pc: maria lloyd photography
i now have two c-sections under my belt, so i’m an expert. totally kidding, i still have no idea what’s going on and put together the fourth trimester series so i could document how i was feeling [mentally + physically] so i could go back and look at it, since it’s SUCH a weird time.
i came across this article and was incredibly happy and hopeful to hear that someone is taking the initiative on taking care of moms now, too. you see, when you bring baby home, you and your partner are so wrapped up in making sure baby is doing well that mom often gets left in the dust. she’s expected to own her postpartum care and know when something isn’t right. but how do you know?! there are articles and app notifications that tell you to contact your doc if something is wrong, but, again, HOW DO YOU KNOW?!
after two c-section recoveries of varying degrees of severity and healing time, i have now identified three things that made my recovery go much faster the second time around. these are the things that don’t make it into all the lists for your hospital bag; the overlooked items that made a HUGE difference for me. check out my top three items for a quicker c-section recovery below:
THESE ICE PACKS: it’s amazing how much swelling there really is around the incision that you don’t realize until it’s gone. i found that the age-old frozen veggie bag trick works well if you are laying down, but there are large swaths of the day when you have to stand [sad but true]. i sent joey out for ice packs one day and HE DELIVERED. he found these guys at target and it was one of those ‘well, why didn’t i think of that?’ moments. strap it to the front of you right over your incision and it stays in place if you are laying down or standing up. the first week or so i’d make sure you have some sort of thin material between you and the incision, because it is COLD right away.
HALO BASSINET: seriously, i can’t say enough good things about ours. having a side that drops down is one of the reasons i credit my incision healing SO MUCH FASTER than last time. i remember being in a lot of pain and it being hard to get in and out of bed for weeks with logan, and i feel like by week two i was able to start sitting up without feeling like my entire insides were going to fall out. i’d say without a doubt this bassinet is worth the price tag.
CORA PADS: apologizing in advance to my very small male readership [sorry, joey] for what i’m about to share: even when you have a c-section, you bleed. down there. for a while. you’ll need pads no matter what, and i found that the regular name brand pads i had were less than comfortable down there in many ways. frustrated with my options, i went to target one day with a “what do i have to lose?” attitude and grabbed some of these pads. full disclosure: they got me with the branding and packaging. white, crisp, and simple, i figured that i couldn’t go wrong with 100% cotton. turns out these were the best thing ever for my healing. i would recommend going this route to moms no matter what type of delivery you have. to be honest, it’s made me re-think the diapering situation for both of my kids, too.
there you have it. i’ve read all the lists, and prepped all the things, but now that my immediate c-section recovery is in the rearview mirror, i can confidently share that these three items were what helped me recover much faster the second time around.
what about you? anything to add to this list? drop your recos below or on my latest insta and help a motha’ out!