Labor and Delivery

Welcome to the board and congratulations on your pregnancy, bradleysmommy.

Have  you had a cesarean before?  I'm just wondering how you think you'll be leaving the hospital a day after having major surgery?  At 24 hours after a cesarean, you will be lucky not to have a catheter still in you.  You will probably not have had a bowel movement yet and would likely need to sign out of the hospital against medical advice - which may mean that your insurance won't cover you if you need to be readmitted.

I would not expose a 1-2 day old baby to a bunch of people (especially if there are little kids around) and a day or two after major surgery, I think there's practically no chance that you will be feeling up to running around making visits.

I am sorry if that sounds harsh and I am sorry if you had an amazing cesarean recovery last time around, but if this is your first c-section, and you don't know what the recovery is like, I think your expectations are unrealistic.  People having major surgery shouldn't (and won't feel like) going out visiting after 48 hours. You should be resting after surgery and may put your health at risk if you aren't doing so.

Good luck and I hope that things go smoothly.  I don't know the reasons for scheduling a cesarean, and I am not in favor of non-medical cesareans, but if that's what you are having, or a cesarean where timing is flexible, I would suggest discussing waiting til the 26th with your doctor so that you can still enjoy the holiday with your family.

Hi-

I posted an answer to your question on another board, but I wanted to chime in again.  Like I said before, you probably need to come up with an alternate plan for the holidays.  Mindy brought up some good points about c-section recovery.  I thought it might be helpful for you to visit the Cesarean Birthing Support board:

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppcsection?ice=iv:mb:msg:rk

Several women there have had multiple c-sections and can give you a better idea of what to expect and when you might be up and around again.  Good luck.

Where is the horrified icon?  They only allow you a 48 hour stay?  We are spoiled here in NY where the state requires insurance company to pay a 48 hour postpartum stay after a vaginal birth, and a 4 night stay after a cesarean.

While you might have been walking the halls at 24 hours, that's very different from running around visiting, exposing yourself and your newborn to germs, risking fatigue and other complications for you. 

Your health must come first, it's not a matter of being "fair."  Your daughter can gave Christmas morning at home with you and daddy.  Maybe a grandparent can pick her up and take her to spend time with family.  IT's not worth overdoing or coming down with an infection and needing to be readmitted to the hospital.  This isn't about putting others first, it's your turn to be first, you've just had surgery.  Consier whether this would be expected of you or whether you'd expect this of yourself if you were having some other major surgery that wasn't a cesarean which comes with a new baby.  Those expectations aren't fair to you.  Stay home on your couch and let the family come to visit you for an hour or two, have them bring and clean up the meal.