nursing to bathe the baby and to apply the eye ointment.

In the event that the baby requires immediate emergency interventions, Eric should stay with the baby at all times.

No mind-altering drugs should be administered without Tammy’s express permission. It is important that Tammy be alert throughout the delivery, and that she not feel drugged, “fuzzy,” or unable to remember the events of the birth. She would like to avoid any pre-op or post-op drugs that cause drowsiness or sedation.

Tammy would like Duramorph for immediate post-op pain relief. If Duramorph is not available or contraindicated, she would like access to Patient Controlled Analgesia, such as a PCAPump, etc.

Tammy wishes to breastfeed as soon as possible. Please do not give our baby bottles of formula or water, and no pacifiers. If sugar water is medically required, please administer it orally with a syringe if at all possible.

Please remove Tammy’s IV and catheter as soon as no longer medically necessary. She wishes to get up and move as soon as possible after the birth of the baby.

Tammy and Eric intend to “room-in” with the baby throughout their hospital stay. We would like baby’s bassinette positioned as near to Tammy as possible, to facilitate her responding to the baby’s needs.

Tammy and Eric would prefer that any routine tests or procedures to be conducted on the baby be performed in their room, with one or both parents in attendance at all times.

If the baby is a boy, we will not be circumcising him. Please do not attempt to retract the baby’s foreskin in any way.

Hepatitis B vaccination will be administered by our pediatrician in his office, and should not be administered in the hospital.

[calla lily]

Just thought I would update. We are home now with our new baby girl born via repeat c/s. She was still transverse at the time of the operation. Although things went smoothly, recovery will still be difficult as I also have a 2 year old. I will update more later. We just got home and I'm in alot of pain still.

[townmouse]

Tammy, thank you for taking the time to post that! Very, very helpful. There were several things that I never would have thought of, yet found important.

[mollyeilis]

I'm trying to figure out what might have been helpful for me to know...

One question I have had is...why do they want to put drops in the eyes of a surgically born baby? Makes no sense to me.

Anyway...

I am super-crunchy, hate the medical profession, and so on. Hired the WRONG midwives and they plopped me straight into c-section-land. After we got to the hospital we fought The Man for 6 hours, but after 4 days of labor and so on, we were just too tired to fight anymore, no nurses were allowed to come in and help me birth, etc etc etc etc...c-section.


I was bleeding a lot so they were still seriously working on me when E was shown to me. I could not hold him. Know that this might happen. If so, and if there will be people waiting in the recovery room, make sure everyone knows if YOU allow them to hold the baby before you do. I didn't know that everyone was on their way, and so MIL, Aunt-in-law, friend, and so on held my son before I ever did. If that would bug you, say something NOW.

I don't know if the anesthesiologist put extra in my epidural (I didn't mind...didn't want to be awake for surgery anyway) or if I'm just really sensitive, but I fell asleep during the surgery and didn't wake up until DH told me we had a son. I guess I fell back asleep until I heard him wailing his lungs out, then he was brought to me. Then I fell asleep again. Know that this can happen.

The drugs afterwards (percocet and ibuprofen, along with the morphine thing they put in the epi just as the surgery was finishing) made me REALLY hazy, and I have very few memories of the days after his birth. Even though I was only in hospital 42 hours after he was born, it felt like forever and yet I barely remember it. Know this can happen, buy a tape recorder and a videocamera to capture as many moments as you can. Bring lots and lots of film, both B&W and color. We only had B&W because we thought it would be a nice messy homebirth. Then we had a nice "clean" c-section, a too bright room so we shut the curtains, and the experiments with the flash just didn't work well...led to some really fuzzy shots. Matches my fuzzy memories, but not so great for documenting the moments. Have lots of film and lots of disposable cameras around.

At my hospital they bugged the everything out of us until we bathed Eamon. He was a "biohazard" because he had spots of dried blood on him. We wanted to wait until we were home, but "had" to give in to get them off our backs. Know that this might happen.

What else?


This was my first birth and baby, so I can't compare, but nursing was really super-important to me, so I just did it. Some moms give up or do it later, because it's too hard with an incision. Someone mentioned that codeine can dry up the milk, and I *believe* that percocet has codeine in it (it's related to vicodin, and I know that vicodin has it). Learn the football hold and learn it well. It's your incision's saving grace.

Our nurses just made sure that one other person was in the room with me and baby; they didn't even care if all three of us were asleep, just as long as one other person was there. I even had E in bed with me; he has never slept alone except for an hour nap here and there...the nurses didn't mind. So your mom might not be absolutely necessary to keep everyone together, depending on your hospital.

I'm almost 7 weeks out and am finally starting to feel like a human.

The perco and ibu made me hallucinate for awhile, and it was such a strong hallucination that I didn't realize then couldn't verbalize it for DAYS. If you're having strange thougths that someone is giving you different babies every day, or that there's a small robot needing to have a computer chip changed (explaining the loud wailing coming from the robot) next to you, please tell someone. It was that computer chip thing that I was finally able to verbalize (I'd wake up with a cottonball-tongue the size of the moon and couldn't speak) to DH, and after that he woke when Eamon cried, to make sure I was taking care of him through the hallucinations.

I had a lot of pain, I had a lot of lochia (finally almost stopped, knock on wood) that turned bright red whenever I'd do too much. Don't do too much.


If your husband is going to watch the surgery, tell him it's quite an experience. Robert still can barely speak to me about it. He's probably able to tell friends about it, but looking at me and telling me what they did to my body is just about too much for him. It's not a gentle surgery. At the same time, he enjoyed watching it in a strange way. Eh, he's odd. He also got to be in the room watching the monitor as I had my eyes Lasik'd.


What else? I hope my experiences can help you...I didn't look into c-section AT ALL because I sooooo did not think I'd be going there. Or if I did, it would be a true true true emergency. The middle ground that I found myself in has thrown me for a loop, and part of me is OK not knowing about it, and part of me wishes I'd looked into it just a little eensy bit. So I hope I help.

If I've mentioned something that doesn't make sense, ask! And if you have specific questions, it's all still fresh in my mind (what I remember), so ask.

But I hope it's all moot and that you can birth the baby in a non-surgical manner.

[kimberlylibby]

The bathing the baby thing!!!

Oh MAN did that drive me nuts!! They had to call the freaking health department on me because I was a "biohazard" because I wouldn't let them bathe my daughter the first day. My sister is an ob nurse and she came up the 2nd day and I finally caved and let her do it, but I was RIGHT there and watching and it was very sweet and we have pictures.

But the nurses would all come in and then GASP and say "OH, this is the unclean baby who hasn't been bathed yet, right?"

:Puke

Kimberly, rebel with a cause

[eilonwy]

Molly, it sounds like you had a really crappy experience .

Rivkah didn't have eyedrops, because she was born by c-section it didn't even come up.

Neither percocet nor vicodin contains codiene; they contain oxycodone and hydrocodone respectively, and both contain tylenol. Oxycodone and hydrocodone are related to codiene, but they're three different drugs. I'm a biochem geek, so the distinction is important to me. When I got out of surgery, the first time I asked for pain medication I was given morphine through my IV, because I wasn't supposed to eat anything until I passed gas ("Call us as soon as you fart!" :LOL) and they could tell my bowels were moving. The second time, I said I didn't need anything as strong as morphine (in fact, all I really wanted was some tylenol) so they gave me some crackers and decaf tea and said if I held them down for half an hour they'd give me some percocet. I did and they did. The third time I asked for pain medication, I just wanted ibuprofen and the nurses thought I was nuts but they brought it. Then I stood up to sit in a chair and hold Rivkah, and I wanted the percocet again. :LOL

I stopped taking anything for pain 5 days after Rivkah was born, and didn't need anything more until I developed this infection. I've still got most of a full bottle of percocet that they sent me home with.