hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

So I am going to prepare for a c-section since he is just not flipping. I know I know it's really early and i'm only 28w3d, but because of my anatomy it's like i'm 32wks as far as room insode for him to move. I had a really nice easy vag delivery with Emmy so I have no idea.

My questions are....what do I pack as far as clothing? What can I expect to happen during delivery? What is recovery like? Any tips or tricks? I will also have an almost 2yr old toddler and a husband that will be home the 1st 2wks after delivery. ANY info would help me a lot to at least get me thinking in that direction. I honestly have never thought about it and just assumed I would have another "natural" delivery

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

I had a C/S with my DD. I brought a gown and robe to the hospital, and few pairs of underwear, but a really nice nurse told me "save all your nice stuff for when you go home, wear a hospital gown/robe, trust me you will bleed a lot"
And I did and good thing I did, they also gave me a special "underwear" so it didn't hurt my incision. I bled so much a day or 2 after my C/S, it leaked through a huge (thick and long) pad they gave me, so I was thankful to that nurse for warning me.
Also I'm sure they'll tell you this at the hospital but try to get up and move around as soon as you can, don't be shy to ask for painkillers, use a pillow while walking (hold it up against your incision, they'll show you)
Ask them for some kind of stool softener or ask what they recommend to help you , not to scare you but otherwise your first bowel movement will be like giving birth all over again (so sorry, I know, I can't believe I'm posting this, TMI and so very gross)
That's all I can think of for now

Good luck

Oh and take sweatpants or something high waisted/something loose fitting around your stomach to go home, your incision will be very tender first few days.

oh I hate iphone and how it corrects perfectly correct words , lol. had to edit few .

Message edited 9/18/2011 8:37:59 PM.

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

I knew that I was having a c- section and I didn't pack any differently then if I had a vag delivery. I just packed a little more. I bought a few pairs of comfey pj's that were a size up from what I normally would wear. I also bought a pack of Hanes undies a size up that I didn't mine if they got ruined. I didn't want anything to affect the staples.
My recovery was great. Make sure you get up and walk around as soon as you can. I didn't come home to another child so I can't help you there. You do have to be careful though with picking things (or people) up. It is major surgery.

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

Definitely pj pants or sweat pants that are high waisted or loose so it doesn't put pressure on your incision. The same thing with underwear. I ended up cutting the elastic on my underwear so that it was loose on my incision.

They will get you up out of bed 12 hours after your section no matter what time you delivered. I had my section at 2:43pm and around 230am they came in to get me up out of bed. The first time out of bed was hard. It took me about 30 minutes to get out of bed, walk to the bathroom and get back to bed! But the more you get up out of bed the better it feels.

Try to take it easy and not lift anything too heavyn for some time. I didn't have to deal with another DC at home though.

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

I packed so much stuff... but really I stayed in the hospital gown. I was in TOO much pain to be bothered with putting on pajamas. Plus the nurses are constantly in and out of your room to check your incision and give you needles, etc. so it was much easier to do that in the hospital gown.

Bring a comfy outfit to go home him. Bring granny panties... ones that will go ABOVE your incision (VERY important). They will supply the pads, but if you want to bring your own then go for it.
Bring a boppy pillow or some sort of pillow to help support the baby. I BF (IDK if you are) and bc of the C I couldn't LIFT DD at all! the pillow really helped me hold her. If I wasn't BFing... i'd still of been glad I brought that pillow because again, it really helped me hold her. You can't do ANY lifting and it is major surgery so the part with lifting the baby gets hard.

Bring some face wipes. It will be hard to stand there and clean your face.

Make sure you get up ASAP! i was up that night to go pee. And then each day i walked around more and more. that is key to healing with a c section. And I see you have 2 weeks with the hubs and you have another LO.... so you will want to heal fairly quickly. My SIL REFUSED to get up and move... and it literally took her MONTHS to heal!!

As far as the stool softener someone mentioned... I didn't ask for it.. but they gave me that daily anyway. I didn't poop for a few days afterwards and I was so glad I didn't because my abs hurt so bad!

The hospital also gave me this wrap for my stomach to hold my muscles in. it's sort of like the belly bandit. So ask for that (I just got it after a day or 2).

My C was on a Wed and i was out on Sat.. I had the option of staying until Sun but I said No Way!

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

I didn't feel comfortable in hospital gowns so I wore yoga pants and t-shirts. As far as underwear, I packed girdle type underwear which I am thankful I did because it helped so much when moving around because you really are sore. I was up and moving the evening of my c-section( surgery was at 9am) walking with my IV pole to the NICU. I also brought flip flops because they were easy to just slip on/off without bending down. HTH.

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

I agree with the high-waisted undies, i still need to wear them 6 weeks postpartum since i still have incision pain.

I wore one outfit during the last day or so that was super huge sweatpants and a tshirt. I was in too much pain to maneauver changing into my own clothes before that and was happy to wear a hospital gown at first.

COLACE COLACE COLACE. You'll see.

Don't hesitate to take pain meds. Everyone told me this and i didnt listen at first and suffered badly after spinal meds wore off. Ibuprofen worked for me and for the 2 days i took percocet during the day so I would be able to get out of bed and walk around.

One thing i wish i had but didnt was slippers. My swelling was so bad that i could not fit into any shoe, flip flop or sandal at all so i wore hospital socks around the hospital to walk around and even had to wear them outside when i went home. Big comfy slippers would have been a lifesaver.

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

Don't laugh...
For the first few days, I wore Depends underwear with a pad in it to minimize the bleeding - I bled a LOT after my C/S and my friend suggested the diapers to me. They were super comfortable and I wore a pad going horizontally across the incision as well. After that, I had to get really high waisted panties b/c the ones I had were digging in right where the incision was. I wore those for a week or so.

As far as clothing goes, I was able to wear 2pc pajamas but they were big and so the elastic waist was loose. I wore a nursing tank under the top. I preferred that over a nightgown. When I went home I wore maternity pants that were loose around my belly.

Message edited 9/18/2011 2:17:13 PM.

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

I wore the hospital gown...what I liked about it was when I had to go to the bathroom, I literally just took it off and hung it on the hook. If I had to reach down for pants to pull up, I would not have been happy. i also thought they were easy to BF in. While a nursing tank is easy too, I think it would have been too painful to put on.

If I left my room, I wore another gown as a robe.

anesthesia can make you itchy, so if you are itchy, tell them before they take the IV stub out, there is a drug that helps.

ITA about painkillers - don't be shy. With #3 my anesthesia was so good the first 24 hours, I thought that I didn't need any. The second day, I was taking every 3/4 hours!

i took regular bikini underwear. Not sure if it's b/c I had glue and not staples, but I had no problems and didn't need the granny ones.

Message edited 9/18/2011 4:42:21 PM.

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

Thank you!!!! I really appreciate all the tips and suggestions! I had a really great vag delivery and recovery so the thought of a c-section scares the crapp out of me! I'm hoping he'll turn, but I just want to be prepared...ya know.

Granny panties size larger
HIGH wasted pants
Maybe depends
Boppy
More clothing, but enjoy the gowns they have
Robe and slippers
Take the colace....I did w/Emmy and had no problems going, but I never thought about how it would be after abd surgery. I bet it hurts in a whole other way

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

I bought THESE and THESE, as well as 2 pair of maternity leggings, and 2 nursing tanks to go with the leggings. I also bought a 7 pack of Fruit of the Loom granny panties (they came up to my belly button and cost $4.99) from Target. The first day you are in you hospital gown post surgery. Although, one of my friends bought me THIS, which was great because it has a snap down top for nursing and the arm holes were huge on the hospital's gown and my side boob was popping out. And the mat hinge pillow case was a cute touch! I brought my boppy, but just used the hospital's pillows for nursing.

Read my thread on post-c-section constipation HERE.

Here was my experience:
No food/drink after midnight. I went to L&D. Got an IV going. Admitting stuff with nurse. Met with anesthesiologist. My doctor came and saw me. Walked into OR. Got my spinal - sitting on side of operating table, holding my L&D nurse. I was terrified and crying, but it really wasn't that bad. It kicks in FAST! They throw your legs up on the table, drape you, and get to work. They put the foley in, clean and prep you, and the DH comes in. They didn't tell me when they started exactly, but you start feeling all sorts of movement and light jostling. I swear, with in 5 minutes they were telling me "It's a boy!" DH got to take pictures of him getting all washed up and what not. The anesthesiologist took a picture of us together (mind you, I'm still on the table LOL). I got a headache toward the end in the back of my head and neck area. They said it might have been from lying down flat and getting pumped with fluids? It went away as soon as I was sitting more upright and heading toward recovery. I was in recovery with my nurse for about 20 minutes when my husband got to come join me. He was in the nursery watching the get my DS cleaned up. Then about 15 minutes later I got to hold my DS and nurse. The best feeling EVER! Then about 30 minutes after that they brought me to my room. They got me settled in bed, and then everyone came in. Try not to have visitors other than DH and your/his parents. You are in some pain, and taking narcotics, you can't move your legs and your pee is hanging in a bag on the side of the bed... I got prescribed motrin 600mg every 6 hrs, and oxycodone 5 or 10 mg (which ever I wanted) every 3 hours. And I got a shot of Demerol in my butt when I first got to my room. I was able to eat and drink whatever I wanted, but I wasn't really hungry. I just wanted fruit, so I had my mom go and get me grapes, cherries, and a nice fruit salad bowl from Waldbaum's. Before I went to bed that night I had to get cleaned up down there by a nursing assistant. I was just starting to be able to move my feet. I was also cleaned up around 6 am again. At 8 the next morning I had my foley removed. I had to pee soon, and my legs were back in action, so it was time to get up. I was so sore and went very slow with help. I peed like half a liter by 9:30. After that point I was up and about on my own, I don't remember if I was allowed to shower that day, but I didn't want to. The next day I removed my dressing (make sue you use adhesive remover wipes) and showered. I had sutures and steris. I was at the hospital a total of 5 days (4 nights). I was fortunate enough to have a private room (I delivered at the hospital that I'm a nurse at), and completely recommend it. When I got home I slept on the couch for a few nights because I couldn't sleep flat in my bed. I stopped taking oxycodone at about 9 days postpartum and motrin 2.5 weeks. At 3 weeks I was able to shave over my scar. Yay! And it looks like a little pink wrinkle! Overall, my bleeding has been pretty light. I can't complain. Of course I went out and bought a mega 64 pack of Always --- completely unnecessary after the 2 packs of pads I took from the hospital.

Good luck! If you have any questions feel free to FM me

And I forgot to mention - I had a scheduled section because DS was breech!

Re: hospital bag for c-section and what is it like

I agree with the grannie underwear! The morning after my c section my nurse made my husband go to the store to buy me some, LOL! I bought "regular" underwear in my size and my nurse was helping me pick out clothes to get dressed and said that they were not "grannie" underwear, LOL. So I told my DH to buy the biggest "bloomers" he could find. We were cracking up!!!

The recovery is very painful but not terrible. You will have to have your LO handed to you for the first few days b/c he/she will be too heavy for you to lift up on your own.

At my hospital you were only given pain meds after the 1st day if you asked for them. I forgot many times to ask for them and had periods of many hours without them and it really wasnt that bad.

You may be given a sponge bath. I was given one the night of my surgery. I am very very very modest and didnt care at all because I was in too much pain to shower myself. My second day I was able to shower and get dressed by myself.

The doctor removed my staples my last day in the hospital and it didnt hurt at all. I had a c section 6 weeks ago and I have been feeling 100% for 2 weeks now!


Good luck!