froggy- like you i had my first two vaginally. nice labors, no meds, two pushes- poof babies. so i was a bit rattled at the thought of a c-section - mostly because i knew the vaginal thing was just not that bad. we tried, my peri has done it before, to go vaginally but during week 32 the baby closest to my cervix was breech so no vag. attempt was possible. so let me compare the c-secion to the vaginal deliveries. the c-section was major medical procedure with all of the attendant machines, iv's, catheters, epidural, lights, people in masks, etc... i think that was the most unnerving thing for me. you also seem to lose some control of the situation with the c-section delivery. you can still have a birth plan but not like you did with your singletons.

i did not like feeling strapped down to the table. even though there was no way for me to get up or move anything below my armpits i felt a bit claustrophobic. so they undid the straps and agreed that my husband could hold one hand and the nurse held the other. mostly they did not want my hands in the surgery field accidentally. during the actual surgery i became a little nauseaus which the doc said was just my phisological shock reaction. i felt no pain of course but my body was responding to the "attack".

the recovery- unlike a vaginal birth where they give mom the baby to hold as they cut the cord etc...the babies were pretty much wisked away by the nicu folks so i had one trusted person (my parents and a best friend) with each baby as they came out of the or. my two older girls were allowed to be in the nicu as the babies were weighed, washed, etc...that was really great for them because they actually saw the babies before i did. big bonding time there. i gave everyone cameras to take pictures so i could see them later.

one small nice thing- wiping after using the restroom is not a problem. at first i was very careful- you remember how after a vaginal you are so sore- but with a c-section wiping and bm's were not an issue. and neither was intercourse! i used the pain meds- probably had a bit too much the first day as i don't remember much about that day except the babies birth and my recovery time. i think i slept alot. the catheter came out the next am as i had rooming in with the babies. my nurse worked up my pain med cocktail so i was not too zonked but still comfortable. i think it was percoset and a tylenol combo.

i was up and about quickly and went home at three days with three babies. the recovery, while a little bit more difficult than a vaginal, is mostly just different. i was glad in the end that we did the c-section. at least with the planned c-section you don't start off motherhood sleep deprived because there was no 14 hour labor to deal with.

so bottom line- there were things about the c-section that surprized me but nothing too scarey or unusal. in the final analysis- i would prefer a vaginal birth in any normal situation but with mulitples the c-section was the best choice. good luck. terri

terri
mom to ian,wes,amelia (09/02)
leslie 12 years
micaela 9 years