There’s a few colleagues who have asked about how/why I made the decision to have a c-section and how my c-section recovery was, and what my postpartum essentials are/were. I’ve got the list for you!
I had been thinking since before I was pregnant about having an elective c-section. Once I got pregnant my husband and I discussed it and he was concerned about me having surgery, but ultimately he was like it’s your body you’re going to be the ultimate decider. We took childbirth classes, I took classes on pelvic floor and birth, and I waivered back and forth between trying vaginal birth or an elective c-section. You can read a little more here about the details of why I ended up choosing a c-section and why it was not on our chosen date, but ultimately I am so thankful I had one.
The surgery itself was more weird/odd than bad. I could feel that there was something going on but I couldn’t feel exactly what. The spinal block? Perfection. Honestly, the worst part of the c-section for me was the 10-15 minutes of prep before the surgery when I was in the operating room and my husband had to sit right outside the room. I did not like that and was becoming more and more emotional the longer he wasn’t in there with me. Him walking in that room served to calm me down almost more than the meds they gave me.
The recovery in the hospital was fairly easy and it’s probably because my husband rarely let me do anything. I wanted to get up and walk, which was required at some point so that was good. He had to remind me to use the bathroom but I was up and walking, making bottles, and carrying our baby the next day. Glue not staples FTW. For the surgery I was in the hospital gown but the next morning I changed into a hospital gown I brought (with a matching robe). Was it too much? Nope. I was comfortable, it was soft, and I felt ‘put together’ in it. I would pack the robe, gown, and slippers again. The hospital gown I bought has ties so it was so easy for the nurses to check my stomach or do all the rest of their checks on me.
Some advice I was given was to bring a kiwi to eat in the hospital, the reasoning is because it has a ton of fiber and will help (along with the stool softeners) ease your first bowel movement. I wasn’t exactly keeping kiwis on hand so I packed my tried and true chia seeds because I drink them in a chia shot every day. Skip the kiwi and take the chia – I’d take one pack for each day in your post birth / postpartum essentials bag.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel and we knew I could stay three nights in the hospital so we played it by ear. Well I wanted to get home asap so B was born Sunday and we went home Tuesday morning. I posted up in an armchair because the arms were essential for me to move or get up. My husband helped me get up for about the first week though. I wore my maternity oversized shirts and my maternity spandex shorts for the first month pretty much. I felt so loose around the middle and wanted something that would help hold me in. I also wore these underwear, they hit above the incision which is essential.
Once I left the hospital I kept my incision slathered in Vaseline, clutch for healing! We had alarms set for my meds. This was super important because I slept through one alarm once and was in pain when I woke up. Do not feel bad about taking the meds! You need them! This is one of the things my husband kept reminding me – you need these meds because you just had major surgery! Meds are a c-section postpartum essential and never let anyone make you feel bad or weak for taking them.
One of the greatest things I will recommend to anyone who has a c-section is a handheld shower head; it’s so random but I was not about the bend over to wash anything I couldn’t reach. If you don’t have one get one you can screw in or get a new shower head. I knew I was going to bleed even though I had a c-section but I didn’t know how much I would HATE the hospital undies and pads – they’re the WORST! I wanted to be in my own underwear and ended up needing smaller pads but I had to wait for them because I had zero on hand. You also need comfortable shoes, I bought these recovery slides (I sized up) and they were fantastic. I had pretty bad plantar fasciitis flare up so they were wonderful to put on.
Another purchase you want need to make is this hospital desk/table. It is fantastic! I moved it wherever I sat, in bed, on the chair, or in the glider in baby’s room. It held everything I needed, I ate meals from it, and sometimes I even put my laptop on it. I bought it while I was still pregnant and haven’t regretted the purchase ever! I included it on my baby essential buys list! it’s basically not only a postpartum essential but a pregnancy one too.
We started bottle feeding from the beginning. The hospital had to check the formula was approved by the FDA prior to letting us feed him, which just makes me think… what were some people feeding their child for this to become a rule!? But since I was not breastfeeding I needed to get a jump on stopping my milk from coming in and I completely spaced on that… so about three days later I woke up in some serious discomfort! Do not make the same mistake I did, go ahead and order the following four things and start the day you give birth. They might not be postpartum essentials for everyone but at some time you’re going to stop breastfeeding and you’ll want them. One: Cabbage Cream (I used it at night) Two: Weaning Stick (I used this during the day) Three: No Flow Tea (I added a mint tea bag to the mix for some extra flavor) Four: Boob Reusable Ice Packs (self explanatory).
Remember when my mom and I made a ton of freezer meals for postpartum? Yeah, I was so thankful for those meals, they definitely count as postpartum essentials! Super easy to make and were nice additions to the meals people brought us. Make sure to check out my other posts about pregnancy and postpartum!
