What to Expect After a Cesarean Section

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Thank you, UpSpring Baby, for providing me the c.panty and the Charcoal Fusion Slimming Panty to share with my readers. All opinions are my own.

I have 3 girls and each pregnancy resulted in a cesarean section. Out of the 3 births, 1 of the cesarean sections was not expected but the other 2 were planned and each one was just as painful as the one before. Sadly, when you have an unexpected cesarean section or even a planned c-section often times it is rare that you are told exactly what to expect after a cesarean section.

If you have had a cesarean section, you know that they are not fun and can be very painful. When I underwent my first c-section, the only thing that I knew was that I would be awake while my doctor was cutting me open. If that was not terrifying enough, what came after the c-section was even more terrifying, mainly because I did not expect any of it. I gathered some helpful information on what to expect after a cesarean section from the experiences I had with each of my children. Of course, no two c-sections are the same but hopefully, my experience will help you be ready and not surprised like I was.

1. If all goes well with your c-section, you will be taken to a recovery room before you are taken to your hospital room. You will most likely be very sleepy and loopy from the anesthesia. Enjoy the loopiness, but if you need time alone without visitors, tell your nurse!
2. Once you are taken to your room and the anesthesia begins to wear off, you may start to feel sick to your stomach. This is the result of the drugs and no food intake. Take it slow and as I said in #1 if you don’t want visitors, tell your nurse. If you end up throwing up, since you won’t be able to get up and walk, you need to have a friend, spouse or family member with you to help you.
3. You can’t eat until you fart. This part stinks, no pun intended! I could never understand how you can pass gas without having eaten and to this day, I still don’t understand. To be honest, I snuck a bite of a cookie in order to make my body pass gas and the other 2 times my doctor gave up and just let me eat.
4. When you eat your first post-op meal, keep it light and simple. I ate a fruit bowl and it was perfect.
5. Rest, sleep and relax. You just had a baby, you just had a major operation and your body is freaking out because it is no longer housing anyone. As a mom, I know that you want to spend all of the time you can with your new baby, but you need to heal and the nurses in the nursery are paid to and trained to watch your little one.  When I was in the hospital, I never had my baby sleep with me. I made sure that she slept in the nursery so that I could get enough rest to take care of her when we were sent home.
6. The day after the c-section will be the worse. This was always my hardest day because the nurse removes the epidural, which means the numbness starts to go away and nausea strikes. Once again, take it slow and utilize the nursery.
7. After the epidural is removed, do not try and walk until the nurse gives you the okay and is with you to help! In your mind, you may be able to walk but once you stand up, your legs will be like jello and you will fall. Once again, make sure you have a nurse or two with you to help and not just your spouse because no matter how small you are when you have no control over your legs, you turn into dead weight.
8. After you are able to walk, the nurse will help you get in the shower. There will be a chair in the shower for you to sit on while you shower. Each time I had a c-section, my nurse stayed in my room the entire time to make sure that I was okay. While I was in the shower, she changed my bedding and was there when I needed help getting out. Remember you will have just had a major surgery, so ask her for any help that you might need.
9. After your surgery, you will either have on or be given a tummy wrap also known as a binder. If you are not given one by the hospital, bring it with you to the hospital and wear it! You can order one here. I wore mine for at least one month after my surgery to help shrink my stomach back down or you can use the Charcoal Fusion Slimming High Waist Panty. It also increases circulation, raises metabolism, and slims belly and waist. Charcoal Fusion slimming high waist panty is made with bamboo charcoal fiber, which naturally emits far infrared light. When this interacts with your body heat, it helps to increase blood flow, speed weight loss and reduce swelling. You can order it here.
10. You are going to have a big scar on the bottom of your belly. It will be tingly for awhile and numb. It is important that you protect it. The c*panty from UpSpring, which can be found here, is non-binding, provides compression, which reduces pain, swelling flattens the tummy and increases mobility, is seamless, and has medical grade silicone panel. The c*panty comes in sizes small through 2x and is owned by women, which is great because men can’t get c-sections so they may not fully understand the pain of them and what is needed to help them heal.
11. If you want your pre-baby body back, it is important that you eat very healthy and ask your doctor what post-op exercises are right for you.

The most important thing to remember after your c-section is to rest, relax, and ask for help. A cesarean section is a major surgery, so it is very important that you not push yourself but instead, let others do for you. Get as much sleep as possible before you are released from the hospital because once you are released, you won’t have an army of nurses there to take care of you and your little one.

What tips do you have for moms that may have to experience a cesarean section?

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