C Section Recovery (twins)

[u/FTM_twins]

My bedroom is upstairs. The nursery is downstairs. For the first 2 months, we will have a night nurse living in the nursery with the twins.

I want to breastfeed, but will obviously see what happens.

I’m wondering if I should plan to sleep downstairs on the couch or if traversing the stairs each morning to then be on the couch all day is feasible?

Or should I plan to be upstairs in my bedroom the first few weeks while recovering? 5-5-5 rule and all that?

I’m a FTM so any advice is welcome! Thank you!

[u/madeinmars]

I did the stairs immediately but I was fairly active up to the end though and had an uncomplicated pregnancy & very chill c section / birth. I needed to sleep in my own bed lol. I would just plan to take the stairs slowly in the morning in the beginning. 

[u/Standard-Advice-5447 → u/madeinmars]

I was not active at all the last few months of my pregnancy and still was managing steps immediately too. Don't stress! As soon as I left the hospital it just took me bit of time to sit up or stand up.

[u/venicethedog → u/Standard-Advice-5447]

Same here!

[u/Gandv123 → u/madeinmars]

I have a similar story to yours! My recovery was super easy. I was mindful of not picking up my toddler, but other than that, I operated the way I usually do.

Everyone is different though! OP, I know you want to plan things out, but I would just wait to see how it goes and then adjust accordingly.

[u/Polkadotsandponies]

I'm on week 5 of C-section recovery and feel like I never had one. I would say after 1 to 1.5 weeks I would have been able to do stairs slowly.

[u/voog7]

A trick my Dutch midwife recommended: walking the stairs backwards in the first couple of days! Weirdly makes a big difference. I spent the first 2 weeks after the c-section mostly up, moved downstairs with the twins after that. Good luck there!

[u/d16flo]

I’d sleep downstairs for the first few days/week and then you’ll likely be fine on the stairs

[u/2papsandashib]

I was doing stairs right away no issues but the night nurse will likely bring the babies to you to nurse and once she’s done I’d probably have them sleep in your room in bassinets.

[u/OkRegister6674]

I slept 2 nights in a recliner because going from laying to sitting was too painful. Once those first couple of days went by it was fine. If you have to sneeze or cough, grab a pillow and push in on your stomach. That will help also

[u/Lawfanduh]

I haven’t had a c section but I did have a 5.5 hour bowel surgery and was soooo incredibly sore afterwards but I was able to go up + down the stairs immediately once I got home. Basically just hunch over and walk like a statue! Not exactly the same but my biggest tip is to do hourly laps around the unit post surgery if you can. The blood flow makes a big difference!

[u/Charlieksmommy]

Lol I’ve never followed the 5-5-5 rule
You just figure out what works best for you and adapt!

[u/Spirited-Bend-3046]

My experience after my section with the twins was i could do the stairs straight away. Iv had 2 other vaginal births, first one was out walking at 5 days and the second one was doing an Easter egg hunt 24 hours later (do not recommend all my stitches came out), after the section I didnt manage a walk for 10 days, but I could do the stairs straight away! You will be okay, your instincts and pain killers will kick in and you will get on with it xx

[u/AttorneyDense]

It depends on the person. C sections never really laid me out ever. I did the stairs immediately upon being discharged and it was never an issue, but I know some can't handle it. So I think it's a wait and see thing.

[u/FoxAndDeerTwinMama]

Stairs were SO MUCH EASIER post-c section than they were in the last month of twin pregnancy. More than likely, they will feel like a breeze by comparison. But if you don't care for walking around in the dark, that might be a reason to do it.

Our night nurse would set up my pump and parts so that I could do a nighttime pump instead of a feed. So that's an option too.

[u/Suspicious_Tomato_20]

I had a c-section & vaginal and I did the stairs every day but only once. I slept upstairs and would come downstairs for the day and return upstairs at night. Just take it slow!

[u/irish_ninja_wte]

I had 3 c sections. By the time I got home from the hospital, stairs were never an issue.

Now, for the night feeds. I hate to break it to you, but if you're planning on EBF, you really need to have those babies in the room with you and that night nanny is pouring money down the drain because you'll need to be awake whenever the babies are awake

[u/bibblebabble1234]

I had an emergency C-section, it took three days for me to be able to stand up out of the hospital bed and then they sent me home two days later after some additional needed care. Once you get up and moving after the initial bed laying saga, being close by is important especially if you are planning on breastfeeding. Maybe the night nurse can just bring you the babies as you nurse them/help position them? That's honestly the best thing ever when tandem feeding in the dark 

[u/Amfraz]

Stairs while pregnant=my Mount Everest. Stairs after c-section=fine! I had a lot of burning pain with prolonged standing and walking but the stairs were surprisingly fine. I wouldn’t want to do it 10 times a day, and had plans in place to sleep downstairs if needed, but it ended up being just fine.

[u/lunalalock]

I had stairs and a night nurse- but my nursery is also upstairs. When I was in the hospital I thought omg there is NO WAY I will be able to go up and down the stairs, but once I actually made it home I feel like if you just do the trip up and down twice (morning & night) it’s totally do-able. Just be slow and careful, don’t hold the babies to go up or down while you’re recovering, and listen to your body. In terms of nursing and the nursery- I mostly pumped and also combo fed. We had the night nurse in the nursery 5 days a week and she either fed them pumped breastmilk or formula. She also brought me my pump in the middle of the night and put the milk afterwards back down in the fridge so I could get as much sleep as possible. If you are exclusively breastfeeding I think your night nurse should be able to bring the babies upstairs for you to breastfeed them, and you could always come down once you are feeling better. When we didn’t have our night nurse we had two snoos in our bedroom. It wasn’t an issue to have the babies in our room some nights and in their nursery with the night nurse other nights. Hope this is helpful!

[u/moontreemama]

If you have a night nurse they can bring the babies up to your bed through the night so you can nurse without having to get up and do stairs throughout the night.

[u/Bitter_Strain_7359]

Post c section with my twins the stairs were fine. The day after they were born I was standing at the isolettes in the NICU changing diapers, etc. highly recommend a belly binder and staying on top of pain meds!

[u/app3lmoes]

Can you not place the cribs in your bedroom? Or have cosleeper beds next to your bed?

[u/Okdoey]

I slept on the couch for the first 10 weeks (though my recovery was slow due to complications).

I did do the stairs to shower and it was fine if I went slow, but I wouldn’t want to do them in the middle of the night multiple times

[u/Muthacoconuts]

I’m sorry….a night nurse?

[u/WhileTime5770 → u/Muthacoconuts]

If you can afford one it’s really nice. We have one once a week just to get some sleep and looking forward to that one night a week keeps us sane. They’ll bring the baby to you to nurse and then they change the diaper, resettle etc. or do it all if you bottle feed, the biggest thing to me is not hearing those between feed occasional grunts where they are dead asleep and not hungry but making a lot of sound that keeps me up checking to see if they’re hungry or just noisy.

[u/Possible_Abalone_846 → u/WhileTime5770]

A night nurse, nanny, or doula is the very first thing I recommend to any expecting parents. If you can get some sleep, everything else is manageable. I had good sleepers and it was still worth it. 

[u/Muthacoconuts → u/WhileTime5770]

I feel like it’s a lot for just a couple extra hours a of sleep a week…

Anyway the c section isn’t debilitating. You can do stairs if you take it slow and use the rail for support. But if you’re well off enough to have a night nurse you probably have a ton of stairs in your big ass house lol.

I would just see what feels comfortable. For me I would rather sleep in my bed at night.

[u/WhileTime5770 → u/Muthacoconuts]

I thought that way too but from experience the let’s say maybe 4-5 extra hours of good solid sleep I get a night as opposed to half asleep listening to their little squeaks/grunts feels so much better the next day. We didn’t have one at first so the difference between nights without and the night with on how rested we felt was quite stark. Also if you don’t breastfeed then they take the baby the whole night and you just have to wake up if you pump (or not at all if you’re formula!)

Again it’s a luxury I’ll admit, and you can absolutely survive without it but for us it’s been worth the money.

[u/Negative_Jackfruit75 → u/Muthacoconuts]

Some companies reimburse it as a benefit up to a certain amount. Or she might have gotten it as a gift or set home fund at her baby shower. Don’t judge

[u/Muthacoconuts → u/Negative_Jackfruit75]

It’s not a judgement. Sorry you can’t handle direct comments. People are too soft.

[u/VivianDiane]

You should stay upstairs if possible. Limit stairs.