C sections and expressing

[Melly+2]

how did you cope, how did you feel after having a section, honestly. tbh im quite traumatised by it all, when they were still doinung it i started to feel aching, i was shaking so badly through it, plus my pain after is horrid i hate it, whats the best way for coping with it all. plus did anyone feel really scared every time they moved that they were gonns rupture the scar??? im so terified by it all..

secondly, im wanting to start expressing due to alex feeding pretty much constantly. how did everyone get on wi this, i have a cheap electric pump and would like to try self expressing, any tips and ideas would be fab as im finduing bf very hard atm, thanks ladies xx

 

[chezzabell]

hey sweetie, cant help with the expressing question soz

but I know what u mean about being terrified to do anything, but u will be ok hun, infact moving around will help ya loads try and stay mobile as much as pos, but on the other hand dont do too much!!! which i know is hard esp when u got a toddler!! My advice listen to ur body chick, so when u have done too much sit down, and remeber hun its only 4 days since Alex was born so it stil really early I was still in hospital 4 days after having my section, well my 1st anyway.

After my emergency section it wasnt really till a few months after that it hit me, and I was like fuck me Sophie could have died, i think i got too carried away with my new baby to think too much about how awful birth was....again hun its so early since u had the section once u are feeling back to ur normal self, which will take weeks!!! u will feel so much better.

And of course everyone is different and heals different so im only talking about how i felt and my expreince u might feel different

lots of hugs darl try and get some rest, oh and good luck with expressing

 

[Beatlesfan]

Hi Hun

I must have missed out that you had had your baby! So first of all congrats on the birth of Alex!

I had an emergency C-section after 24 hours of labour and I felt like I was going to cause severe damage everytime I moved! I was never able to stand up fully for about 2 weeks after. I used to have to hold my tummy and get up very slowly indeed and move slowly. I could not lift my leg to get in the bath to shower as it involved the core tummy muscles to sustain balance and OH and I slept on the two sofas downstairs for 2 weeks with LO as I could not get up from a lying down position without a LOT of help.

I know everyone is different but I felt my recovery was slow. People told me to move around to aid the healing process but I only ever used to do this for short periods of time. I sometimes used to walk around downstairs from room to room for 5 mins to get moving and then rest again. I did not venture out to the shops with my OH and LO until 5 weeks later and that was for a coffee and back again! I am sure you will recover much quicker than me - I don't want to paint a story of doom and gloom... I suppose what I am trying to say is trust your own instincts and judgement on doing what you feel is right for your body. My HV said to get out for a walk and fresh air quite early on as I should have been ready for that, but I just wasn't.

My tips are:

* Talk talk talk to others about how you are feeling, if you have people that will listen talk about it all, it really helped me lots. I felt a bit traumatised by it all and quite emotional as it was not the birth experience I was planning on.
*Do no housework/cooking/shopping etc. Get others to do it for you or leave it. Plenty of time for that later. Concentrate on yourself and your LO
* My OH used to get up with LO in the night (and day actually) when she needed changing or feeding and then brought her to me where I would breast feed. Then he would take her off again and settle her. Trying to move and get comfy and holding a baby while your tummy is sore is not good.
* Sleep and rest when you can, will help with healing process, and short bursts of slow walking around house to keep moving.
* I would say after 2 weeks, I began to feel LOADS better and the contractions I used to get while breastfeeding calmed. At first it was so painful.
*Only lift LO when you need to (feeding, cuddles etc.) Of course bonding is important, but if she needed rocking or holding for a longish time, OH did this. Don't lift anything else! E.g. baby in car seat or a full kettle (I was told!!)
* Take any safe pain relief that you think you need. It will take the edge off the pain.
* I don't know if you drive, but only start driving again when you feel ready. I drove after 7 weeks, nearly 8, with my OH in car on an easy short journey and I was amazed at how much I used my tummy muscles for clutch control etc. I could feel them pulling even that long after the C section. But I knew I had to make the step so I eased myself back into it.

With regards to the expressing, I strated expressing when LO was 2 weeks old as my milk came in at 5 days and after a week we were in a good routine and milk was in good supply. From my own experience and other's I know of, it seems that success at expressing varies. From the onset I had no problems at all. And actually it was nice to express and allow OH to feed LO. She took to a bottle immediately and was always good at changing from one to the other - she was a dream when I look back as not everyone has a baby that is that flexible!

I shook uncontrollably throughout the procedure, it is very normal, the body temperature drops, it is a side effect to the anaesthetic drugs I was told. Despite 2 blankets over me, I was shivering and shaking like mad. It was not a pleasant experience I know what you mean.

I am sure you will get many replies and some will be contradictory to mine, maybe other women whose recovery was much quicker. This is just my experience. At times I felt like I was being weak and feeble when others told me of their quicker recoveries or people they knew driving 4-5 weeks after C section etc. But a good friend talked sense into me and reinforced that my body would tell me what I could or couldn't do and following this advice, I felt my recovery was slow but steady.

Plenty of hugs for you hun,
I sooo know where you are coming from. It's a major op and takes some time to get your head around, let alone body. Take it easy and wishing you a steady recovery sweetie. Enjoy your Little One in these early weeks, precious precious times. Those weeks flew by when I look back. Take care and let us know how you are recuperating. x x

 

[nori]

I shook uncontrollably throughout the procedure, it is very normal, the body temperature drops, it is a side effect to the anaesthetic drugs I was told. Despite 2 blankets over me, I was shivering and shaking like mad. It was not a pleasant experience I know what you mean.

God i had completely forgotten about that bit.. i was the same!

I also had several hours of labour prior to the c section and did find my recovery fairly slow. It was pretty much dead on 6 weeks that i felt tons better and my scar was fully healed. I found that tramadol was my best friend for several weeks (only took half dose though) Just take it easy and as the others have said, listen to your body,

On the breastfeeding front.. as you know, mine went tits up. However i have learnt that i should have introduced a dummy earlier to save my boobs. I cant really help with the expressing as i did try it and it was just blood!

Sorry i cant be much help!

Claire x

 

[Melly+2]

Ive been naughty and tried my pmp, and it worked, after about 2 mins the milk started flowing lovely, id be able to get a decent amount in no time, i have been told not to use it till bf is established but what does that men?? UNTIL MY MILK HAS GOOD SUPLY? or we have a routine?? Im not sure as i would really like to get started expressing asap!!

 

[Beatlesfan]

Ive been naughty and tried my pmp, and it worked, after about 2 mins the milk started flowing lovely, id be able to get a decent amount in no time, i have been told not to use it till bf is established but what does that men?? UNTIL MY MILK HAS GOOD SUPLY? or we have a routine?? Im not sure as i would really like to get started expressing asap!!

I am not sure when is a good time, I guess you have to do what is right for you. I just waited for 2 weeks as my LO wasn't in a routine until then, by that I mean regular feeds (but still on demand) and before that my boobs used to fill up at random times in response to LO's then random feeding patterns. Once feeds were more established (I take that to mean regular feeds and boobs filling up at the right times...no engorgement etc, maybe I am wrong, but that's how I understood it), I felt more comfortable with trying to express and it worked fine.

Maybe someone else who expressed very early on (I am sure there are) may be able to offer more advice? Do what is right for you hun. x

 

[purplebluered]

I expressed early on, that was because quite early on, Isaac was feeding every 3 hours in the day and every 4 hours at night. He settled very very quickly into a routine of feeding. It was rather quick I think, and I started expressing when he was a week old. Actually in fact I think I started expressing when he was 8 days old just because my milk came in then, it was late coming in due to traumatic labour/section. It worked out fine and we're still breastfeeding now albeit I'm currently weaning him to formula for a whole host of different reasons. It worked for me and I think it worked for me because we got into a routine very quickly with feeding. I always expressed at the same time every day, if I tried it at a different time, it was like my milk supply got a bit confused.

As for the section. It's very very difficult to rupture the stitches!! Incredibly difficult. You need to go by your pain and how you're coping with it. I work as a physio and I used to get people out of bed straight after surgery - and boy now do I have such empathy for them!! I never realised what it's like to try and walk after major surgery. Don't do anything, make everyone do things for you!!

Keep talking to us, we're here to support you, you're doing fab!

 

[kmac]

Hi Mel

I just wanted to say i know how you feel. It's just 3 weeks since my section and I am a bit traumatised by it all too. I shook and cried all the way through - it was horrid!
I also didn't appreciate how difficult it is to do things afterwards. i stayed in hospital for 2 days afterwards and it was awful - I couldn't move without being in agony.
Since Ive been home I have made a few mistakes - I thought i felt fine and I could just get on with the cleaning etc but i find if i do too much I have a lot of pain later on at night and my bleeding gets worse... so really try and do as little as possible. I know it's difficult.
I think I'm recovering quite well compared to some stories I have heard - but I have tp keep reminding myself it was a big op and I have limitations.
I'm off to the doctor next week to see if i can get the all clear to drive - I really hope I can as i'm going a bit mad in the house!

 

[Melly+2]

what is getting to me most is lack of ability to move and do things with hope and alex, thats killing me, i just wana get on with stuff and i cant, im struggling like mad

 

[kmac]

It is hard, but really you just have to accept it for the moment.
It would be worse if you overdid things now then set yourself back and took longer to recover...

 

[*Hope*]

Hi hun.

I had a nightmare with breastfeeding and my nipples bled and bled. my baby just didnt want to latch on and the wole thing got really emotional and stressful when she was about 3 days.
i considered formula but for me it was a really strong need to give baby my breast milk.
so i started expressing from day three and i must admit some feeds were pure blood red!! dont worry the docs and midwives all assured me this is fine.
she LOVES the bottle and i now know she has to have about 70ml every 3 hours of breast milk, and if sometimes she wants more, or if i havent managed to express a full feed she gets a top up of formula which i dont mind because she is getting mostly breast.
she is so much happier now since i started this and sometimes doesnt cry all day or night!

after my c sec i was sore for the first couple of days but now i feel ok. i have to remind myself to slow down because knowing me i will burn myself out and get ill. my family and oh seem to think i can carry on as normal doing quite a bit (they do help but not to the extent that you guys have said) so i am kind of just getting on with it.

everyones different and im sure every c sec is different too so some people are bound to feel more sore than others. x

 

[Laura_C]

My recovery was quite quick really much the same as Hope, sore for first few days but I healed very quickly and was out and about when Grace was around 10 days old. I pretty much had to carry on as normal really as my hubby was back in work after 2 weeks so had limited help. My MIL popped in and helped as much as she could be mainly thing like loading the washing etc so I didn't have to bed down. I only really tried expressing in hospital and found it difficult, but that was day 2 after a week my milk came in fully and I wish I tried again. My milk just took so long to come in but once it did I was fine.