C Sections aren't THAT bad!

For numerous reasons, Timothy was born via c section. I was pretty nervous because I have never had surgery, and I am grossed out easily. My nickname for c sections is "stab and grab!" 

But my recoveries from having Sam and Olivia were pretty rough, so I hoped the c section was either equally as hard, or maybe even better! 

And I was right-- mostly. 

First, I'm here being prepped. They are shooting me full of fluids, monitoring everything, and best of all, making me laugh! 

This story is too good not to share... My nurse in charge of prep and in with me during surgery was telling us about delivering her last child. He was significantly larger than her two older sons and it was just a really difficult labor and delivery. Her husband was recording what was going on, and when he finally came out, the Drs put him on her belly and she was so upset she said "I'm going to kick your a$$ you little sh*t!" 

And that comment was the last thing her husband recorded! She prefaced the story by saying that she really doesn't curse, so she couldn't believe her first words to her son were so -- colorful! 

We laughed and laughed and totally wondered if we were in good hands... And we were. She was a great nurse! 

When it came time to go into the operating room, I was really nervous. Luckily, the Dr, nurses, and anesthesiologist were all able to joke around and keep things light. I even got a shoulder massage from my Dr while I was getting the spinal. Btw, I wish I could get one of those more often-- that was even better than an epidural! 

After the checked to see if I was numb, they got right to work-- Timothy was out soon after, and They showed him to me and took him away. I just focused on not freaking out while they sewed me up -- which wasn't too difficult because of the amount of narcotics I had. 

So besides avoiding the emotional trauma I experience during child birth, I noticed one more emotion I wasn't expecting. I didn't feel that instant bond when I saw Timothy. I guess I have to almost kill myself during chilbirth to feel like I actually deserve this baby. It was like the c section was too easy. (Ha!) 

Luckily, the whole breastfeeding thing established the bond pretty quickly. He's such a beautiful baby! But there was more than once that I asked whether he was really out and MY baby -- it was just too easy. (Of course I didn't feel that way about the recovery!) 

And the first 24 hrs after the c section were BETTER than my pervious deliveries. I was feeling great. I could stand and walk and get out of bed by myself. I could not do that after having Sam and Olivia. Sweet! 

But the 48 hrs after that were rough. The narcotics had worn off (😭😭) and it didn't ever feel like I could get enough medication to make the pain go away. I have a very small pain tolerance though... 

And I would say those 48 hours were worse than my regular deliveries. 

Then after that, recovery was equal or better, although it was different. I was used to one area of my body having traumatic injuries, so it was so weird having a different area hurt! The thing that caught me the most off guard is this -- I am a side sleeper and I couldn't sleep on my side anymore. It sounds crazy, but you are actually working out your abdominal muscles when you sleep on your side... ((So forget 5 min and, do 7 hr abs and just sleep on your side! Ha!) And if I tried I just felt much burning along my incision. Ouch! 

I'm about 7.5 weeks after the c section and I have been jogging twice (slow slow very slow pace!) and I'm feeling great! C sections are the way to go! For me at least! 

And one more picture of that beautiful boy! 

((This is what he thought of the dolphin show at Sea World))