Congratulaaaaaations! If you’re in Seattle I will babysit. ;)

I haven’t had a CS but a friend who has swears by baby probiotics to stand in for the microorganisms picked up during vaginal birth — fixed her kid’s colic.

Practical tip: set up a baby station on your night stand so you have burp cloths, diapers, wipes etc. within reach. Also, consider adding a muted light to your changing area so you don’t wake the kid up with 100 watts during every night time diaper change. (Note-my “changing area” was between my legs while I sat up in…

It’s funny, because I had wanted a crunchy-granola water birth originally. But by the time I actually got pregnant I’d learned I had a weird-ass uterus. So when my OB said I could labor if I really wanted to try it, but I had an 80% chance of needing surgical intervention, I decided experiencing labor wasn’t really…

I second (third? fifth?) the stuff about pain meds too. I enjoyed the HELL out of my vicodin prescription.

Find out how often your pain meds should be administered and make sure the nurses stay on top of it. The nurses were a bit casual with my first and holy hell, it was like I never caught up and it was awful. The second a breeze compared to that nightmare, once I told the nurses how anxious I was about the pain.

I’ve never had a c-section, but have had several stomach surgeries that mimic the whole abs being sliced open deal. My tip? Be careful what you eat those first 2 weeks post-op, even taking Metamucil or Magnesium if need be. You know what’s not fun? Straining and constipation when you’ve got a freshly sliced and diced…

With my mom and half sister both having emergency c sections for their first births, I figure the odds are strong enough that I’d have one that I’d rather go through major abdominal surgery after a good night’s sleep, not after multiple days of active labor. Somehow, it strikes me as not shocking at all that there are…

As someone who was abused by a prominent member of the BDSM community and deleted my social media accounts because I couldn’t handle seeing him praised as a “feminist”, I’m awed by Stoya’s bravery. I hope she gets all the support she deserves.

Stay on schedule with your pain meds! Don’t waste your money on those scar strips. Stay on schedule with your pain meds! Don’t wear underwear with seams up the middle. I have a large collection of boy short-style drawers and I think the seams resting over the scar caused it to heal weird (though the whole thing is a…

Lots of great advice already here, but as a CNM/ former L&D nurse, here's my 2 cents - drink lots of water, eat lots of fruit, and lots of fiber. Take Motrin on a schedule, and while I generally don't recommend taking a narcotic prophylactically, don't be afraid to take them if needed, and don't wait until your pain…

As someone who decided at an early age that a c-section was for me, I’ve been grilling my RN-mom and two time CS haver and this is what she’s said:

Apparently you are supposed to massage the scar starting at 6-8 weeks to avoid adhesions? I think I fucked that up and now I’m paying for it four years later. So ask about that. If I was doing it again, I’d get Physio at that point to help healing. I also think I did too much because I was alone with a newborn and…

Take your pain medication on the schedule they give you. No matter what you hear in the press, almost no one who takes opiates for post-surgical pain gets addicted to them. You need the pain relief to get the movement and rest you’ll need to recover. Do not let anyone hassle you about your pain meds. If they give you…

After undergoing two, all I can say is: take it slow. Like, reeeeeal slow. Take advantage of any help you can get, because moving around will hurt for a while. The movement of getting out of bed will hurt most of all. Also, strangely: take short walks as soon as you can (down the hospital hallway, not like a power…

Long term numbness in your section is apparently incredibly common! My friend had one and was very concerned about that aspect. Also even though you aren’t having a vagjnal delivery, you still need to wait to have sex! You have an open wound in your uterus for several weeks, and can still get an infection! I know a…

Mine was pretty much a breeze except that I was allergic to the surgical tape they stuck my dressing on with. Took half my skin with it. :(

Hm. If it is Humanities, it really should be MLA, but that wouldn’t involve footnotes :-( Chicago is for history, primarily, but it does include footnotes. I would this for Chicago, not Purdue: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citation…

Also what can just be said and what needs to be cited. I know a lot because I’ve been doing this for a while, but I imagine I can’t just state everything without a source, but some stuff maybe I can? The help from the professor went the way of, “I shouldn’t have to tell you how to write a paper.”

Can I ask specifically what style it’s supposed to be in, or what kind of class it’s for? Chicago style, APA, something like that? Purdue OWL is a great resource to start, but it’s not the easiest to navigate.