AJCD

I haven't had a c-section and I'm not a nurse, but I have heard a few things from friends and relatives who've had c-sections. They all second the use of "Boppy"-type pillows. Also, my cousin (who had a c-section for breech -- from what I understand, those are a given around here -- after an unmedicated birth two years previously), recommended sleeping on something semi-low-lying after returning home. Not terribly low-lying nor terribly soft, but a comfortably firm surface that brought her thighs more-or-less perpendicular with her torso when her feet were on the ground. Others may feel differently. Point being, don't get too set on where you're going to sleep when you get home -- beds at home don't have those nifty height adjustments, for the most part :) Incidentally, from what I've heard, I agree with the poster who said not to pay overmuch attention to the war-stories propounded by some folks about c-section recoveries. Every woman is different, and their recoveries and experiences will be different. My same cousin who couldn't say enough about unmedicated birth also said her c-section recovery wasn't nearly as bad as she'd been led to expect. In fact, she and another friend of mine who'd had a c-section said they loved the fact that they could sit comfortably after the section, as opposed to what they'd experienced after lady partsl births. Again, every woman is different, and all this is sheerly anecdotal. I'll be hoping for you that your placenta creeps up to a less surgically-necessary perch :)

Thanks, SmilingBluEyes! I promise, I'll work very hard to contain myself to only that which I know, which would be sheerly anecdotal and of a rather narrow range at that

Speaking for myself (because I'm not a medical professional and can only speak from my own experience), I am one of the world's worst pushers. My first child was born in the hospital, I had an epidural -- I'm not sure what qualifies for "dense," but I could neither feel nor move my legs -- and it took three hours and a vacuum extraction to get the square-noggined child out. My second child was born at home with a licensed midwife, no meds during labor, and even then we resorted to coached pushing. Apparently, my home labor was one of the easiest my birth team had attended, as I just sat on my ball, glared at the TV, and silently cursed whoever had made my sandwich because they didn't fold the meat slices over (I get a little strange during labor), but once pushing started? Oy gevalt. Major wimp here. Counting definitely gave me focus. Doing what comes naturally is all well and good, but for me, apparently, what comes naturally once I'm fully dialated is that I want to run for the hills! Okay, moving back to lurking here. Y'all are awesome!