In this post I provide a little background to the sensible design of the new C.Section course so valuable to all parents-to-be planning to have a booked c.section with their OB.  View Julie explaining the Baby Care Course for Planned Cesarean pregnant couples.

Have you noticed all your friends who are parents and have had c.sections tend to whinge about the same old things like sleep; lack of it, baby crying; endlessly with colic or reflux, extreme tiredness, stress, anxiety, but then they finish off with the cliche “oh but it’s all worth it!” eyeroll

Okay, well, when people are telling you things in that way, they might not have come along to good quality sessions during their pregnancy to prepare for the true grit of parenthood in a very positive, uplifting, insightful way.

They didn’t do much in the hospital class beyond nappy changing, basic bath, wrap, don’t overheat, reduce risk of SIDS, those very basic little topics – sure they’re important but well your friends are proof really aren’t they, it’s all a bit inadequate for the real deal – right?

OK so I’m guessing you don’t want to follow their path, you don’t want to be like sheep in the paddock and just follow the rest.

No of course not.

You want a much more positive, stress-free informed, enlightened, empowered start to parenting but of course you don’t need the natural birth part of a course – but you most certainly need to immerse yourselves into how to absolutely love being a new parent with all the fun, laughs, love, giggles and pleasure you’ve been longing for – right?

Aims of this c.section/baby course: to ease your “Transition into Parenthood” journey without too many bumps in the ride.

To guide you through the practical “How to actually look after a baby during the intense first weeks/months” with the very specific purpose of pulling back the veil of all the unknowns of how to understand the baby, why they cry, what to do about it, connecting and “getting your baby”

Do we focus on the all details of the operation itself -NO! That’s your OB’s job – not mine.

But I’ll help the partners with their role, what it all entails, how to be awesome and “show up” for the important bits that do matter to yourself, the new mum and the bub.

Do we watch lots of scary c.section videos of the operation? No Way!
Anyway you can do that on You Tube for yourself if you really want. Maybe.

5 tips on how to best prepare for having your beautiful new baby by getting ready in a variety of ways realistically, becoming organised with a few wise practical changes, especially of the household, namely the kitchen, laundry and bedrooms.

Prepared for the whole new experience of 24/7 newborn baby care to avoid the negatives and problems some of your friends may tell you about “get sleep now because you’ll never sleep again haha” well I’m here to tell your truthfully it does not have to be that way.

There are a number of “No Cry” solutions which are brilliant for minimising your stress, worry, fear and anxiety after a Cesarean (aka C.Section) birth. I cover all of these in my special C.Section course in complete detail.

How to Prepare for a Cesarean Tip #1:

Chat with your partner about their upbringing and your upbringing.

What did you both experience as young kids within your family of origin that you both absolutely loved and definitely want to recreate with your own new family, oh and hey what did you both experience individually as young kids within your family of origin that you seriously disliked and would never do with your own children.

The ideas you shake your head at now, saying “Really??” everyone has plenty of both the positives and the negatives.

Well I will let you in on a little secret… inside the TiP workbook are a couple of fun exercises to fill in which guides you and your partner through this process – it’s one of the great take-away’s

How to Prepare for a Cesarean Tip #2:

Focus on learning as much as you can about baby care well before you become too tired, heavy and vague in the final weeks of pregnancy.

Ask your parents what they did, what was the hardest part, ask your grandparents about the details they remember, find out from your friends as much as you can, make a list and write down the areas of concern and bring it to the course and barrage me with those questions and I’ll sort the lot for you.

I’ll explain, I’ll show you mini DVD’s to illustrate, I’ll give you notes, lists, we will highlight priority areas, and everything, yep everything will include partner.

The Dads-to-be love being included.

How to Prepare for a Cesarean TiP #3:

Nurture yourself.

Go into the operation in as good a condition as you possibly can.

The healthier you are the faster you’ll bounce back.

Consider a naturopath appointment to get the right nutrients to boost you as early as possible in the pregnancy.

Book a massage.

Update all your personal maintenance, grooming, self-care well before the op is scheduled to be able to take care of all those significant details.
Dentist. Chiropodist. Chiropractor. Acupuncture. Physiotherapist. Osteopath.

Slow down during your final trimester of pregnancy. Slow right down to “baby speed” which is almost stopping but not quite. Your body will make you slow down anyway, but while it’s trying to do that simply pay attention and respect what mother nature is trying to say to you.

Whoa! you are going too fast, too stressed, too anxious, too hyped, too busy with work… slow down, take it easy more often.

Do everything more slowly and then magically you’ll start to notice everything becomes easier.

I’ll give you an example:  if a pregnant woman slows down on how quickly she eats her meals then pretty much immediately she’ll start to notice her digestion improves. The awful burning sensation of heartburn goes away or at least reduces dramatically, the slower she eats.

You’d actually be amazed how much nurturing yourself in a few simple ways

How to Prepare for a Cesarean TiP #4:

Go shopping!

Yay!   Don’t we love to go shopping – yes!  There’s millions of products and millions of choices and millions of opinions about what’s great and what’s not.

Would you and your partner like a balanced list of what you will actually need to buy and what is best avoided?

Want to know what all the different government recommendations are? What the Doctors at the Kids Hospital Suggest? What the SIDS association say? What the Dept of Health NSW clearly state? There are certain ideas put forward by each of these bodies of authority that most people have no clue about.

Julie presents them to you by threading it through all the information throughout the day.

After you’ve been exposed to the right information you will be amazed the next time you go shopping for baby stuff. It’s actually a bit amusing for couples after they’ve attended here because they say to me.

“Oh we went off shopping in a huge baby retail store and all of a sudden we were pointing out to each other what was exactly what we wanted and what we were cautious to steer clear of”

“it was so great to have so much more confidence, to understand the truth and the background to the whole retail situation – so amazing that there were so many things we were clueless about yet it all made so much sense once we knew”

How to Prepare for a Cesarean TiP #5:

Don’t just focus on “consumerism” by buying lots of “stuff” for the baby and ensure you attend a high-quality Baby Care and Parenting Course which will cover lots of important practicalities such as:

• bathing, swaddling, sleep and settling, how to cloth, bed making for bub, growth and development
• Read and learn about the recovery after the operation – ask your antenatal course educator what will help you, how to reduce risk of infection, what’s normal
• Learn as much about how to breastfeed your Baby after a c.section for example you’ll need to learn the “Football Hold” and how to reduce the risk of mastitus
• lovemaking after a c.section – what, why, where, when, how – when is it OK to have the next baby? How soon is regarded as too soon? Family spacing? Double prams? Contraception? Tandem Feeding? Childcare? Family Day Care? Creche?
• Grandparents as babysitters?
• Mother’s Groups – are they all the same?
• Playgroup? when to commence
• How to design your own version of an awesome motherhood?
• What to do if it’s not going well at all? Who to turn to? Where to get help?
• If you are having twins join the relevant organisation AMBA

Read about what to expect – see article on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarean_section

 Why do some women need a Cesarean?

There are many reasons some women need to have a casarean and only some of them are medical, the other are preference.

• Pregnancy Induced Hypertension,
• High Blood Pressure,
• Placenta Praevia,
• Twins, Super Twins,
• Very Heavy Unexplained Bleeding,
• Excessive Uterine Scarring from Previous Operations