Alright, everybody. I’m officially out of the baby-making years. My husband and I had always planned to have two children and here we are! After having our second, I did wrestle with the desire for another baby. But after a year with two kids, I knew logistically it didn’t make sense to have another. And I didn’t really want a third child—just another newborn (the teeny-tiny phase is my favorite!). I swore off hormonal birth control years ago and because we knew we wouldn’t be getting back into the baby game, we looked at permanent birth control options. A tubal ligation seemed the best decision for our family.
Deciding to Get My Tubes Tied
At the initial appointment with my OB/GYN, I went in expecting to have to defend my decision to get my tubes tied since I’m only 30 years old. Luckily, that was not the case. She said to me, “If you want to have this done, then you should.”
YES!
Tubal Ligation Day
About six weeks after that first appointment, it was surgery day. Per the hospital’s instructions, I had showered using antibacterial soap for the three days leading up to the procedure and showed up with an empty stomach. My mom was my driver because the surgery required general anesthesia. I had to show up two hours prior to surgery. Most of that time I was filling out paperwork and waiting.
Once I got to the pre-op room, I had to take off everything I was wearing. Next, I wiped myself (my WHOLE self) down with disinfecting wipes. Then, I put on an all-too-airy hospital gown. In that final waiting period, nurses doted on me (nurses truly are the best people on the planet) and put in an IV. My anesthesiologist and OB/GYN came in to check on me and explain in more detail what would happen during and after the surgery.
Eventually, they wheeled me back to an operating room. I’ve had general anesthesia a few times in my life. I always love the moment when they put the mask on you and tell you to count backward from ten as you fall into a blissful sleep.
The Recovery
The next thing I remember is waking up in the first recovery area with intense pain in my shoulders. My surgery was done laparoscopically – a small incision was made near my bikini line and another on the bottom of my belly button. Since a camera is used for these procedures, air is pumped into the stomach to provide a better field of view. Some of that air gets trapped and causes shoulder pain. I knew this would be the case, but the severity of the pain when I awoke surprised me. Luckily, the nurses (saints, I tell you) gave me an extra boost of pain medication through my IV and I was able to relax almost right away.
The pain when I woke up was by far the most discomfort I experienced during my recovery. I took two days off work, then worked from home for three days (my surgery was on a Monday). The day of my tubal ligation and the day after consisted solely of lying on the couch and taking medicine to keep the shoulder pain at bay. I was easily able to work from home the other three days. I even drove that Friday because I was completely off pain medicine.
How I Look and Feel Now
My incision sites are tiny, each about one centimeter long. I didn’t even need stitches, just surgical glue. The incisions never really hurt unless my kids or dog accidentally bumped one of them. Now healed, I can barely even see where they are.
It’s been about six weeks since my surgery and I can say without a doubt that it was the right choice. Everything about my body feels the same as before the surgery. And I can rest easy knowing there isn’t another baby on the way.
