Things we should have been told!

Kels152, my emergency c-section was oddly enough so much easier to recover from than my elective.

I looked after myself better after it though!

Thanks for your advice ladies it's a big eye opener!

My mum lives in oz and she may be able to come and help but we arent sure yet...We have a lot to think about - may have to see if DP can have more time off. As you say it's the basic stuff that will be the prob. Thanks again :)

Thanks Girls Rock, appreciate your feedback...with twins you only get home help if you have another child under 5yrs so we dont qualify. I think we may just have to work on DP having more time off - If I dont have a c-sect i'll still need help with them so it's going to be the best option all round I think

Hi KLH, I've had 5 c-sects now and each time recovery was slightly different, but if you are having an elective c-sect you have to stay in hospital for a minimum 72hrs after in most cases.

Looking after older children once you're out of hospital I didn't find a huge problem, I have approx 2 years between my children so have always had a 2yo in the house while recovering, and DH's job (hv electrician/ line mechanic) has meant he wasn't always able to be around to help.

You should be fine after 3 days to do most things by yourself, but you'll still have to TRY avoid picking the other kids/ heavy things up.

I planned ahead by getting the house pretty tidy before the surgery, I boxed up half the kids toys so it was harder for them to make a mess, hid the talc, pens etc that they like to make mess with. Did all the cleaning before too so it would "last" the week after. I did my groceries based on "easy", lots of dried fruit, crackers etc that you can give the kids for lunch and tea (and yourself) without having to prepare a lot. Precooking a few things like shepherds pie to reheat later works well.

I bought dettol wipes for just the week or two after, it just made cleaning benches/loo etc slightly easier/quicker. All the "slightly easier"s add up when you're tired, recovering and stretched for time.

I prepared a mental list of things I could get other people to do should someone turn up and offer. I was a bit mean and made the kids re-wear clothes that weren't dirty to cut down on washing.

I also kept the 4yo home from kindy for a week or two so there's less running around, a couple of weeks won't hurt . It also keeps the 2yo a bit more occupied having a friend at home.

Take a good multi-vitamin, insist your OH help, not just once baby's arrived but before too. If you have a choice between housework and sleep definitely choose sleep, even if it's a snooze on the couch, the housework will wait, so keep your expectations low on how tidy you want the house to be if you're inclined to be stressed if it's a mess. I'd get up, shower & get dressed every morning just to go back to a nap on the couch, at least if anyone turned up I felt "presentable", which was important to me. It also meant I was in the shower while DH was still home in the morning, and he could look after the littlies for 15mins.

I think waiting that extra few months depends entirely on the kids that you have already. But I found an 18-19mth old was easier to deal with than a throw-tanties-at-everything 2-3yo.

Just be kind to yourself, an exhausted Mum is no good to anyone! Those hairy first few weeks with a newborn post c-sect with older kids can be hard but they are only a few weeks. Definitely try to avoid a late winter/early spring due date though, can't have everyone calving at once!

Hope that helps.

Oh delivered groceries would be awesome! We live in a rural town so I couldn't do that.
I'm a chronic list-making planner organiser, it definitely helps, .

Yeah that's the same here (Stratford, Taranaki), we're about half an hour from the closest countdown. Definitely defeats the purpose, it's easy to stock up on pantry stuff, it's the fresh stuff you run out of!

mamanee wrote: Another one I found was that lying on your side is impossible for the first couple of days and the nurses always tried to make me lie on my side to feed Sam and this just made me cry out in pain which made feeding really difficult. So let them know very sternly that it is too painful otherwise they keep making you try to turn on your side.

Wow so glad they never tried to make me lie on my side - it's only now after 2-3 weeks of recovery that side-lying is mostly ok!!!

Reading some of the tips mentioned in this thread, I'm thinking I got off fairly lightly with recovery. My biggest things I wish I was told are:

1. Your analgesia from the spinal wears off after 24 hours and then you will feel like you were hit by a truck.

2. For the first few days, every 12-24 hrs you'll feel hit by a truck again - ask for more tramadol (I was hardly given any, only told when I said I really hurt that actually I could have some - I could have had a whole lot more) - it's good stuff (although my aunt hates it - it made her hallucinate).

3. They can do delayed cord clamping with a CS! The one part of my birth plan I got, but only because both hubby and my midwife asked for it! I didn't really think they'd do it with a c section and was too loopy at the time to ask, but they actually will as it turns out.

4. You might not get told much about the surgery itself or what to expect during recovery - I came home with a prescription for pain relief and no advice on how long I might need pain relief for, what to look out for that could be signs of infection etc, what activities not to do and how long for... It seems to be all left to my midwife which is fine but I'm surprised I didn't get anything written when I left hospital. I've never had surgery of any kind before and didn't have a clue what to expect. Knowing what I know now, I would have asked way more questions about the surgery and recovery while still in hospital.

I also agree with tying the call button to your bed - I was very painfully trying to find mine dangling somewhere behind the raised bed head a few times during the first day or two, it was pretty upsetting on top of everything. TIE IT ON!

Edited by anna1983 - 19 December 2012 at 10:45am