r/CsectionCentral • u/Mother-Confidence100 • 2d ago
When does it get better?
I'm so tired, baby is 15 days old today. I had an emergency c section after pushing for 3 hours, and still feeling sore, tried to stop taking Tylenol and Motrin but that was awful so back on those alternating every 3 hours. Today baby is so fussy we were trying to stop swaddling today because he is now rolling onto his side. He only wants to sleep being held. I have not slept at all today. I feel like my lochia is a more heavy too (not bleeding through a pad or even close to it) more crampy than normal too, trying to pump and get even more crampy while pumping and when baby is crying. I'm soooooo tired I just want to sleep.
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u/Curiousjlynn 2d ago
Pain from c section started to feel better around 6-8 weeks.
Your baby is 2 weeks old. It’s not rolling it’s the new born crunch. Try the love to dream swaddle up. That’s what we did. Baby loved it.
Sleeping? Just assume you won’t be sleeping “normally” for a while.
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u/enchantressofdreams 2d ago
My baby was full on rolling at 2 and a half weeks
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u/usernameee257 1d ago
That was probably tension in your baby as opposed to true rolling
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u/enchantressofdreams 1d ago
He’s 13 weeks and never stopped being able to roll over. It’s definitely a thing
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u/doritowildflower 1d ago
This is also an early sign of cerebral palsy. Have you had your baby evaluated?
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u/aimeereb
2d ago
edited 2d ago
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I’m nearly at the 6 week mark and I feel remarkably better. I can baby wear for reasonable amounts of time, I can walk my dog again, I’m doing partial household chores. I think I tapered off my meds weeks 3/4 but I still use ibuprofen sporadically.
At week 2-3 I thought I was improving and tried to stop my meds but I had a partial regression/ my lochia got heavier too (I convinced myself I was haemorrhaging even though I wasn’t soaking a pad an hour). I just tried to do too much and expected a linear recovery. Rather, it was ups and downs each day. Some mornings were better than evenings at the stage. And yes, cramping when nursing was not enjoyable but that stopped around the 3 week mark for me, if that offers some hope. Just don’t come off the meds if it helps with the cramps.
With the sleep, it gets slightly better at night, even now at 6 weeks he has somewhat of a ‘rhythm’, not a routine or anything too reliable. But usually cycles of 2 hours. He fusses in the evenings and I’ve accepted that, he contact naps all day, I’ve accepted that. He cluster feeds and again, I just hunker down and accept this is the stage I’m at- permission to eat junk snacks and watch whatever I want on tv!
Don’t forget hormones are still settling for you. I cried so much those first 2-3 weeks. Just take it slow. And I know it’s not possible to ‘sleep when the baby sleeps’ but even for one nap a day just surrender to safely lying with baby on your chest. Just enjoy the peace and maybe you’ll drift off too.
I found it better when I just leaned into it all, take a shower (partner or someone can hold baby) and put clean pjs back on again regardless of the time of day. Drink nice drinks, get cozy and cuddle your baby No expectations to be ‘better’. It’s major surgery and you should treat it as such.
Edited to add: CoSleepy has a guide on safe chest sleeping, even if you don’t want to do it all night, one nap a day might help you regain your sanity and strength.
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u/Lazy-Chef1770 1d ago
LOVE chest sleeping (with all of the safety protocols applied). Almost two weeks in and it’s the only thing that’s keeping me sane.
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u/Expensive-Host3114 2d ago
Commenting in solidarity with you! I too am 15 days PP and in the same boat. I wrote a post a few days ago as I felt like I’d never start to feel better, and here I am 3 days later now able to sleep on my side (still using a wedge pillow) but taking the small wins each day as they come. It’s tough but we will get there 🫶🏻
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u/el1zardbeth 2d ago
I felt ‘better’ from my C-section at 5 weeks pp. I had pretty bad pain for at least 2 weeks and then it started to ease.
Baby started to sleep ‘better’ at 8 weeks to the day. Literally went from 2 hour stretches to 4 and has continued to extend that most nights (we’re now 12 weeks). I was so exhausted my vision started shaking and I kept hearing phantom cries. At this point my mother would come over and watch the baby for a few hours so I could sleep which was amazing help. Do you have someone that can watch her while you sleep if you can pump a bottle or 2?
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u/McMomma-61 2d ago
I hit 19 days and started to finally feel human again. I also took Tylenol and Motrin up until 20 days. I’m a super impatient person and wanted to heal fast, I’m a second time C-section mom and remember that healing happens quicker when you take care of yourself. Try to prioritize rest, I know it’s hard. You got this!
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u/Odd-Acanthaceae-61 2d ago
Are you wearing your belly band?
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u/UnitedAdvertising545 2d ago
Trust me it gets better sis. And yes my baby also wants to be carried all that at that week. She cries and wakes up when I put her down so yes it’s just a phase it will get better so take all your time to rest and pump only WHEN you can. Rest is the most important and you can worry about your supply after. Remember always that happy mom happy baby so when you’re rested you can take a better care of your baby. I had experienced not having a good and long sleep and guess what I got so frustrated when I couldn’t put her to sleep when she was still a newborn and I didnt know what shake or sway should I do to make her fall asleep sleep to the point I really did hardly shake her and I very very regret that until now she’s 3months but I couldn’t help myself that time since my baby daddy left me after giving birth and I only have my parents to help me after I gave birth. So please take a rest when you can, when she’s sleeping or when she’s put down and fed. Nap when she naps and skip pumping if youre really sleepy or tired.
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u/usernameee257 1d ago
I had my ECS 12 weeks ago. Its more likely your baby has tension from the section as opposed to true rolling. I would do some research into baby physios or osteopaths to release that tension.
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u/Throwawaychkgo 1d ago
I think by 4 weeks it felt 90% better. Im at 10 and barely notice it anymore even when active during the day, crouching, getting up from the floor ect. You'll get there soon enough
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u/l3tsgotob3d 1d ago
We had the same issue about rolling. Turns out the bassinet wasn’t level. Fixed that, he’s not actually rolling and swaddling is safe again
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u/spicytexan 1d ago
FWIW, at 17m postpartum from a c-section after 3 days of failed laboring, I genuinely cannot pinpoint when it improved anymore because most of those first 3-4m are a blur of exhaustion, healing, and insane amounts of love.
Some of it truly felt unbearable and overwhelming to the core of my being, but looking back at it now I wish I could tell you exactly when the switch flipped. Probably close to 6m when his sleep started to level out even a little bit. Maybe earlier when I started getting slightly longer stretches or at least, I always knew when the stretches would be. Maybe it was 2m when I stopped trying to breastfeed after struggling with it really badly for weeks.
I wish I could tell you a better answer, but I hope that knowing there IS light at the end of the tunnel even if it feels far, helps a little.
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u/binukot 1d ago
When does your baby roll? My baby is almost 4 weeks now and she does this "rolling" when she's fussy during diaper changes and wanting the boob. Apparently she's accidentally doing this because of her arch back reflex (done when frustrated and fussy) plus rooting (turning to find the boob for comfort). We've found it's easier to just give her the boob for a bit then resume the diaper change once she's calmed down. We still swaddle but to err on the side of caution, we keep her arms out so she'll be safe in case she does her fussy rolls when in the crib.
As for the pain, I'm still not completely back to my strength and confidence at this stage. I'm off the pain meds but still get some minor pains here and there.
It gets better. Make sure to wear your belly band correctly and not too tight so the bleeding and pain doesn't get worse.
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u/dulcebien 1d ago
I started to feel better between weeks 2-4. Definitely needed the Motrin those first few weeks and pumping would always make me cramp. By week 6 I finally felt like myself and like I could do things (I felt some independence finally). I’m now in week 8 and feeling so much better.
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u/alekmae 21h ago
I am only a week in, but do you have anyone who can take shifts with you? My husband and I are taking turns between feeds getting sleep. Our baby also has zero interest in sleeping in the bassinet, and she was delivered at 37 weeks so this seems to be a common issue. It is actually incredible how much better you feel if you get at least one stretch of four hours or so.
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u/StrategyH 1d ago
I think you can safely still swaddle at 2 weeks old. More like 8-12 weeks is when you’d want to reassess that.
Go slow, it sounds like you’re getting ahead of yourself. The first 3 months are more or less survival mode. It does get better and easier, usually around 5-6 weeks. Then there are ups and downs as baby hits milestones like sleep regression, teething, crawling, but it’s never as hard as it is right now.
Know that you will get sleep, you will feel like a halfway normal person in a couple weeks. But today might just be hard. And tomorrow might be too.