C Section Hospital Bag

cleanslate

Hi, I've had my hospital bag packed for a while now, but have found out that we have to have a section birth, is there anything different I need to pack now?
I have the giant knickers that go over the wound as I had bought them to hold the giant pads after vaginal delivery but will need more now and obviously will be in hospital longer.
Also any tips on recovery would be appreciated if there is something you found personally that's not on all the normal websites.
Thanks!

scarepanda

Hey!

I'm starting day 2 after emergency section over the weekend.

You definately need the huge Granny knickers. Double up on maternity pads as iv been very self conscious and for the first couple of days followed nurses lead of using two pads each time to make sure there was enough coverage front and back.
You'll still need a night dress for the first few hours because you'll have a catheter in, but once that comes out normal PJ bottoms are fine. I'm wearing my OHs dark PJ bottoms because they are big enough to go over incision without any hassle. I think a ladies PJ bottoms would be to fitted, even in a larger size.

As for recovery, take pain med everytime they offer it. I'm not in much pain as opposed to a dull discomfort and yesterday thought i was doing great.... Until I didn't take one round of meds (the nurses kinda ask if you need it rather than give it to you) and while still didn't have any sharp pain I was doubled over like an old woman for a few hours! Get out of the bed asap and have your shower, best thing ever! The worst thing for me so far was being so dependent on everyone else to lift baby to and from me, change nappies etc etc etc because I wasn't able to do it/do it quick enough. In some ways the first day your mobile is possibly the worst for that because your mobile, but still dodgy and I certainly wasn't confident of doing stuff without risking or hurting bubs.


That's what iv thought so far. I'm sure over the next few days I'll think of more things that would have been handy to have etc, but haven't got there yet/had time to think etc.


Good luck!

cleanslate

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! The very best of luck with your recovery, getting stronger every day and enjoy your new baby! X

lazygal

I wore night dresses all the time. Take all the pain meds and don't be afraid to ask for more. It was great being confined to bed for breastfeeding but try to move around a bit. I was right as rain after a week or so each time.
If you're in for a scheduled section bring reading material because you will be waiting around as emergency sections take priority.

spottybananas

I think the best tip I read after I'd already recovered was to tie a skipping rope or similar to the bar at the end of the bed and use this to pull yourself up when it's so difficult in the first days.

Ciarrai76

I got some night dresses in penny's as you won't want pj bottoms on as it can be uncomfortable due to scar. Hospital very warm so just get light ones. I bought a good few packs of big knickers as you may leak a bit & need a good few changes. I was kept in 5 nights so just pack enough to be able to change & extra baby grows. Extra pads too, as you'll need for weeks after anyway! Boots have a good offer at the moment.
Plus dark towels for during after showering!

lazygal

I wouldn't use dark towels. They leave fluff on the scar. Don't wear dark pants for the same reason.

January

You're not supposed to dry the scar with a towel, well that's what I was advised anyway was to let the scar air dry rather than patting it with a towel or anything like that.

I wouldn't pack everything. Pack enough to do you three days. Then if you're kept longer leave stuff laid out at home so your partner can bring them into you and take home anything soiled when they're leaving.

Pack your babies clothes (so a vest and a babygro) into ziplock bags, one outfit per ziplock bag. That way you're not rooting around for separates.

Staplor

My wife just had one so:

Wash all your pajamas if they are new, the fluff is the unreal.

Ask for anti itching medication, it goes hand in hand with morphine that you start to itch, its prescribed but they don't give it unless you ask.

angeldelight

I was surprised how little discomfort I was in after mine! Definitely get up as soon as they let you and move around a little. Make sure your hospital bed is on lowest setting, much easier for getting in and out. I was dreading going to the toilet
for the first time afterwards so I made sure to ask for lactulose twice a day as it's a softener. I was written up for it but only as required so they may not ask you for it.

Stick to the advice and take it easy, don't lift anything heavier than baby and don't do hoovering, mopping floors etc

Ciarrai76

lazygal wrote: »

I wouldn't use dark towels. They leave fluff on the scar. Don't wear dark pants for the same reason.

The dark towel is more in case of bleeding down below, not to dry the scar.

spottybananas

I was advised to not cover the scar either, let the air at it. I wore satin pyjama bottoms I already had that came up over it and never covered it.

January

Oh definitely keep bed on lowest setting, and also make sure you're getting out of the bed properly!

Roll to your side, then legs out then use your arms to push yourself up. I was just heaving myself up and ended up very heavily bruised right up to my belly button.

brokensoul

Drink prune juice - before the section and after the section. I previously had a myeomectomy and ended up constipated after it. It was not pleasant, at all at all!!!

Drank prune juice this time and had no issues at all. It isn't the worst thing in the world to drink either, looks worse than it tastes.

Also, I think that sections vary from person to person. It didn't take anything out of me at all, I was up and about the following day and had very little pain. I have had friends who had serious pain after it though so it clearly is very personal.

Pennys are great for enormous knickers! €5 for a 4 pack and you will only need them for a few weeks anyway. Boots maternity pads are good because they have adhesive on them, which other pads dont, so they are easier to keep in place.

In CUMH they have a physiotherapy class that you can attend. Tis well worth it, they go through how to get in and out of bed post section and other stuff like how to lift stuff and pelvic floor exercises etc. I assume other hospitals do these classes too.

lazygal

If you're having a planned section just use normal heavy duty sanitary pads. They're way nicer than the special maternity ones.

scarepanda

Day 4... This is very obvious and relevant to anyone wanting to breastfeed.... Get a wrist watch!

I rarely wear one, usually rely on my phone but I found that while it was beside me in the hospital it was invariably on the wrong side or just out of a arms reach when feeding baby, especially in the first day or two when it was very uncomfortable to stretch/reach any distance! Our hospital at least wants us to keep a record of times or feeds and nappy changes etc etc.

lazygal

Tell the hospital to get real! Timing breastfeeds can be stressful and babies feed on demand. Second time I told them if they wanted the feeds timed to do the timing themselves, I was focused on feeding not the clock. It's just a bottle feeding based box ticking exercise.

scarepanda

Relax, they aren't militant about it! It's just somewhere everyone (us and all the different midwives) can get an idea about what's going on. It's helped me alot over the last few days at least having an idea of when she had a nappy change, which Breast she feed off when, for how long etc. I wouldn't have a clue otherwise. And it's helped the midwives answer some questions for me as well that they wouldn't have been able to answer otherwise.

Ciarrai76

scarepanda wrote: »

Day 4... This is very obvious and relevant to anyone wanting to breastfeed.... Get a wrist watch!

I rarely wear one, usually rely on my phone but I found that while it was beside me in the hospital it was invariably on the wrong side or just out of a arms reach when feeding baby, especially in the first day or two when it was very uncomfortable to stretch/reach any distance! Our hospital at least wants us to keep a record of times or feeds and nappy changes etc etc.

I was unaware of that until about day 3 when a snotty nurse asked had me & another mom had we noted the feeds on the chart. I said no, was I meant to!? I hadn't been told about it & all the other nurses had just done it. She got really snotty with another mom & said 'oh you expect me to do it'!! So rude! I even pointed out that I didn't even have a pen so it was hard to do it! We started doing it after that & had to borrow a pen from my mom as the nurse still hadn't bothered to get one! We also had to note nappy changes & if it was wet etc!

scarepanda

Ciarrai76 wrote:

I was unaware of that until about day 3 when a snotty nurse asked had me & another mom had we noted the feeds on the chart. I said no, was I meant to!? I hadn't been told about it & all the other nurses had just done it. She got really snotty with another mom & said 'oh you expect me to do it'!! So rude! I even pointed out that I didn't even have a pen so it was hard to do it! We stared doing it after that & had to borrow a pen from my mom as the nurse still hadn't bothered to get one! We also had to note nappy changes & if it was wet etc!

Ah ya, no one was snotty about it. I had a bad day during the week and didn't fill it in, no one said anything. But it did help me get an idea of how long she was feeding for/when and it gave me an idea of a pattern and helped me pick up quicker what was wrong with her. I was so sleep deprived at one stage that I couldn't even remember which side she'd last fed on. I also had a question about her nappies and all the midwife had to do was look back at the record and was able to answer my question.

lazygal

I hope this isn't OT but I wish someone had told me with breastfeeding there is no pattern, nor should you try to impose one. The three hour scheduled feeds are a sad by product of bottle feeding. I was put under enormous pressure to supplement with formula and they're obsessed with weight loss and gain. Second time I was much more assertive and it made breastfeeding so much easier when I decided to not keep track of everything.

scarepanda

lazygal wrote:

I hope this isn't OT but I wish someone had told me with breastfeeding there is no pattern, nor should you try to impose one. The three hour scheduled feeds are a sad by product of bottle feeding. I was put under enormous pressure to supplement with formula and they're obsessed with weight loss and gain. Second time I was much more assertive and it made breastfeeding so much easier when I decided to not keep track of everything.

No it's not forced or OT, but I did find it helpful to distinguish different behaviours and learn what was what before she got to stressed.

I do agree that the three hourly schedule is nonsense and it did make the whole situation harder when I had a midwife that stuck to that rule. But at the same time, now that I'm not stressing about feeds, i do still make a note of the time so that I can sort of gauge when she might need a feed next. That's just me though. Everyone's different