Cesarean Section Hot Topic: night feedings

[Maribeth]

Share your tips for making night feedings easier after a c-section! New c-section moms need your advice. Specify in your answer if you breastfed or bottle-fed.

We'll archive the answers for the c-sections cubby.

THANKS!

[ink-stained mom]

Don't know how much this helps, but once we were home, we co-slept, which for me, made things pretty simple. Just roll over, lift my shirt and go to it. (obviously, bf)

My pain from my incision wasn't too bad, so I don't know whether this approach would work for everybody. Also, I wasn't on serious painkillers that would make co-sleeping dangerous -- just regular strength Tylenol by the time we got home.

[Lucy]

In hospital I breastfed, and although DD was in a crib next to me I couldn't reach over the first few nights so I slept almost sitting up with the boppy pillow in reach and I laid her between my legs and a pillow at my feet. It sounds a little dangerous I suppose but she wasn't going to roll anywhere and I wasn't sleeping very heavily, she was feeding hourly!

When I got home I was on bedrest anyway (post-natal pre-eclampsia) so I took the double bed with me, DD, diapers, wipes etc and we both lay down pretty much the first 2 weeks. After that it got much easier. Definitely needed the boppy pillow to help position her away from the incision. I too was only on regular painkillers by day 4 so no threat to DD.

eta: I bottlefed formula at home and DH would make up 6 bottles of cooled boiled water to 4oz and measure out 6 x 4oz formula powder in the avent containers, which came up to the bed with me, so it was easy to make up & feed her.

[Susan Michelle]

I FF with both kids. DH was nervous about co-sleeping so we set up a cradle right next to my side of the bed and it worked great. I would premeasure the formula out into a divided container, fill up the bottles with water and would make the bottles as needed. Initially, I tried to use a bottle warmer but I found that both kids like their bottles to be around room temperature (if they were warm, they threw them back up again). I made it really simple, everything was right there: the bottles, formula, rocking chair, diapers and wipes. I was able to do everything right in my bedroom which was so important. I had an emergency c/s with complications with our DD. My incision really hurt and I had lost a lot of blood. I was really weak. Having everything at my finger tips helped me to get back on my feet again and I just incorporated the same protocol with our DS and it worked great!

[Lisa JD]

Painkillers .. Painkillers .. Painkillers.

Don't for one second think "Oh, I feel fine today" so I won't take any painkillers till later. Take them regardless for 2 weeks straight every 3-4 hours.
I did and I"m sure thats why I recovered so quickly. I bottle fed so we had all the bottles ready to go everynight before bed and Dh helped alot with heating them at 2am .. we also co-slept which helped!

[Susan Michelle]

Originally Posted by Lisa Jodi Duncan

Painkillers .. Painkillers .. Painkillers.

Don't for one second think "Oh, I feel fine today" so I won't take any painkillers till later. Take them regardless for 2 weeks straight every 3-4 hours.

ITA. I had a wonderful nurse in the hospital and she told me to follow throuw with my painkillers (at least for the first couple of days/week). She told me "don't be a hero". At first I laughed at her until I didn't take my painkillers one time. That's all it took and I made sure that I took them on schedule. I also think that it helped me recover faster because I followed through with them. That was one of the hardest things for me because I'm not a pill kind of a person.

[Tami C]

I bf'd all of my babies. Night feedings were done quickly and quietly, with as few lights on as needed to see what we were doing without making it seem like party time. I agree about the painkillers - take them as often as you can, because it takes a lot of stomach muscles to haul a baby in and out of a crib or even just up in your arms to feed. I tried the co-sleeping in-bed nursing thing and it was just too awkward. I usually moved to my recliner and we snuggled and did the job, then a quick diaper change and back to bed as fast as possible. I also enlisted dh as often as I could to help bring the baby to me and back to bed. As much as I could, I let him do the carrying so my tummy could rest, knowing I would be the only one there while he was at work.

[Maribeth]

Any other comments before I archive this thread?

Thanks everyone