Second time moms

Call me Mrs. F · July 2012

Hi ladies

I had my RCS on July 6th. I was wondering how long after your sections did you try lifting your toddler? I dont plan on doing it a lot but he is still in a crib and I will need to be able to get him in and out for nap when DH goes to work. Is it too soon for me?

monica92603 · July 2012

I'll be in the same predicament so I'm curious to see what others say. I remember carrying our stroller down stairs when I was 6 days PP w/ DD. Other than that, I was just really lifting her.

Worcbride · July 2012

DD was 22mos old at the time I had my RCS....she was under 30#. The first week DH was home, the second my mother stayed with us. I was on my own the 3rd week. I remember my OB saying it was fine to lift her to get her in/out of her crib but not to carry her around.

mlf625 · July 2012

Within a few days of coming home from the hospital, but I really limited it at first - just to get him in and out of the crib. It was fine, didn't hurt. By the time DH went back to work and my parents left (2 weeks out) I was lifting him without issue whenever I needed to.

Monicagail1 · July 2012

Thankfully my DD was out of the crib after my c/s, but she still needed help getting in and out of bed, or chairs, etc. So I was lifting or assisting her pretty much as soon as I was home. I just took it easy, and braced myself against something if possible. I didn't carry her around until I was at least 6 weeks pp though.

Do you have a chair or a step stool that you could keep handy in his room so he could climb part way up? Then you would only have to lift him over the rail, and not up from the ground.

SkyExodus · July 2012

My daughters are 22 months apart. What we did (and boy am I glad we did!) was train our older daughter to "help Mommy" by wrapping her arms around my neck and doing her best to wrap her leg around my back. The other leg wasn't too bad - I could grab that with one arm, stick the other arm under her, and then we could get wherever we needed. It's not the easiest thing to teach your toddler while you're recovering, though - so enlist your family & friends to help! Ask them to help your child position themselves on you until they figure out how to do it alone. I healing incision never got kicked and I never popped any stitches or anything like that. It worked really well.

Another (perhaps less lovable) option is to let your toddler take their nap on a sofa next to you & your new baby during the day. That way, they can get back up without being picked up.

The big thing is to just follow your instincts. Take everything at your own pace. It'll all work out.

manbearpig31610 · July 2012

I had to start lifting DD in to and out of her crib at 10 days pp. I only did it for naps but I never had any pain or issues from it. She was 20 months old and 22 lbs at the time.

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