after c section when did you start lifting?

[bird24]

When did you start lifting your baby in the carseat ?? I started today after nearly 4 weeks but feel a deep ache inside sometimes now and wondered If I've done too much too soon or If that's normal as I'm getting back to normal x

 

[Scally]

Those car seats are so heavy, i would say that was a bit heavy after 4 weeks. I have been lifting a bit, but going to ask doc at 6 week check this week

 

[Vicks]

I do lift the car seat every now and then, but I find it heavy and so OH mainly does it. I carried a bit of quite heavy shopping yesterday and really felt it around my scar....I think they recommend holding off til 6-8 weeks if you can.

 

[angelstardust]

1 week I was lifting DS2 (4yrs) out of necessity as DH was back at work. 2 weeks I was lifting the car seat till I thought sod this and left it in the car and just lifted her.

If you feel pain, stop. It can feel a bit tuggy and uncomfortable but if it actually hurts don't do it.

 

[nataliecn]

I was a bad girl, and did more than I should have. But sometimes you just have to if there's no one else around! If you HAVE to do something, then do it, but otherwise I suggest relaxing and not lifting. I was told it can cause damage internally and that's why they're so strict about nothing more than your baby for 6 weeks. But I was lifting and doing more than I should, and I seem to be fine!

As it was said, if you feel pain, definitely slow down!

 

[mom2mom]

Lifting is one of those things that you have to be careful with. At 4 weeks you should start to feel a lot better so lifting is tempting but listen to your body.

Take the lifting very s-l-o-w and be aware of how it feels. If your midsection feels tugging and it hurts, then stop. You have inner and out stitches so they both have to heal in order to get completely back to normal and they don't always heal at the very same rate.

If you can get someone else to do the lifting. If that's not possible just go slow and be careful.

 

[bird24]

The government should let partners have 4 weeks paternity pay If the mum has had a c section as its so hard to rest when you are doing everything all day

 

[cleckner04]

The government should let partners have 4 weeks paternity pay If the mum has had a c section as its so hard to rest when you are doing everything all day

I 100% agree with this. I'm not in the UK but the US and my DH only got 10 days starting on the day I gave birth. It is ridiculous. I could barely get out of bed and he had to go back to work. I sat there in tears on several occasions because I was in so much pain and couldnt' get to my crying baby fast enough.



As for the lifting. I did lift her in her carseat about a week after giving birth but mostly I avoided anything too strenuous. I also had an incision that burst with fluid a week and a half after the c-section so that came with an entirely new set of issues.

 

[tasha41]

Well, I was at home alone with the baby all day the first week, so I definitely did quite a bit of lifting.. I did some damage, my incision split, but I really had no alternatives at that point, as OH doesn't get paid if he doesn't go to work and it would negatively affect his relationship with the company. All 4 of Elyses's grandparents work full time and her aunt and uncles are in school full time also. My grandma came for a couple of days but she's in her 70s and wasn't comfortable carrying the baby up or downstairs (only bathroom is upstairs, kitchen is on main level, laundry is in basement).. but my grandfather went into a nursing home the day I had Elyse so she had to help him too make the transition as smooth as possible..

Wouldn't be so bad but I had an infection under my incision and I had to go back to the hospital and OH missed some work and my mom got out of work on paid emergency family leave or something like that.

 

[angelstardust]

The government should let partners have 4 weeks paternity pay If the mum has had a c section as its so hard to rest when you are doing everything all day

No, because then more women would request c sections.

However, ALL dads should get more than 2 weeks (10 working days) paid paternity. They are thinking of allowing Dads to 'use' some of the Mums maternity leave, so mum could take say 30 of her 39 weeks and the Dad can use the other 9 weeks. Much better system in my opinion. The benefit to mothers when their partner is there to offer support is huge, breast feeding rates would increase as mothers would get the full time support to get it off to the best start, post natal depression rates would fall as women would not be left on their own with a new baby and a partner working and unable to offer help and support because he is too tired from work.

 

[bird24]

i didnt request my c section and wouldnt want one again

 

[clairebear]

please go careful. I overdid the lifting after my c section and ended up opening the wound and getting an infection which took months to heal!!!

 

[bird24]

ouch how soon after did it open?

 

[angelstardust]

i didnt request my c section and wouldnt want one again

I didn't mean you requested your c section, I was just pointing out that many women, given the choice would choose a c section if their partners got double the paternity leave. I didn't request my elective section, it was deemed the safest option for us both, but I was in more discomfort after my vaginal birth than with the elective! Not even going into the em c section, that was just horrific.

But we do need our men folk for a lot longer than 2 rotten weeks regardless of how our babies come into the world!

Not only do we mums need the extra help, but dads deserve a proper chance to bond with their babies too. Makes me angry that the working father is treated as secondary to the mother in such an obvious way. 9 months of maternity compared to 2 weeks of paternity? Then if there are older children and the mother is in hospital the father has to take unpaid leave to care for his children. If maternity/paternity was shared equal, child care would not be such a huge worry. I ended up discharging myself before Amber was born because we didn't have anyone to look after the boys and couldn't afford for the mortgage not to be paid (and we had to eat). So my health was sacrificed.

that turned into a huge rant! Sorry!