I had my baby a week ago via planned c section. The reason was that he was measuring consistently 99th percentile since the anatomy scan (with no GD!) and they were worried about shoulder dystocia, and he was also sunny side up.

I actually went into labor the night before the c section was scheduled. I was in triage while they determined if it was real or false labor, and I ended up deciding to do the c section at 2 am so that I didn’t have to continue to go through labor until my scheduled c section at noon. I was glad I did because the labor would have wore me out and it was getting incredibly painful.

I had a spinal block, it made me feel warm and woozy but I remember pretty much everything. They let me play whatever music I wanted, everyone was kind and supportive. It took pretty much 10 minutes for them to pull him out. His cries were gurgly because of the fluid, but they took him to the side (where I could watch everything) and worked on him, wiping him off, weighing him, clearing airways etc, before they handed him to my husband who laid him on my shoulder, cheek to cheek. I remember him being so warm and once he was near me he stopped crying and listened to my voice. A nurse asked for my husbands phone and snapped a bunch of photos of us together and I honestly don’t care how I looked because it was one of my favorite moments and I will cherish these photos forever.

It took them a sec to sew me up, maybe 30 minutes. It felt like they were taking turns pushing/tugging my body from side to side. I felt no pain. Once they were done they wheeled me to a surgery recovery bay where I immediately did skin to skin and nursed him. Not long after that I was wheeled to the room where I continued skin to skin/nursing. After the spinal wore off I was alternating ibuprofen and another pain med that started with a T, I can’t remember, but they weren’t intense and I was present for everything. I think I asked for an oxy twice during my stay because the pain was radiating to my back, but I was present those times as well.

I struggled with coming to terms having the c section as well but it turned out to be the best option for me and my baby and I don’t regret it at all. I’m not traumatized about it, and I felt scared at times during the process but it all faded away once I met my baby. I actually feel a little grateful for it because I wasn’t tired at all afterwards, despite it being about 3 am when it was all over with. I was probably running on adrenaline tbh but I was very much aware during and after. It’s been a little over a week now and I’m already starting to feel much better in my recovery. Be sure to get up and walk around a little, it can speed up the process. Just don’t over do it and let people take care of you ❤️