c-section mama's-what was your/baby's sleeping situation?

kz's_girlygirl · June 2014

All of these posts about where baby will sleep have got me thinking. Hopefully this will be our take home baby! I will be having a c-section (I have a trans-abdominal cerclage, so that's the deciding factor) and I know I am going to have trouble getting in and out of bed/lifting etc. especially at first.

Although DH and I have a king bed, bedsharing isn't a good option for us because I toss and turn a lot and DH sleeps with a c-pap machine for apnea (super sexay, lol). I hope to b/f and I would like to handle the majority of the nighttime wakings.

We definitely want to keep baby in our room with us, and for those mama's who have had or are going to have a c-section, what worked for you?

ashleykadlec · June 2014

I had a c section and I used the rock n play next to my bed. By the time I was hope after 3 days in the hospital I was okay to get her out of the sleeper and bf in bed. Sometimes my hubby would help me out and if she needed a change when she woke up to eat he would change her for me and hand her over to feed so I wasn't haven't to get up so much which was really helpful.

Pros521 · June 2014

I had a c-sec with no complications. DD slept in a bassinet. I found that as long as I kept up on my meds, I was fine to get up and down. It was a slow sit up for a short time. I def did everything I would have done without having had surgery

nebrtwin · June 2014

A little bit of a different situation because I had two, but my boys slept in their own cribs from day one. DH would bring me one boy and I'd attempt to feed him, and in the mean time he'd get the other one up and change him, so we had a sort of baby hand off system.

kz's_girlygirl · June 2014

Thanks for the responses ladies

I had a surgery to have my TAC placed at 9wks and was definitely hurting for a while from that. Our bed is pretty high and DH had to help me in and out of it for a few days, so I'm (unfortunately) betting on a similar healing process.

kimba1976 · June 2014

ashleykadlec said:

I had a c section and I used the rock n play next to my bed. By the time I was hope after 3 days in the hospital I was okay to get her out of the sleeper and bf in bed. Sometimes my hubby would help me out and if she needed a change when she woke up to eat he would change her for me and hand her over to feed so I wasn't haven't to get up so much which was really helpful.

This was my situation as well. I had a tough recovery because of complications during by c-section, but was home after 4 nights in hospital and, with pain medication and some help from hubby for the first two weeks, was able to take care of baby and breastfeed at night.

AlwaysForgetful · June 2014

5 time Csection mom. I use to have a bed that was low with #1-3. OUCH!

Ask for a post partem support belt. Think wide stretchy band going across belly. I learned about their awesomeness with #4. Helps a LOT with movement. Wear it the first 2-3 weeks. Some wear it longer.

#4 slept in a bassinet next to our bed. Nice.

#5 Well.... I slept in a reclining chair for the first week home (no pain meds) because it was easier on me. Rolling at all hurt so bad. Plus, I dislike our sleep number bed. So baby was next to me in her bassinet. Plus, the first 1 1/2 weeks home she was a glow stick. She needed a billi blanket. I picked up a used co sleeper not to long after I stopped using my support belt. I have to say I liked how it. came right up against the bed.

desertsun · June 2014

I had an Arms' Reach co-sleeper set up a few feet away from our bed. Just because of how our room was, it didn't work to have it next to the bed, and with the c/s, I would have had a lot of trouble getting in and out around it anyway. The co-sleeper was just the right height that I didn't have trouble getting baby in and out, but getting in/out of bed was a bit slow at first, so DH helped out a lot for MOTN feedings. He would get up, change DS, and bring DS to me in bed to nurse. Then I would get up and put DS back down after he was done. (DH was usually back to sleep by then.) Within a couple weeks, I was able to get up/down better.

I think the major reason I had trouble with my c/s recovery was that I wasn't up and about much in the hospital. The sooner you're able to get up and walk around, the better! Move as much as you can. It's okay to be a bit uncomfortable, but if you're in pain, slow it down. Keep up with the pain meds and stool softener and try to limit visitors so you can sleep as much as possible.

Amelia4 · June 2014

I could get up at night after my c-section, but it hurt and caused me more pain during the day. This time around I'm going to buy a recliner and sleep in that for the first few weeks so it's easier to get up and down. Baby slept in a PNP with the infant bassinet for the first four to five months last time and this one will probably do the same. My husband would get up if needed or bring baby to bed after changing diaper, but slept through if he wasn't needed.

kz's_girlygirl · June 2014

PugLife5869 said:

I only spent 2 nights in the hospital after mine and had zero complications. I made sure to stay up on the pain meds but like you, have a really high bed. I probably could have gotten up there with DH's help but I actually preferred sleeping on the couch for the first week and a half. DD slept in the RnP next to me. She was up a lot and I could turn on the tv while she was nursing, get in the kitchen, go to the bathroom, etc without assistance. I also preferred DH get a good nights sleep so that he was more useful during the day. He kind of kept the house running and I think the fact that only one of us was sleep deprived actually helped us. We were never really at each others throats or anything. Besides, I felt bad for him in the hospital because he would wake up every time she did and then all he could really do was change a diaper. I know a lot of people don't agree with me on that but it worked great for us. We have the same plan this time. DH will sleep all night and I will stay downstairs on the couch until I can move around easier. We will have a toddler this time so we definitely need someone who can keep up with her.

I was thinking something like this might work best for us- I also really want DH to be able to sleep since he is a mechanical engineer in a busy glass factory and is in charge of maintenance on a lot of huge/heavy machinery, plus has a 2hr/day commute. The couch wouldn't work since we have 3 cats who would keep me up, but moving our spare bed into baby's room might be an option for a while.

Southernpeach80 · June 2014

I had a c-section last time and will this time as well and plan on keeping her in a pack n play next to the bed like we did with my son.

batbanana · June 2014

I second the support belt! Made a huge difference recovering from c/s #2.

Baby was always next to us in a co-sleeper. I needed help getting the baby for the first few days, but after that it was ok. I was more deliberate in not over-doing it the second time around and that made a huge difference in my recovering time and pain.

kz's_girlygirl · June 2014

I will for sure ask for a support belt! Thanks for that tip

RayRay007 · June 2014

We had a bassinet in our room, and had moved the change pad/diapers etc. into our room on our dresser. When we got home from the hospital DH was off work for a week or so, and when DD would wake he would get up and get her and change her diaper while I was getting myself sat up in bed and getting comfortable to BF. Sitting up took a lot of time! Then he went back to sleep while I fed her and then because I was already sitting up I was able to get out of bed and put her back in her bassinet. This went on for a week or two. Then I was able to get out of bed much easier and handled it by myself, but still in our room, until 4 weeks when I moved DD into her own room.

Mikesfan · June 2014

I had twins. I was in the hospital for 5 days after c/s. So by time I got home, I was not totally healed. I had the babies in a bassinet next to my bed but for the first few nights MH got them for me and brought them to me to breastfeed them. After that I was okay getting up and to be honest my babies slept from about midnight til 7 the next morning so there wasn't much waking/lifting.

DoctorWorm222 · June 2014

IamInigoMontoya said:

When we first got home, we originally had him in the pack and play in a bassinet next to the bed. But it was hard for me to get in and out of bed. So for the first few days home, DH would have to bring him to me to breastfeed. Eventually we ended up co sleeping though because it was the only place he would sleep. This time I think I'm going to get the arm's reach co sleeper so he's not actually in our bed.

I didn't have a C-section, but I loved my arm's reach co-sleeper for nursing. It was great to have the baby nearby but not actually in the bed with me.

allfalldown14 · June 2014

I've had 2 c-sections and I used a rock 'n play. I slept on the sofa in the living room and had her with me in there so her dad could sleep. I'm nice like that. Also, my bed is really high and it's hard to hike up there a few days after a c-section.

kz's_girlygirl · June 2014

Thank you all so much! I'm going to look into the Arms reach co sleeper and see if it is high enough for our bed. If not, I think either the arms reach or RnP with baby and I sleeping in another room might be a good solution.

nesenotes · June 2014

I used the arms reach co-sleeper for about a week. But I just couldnt take how noisy she was. I was getting zero sleep because I was hyperalert and would wake up at every grunt and noise she made. So I put her in her crib in her room day 5. By 1 week post surgery I was ok enough with H's help to get up out of bed and move around.

c-section mama's-what was your/baby's sleeping situation?

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