How To Support BFF's C-Section From Half A World Away?

[letabug]

deleting

[clintonhillmama]

when a friend of mine had her c/s, i made her a goody bag for the hospital -
take out menus from good places, peppermint tea, yummy bath products, a couple great chocolate bars, magazines.

she loved it!

[danotoyou2]

How about checking into a house cleaning service? After having a cesarean, you're not even supposed to do laundry for 3 weeks or more. It makes keeping the house clean very difficult.

You could also send her movies, a gift certificate for movie rentals, or books she'd like (nothing too thought intensive; it's a great time for Stephen King and Anne Rivers Siddons). I watched the entire Six Feet Under series during those early weeks, AND read a lot of books.

[Ironica]

Hmmm... what did I need most when recovering from my c-section... water was key. I was soooo thirsty all the time being a new nursing mom. But I felt like crap and didn't want to go getting myself water all the time. ;-) Plus, spills suck.

So, maybe a really awesome water bottle? Something with a clip or strap so she can easily keep it with her all the time?

The housecleaning service is a brilliant plan, too.

You could post on the Finding Your Tribe board for her area, and see if anyone has any great local recommendations for restaurants, cleaning services, or anything else... maybe a rec for a postpartum doula you could subsidize?

[Arwyn]

Dinner delivery, grocery delivery (I love love love love LOVE that our grocery store started doing home delivery shortly before Naked Baby was born!), flower delivery (I swear it was one of the sweetest things that the first person to visit me bought me flowers! ), postpartum doula services, housecleaning services, Netflix subscription, books, magazines... Anything and everything you would do to pamper any postpartum woman. Maybe after a few weeks, send her a sling and a babywearing expert to help her use it (many women start babywearing right after even a cesarean section, but it's not recommended - sending her the sling after a few weeks, when she should be up to doing more, seems better to me).

You're an awesome friend.

[turtlewomyn]

I thought that ICAN had a cesarean recovery kit on their website (www.ican-online.org) but I haven't been able to find it on there. Some sort of care package with goodies to help take care of herself (red raspberry leaf tea, salve for the scar when it starts to heal, a pillow to put over the incision while breastfeeding, that sort of thing).
Hiring a cleaning person is great too. I couldn't do anything after my c-section.

[Girlprof]

If she's planning on BF'ing, you could look up the phone numbers and get her in touch with her local LLL. I did this for my BFF when she was trapped in the hospital and they were pushing formula at her. We sprung her out of there and things got beter quickly, but she wasn't up to managing the situation on her own right after surgery. I also second the house cleaning services.

Sarah

[mtn.mama]

LLL is a good one. I like that suggestion. Get her a copy of the Essential C-Section Guide. It tells her what to do after the surgery to heal easier. Is her partner going to be available to care for her for at least the first week? How about helping her hire a postpartum doula? She really is going to need 24 hour assistance in the beginning. And this is critical: make sure she starts probiotics right away. Her baby won't get them from the birth canal and the surgery antibiotics will set them both up for thrush, leaky gut, allergies, colic. Please, if you don't do anything else, help her get started with these. PM me if you need suggestions here.

[anudi01]

How about a post partem doula?

I'm not sure how much you are willing to invest. Maybe you could find a young lady or man (like teen) who is willing to spend a couple of hours a day, helping to straighten up, do laundry, dishes. I found the housekeeping to be my biggest distraction post partem. I didn't have a C-Sec, but I know that when my babies slept, I didn't always head the advice to sleep when baby sleeps. Wish I had, especially when you have that luxury with the first child. I'd focus on making that recover period as stress free as possible, and for me that would mean someone taking care of the house. I enjoyed the pampering stuff a little, but you really have to gauge the individual on this one. You know your friend best, and BTW, she's really lucky to have such a devoted friend like you.

[letabug]

deleting