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Ok, that just seems weird. Why were you only in the hospital a day and a half after your surgery? I thought the normal procedure is to remove the staples at discharge, but most women are in the hospital 4 nights after a c-section.

Staples don't dissolve--they're metal. Just call your doc and ask when your staples should be taken out.

Hi courtney-you may have had what I had-they are dissolved on the inside and then they use this stuff that (for lack of a better way to explain) glues the incision shut. I had my c section in July of 2004 and my doc said that she tries not to use the staples if it was a good, clean, cut. I had a bandage wtih butterfly bandaides and I was told to use warm washclothes to get them off after a few days. Also, my cousin just had a section and it was on a wednesday night and she got to go home friday-the docs don't keep you if they don't see reason too-that is probably why they sent you home. I asked my doc if I could possibly not spend 4 days this time-and she said I will probably get to go home after a day and a half-if all goes well. She says that I could lay in a hospital bed and be sore or go home-which is true. Since they didn't let me just lay there-I might as well be at home. I am assuming that this is what you have since your soc didn't mention anything about taking them out. But you could call just to be sure. Hope this helps.

Your staples should have been removed before you left the hospital wich is usually the 4th day after surgery.

courtney,
I was out of the hospital quickly too...day 3 for me but was ready on day 2. Some people just do really well. I couldn't stand the hospital bed and my back and neck were hurting far more than the incision. I am in Canada and here, they arrange for a home care nurse to come to your home to remove the staples. Usually this is done betwen day 4-7 from surgery. I would definitely call your Dr and ask about this.
As for your other question....like you, I was so ready to have sex as it had been so long for hubby and I. I waited until week 3 and we were very careful- nothing too rigorous. Get the staple thing checked for sure 1st.

The reason most people stay in the hospital for 3 days or more is not just due to how well they feel, it has to do with allowing enough time for post-surgery monitoring. Blood clots, bleeding and infection can take days to show up and when released too soon a mother runs the risk of encountering problems that would have been discovered by hospital staff. I am not sure why your doctor would not have made a follow-up for staple removal. If you have staples you should certainly know it, and they feel like what they are, metal, so there is no way they would dissolve in this lifetime. Call your doctor.

i talked to dr. and she was shocked that they never gave me any info on wut to do. they were supossed to set up my appt. like they did my others, for 3 days after i got out but they did not. i had a horrible experience at the hospital i was at! they even sent me home without takin my IV out!!! i had on long pj's and it went un noticed. they were in such a hurry to get me outta there for some reason, so they didnt do everything they were supossed to. now the staples are infected and i have to go in tomorrow morning at 7 to get them out. and when i was in labor, my daughter was VERY big (10 lbs 23 in.) and no one knew, they were tryin to pull her head out that was stuck, and pulled skin off her head and now her hair is not growing in that spot. luckily we took pictures of the wound incase its ever needed. it was horrible! ill NEVER go back to that hospital again for any reason!

Courtney, I'm sure hair will grow on that spot again. Most babies lose the hair that they're born with and when new hair comes in it's often a different texture. I'm glad you called your doc to see about the staples...It might hurt a bit getting the staples out, so you should take pain meds at least 45min before your staples are taken out, as long as you have someone else to drive you to the appointment. I am suprised they only kept you in the hospital that long, I thought a 3 day stay was fairly standard.

I would recommend staying the hospital as long as you can, especially if you have older already children at home. It sounds bad, ladies, but when else will you get to lie peacefully in bed, watch whatever TV show you want, have someone bring you food and water, etc? If you have older kids, I think it is a lot harder to recover from surgery at home than at the hospital. When I came home after my 2nd c-section, even after 4 days in the hospital, my 3-year-old had a really hard time with understanding why I couldn't pick her up, crawl around on the floor with her, go up and down the stairs a million times to help her get some toy she forgot, etc. It really took a toll on me and her. My vote is to maximize your peaceful recovery time, even if it is at a hospital!

I am finding some of Courtney's posts to be getting a bit of a stretch. The IV is taken out well before you leave, and if it isn't, you wouldn't be sent home for that meant you still needed the IV in.

To ummm....Courtney lives in an area that still has a lot of refugees from hurricaine katrina...maybe that's why the medical care wasn't that great, because the city is too crowded.

But I don't think her nurses have lost their professional skills in regards to charting if and when they took out an IV! But maybe I am wrong.