Recovering from Child Birth: C- Section

It’s been 2 months since I gave birth to our son, Noah Blaine and this post is way overdue! As expected, things never went according to plan and I ended up delivering via C section after 2 long hours of pushing. To learn more about our story check out this post.

Throughout my pregnancy, I did everything that I could to prepare for the birth of our child. We read books, watched videos, attended a 9 hour birthing class and eventually put together a rough outline of a birthing plan. It wasn’t anything extreme, just got me thinking about who I wanted there, what type of pain medications (if any) I wanted to consider, what the lighting would be like, what type of encouragement I needed, what type of music, etc.

I think the thing that scared me the most about giving birth was the unexpected. I am SUCH a planner and I was worried because this was going to be something I could not plan for. I didn’t know what our journey to the hospital would be like, when/where my water would break, how painful the contractions would be and all of the above! As you learned, my trip to the hospital was pretty uneventful and things escalated once I was in the hospital after a day and a half or two.

Despite everything I went through, I would do it all in a heart beat. I never truly understood when moms would say that and how you forget about the pain, but now I do. Noah brings so much joy into our lives and no amount of pain would make me think differently.

I never expected to deliver via c section, therefore I did not mentally prepare for it or think about recovery. My hospital bag was filled with all sorts of things and keeping in mind I was going to deliver vaginally, so all the after care products I bought went unused. If you want this Fridababy Fridet, holla at me 🙂

Recovery

Again, I did not read up on any of this so everything was so new to me when it comes to recovery- specifically after having a c-section. I did have complications, which meant more after care at the hospital but recovery was the same.

Having a C Section means undergoing MAJOR surgery (side note, I’ve never had surgery in my life). The worst part for me was 1- nurses pushing on your stomach multiple times during the day after surgery to check on your uterus (this hurt me SO BAD and I was in tears every time) 2- the first time you get up and try to walk (you feel so weak and it’s so hard to explain). Walking for me was awful, I couldn’t stand up straight and was hunched over because of the pain, luckily it got better on day two. They suggest you try to move up and down, walk around, sit in different locations just to introduce movement back to your body.

The pain from the incision was not awful while in recovery since I was under a lot of pain medication. Everything was bearable. I was worried about how the incision would look and how and when the staples would be removed. I did not look at my incision until after I got home but all the nurses would comment at how great it looked and how the doctor did such a good job.

When I got home, I was so surprised at how small it was and how this 8 lbs 8 oz baby came out of me! So back to the staples, I had 21 (yikes!). I thought I would have to get them removed days or weeks later but I was surprised to hear they remove them before being discharged from the hospital. I was SO scared of this and super nervous! Every time they would do something to my body I would ask the nurse whether or not it would hurt and they would always be super honest with me. When the time came to remove my staples, the nurse told me it wouldn’t hurt and I honestly did not believe her. Well, she was right and it did not hurt one bit! They then put a bunch of little tape strips on your incision and they tell you to let them fall off on their own ( I think it took about 10 days or so for me).

Another thing I was unsure about was the process of going to the bathroom. Again, I was worried this was going to hurt and I had no idea what to expect. Well, luckily it wasn’t bad at all. I think the walk to the bathroom was the worst part about it.

Going Home

When I got home, all my focus was on myself and recovering from my surgery. I wanted to be recovered and take care of our new baby. I think one of the hardest things was not being able to fully be a mom and take care of my little one. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband that’s super supportive and did EVERYTHING while I was in bed recovering. He walked our dog, took care of baby, changed diapers, etc. I felt like a failure not being able to dedicate my full attention to my baby but I knew my health was super important. My husband got 4 weeks of paternity leave so I wanted to be able to take care of Noah on my own once he was back to work.

If you have family nearby or friends that offer to help, ACCEPT IT! My mom stayed with us the first night and then she visited us every single day from 9-5 for a week to help out. She helped with EVERYTHING and made me home cooked meals. I stayed in bed all week and she would bring me food and water and whatever else I needed. If you have stairs, they recommend not using them often (maybe once a day), so I was pretty much in our room the whole recovery period. The second week I was able to move a little more but still was not fully recovered, I knew this would all take time. After two weeks in bed, I started to be more active and spend time in different areas of the house.

Also, my feet were SUPER swollen. I was so worried! It’s like all my toes bunched together and my foot was one big ball. It hurt walking on them, I couldn’t flex or bend them and it was awful. All of the fluid goes to them and it took about a week or two for the swelling to go down. What I would recommend is to keep them elevated and to drink LOTS of water!

Recovery Products

The products I used the most during recovery (besides my pain meds lol) were these always discreet female diapers , high waisted underwear, and my Bellefit corset. The hospital will give you mesh underwear with pads to wear during your stay, but I brought my always discreet diapers to wear when I left the hospital. They’re super comfortable and I strongly recommend them! You wouldn’t think you would need them since you didn’t deliver vaginally, but trust me you do.

I packed them in my hospital bag 🙂 The underwear I used for about 4-5 weeks and they were recommended to me by another blogger. These fit over the diaper perfectly, and once you stop wearing diapers and move to pads, these work great as well. It’s nice that they’re not super tight and are high waisted so they don’t go into your incision.

For the corset, I am wearing a size large- make sure you read their sizing guidelines to pick the correct size! You can also use my code “ADABELLE” to get $30 OFF your purchase of $69.50 or more. I wore this cheap amazon belly wrap two days after I got home and wore it for about a week before I upgraded to Bellefit. I wear my Bellefit every single day for about 18 hours or so. I love it because it’s so seamless and you can never tell you’re wearing it. Plus, it keeps everything nice and tight and makes your clothes fit better!

Sorry for the super long post but just wanted to share everything I could about my experience. It’s easy to say “don’t be scared” after experiencing this but I totally get where all the anxiety comes from and all the thoughts that go through your head of things that can go wrong. I think my overall advice is ask for help and/or accept it, rest, and give your body time. The female body is so amazing and we were made for this, you’ve got this! Also, always consult with your doctor if you have questions and for post party aftercare, this was just what I experienced and what worked for me.

Thanks for reading!