After C-Section

Now, everyone's experience with any surgery is different. Some have it easier, and some have it worse. Just sharing my two week post-cesarean experience.

Two Hours Post:

My hospital had me wait in recovery for about two hours. I still had the pain killers running through my system, so I felt pretty good. They hook your legs up to a machine prevent clotting since I was unable to move my legs. My surgery was also late at night, so I wasn't going to move until the next morning. Once I was moved to the postpartum room, the pain killers I was given started wearing off and I was SUPER itchy. I am told this is very common.

The Next Day:

For me, I definitely felt like I was hit by a car (not that I have ever been hit by one). It was the worst pain day for me. The hospital bed was a Godsend! You can sit up and adjust with a button. Because my incision was so fresh, I had to be careful to not use my core too much. You don't want to rip your stitches. That day and the next few days, the nurses press down on your incision and check the bleeding. Does pressing down cause more bleeding? They will also constantly ask your pain levels. I also never had people care about me passing gas so much. Sometime during the first day, they'll take out your catheter and have you get up to walk. My legs felt incredibly weird. It was as if I have been bed bound for years. But it felt good to go to the bathroom and do basic hygiene.

Day Two:

It is still incredibly hard to get out of bed, but getting up and moving helps with the healing. Every few hours, the nurses still press down on the incision and check for bleeding. Honestly, that was the worst part. I HATED having them press down on the incision. This day, I was able to take a shower. Another thing that made me feel a bit more human. This day they wanted me to spend less time in bed and more time in the rocking chair they have in the room. My legs were still very shaky and I was still itchy from the pain killers from surgery. I was informed that was normal.

Day Three and Four:

The itchiness started to go away. The incision checks were less frequent, but still hurt. On this day, I was able to take a walk around the postpartum floor. Getting out of bed was the hardest thing. Not because the bed was comfortable, but because you don't realize how much you use your abdominal muscles to do basic things. Also, day four was my discharge day from the hospital. Riding in the car, you can feel every bump as we went home. Trying to sleep on the bed was also difficult because now I did not have this bed that would assist me when I needed to get up. I slept on the recliner in my living room.

One Week Post:

I was finally able to sleep in my bed. I still walked really slowly, but the pulling feeling I would get from my incision finally stopped. I definitely felt more like I worked out WAY TOO HARD versus being hit by a car. My body definitely told me when I was overdoing things.

Two Weeks Post:

I finally started feeling like myself. Now, only the incision is sore, but there is no pulling feeling. My body will still tell me if I'm overdoing anything, but I can walk at a normal pace, stand for a normal amount of time, and get up without any struggle.

They say it will take a total of four weeks to feel normal and six to eight weeks to fully heal. This makes sense, since they did cut you open. Another thing to note is the bowel movements will take a while before they happen. This is common for c-sections as well as vaginal childbirth.