Hi Rach,
I had to have an emergency c section after having the epidural to look towards a vaginale birth... But the little man got stuck at 8.5cm for 3 hours and they had to get him out.

The recovery time was pretty full on. I said a few times I don’t know how someone would want to choose a c section... I couldn’t pick up my baby for the first 24 hours.
I considered the option of c section too but then thought bugger it I will give this a go, so when they told me I had to have one it was not a huge shock to the system.
At the beginning of the op I said a line from Monty python "all those little machines that go BING!" and the docs joined in and we said a few lines from 'Meaning of Life'
That relaxed me
They told me when they were making the incision, ensuring that I couldn’t feel anything, then all I could feel was tugging and pressure from where they were moving everything around.
The only time that I felt anything weird was when they said "we are going to pull him out now and you will feel pressure in your chest" As they took his head off the cervix (where it was stuck) they pushed his little legs up into my chest area where I felt a really weird pressure... it took my breath away a bit and then the next thing I know I can hear my little man screaming his new little lungs out
WHAT A MOMENT THAT WAS! Hehehe

So all in all the OP was fine but the recovery time was when I felt the pain and just felt a bit helpless, my MIL came for a couple of weeks after as you cant really do major house work like the washing, vacuuming. No lifting at all really.

So that’s my story any way good luck with your decision and what ever you choose to do ... my motto I suppose is, bugger it, I’ll give it a go