Csection recovery tips?

[pugz]

Any tips I can pass along to a friend? She is having twins and a scheduled c-section.

[jlt19]

Ask for a stomach binder at the hospital. I lived in mine. Probably depended on it too much, but eventually weaned myself.

[Deleted]

Start walking ASAP.
Ask for a support band and use it.
Stay ahead of the pain...take the pain meds before you need them.
High waisted undies and yoga pants.

[mandapanda18]

Ditto the stomach binder, I had bought one to use at home and had my H go get it (C-section was not planned) but it made it so much easier to get out of bed! Tell her that the stool softener's are no joke, take them often if you will be taking pain meds (I didn't take anything post-hospital and still had trouble). Buy some unscented pantiliners for incision care (undies go right on the line).

[cincodemayo]

take the stool softeners for sure. Ask for help getting out of bed/off the couch. Walk.

[twodogsandababy]

Even if you feel great, you still had major abdominal surgery and need to act as such. My csection herniated and I am still dealing with it. I over did it after because I felt good and didn't have a ton of help. Tell her to relax and take it easy.

[thebreakfastclub]

It's interesting to hear that others had a stomach binder; I never heard of a binder and wasn't offered one.

Anyway, my tips would be to wear underwear one size larger, and to also turn a pad sideways across the incision to protect it. She should definitely continue stool softeners and expect things to be difficult in that regard for the first couple of times until things return back to normal.

We ended up buying a tray table for putting drinks, etc right by the couch, and I needed a step stool to comfortably get in and out of bed for a few days.

And also, the first couple of weeks are the toughest, and it gets better every day.

[sent]

I didn't have the binder and I didn't know about it either.

Granny underwear

Have everything available at counter/table height so she doesn't have to bend down to access any supplies or stuff.

Yes to the step stool by the bed, this helped me too.

I was relatively back on my feet, allowed to drive, and able to make trip to the grocery store in 2 weeks, but my baby was tiny. This may have been why my recover was quicker. I was pretty much back to normal by 5 weeks.

[vmars]

Tell her to have DH or someone else stay home with her as long as possible. I was really weak and bending over, walking, picking up the baby was a struggle for at least 3 weeks. I started feeling a lot better at the 5 week mark. If she's planning to BF a boppy or just pillows will work to feed the baby.

Stay ahead of the pain and take it easy. I couldn't walk the first 24 hrs bc of pre-e but by the last day in the hospital I could walk a little.

The binder saved my life and I wore it all the time. I woke up from surgery with one on. The sooner they put it on the better!

[mdana]

The stomach binder was really helpful.

Stay on top of pain meds, set an alarm on her phone to remind her. When I was in the hospital, I had to request pain meds, even in the middle of the night, so my Tylenol, Motrin, or Percocet "clock" ran out in the middle of the night, I had to remember to ask for it and I forgot a few times- bad idea.

Take the damn stool softeners- I'd even suggest starting a few days before c/s and keep taking them until she is back 100%.

Try to get up and walk around but do take it easy and don't be afraid to tell someone else to hop in and let her rest.

[Deleted]

I also want to add that once we were home my husband did every night wake up for 2 weeks (easier since we formula fed, I know). His philosophy was that the quicker I was back to 100%, the better off all 3 of us would be. I think this really helped my recovery.

[halfpint]

If planning to BF, ask to see if an LC can come in ASAP to help with positions - I had trouble at first finding something that worked with incision pain plus all the damn IV tubes and stuff stuck to me.

I slept in a chair downstairs for a week because getting into bed was too hard (we have a really tall bed). We just moved everything to the living room, and H slept on the couch.

Get help - even if H can stay home, I felt like I couldn't do much for a while. Bending to change diapers was even hard.

Definitely get up and walk as soon as possible, and then do it as often as possible. Movement really helped.

Giant granny panties. I wanted the biggest underwear possible, and even went to Target to buy more. I took home a pack of the disposable ones from the hospital.

If she's on antibiotics for any reason, get probiotics and watch for signs of thrush.

Also, another "TAKE THE COLACE". She'll be glad she did. I also got fiber pills just in case I needed them.

[wonderfezz]

I don't know what a binder is either. huh.

Stool softner.
Meds.
Walk.

[Cricket0619]

What does the binder do? I wasn't offered one.

[egishere]

Agree with the stomach binder.  I wore mine for at least 2-3 weeks after and it made me feel better.
Also make sure she has Gas X or something like it for when she gets home. I had bad gas pains for like a week after.  Colace too because pain meds can cause constipation.

[mandapanda18]

Feb 17, 2014 12:37:12 GMT -5 Cricket0619 said:

What does the binder do? I wasn't offered one.

supports your tummy/makes you avoid bending directly at the waist, helps with back support as well. I didn't get mine from the hospital, I ordered it off of amazon because I had a previously abdominal surgery and knew that my stomach flatenned out uneven afterwards. I bought it in hopes to help support until I got some muscle built back up. I wore my binder for about a month post c-section!

[AlpineSlide]

i don't know about the binder either.

ask a nurse for an extra package of mesh undies. they come up high over the incision and i loved them.

i slept in our recliner for about two weeks with ds in the rnp next to me. getting in and out of bed sucked for me.

[AlpineSlide]

Feb 17, 2014 12:41:35 GMT -5 egishere said:

Agree with the stomach binder.  I wore mine for at least 2-3 weeks after and it made me feel better.
Also make sure she has Gas X or something like it for when she gets home. I had bad gas pains for like a week after.  Colace too because pain meds can cause constipation.

oh god, i forgot about the gas pains. awful, awful!


TMI below
i had a suppository in the hospital because they wanted me to have a bowel movement before they'd let me leave on day 2. i think that caused a lot of problems for me. TMI - loose stools for days. I couldn't trust a fart for a week. (sorry) This is also why i liked the mesh undies, could just throw them away if i had an accident...

[Cricket0619]

Feb 17, 2014 12:43:56 GMT -5 mandapanda18 said:

Feb 17, 2014 12:37:12 GMT -5 Cricket0619 said:

What does the binder do? I wasn't offered one.

supports your tummy/makes you avoid bending directly at the waist, helps with back support as well. I didn't get mine from the hospital, I ordered it off of amazon because I had a previously abdominal surgery and knew that my stomach flatenned out uneven afterwards. I bought it in hopes to help support until I got some muscle built back up. I wore my binder for about a month post c-section!

Should I order one even though I am 2.5 weeks pp?

[piaffe]

Walk
Keep taking stool softness even after your first BM. It took nine days for me to have one.
Keep taking pain med on schedule.
Prepare to just rest and take care of babies and yourself. Let the house go.
Don't let family and friends make you laugh too much bc it hurts.
Steal some mesh underwear from hospital.

[rootbeerfloat]

Ditto walking ASAP and staying on top of pain meds.

[thebreakfastclub]

Feb 17, 2014 12:53:07 GMT -5 Cricket0619 said:

Feb 17, 2014 12:43:56 GMT -5 mandapanda18 said:

supports your tummy/makes you avoid bending directly at the waist, helps with back support as well. I didn't get mine from the hospital, I ordered it off of amazon because I had a previously abdominal surgery and knew that my stomach flatenned out uneven afterwards. I bought it in hopes to help support until I got some muscle built back up. I wore my binder for about a month post c-section!

Should I order one even though I am 2.5 weeks pp?

Did you have a bella band when pregnant?  That would give you some compression.  

Or you could buy a spanx-style cami top that comes down a bit lower - at least it's something you would get some use out of in the future.

 

[barefootcontessa]

agree with everyone else -- only new tip I have to add is to keep ice pack on incision. it helps tremendously with both pain and swelling. be sure to buzz nurses when you need ice or it is time for your meds.

[egishere]

Feb 17, 2014 12:55:23 GMT -5 piaffe said:

Don't let family and friends make you laugh too much bc it hurts.

That is a good one too.  My nurse made me a special pillow.  I think she took a regular pillow, folder it in half and taped it or something that I could put on my tummy to kind of brace it when I was going to laugh, cough or sneeze.  It helped!

[Deleted]

Yes yes to "stay on top of your pain." Pain meds take awhile to kick in, so if she waits until she's in pain, it will be EXCRUCIATING by the time the meds start to work. And the pain may then be too high to be brought down. That happened to me at the hospital. Nurse shift change, they forgot a dose of meds. I couldn't walk, DH was in the NICU with DS, and the call button was on a table I couldn't reach from my bed. I tried yelling for the nurses but they couldn't hear me. DH came back to me shaking and crying in pain. It took another 30 mins of that for the meds to kick in, and another dose 4 hours later before my pain was back under control. Don't do that!!!

[Cricket0619]

Feb 17, 2014 13:27:49 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

Feb 17, 2014 12:53:07 GMT -5 Cricket0619 said:

Should I order one even though I am 2.5 weeks pp?

Did you have a bella band when pregnant?  That would give you some compression.  

Or you could buy a spanx-style cami top that comes down a bit lower - at least it's something you would get some use out of in the future.

 

I do have a Bella band. Thanks

[runblondie26]

Yes x1,000 to a stomach binder. I didn't know about them after my first c/s, but found one to be really helpful after my second.

[degal99]

Binder, pain meds, colace, and everything everyone else said x1000! Also, high-waisted underwear! I actually had buy some a few days after we got home because it wasn't something I had even thought about (although my c-section had been unplanned).

[leonard131]

Do not watch a comedy for the first week. Laughing is not your friend.

Listen to you body. I was really lucky and had a really easy time of it -no pain meds but advil and was up and walking within 24 hours. One doctor kept telling me I should be in a chair and no doing stuff for 2 weeks. The other kept saying just listen to your body- do what you are comfortable with. Not what you think you should do.

[mandapanda18]

Feb 17, 2014 13:56:02 GMT -5 Cricket0619 said:

Feb 17, 2014 13:27:49 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

Did you have a bella band when pregnant?  That would give you some compression.  

Or you could buy a spanx-style cami top that comes down a bit lower - at least it's something you would get some use out of in the future.

 

I do have a Bella band. Thanks

My bella was not supportive enough, although, I was all belly (HUGE) and it was pretty shot by the end! You could just do one of the spanx type things (target carries a line) if you are just looking for light support, but I serioulsy don't think a binder would hurt you at this point. Mine was relatively cheap and I liked that it adjusted so as I shrunk it could be moved down as well.