Recovering from a c-section is hard, people. For reals. Having been through the experience, I have no idea why anyone would choose a c-section over a natural childbirth on purpose. The recovery is long and arduous. I had a catheter in place for the epidural and surgery and I was upset that the nurses removed it 12 hours after the surgery because I knew that meant I'd have to get up to go to the bathroom. Sorry to be so graphic, but it's true. Just moving was agonizing in that first week. And my pace was sooooooo slow. Keep in mind that I'm from the South and no one walks fast there. So when I say slow, know that I'm measuring it against the Southern pace and you'll get an idea of just how slow I was going. And, oh sweet Jesus, laughing, coughing, sneezing, sitting up in bed, getting out of bed... Any of that was pure agony. Allen is a pretty funny guy and makes me laugh all the time. I had to stop him about 50 times in that first week from making jokes.
It wasn't as painful the second week, but I was still pretty sore. The nurses removed the staples holding the incision together before I left the hospital and replaced it with surgical tape. Allen had to take the tape off for me at the end of the second week because I couldn't see over the postpartum chub to do it myself. The weird thing is that there is a swath of skin around the incision - say two inches on the top and bottom - that has almost no sensation. It's like when your foot falls asleep and just barely starts to wake back up. The nerve endings get severed along with everything else when they cut you open. No one tells you this beforehand, by the way. (I actually did have foreknowledge from a friend who had a c-section...) So removing the tape didn't hurt peeling off my skin, but was painful and nerve-wracking peeling off the incision itself. Also, in the second week? That incision starts to itch like freaking crazy. It still itches but I'm afraid to scratch it because a) I'm afraid I'll tear open the incision itself, and b) I'm afraid I'll tear open the skin around the incision that is marred by stretch marks. (I've done that a few times already. Scratched an area that has a stretch mark and ripped open that skin - presumably because it's already damaged and thinner than the surrounding skin. It's not fun.)
The third week is better in terms of pain. I'm a little bit sore, but I've been off pain meds for about a week now. But I get ridiculously tired by the end of the day doing minimal activity. Above and beyond the normal "I have a newborn and am getting no sleep" tired. And having a c-section doesn't spare you any of the bleeding or cramping postpartum. You still get to do all of that, too, with the added "benefit" of recovering from major surgery. Fun.
The other things that suck about a c-section are all the restrictions. It's major abdominal surgery, but what that actually means is you can't drive for three weeks afterwards. You can't (or shouldn't) climb up and down stairs for two weeks after. This particularly sucks if you live in a three level house because it means you are confined to the floor with the bathroom. Ask me how I know. Related: ask me how I didn't go insane. It was a close call. You also can't do any abdominal exercises for at least two months postpartum, and you can't soak in water (no baths, no pools) for two months. Yeah. That's a lot of restrictions.
Don't get me wrong: I still feel 100% that the c-section was the right call for us. I am totally at peace with, and even happy about how our birth story came out in the end. But after having the experience, going through the surgery and the recovery (and I'm only three weeks in to the recovery), I really can't fathom why anyone would choose a c-section over a vaginal delivery. I suppose they think they are sparing themselves pain or some other unpleasantness in the lady-bits, but unless you have very serious complications, I can promise you will be happier with a vaginal childbirth. The only thing a c-section spares you is the pain up front. But that's really only if you schedule one in advance and don't go into labor. If you are "lucky", like me, you get to have 30 hours of labor and a c-section. All in all, labor is a scary prospect. But I promise that you will be happier, have a shorter recovery time and have an easier time caring for your newborn if you opt for a vaginal delivery. (Though that epidural was nice, not gonna lie.)
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