Hi guys! It is my first time back to the blog after having baby River (I LOVE HIM!!!! AND I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE HE’S HERE!!!) via my planned c-section. I chose to have a c-section for a variety of reasons, both medical and emotional, which I will get into at a later date. I was not naive– I knew that the recovery would be challenging at times, as it is a major abdominal surgery. I wanted to plan a few weeks after River’s birth to do absolutely nothing– no cleaning, no driving (that one is a hard rule from the doctor), no cooking (don’t have to tell me twice! haha!). If you find yourself in the position where you’re having a c-section, my main advice would be:
- Bring bunch of DVDs to the hospital. Matt and I went through the entire first season of Homeland.
- Walk as soon as possible. You’ll feel like hell, but do it anyway. Prevents blood clots and will speed up your recovery.
- Have a support system. Matt did not leave the hospital once in all 4 days we were there, and I was so thankful. You’ll need help getting around/walking the halls, and also emotional support when you’re so tired and sore but need to be hand-expressed so your baby can get some colostrum… It hurts, and I was glad to have my husband there advocating for me and my desires while I was in a weakened state.
- TAKE THE PAIN MEDS for goodness sake. I am very resistant to medication in general– if it isn’t 100% necessary, chances are I’ll choose to skip it and power through on my own. Not in this case. You’re going to want to feel OK enough to really bond with your baby and move around.
- Get a bunch of high fiber snacks for the hospital and for your home in the weeks following the surgery. TRUST ME.
Back to the “no driving and no cooking” thing. I was so excited to find that Grubhub delivers healthy, plant based food from my favorite places without huge fees tacked onto it. We used them while we were in the hospital (chances are, your hospital won’t provide food for your partner– only you. Plus, it isn’t exactly a vegan mecca over there…), and then many times once we had returned home. For instance, Grubhub rescued me this morning when Matt had to run out for a meeting, River ended up being attached to my breast for about 2 hours (he’s currently cluster feeding, probably a growth spurt), and I was STARVING. FYI: Breastfeeding makes you hungrier than pregnancy! You burn up to 1000 calories per day doing it, so you need to make sure you are feeding yourself enough. But I digress.
It took 2 minutes to jump on Grubhub, order a “You’re So Vegan” breakfast bowl (pictured above… ain’t it pretty?) from one of my favorite restaurants, Dream Cafe– and 25 minutes later, it was here!
Grubhub is generously offering my readers $9 off their first order (yay!) if you use this link: https://grhb.me/2tczTLx
Check them out and let me know what you think!
