I have heard from so many friends that the second c-section is a lot easier than the first. I have to say, while I wouldn't have necessarily agreed with them in the first 5 days or so, now that I am 2.5 weeks out, I do have to say it's true.
And since I wrote such an extensive recovery blog with Isabella's c-section that was really helpful for me to look back on, I decided to do the same in case we go for a third kid at some point. So if you haven't had a c-section or are never going to, you probably want to skip right over this post, or you may be pretty bored.
On the Surgery: The actual c-section itself was much easier for me because I didn't have complete placenta previa, I didn't have a huge amount of blood loss like last time, and Aubrey was much more easily accessible (although I'm not sure if they had a hard time getting Bella out b/c of the placenta). Either way, I bruised like crazy all over my abdomen and around my scar last time, and this time there is no bruising.
-Because I didn't have a big blood loss and low BPs, this time around I felt so much better through the entire procedure! I started feeling really mildly nauseated at one point, and the anesthesiologist gave me a medication that took care of it within 30 seconds. Other than feeling totally groggy and out of it, and having a really hard time keeping my eyes open, the surgery was piece of cake.
On Pain Management: This was a HUGE lesson learned last time! I went into this section knowing that I would fight for finding the right pain meds that worked for me in a timely manner so I wouldn't get too far behind on pain. AND...I would actually take them this time and not worry about the baby as long as she was doing well.
The first day I had the epidural in place with a fentanyl PCA in place. There was a continuous dose running until early the next morning, and then it was a demand only for the next 6 hours. The goal was to not push it more than once an hour as I transitioned onto oral medications. So I pushed that button once an hour, just to take advantage of it...it certainly helped my pain in a great way!!
Once the demand was was taken away, I was transitioned onto Percocet. The first dose I took helped minimally in the morning, and 4 hours later when it was time for another one, my pain was significantly worse. An hour after taking the second dose, my pain had gotten worse to the point where I felt like crying (probably more out of discouragement that we were going down this road again vs actual pain, but either way it hurt!). The nurses I had that day were amazing and I had already told them about my last experience and so they were great at advocating for me. They called the MD on call and got me switched over to norco (2 pills, so 10 mg). This helped a ton!
After that, I stuck with 2 norco every 4 hours on post-op day 1 and 2. The night of post-op day 2 I spaced it out to more like 2 pills every 6 hours, and post-op day 3 when we were being discharged home I took 1 pill (5 mg) every 4 hours. I basically stuck with this routine throughout the day post-op day 4-7. After that, I took 1 pill about every 6 hours or so (usually about 2 pills a day) for the next 5 days. Then I was down to 1 pill in the morning for the next 2 days. By 2 weeks post-c-section I wasn't taking anything.
If I could have taken motrin/ibuprofin, I think this would have been sufficient, but I can't because of my blood thinners. I tried on 2 separate occasions to take tylenol to see if it would help, but just like last time, it did nothing for the pain. That being said, despite taking narcotics for 2 weeks, Aubrey did great and I was so much more mobile than last time, so it was a good plan!
On Pitocin: Whoa mama, I am pretty sure I didn't get pitocin after Bella was born, and this time around they gave me 2 liter bags through my IV which they said was standard for all c-sections. Umm, whoa the cramping! I definitely remember feeling cramping with Bella, but more like period cramps. This was like period cramps x1000, on steroids. Not fun on top of surgical pain in the same region!
On Moving Around: I was supposed to get up to the bathroom and have my foley removed at 8 pm on the night of the c-section (which was 12 hours faster than they wanted me up with Bella). However, my left thigh up to my hip was still numb from the epidural and I had a really hard time weight bearing on that leg when the RN got me out of bed, so we waited until midnight to walk to the bathroom. Once there, I got to the bathroom and back with less pain that I had expected (although don't get me wrong...it hurt pretty bad!).
The next morning, I got out of bed into the chair for about an hour, took a shower (sitting down), and walked to and from the bathroom multiple times.
Post-op day 2 I did all of the above, and walked about 100 yards out in the hall and back to my room. Definitely so much more mobile with the pain management plan this time around!
Post-op day 3 I was walking around the room a bunch trying to pack things up, took another shower (standing up this time), and took another walk in the halls.
Once home, each day was better and better, although I definitely over-did it the first couple of days (including a decently long walk and "playing" with Bella at the playground on post-op day 5!), so by post-op day 6 I needed to take it easy b/c I was in more pain than the days before. I will say, wearing the abdominal binder was a HUGE HUGE help! The only downside is wearing it for extended time periods made my gas worse.
Every day from post-op day 7 through the next week and a half got better and better, although as it got better I tended to do more around the house, clean up, chase after Bella, and then that evening my pain would be worse. But seriously, SO much more mobile this time around!
On Sleeping: I barely slept in the hospital between Aubrey eating every 2-3 hours and the constant in and out of nurses and nursing assistants. Plus, I love to sleep on my sides and this wasn't possible b/c it hurt too much. However, by post-op day 7 I was sleeping on my sides with minimal discomfort (mostly when I turned to the other side), and by post-op day 9 I was very comfortable on my sides...thank goodness! This helped for a much sounder sleep in those very short between-feed time spans!
On Pooping: This may be an embarrassing topic for some, but let me tell you if you've had a c-section or given birth, the first (and second and third!) poop can be as painful and traumatic as birth itself! Luckily, I was able to go the night before we left the hospital, and while painful, it wasn't as terrible as the first time with Bella (which didn't happen until 2 days after we arrived home). I am now realizing it was b/c I didn't have terrible gas at this point.
One thing we did at home to prepare for the c-section as well, was moving our bedroom into the spare bedroom so that we could sleep on the box springs and mattress which was a much more friendly height for me to get in and out of (our bed is just way too tall on any given day, let alone trying to jump in after abdominal surgery!). This was a major score for the team b/c there was no "my insides feel like they are ripping and spilling out" events like last time!
Enter discussion on Gas Pains: OH.MY.WORD! These are absolutely terrible. And to be totally honest, despite taking 4 gas-x pills a day from the very get-go through 2 weeks afterwards, at times this was far worse than the surgical pain! The gas radiated through my chest and upper back causing terrible pain, and when pooping it made my entire stomach feel like it was going to explode! Awful! I actually thought I had gotten lucky this time around b/c I didn't really get gas pain until post-op day 5, but when it hit, it hit hard! Ugh!
Back to pooping- last time I said I birthed a 9 lb poop baby. I'm pretty sure I did that this time around again 3 days in a row. Full out sweating, moaning, grasping desperately onto the tub next to the toilet, trying not to cry, and practicing some of that deep and meditative breathing I learned while researching natural births! Not sure it helped a ton b/c it was still super painful!
By post-op day 10 or so, things got under much better control. The gas was better and the pooping while still a bit painful was much more manageable!
And while we are talking bathroom here, since my surgery was much more gentle this time around, peeing didn't hurt as bad (although there were several times where I thought uh oh that kinda hurts...am I getting a UTI) in the first 2 weeks. But overall nothing like last time with the urethral and bladder spasms!
On Bleeding: I don't know how much bleeding is "usual" but I seem to be really lucky in this department. I had a good amount of bleeding the first 2 days, but then really minimal after that. By post-op day 5 I was out of those lovely hospital mesh panties and ginormous diaper pads, and into regular underwear and panty liner. By post-op day 7 I didn't even need the liner, but kept wearing one just in case!
So there ya have it. Despite not wanting a c-section in the least, it definitely was a lot easier the second time around. That being said, I would never voluntarily just sign up for one, but getting a pretty cute little lady out of it isn't too bad of a door prize : )
And dare I say, should we have a third (gotta try for that boy, right!?!?) I won't go into the surgery with as much dread and hatred as I did this time around!
