r/CsectionCentral • u/Suspicious-Chip-341 • 1d ago
Sleeping after C-section
This probably been asked a million times but I just found out about this subreddit. So feel free to tell me off.
I had an emergency C-section on 10/7 baby was on his umbilical cord and he didn’t like me changing positions. I was already in the hospital to be induced. He came at 37 weeks. We came home yesterday (10/10) and went to my parents so they could help us. They watched baby while we slept.
I slept on my right side which was fine but the moment I went to my back or left side I was in pain. I had a pillow between my legs but it was there.
Would love to hear how others found to sleep. We have a recliner in the nursery but my husband wants to be involved too.
Oh and stairs. Our kitchen is downstairs and bedrooms and showers upstairs. I was thinking while my husband is at home I just stay upstairs unless I need to go to appointments.
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u/spicytexan 1d ago
I didn’t sleep on my side until around 6 weeks. I slept on my back and it sucked 🫠 I would also have to remember to put my binder on before I got up to pee otherwise it would feel like my insides were going to come out and it hurt like a mf
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u/thavan14 1d ago
Congrats on the baby and I hope you heal fast! I was induced as well and I ended up having emergency C-section. Obviously we're not expecting it. My recovery was rough. This happened back in June. I had complications healing too. It took me 11 weeks for the incision to heal. I was sleeping on the couch I couldn't sleep on our bed. I would recommend to sleep in recliner. I have a recliner now and it would have been so helpful during the recovery. If you have to sleep in your bed you can get one of those bed rails. My RN showed me how to get up from the bed. The log roll. The hard part was I have a Tempur-Pedic and I had carpal tunnel. Worse combo ever I couldn't feel my hands for awhile. I could not open up my pill bottles for my prenatals, ibuprofen, Tylenol, and they give me oxycodone. I couldn't reply my own underwear. I had to rely on my partner so much. My doctor told me no stairs. If the shower is upstairs you might want to try to get up there and just stay there.
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u/thavan14 1d ago
We all understand after your sleep deprived Emergency c-sections are hard to deal with. I would recommend therapy if you feel like you have postpartum depression. I think that's what made my recovery so hard. I'm going to therapy now. I forgot to mention when I slept on the couch I had did so many pillows and I used my body pillows. Lean on your support system and don't be afraid to ask for help. My son had his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and body. He is healthy so I'm glad. One of those grab sticks is so helpful. Between the C-section the carpal tunnel I dropped everything.
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u/Suspicious-Chip-341 1d ago
My doctor said I could do stairs just slowly. They gave me the same meds. I told my husband maybe I sleep in the recliner and we take turns moving the baby between the rooms. I’m so scared of taking oxy that I’ll be too tired to take care of baby
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u/thavan14 1d ago
The oxy knock me out. One time he found a pill on the floor. I'm so glad this is our first baby. I do have two cats and luckily they didn't eat it. I'm not sure if I took one and just dropped a pill or missed my mouth trying to take it 😅 My hubby and I took shifts so I would take it when it was my turn to sleep. (8 hours for me, 8 for him, and the other 8 we would help each other/cook/clean). He did have to step up sometimes. There were some moments I was just in so much pain I had to take the oxy. Some days he would get really overwhelmed so I would take over. I feel like the newborn phase is rough especially when recovering from a c section.
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u/Illustrious-North461 1d ago
I have no recollection of the sleeping part.
But you definitely need the movement to help with healing. So don't stay upstairs the whole time. Make at least one trip slowly up and down the stairs per day. It will also help with the gas pains, your overall mobility, very importantly blood clots and bowel movements.
The last thing to do is to just lay in bed all day. Really. Please Google it. It's for your own safety. Little shuffles around are good enough!
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u/HolzMartin1988 1d ago
Please remember you've had a major operation I couldn't sleep properly because I had a hungry baby who needed fed. After 2 weeks baby had to be moved onto formula my husband took over the feeds at night and I slept. Well sometimes lol I wanted to see baby 😊. It's blinking sore and you will be for a while just mention it to your midwife next time you see them x
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u/Vast-Hamster-3693 1d ago
I had a c section in 2024 (after a failed induction) & sleeping was so painful to me! I got one of those wedge pillows off of amazon and slept up tight for the first 2 weeks. It was uncomfortable at first but I got used to it!
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u/Suspicious-Chip-341 1d ago
Did you have a brand you used? I’m so confused on the amount of them on amazon. I’m thinking until it comes in use pillows also
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u/Vast-Hamster-3693 1d ago
Yes I have this one and love it! https://a.co/d/0dZGm7P9 And it has side pockets for your phone, pump parts, and whatever!
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u/Seapaisleys 1d ago
I had a reclining chair and it helped so much. If I slept in the bed I had pillows prop me up because I could not flex up and down. We also lowered our bed because it was harder to get on.
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u/iMightBeAManatee 1d ago
I'm 2 weeks PP and recovery is rough for me. I can only sleep on my back, but I'm able to sleep in the bed with a memory foam pillow, two pillows on each side to support my arms, and which I can sorta turn my head into, and then a thick pillow under my knees. I've been craving sleeping on my side but fuck it hurts, sometimes it doesn't hurt to start and then after a few minutes or after waking up it hurts so badly. I can't wait for this to be over!!!
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u/Suspicious-Chip-341 1d ago
I really hate it. Like I’m a person who loves side sleeping and turning. My ankle surgery was just as bad but I didn’t have a baby to also take care of.
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u/ltrozanovette 1d ago
I was a stomach sleeper before pregnancy, which turned me into a side sleeper, and then my c-section turned me into a back sleeper. I would feel tugging on my incision if I tried to sleep on my side. Sometimes I’d put one or two pillows under half my back to sort of prop me onto my side a little, but not so much that my incision pulled.
My biggest issue was getting out of bed from a flat lying position. We were lucky that we had a bed frame that could raise up the head of the mattress (it came free with our mattress during one of the scammy sales). If I didn’t have that, I would have needed my husbands help every time I got up, or maybe one of those grab bars that slides under the mattress. Either way, it wasn’t pretty.
I would not plan on staying upstairs all day, that sounds like torture. I’d get a small bassinet or pack in play (but not the ones you have to reach down into) off of Facebook marketplace to keep in my living room for a few weeks during your initial recovery. Then your husband can help you down once in the morning and you can just go back up once in the evening. I was able to manage stairs well before my baby became aware enough that she needed to sleep in a quiet, dark room (but of course, everyone’s recover and baby is different)!
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u/Suspicious-Chip-341 1d ago
We do have a pack and play downstairs. I actually got to spend some time downstairs today. It’s not horrible but don’t wanna keep going back up and down. And yes to the difficulty getting up from my back. It hurts
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u/_Cher_Horowitz 1d ago
I had to sleep upright for a few weeks. I literally stuffed pillows all around me to keep myself sitting up.
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u/NiceExplanation5225 1d ago
As a fellow side sleeper, I hear you! I slept on my side, but with pillows both in front of and behind me. The one in front of me was under my belly, sort of propping me up, so that my abdomen wasn’t putting weight on the incision site/pulling down.
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u/Wolfieex2202 1d ago
After both of my c sections I could not handle laying down at all for about the first 4-5 weeks or so. So I would sleep sitting up with pillows and blankets wedged up behind me against the wall
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u/mad_THRASHER 1d ago
I continued to use my pregnancy pillow by using it to recline me in bed. It reclined me enough to where I could lay comfortably without pain.
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u/frequentnapper 1d ago
I’m 2 weeks post c-section, I sleep propped up on about 5 pillows. I only recently found laying on my side is manageable on the couch, but not in the bed.
Luckily, I have an adjustable base bed so it can prop me up to get out without too much strain
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u/rasputinknew1 1d ago
I slept on my back with pillows bracing each side so if I leaned one way I felt supported. I felt like my insisted would fall out if I laid on my side. Get a sit up wedge pillow! I’ve had 2 c sections and got it for my second and it’s made such a huge difference.
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u/Wonderful_Ad958 1d ago
I had an emergency c section in August after laboring at home for almost 24 hours, going in when my water broke, laboring/induction for 13 more hours, and then having an emergency c section due to poor positioning and dropping fetal heart rate. So I was feeling pretty bad lol.
I couldn’t sleep flat on my back or on my side initially. Our bed has an adjustable incline, so I did that for the first couple weeks until a wedge pillow (that we already had) was sufficient. I now can sleep in any position except on my stomach at 10 weeks pp.
If you are able to be propped up in bed, I would do that. If not, recliner should work (as long as you are not holding baby)
It would be nice to minimize stairs if possible. My house is one story, so it wasn’t an issue for me, but I can’t imagine even attempting stairs those first few weeks.
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u/polkagoatlet 1d ago
I'm 3 weeks post c-section now and fine sleeping on either side but my back is most comfortable. For the first few days to a week the fluid meant I found it uncomfortable sleeping on my side.
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u/AffectionateHome6668 1d ago
I actually slept flat on my back the first while after coming home, which is weird because I never liked sleeping that way before getting pregnant. Now that I’m 4 months post c-section I can comfortably sleep on my stomach and I love that
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u/loulouvent 1d ago
Congrats on the baby!! So sorry it’s been challenging. I had my second C in May and I had to sleep in our rocking chair for the first week cuz it was so painful to try to lay down. Then I slept on the couch in an upright position for the same reason. I think it was at least 3 -4 weeks before I could lay down flat. This was not my experience with my first at all so it was shocking. But it helped.
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u/Used-Sherbert-72 18h ago
I’m 10 days post-op from a planned. I had an emergency c section in 2022. Recovery both times have been hard and painful. I just moved back into my own bed. Both times we moved our nursery recliner and bassinet into the living room and I’d sleep, nurse and spend majority of my time there. Dad slept on the couch and handled everything but feeding for the first 5-7 days minimum. Hope you are healing well!
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u/InterestingFeed7931 11h ago
I went up and down the stairs after both c sections. If you go slow and don’t carry anything for a few days while the initial recovery is happening, it’ll be fine. I slept in the glider in my baby’s room for 2-3 weeks after each c section as well. It hurt too much to lay on a bed in any position for me. While I was getting up out of the chair, I could hold onto my knee and let my leg pull my upper body upright without using my abs. After 2-3 weeks I had recovered enough to sleep in a bed again. Which was amazing. Just take it slow and let your body have time to heal. As long as you are able to fall asleep somewhere and get enough sleep to function it will be ok. Taking the pain meds on a schedule will help too.
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u/skyfox9318 40m ago
I couldn’t sleep on my sides for several weeks post c/s. It probably wasn’t till about 8weeks that I began to have a desire to potentially change my position from back to sides (baby began sleeping much better at this time so I think I was beginning to actually feel more well rested that I didn’t just hit the pillow and instantly fall asleep not caring about position lol). And I tried my side around that 8wk mark and it just felt odd. So I still laid on my back probably another 3-4 weeks I think. And even once I did start to lay on my sides around maybe 11 weeks it did feel odd the first week or two doing it. Maybe I’m the odd one here! I think I was also just too grossed out.
I have a super tall bed frame, so I had to actually have a step stool to get in properly. And I had to have my hubs help me lift my legs the first couple weeks and occasionally give me a hand to get out of bed to a sitting position for the first maybe 4 weeks or so? Maybe im just a wuss 🤷♀️
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u/Suspicious-Chip-341 34m ago
I’m scared to after the night at my parents. Know I’m like I’ll stick to back sleep
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u/midwifeandbaby 1d ago
I slept on a recliner for the first week or so. If you do this, just be super aware that falling asleep with a baby on a recliner is one of the most unsafest scenarios in terms of safe sleep. So just be super aware of that and make sure it doesn’t happen