Thursday, December 10, 2009

Answered

Where are your nursing tanks from? Are they really much better than a normal tank top with a shelf bra?
Target. They were the cheapest (16.99) and best quality. Yes, these are made for nursing, and doing so somewhat discreetly. I wore them with a robe and it worked out great at the hospital! It works best because you don't have to show your belly and after a c-section it's just easier not to mess with it!

Were you able to wear sweats/pjs after your c-section?
yep, it was probably the only thing I wore. I did spend the first night or so in the hospital gown until I was given the ok to shower. Low comfy waistbands are the best for a c-section!

Any advice on c-sections?
Get up and move! I know it sucks, and you would rather punch someone in the eye than get up and move but it really makes you feel better faster. Also, my OB ordered something for me to wear that looks like a girdle--called a binder. I didn't get it for a day or so later than I was supposed to and my OB says that is one way to prevent getting a hematoma. I wonder if I wore it sooner if this would of still happened?

Let people help you. That is a hard thing for me to do, and I had to welcome it when I got home. Also, take it easy. You just had major surgery so doing things you did before won't come easy right away--that one I had a hard time with.

Oh, and not c-section related but SLEEP when the baby does. It really is hard to when you have people in and out, and the house looks like a tornado hit, but you'll come to a point when you have to sleep.

In terms of diapers, would you suggest newborn sizes or mainly 1's?
Both. Only open one package at a time because you should at least be able to exchange them. I bought a few newborn thinking he was going to be a chunker, and with him weighing only 7 lbs 5 ounces at birth, he just started wearing size ones last week.

On breastfeeding......
It is not the easiest thing in the world but my biggest piece of advice is to nurse right away. With him being in the NICU, I was told to pump, but the mean nurse I had the first night (the ONLY nurse I didn't like) told me to wait until the next day because I had a rough surgery and needed to rest. I think that is what started me off on a bad note. I also say that if you are dead set on doing it, don't give up. It is very hard especially when you have a baby screaming at you because he is hungry.

What is this honey thing all about?
Honey is said to have natural healing properties. It was funny because I was actually watching the show, 'the doctors' on TV last week when they were talking about this. It has natural antiseptic properties and has been used in treating wounds for a long, long time. On the show, they talked about Medihoney. It was then that I thought they might be onto something :) What is really amazing is that it works on things that doctors have tried 'modern' approaches to, and nothing worked. On Tuesday, my opening was .8 cm, and by today, it was closed and scabbed. My nurse was shocked, and when I told her I had been putting honey on it per Dr's orders, she was amazed. By Monday, I should be completely healed! (by the way, isn't wound a weird word. I hesitated using it because to me it's a weird word, lol)

Will you have a c-section next time and are you afraid to because of the complications?
I think it might be one of those things that I don't think I will know until the time comes. I do not want to have to go through this again. Granted, I would deal with it like I have been if it would, but this time I will have another child to think about. During labor, the nurse said that there are two big reasons why you don't' dilate. a) Your contractions are not strong enough or b) the baby is too big.
Well, my contractions WERE strong enough, and my baby was average sized so who knows what happened. Luckily, even though my water broke and he was delivered almost 24 hours later, he never went into distress and my fear is that next time, it might happen. I don't want another c-section by any means, but I also don't want another episode of my baby being whisked away to the NICU. I guess we will see what happens when it's time (and no not anytime soon, lol!)

Is there anything you wish had gone different?
Well, that is a long one. When I look back at Brady's birth, sometimes I get emotional. I was given extra drugs because the epi wasn't working right for me. I felt that first cut, and while I was about half numb, it hurt. Once Brady was out, they gave me something that they told Blake was the strongest they had. I remember Brady being pulled out because I could hear him crying after they cut me open (which is crazy and amazing at the same time), and I started getting teary and excited. I remember them saying he was really cute, and then I heard him screaming. I remember them weighing him and blake seeing him for the first time. I am glad I have that because that was a special moment. One that I will never forget.

After that....a big ol blur.

Brady was whisked away to the special care nursery because of his lungs, and when I was wheeled into the recovery room, my family came in to see me. They told me they were able to go see him and that he was adorable, and perfect. (They let the grandparents see him but normally there is a two person max. in the special care nursery) I remember saying that it wasn't fair they were able to see him and I didn't. In my drug induced state, I think I pouted. I saw my baby for the first time on a pic from my moms phone. That is the part I have the most trouble with....and it doesn't help that I didn't get to hold him until the next evening. I was wheeled on the way to my post partum room to see him and that part was fuzzy. I remember them saying they needed to keep him calm and happy so he didn't get all worked up....but what I remember most was that I couldn't hold him yet since they were still worried about his lungs (and I was on some heavy drugs), and I didn't get to feed him. In my mind, I pictured him being put on my chest after birth and we would ooh and ahh at him, and then we would try breastfeeding.

I remember waking up the next day and looking around expecting to see my baby in my room, and I didn't. It was then that I lost it (especially because the last thing I had heard was he was having trouble breathing), but when I was finally able to see him and hold him for the first time, and he looked at me with those big eyes of his, it was all okay. I can't change what happened, and I have to accept what did happen, and in the end I am okay with it because I have my happy and healthy little boy. That is what I am most grateful for, and will never take that for granted.

5 comments:

Julia Goolia said...

Thanks for the answers I never technically asked for but always wondered.

And may I just say that it takes a very mature, grounded woman to move on from a 'not so perfect' birth process and focus on the positive. Sure, you could pout and whine and be depressed about it (and maybe sometimes you do, and should!) but kudos to you for being wise enough to see that healthy baby Brady is the end result which makes it a success story.

So glad you are healing!

Katie said...

Those Target tanks are the best!!

I still can't believe they didn't let you see him. I had the same thoughts as you and it sucks when things don't go as pictured in your mind, but you are right. I love my little man and am so happy he's here and healthy!

Lisa said...

Great post! And, I cannot believe a nurse told you to wait to pump!!

Maria said...

Lots of great information Amy. Thank you!!!

Vee said...

Just came across your blog and was very touched by your post.

Great story. Your birth story is very similar to my first labor with my daughter: After my emergency C-Section, they wheeled me into a recovery room and leave me ALONE for almost an hour...didn't get to see/hold/hear my new baby, couldn't even sit up. Finally, when the nurse came in, I started balling and demanded to at least see my husband so someone could tell me what was going on!

It's a good thing those precious miracles make all that pain and heartache worth it.

You'll be back to yourself in no time! Prayers of blessing for you family.

Vee
veronking2003.blogspot.com