Tuesday, March 4, 2014

C-Sections... My #1 Tip

A girdle made all the difference when
moving around post c-section.
I cannot believe I forgot this.  There is one thing that I learned after my first c-section that made an entire world of difference in the recovery process.  It is huge.  It's something that's worth spending a little money on, especially if your hospital (like the first hospital I delivered in) doesn't offer them.

Post c-section girdles make all the difference in the world.

They can be the difference from being unable to walk or move and moving around to being up and walking (in my estimation I had around 80% less pain when wearing it and wanted to curl up and cry like a baby when I wasn't).

With my first c-section I just got cheap girdles at Walmart and I layered three or four at a time.  It worked.
The second time I bought a medical grade girdle like this.  It was more painful putting on the first time, and I think it made the post baby cramping more extreme for the first day, but the support it offered was amazing (the nurses thought that I was crazy wearing it and kept telling me it would make the pain worse, but the doctor thought it was great).  And I don't think the discomfort of wearing it was any worse than the nurses coming in to do the whole little "massage" thing that makes the uterus contract.

I wore it for the recovery period last time too and my only wish was that I had more than one (maybe one in a larger size and one in my normal size to size down to over the first week or so).

So there you have it. If you know you're having a c-section I can't recommend these enough!  They have made all the difference in my post c-section recovery.

And if you have any post partum c-section recovery tips you'd like to add in the comments I know that there are lots of us out there that would appreciate them!

3 comments:

  1. I learned three things from my C-sections 1. As soon as you are allowed to walk, do so. Walk as much as you are allowed. It really helps you heal up more quickly. 2. Take as few pain medications as you can handle. I only took ibuprofen after my procedures because i am allergic to opioids. Again, you will heal more quickly with less drugs in your system. 3.
    Praise God for those mesh underwear! Ask your nurse for an extra pack to take home.

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  2. Re: mesh underwear, this isn't C-section specific, but get a pack of female Depends Silhouettes! Yes, buying incontinence products may feel awkward (though buying them through Amazon makes that go away) but they are so good with postpartum bleeding. I normally wear menstrual cups for my period so I wasn't thrilled with using pads, but these disposable panties I could just throw away, and I never had to worry about leaking blood on things.

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  3. Number one C-Section tip - don't second-guess the surgery! Don't feel guilty. Don't feel ashamed. Don't feel like you didn't have a "real" birth. Don't let anyone tell you that your experience was "less than" or "unfortunate." People are only opposed to Cesareans until they need one. Cesarean section is a perfectly valid way to give birth to a baby, and one should not spent a second of the postpartum period feeling lousy about having consented to one. Just enjoy your baby and praise God that he or she is here!

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