Road to recovery
Healing from a cesarean requires a lot of patience, support and time. Although it can be a tough journey, know that this too shall pass. As I shared in ‘Labor Scars’, I had no intentions to deliver my baby this way. It didn’t cross my mind to think through healing after a cesarean (c-section). Although my surgery went well, there were times my recovery was unbearable. Unfortunately, during my hospital stay, the nursing staff didn’t tend to me properly which left me in pain multiple times. It frustrated my husband so much that he decided to speak to the head nurse one evening. He wanted them to step up and be more attentive to our family. After this conversation, things got… better. When we were finally released to go home I felt relieved and rejuvenated. It felt so good to be home. I even started moving around the house better. Later that same evening I was determined to get in my bed. Mind you, we have a relatively high bed where I needed a step stool to get in and out. On one of my attempts to get in bed, the stool tilted. I slipped and injured myself in my lower abdomen. I was in so much pain I didn’t want to move. I just stayed there and cried. This injury was a painful setback on my road to recovery. There after though things started to slowly but surely get better. 
Here are seven tips I learned from my experience. I pray your road to recovery is smoother than my own. I pray you are fully healed with no residue. May you hold onto the joy of your newborn on the way!Be gentle with your body.You are fragile after surgery. You shouldn’t pick up anything heavier than your newborn. Even with that you still want to be careful how you are picking up your baby. Don’t move too fast either. You should listen to your body and consider weighing in the counsel of your loved ones. I was advised not to get in my bed immediately when we returned home, however, after sleeping in a hospital bed for four nights in a row my bed was the only thing I wanted. I figured if I could get in my bed I could rest better. I should have taken it one step at a time. Another day or two could have prevented my accident. Don’t rush your journey.Do your body a favor, REST!While I was pregnant so many parents told me to rest when the baby rests. It’s one of the easiest factors when healing especially after a c-section. Your body has undergone so much stress and many changes it needs a break to recuperate. If you have to chose between folding clothes or taking a nap, take your nap girl. You can fold your clothes later while you and your baby are awake.Get support.Whether you have family/friends near or far you’ll want someone you trust close by. Words cannot fully express how valuable family support was to us. After our delivery didn't go as planned we leaned heavily on family. Between my mother-in-love and my Godmother they took care of so many things for us. One brought us food and fresh juice during our stay at the hospital, while the other prepared meals for our return home. And our support didn’t stop there. We relied on family to assistance me whenever my husband was resting or at work. Someone was there to help me get in and out of bed, go the bathroom, do the laundry, near ‘bout everything until I regained my strength to do it myself. If someone asks how they can help you, ask them to prep or buy a meal you can freeze, ask them to take the trash out or do the dishes. This is how your village can support you. We were beyond grateful for each person that took the time to help us in this transition. There's no way we could've done this on our own.Schedule family/friends visits.When your little one (LO) is born into the world your family and friends will be overjoyed. They’ll want to see, meet and hold your precious LO. They may even want to gift you or the baby something sweet to remember the moment by. Though this is thoughtful and appreciated, I’d encourage you to schedule visits in advance as much as possible. Naturally, both my husband and I are introverts. We like our own space - together and individually. To ensure we didn’t get overwhelmed with visitors we planned ahead by scheduling and spacing out visits the first two months of our daughter’s life. These visits varied. Some visits were a few hours where as others were a few days. This was also beneficial to our guests because it gave them solo time with our family, particularly our LO. Also, you may want to consider asking family not to surprise you with a visit (unless you truly don’t mind).A little movement goes a long way.Movement is important to decrease your chances of getting blood clots. While we were in the hospital I had a daily goal to get out of bed and to walk the halls. We continued this even in our return home. We set new move goals each day for me that gradually increased. This was a practical way to rebuild my strength. Some days were harder than others but before I knew it I was able to get out of my bed, walk around the house, even use the bathroom alone. Remember KISS (keep it simple Sistah)! On one of your bathroom breaks take an extra few minutes to pace around your room, the hall or wherever you can. If it’s took much to do alone, ask someone to walk with you. Just keep moving for a few minutes.Eat a clean diet and drink your water.Only a few hours after getting off the operating table my nurse at the time brought me a full breakfast plate. This plate had bread, eggs, sausage, crackers and milk. Why did she do that? Sure I was hungry however something in me knew not to eat those things at the time. Instead I settled for the crackers. I figured the other items wouldn’t digest well from surgery and thought the crackers should at least hold me over. I was wrong. Moments later my stomach was bloated leaving me in pain. It was hard to get out of the bed and to use the bathroom. If no tell you in advance, please stay away from any foods that will cause bloating or gas pains. When we made the decision to adjust my diet the bloated ceased. This meant no dairy, bread, potatoes, rice, chips, pasta or crackers for the next few weeks to a month. Instead I drank lots of fresh juice and water. My fresh juice contained an assortment of beets, pineapples, apples, kale or spinach. It was actually very good. I’d eat lots of sweet potatoes, veggie soup and turkey/chicken on a spinach wrap. We also included other natural healing agents like taking turmeric once a day. Turmeric is good for reducing swelling and pain. For any non-water-drinkers, I’d encourage you to get creative. Try putting fruit, limes or even vanilla extract in your water. Just make sure you are drinking it.Track your medications.After crying in great pain several times and the lack of attentiveness from my nurses, my husband decided to manage my medications. He would note when I took the medicine and when it was time to take the next dosage. This continued even when we returned home. We made a chart that listed the name of the medication, the time I took it and the waiting period before I can take the next dosage. This was super easy and helpful. It minimized any confusion, unnecessary pain and any possibilities of overdosing. As I got stronger, we slowly reduced the amount of medicines I took each day until I was completely off.
