Good day pretty momma! April is C-Section Awareness Month. I’ve already shared about why that matters here. Today, I wanted to show you that you aren’t alone if you’ve had a c-section or are facing the likelihood of one. I’ve collected stories from some of my favorite ladies. I hope you’ll enjoy them as well.
Before the first one, I felt like I had failed at what my body was designed to do. During it, I was just nervous – I was nervous about how I was going to come out of the surgery and if my daughter was going to be okay. I literally laid there waiting to hear her cry and my nerves were shot up until that happened. Afterwards, even though a little sore, i was pretty good. I only had one time during my entire hospital stay that I could say I was really in pain. After that, it was pretty good. Once I got home, though, the soreness kind of kicked in, but it really didn’t last. BUT, I do have to say that the body reacts differently when you have multiple c-sections. I did not bounce back as easily with c-section number two and I actually pre-planned being able to stay downstairs for a couple of weeks before c-section number three so I would not have to do the climb.
Nikia Miller https://myabsoluteabsolute.wordpress.com/
I am not going to lie, my c-section was so far from what I expected. It was scary, and painful. I didn’t get the Hollywood birthday where I got to hold my baby immediately after he was born and I will always feel a little bit robbed of the experience. However, it has taught me to cherish every single moment that I have with my son now.
Cathy Milner Goodwin http://aboyandhismom.com
I have had three C-sections. For my first in 2002, it was incredibly scary because it wasn’t what I had planned in my mind as a new mother. The pain was tough afterwards and I struggled with caring for my son and recovering. But for my other two boys born in 2004 an 2009, it was much easier because I knew what to expect. And honestly, for my third pregnancy, it was actually convenient to have a c-section. It’s tough to have a baby with two young children and a busy hubby. This way we could schedule it to work for everyone!
Mallika Malhotra www.mikifoto.com/blog
I didn’t have a birth plan because I didn’t want to be disappointed. I knew how real an emergency c-section could be because my mom almost lost both my brother and I if it weren’t for emergency c-sections. I was born 5 weeks early after my mom was on hospitalized bed rest for a month with pre-eclampsia and my brother had the cord wrapped around his neck. So when Delainey’s heart rate dropped and they told me there might be a possibility of a c-section, I immediately agreed. She was in the NICU for 4 hours because of meconium and I was feeling like everything was surreal. I had a very quick c-section heal. So, now I’m just anxious about a VBAC in my future since I’ve never experienced pushing!
Raewyn Sangari http://www.beawarriorqueen.com
After laboring for 30 hours with my first born, my husband and I made the decision to have a c-section. I was so nervous about what was coming in terms of pain, recovery, and an overall not knowing what to expect. A c-section was the best decision for me, and my baby. I went into labor with an open mind, knowing that it could possibly happen. When we decided it was the best decision to get our baby out safely, I was so excited to meet my little guy that nothing else really mattered. I would advice all new moms to just go into child birth with an open mind. Although the recovery time for my csection was longer than natural child birth, the end goal was still the same a healthy baby and mama! Do as much research as you can about both, but remember at the end of the day it’s just research and your experience will be your experience. The one thing I recommend if you end up having a csection is to be sure to have a belly binder and ask for benadryl if you start to itch, if I remember correctly the morphine that is given for pain sometimes has that side effect.
Entrice Rowe www.entricerowe.com
Thanks for talking about C-sections! I had two, and I was just happy to finally hold my babies in my arms! No shame!
lindseylatelyblog.blogspot.com
I’m so glad to hear this. I know they aren’t traumatic for everyone so I’m glad to hear all the voices!
Thank you for sharing these women and their stories. I had an emergency c-section with my first son, and it was a trauma that took a long time and a lot of work to heal. Reading something like this at that vulnerable time in my life would have greatly helped my journey to healing. I hope that a mama who needs this finds this here…
I know the feeling. I seriously felt lied to in the week leading up to mine, and I still struggle with that. I hope that many women can come here and feel better about what happened if they’re struggling.