I’m about two weeks out from having a C-section to have my twins, and I think I’m a little too delusional

[waynespiegel]

@rrruff congrats mama
i've had 3 c-sections. best advice i can give is to get your pain management under control while at the hospital. don't skip your prescribed medication thinking you will feel fine.

chew lots of gum after. surgery

wish you and babies a healthy delivery

i'm not a dr this is not medical advice

 

[rrruff]

@waynespiegel Thank you!

 

[kingdompastor]

@rrruff I had my di-di b/g twins at 38 weeks via
Cesarean on a Wednesday, discharged Friday, and on Tuesday I drove my 3yo daughter to school. We even stopped for Starbucks on the way. I was sore and walking a bit slower than usual, but fine. I also stayed on top of the pain meds, as a precaution. I didn’t want to end up in pain unknowingly. Definitely listen to your body, and only do what feels good. Recovery is not a competition, and everyone responds differently. It’s one of those things that unfortunately, you don’t know how you’ll respond or react, until you’re smack in the middle of it. And congrats!! My babes are 4 months old now, and so far it’s the best.

 

[rrruff]

@kingdompastor That’s so true! I know I need to let myself experience this all the way I’m going to experience it.

 

[puckharist]

@rrruff Do whatever you can and want to prepare at this moment. No matter what we do, we will be under prepared any way. Mental health and happiness should be the main focus now. Don't strain yourself or let others judge you.

 

[rrruff]

@puckharist Thank you!! I’ve been trying to prepare, I just don’t know if I’m preparing the right things I did get all of their clothes, towels, and blankets washed along with all the bottles. This week we’re finishing up with the baby swings and bassinets. After that I don’t know what else to do besides setting up diapering stations around the house

 

[puckharist]

@rrruff Don't worry, everything gets delivered so fast now. You'll figure it out as you go. In my culture, we don't but baby stuff before they arrive so I'm 0% prepared. You are atleast doing much better than me

 

[dicey79]

@rrruff Even tho it was an emergency c-section my recovery was quite uneventful. I stayed in the hospital in the first days and between NICU and hospital room I was able to stay in bed a lot. I won’t lie everything is new, you worry about your children in NICU and have to have a set pumping schedule for the milk to come in but being able to stay in bed as much as possible the first days was crucial. I bought a waist band that I wore from the second day onwards, which I believe also contributed to my recovery. After a week I was not in pain and able to walk a few blocks with our kiddos in the stroller. The newborn days are still going to be rough, so after the initial hospital stay I was lucky enough to have my mother with me and my husband also was very involved and we took turns feeding the kids. We had kind of shift plan the first month so everyone was able to have a night off (apart from pumping) and sleep trough the night. If you can get an extra hand to help - make use of it! And honestly- everything was better than being so pregnant you nearly could not move and even walking to the parking lot would take forever

 

[rrruff]

@dicey79 Right! I threw out my back putting on my pants the other day I can’t wait to get my babies out.
What kind of belly band did you get? I asked my doctor, but she said she doesn’t love them because of how much it presses in the incision, but it seems like they worked wonders for almost everyone that used one.

 

[dicey79]

@rrruff I’m in Europe so I don’t know how it’s in the us. I bought a simpel one without hooks with Velcro. Before I put it on for the first time I checked with the post Partum nurses if it’s fine and I was allowed to use it. My incision was very low maintenance tho and is now, a year after not visible.

 

[birdyyyy]

@rrruff My c section with my twins was horrible. I could barely move for two weeks. I had a lot of complications from labor, though. Two years later, I had another c section with a singleton, but I was up and walking within 24 hours.

Plan for the worst. Then you can rejoice when you’re up and walking within a few days

Good luck!

 

[johnvladimir]

@rrruff Honestly I don’t know if it was hard or not. You just have to get it done because what’s the alternative? You just have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going.

Wallowing in how hard it is helps you not at all.

Certainly, stressing about how hard it will be ahead of time, in your last two weeks of child free life, is a supreme waste of time. You should be relaxing and enjoying this time as much as you can.

It’s coming no matter how much you worry about it, and they only way you can fail is like, if someone doesn’t survive. You’ll make it through, just take it as it comes.

The less expectations you can have in any direction, the better.

And, hire a postpartum doula so you can nap if that’s an option.

As far as the surgery, it was fine. I don’t even remember any discomfort.

 

[rrruff]

@johnvladimir I love this perspective. There really is no other choice but to get it done whether it’s hard or not. Thank you!

 

[kestohood]

@rrruff However it is for you, easy/hard/wonderful/messy/whatever, it is temporary!

A firm pillow to press against your stomach for car rides was a tip that really helped me stay comfortable over bumps.

I also got one of those stick grabbers so I could pick things up without having to bend over or reach so much at home.

Take it easy as you can. There is no trophy for doing more than you thought you could, and no punishment for sitting on the couch. Your body truly needs it, rest helps heal and doing more than you should can hurt. I was told not to do housework and I stuck to that long after I was cleared for it at my 8 week postpartum appointment lol

Best wishes

 

[brandonsmith581]

@rrruff I went home on Day 3, and it wasn’t that bad. I wore the belly binder 24/7 (unless showering) the first 4 weeks. I didn’t even feel like I needed the Percocet. The pain the first week home felt similar to the pelvic pain of the twin pregnancy. I just rolled out of bed and made similar movements as the pregnancy.

The first days in the hospital were very rough though and awful. My boyfriend got sick with a stomach flu too and went home (rightly so), so I was up all night alone trying to care for both of them from the bed or having to wait for a nurse while they screamed. Taking the staples out sucked, and they no longer wheel the mother out to the car like they did with my older kids, so I had to walk from the maternity floor to the car and the nurse was really pushing me to go fast. It was just awful.

 

[cn_999]

@rrruff Pro tip from a 2 c-section mama: don't bother with short acting meds . Get 8 hr Tylenol arthritis and 12 hr Advil. That makes it sooo much easier to remember and take the heavy duty meds for break-through pain

Meal prep allllll the food in the freezer now

Mental prepare for thr NICU. I thought I would be OK, but seeing my boy getting choppered in an incubator to a big city hospital NICU absolutely GUTTED me, and I'm a NICU baby myself! Longest week with one in NICU and on just chilling with me in the hospital room

Stay as long as possible in hospital . 5 days is what I recommend. You have 24 hr care at the call of a button, no worries about food/laundry and if you just want to sleep, the nursing staff can not allow visitors

 

[abctradelinks]

@rrruff You won’t know until after you give birth. I truly hope this doesn’t happen to you but i had a postnatal hemorrhage and i was so much weaker post-birth than anticipated and my incision hurt like hell because i wasn’t allowed the IV version of ibuprofen. I left the hospital after 5 days and shuffled around for 2 weeks after - my partner had to help me wash my hair. I’d be prepared for needing a lot of help and then, if you don’t, all the better.

 

[hil]

@rrruff How do you guys feed by yourself?? My babies cry hard- one has reflux and the other one is hangry! I can’t imagine doing it on my own with their individual needs being met. What are your tricks/tips?