C-Section & Co-Sleeper

[Anonymous]

I'm a first time expectant mom, and am trying to decide what to buy to allow our little one to sleep with us in the beginning. I'm trying to decide whether it makes sense to use the co-sleeper, a bassinet or just use the bassinet function of the play yard in the beginning. I've heard that a co-sleeper is better for c-section recovery, but would a bassinet or play yard be tremendously difficult while recovering from a c-section and trying to breastfeed? Does it really matter?

[Anonymous]

The c-section issue is really only an issue for 4 days or so. After that, you can roll over and out of bed. Depending on the hospital, you'll be standing up and walking around the day of delivery, if not the next day.

So you should base your decision on what works for your lifestyle, house, whether you plan to co-sleep, etc - not on a c-section. It doesn't matter.

FWIW, I've had 2 c-sections and used a bassinet. Get a boppy and you'll be all set.

[Anonymous]

For me, the pain of getting out of bed lasted longer than 4 days. I could do it, but it hurt (much more than doing the stairs, which didn't bother me at all. everyone always focuses on the stairs after the c/s and not the getting out of bed part). Anyway, it didn't last very long. I agree with PP that you should base your decision more on lifestyle etc and do basically what you would have if you had a regular vaginal birth and not the c/s. We had a bassinet next to our bed and it worked very well.

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

Congrats on your impending arrival! I had 2 c/s also. The first was much harder on my body and much tougher for me to get in and out of bed to get the baby from the bassinet. Part of hit had to do with the height of the bed and my height (I'm 5'2"). Because the bed was so high, I ended up sleeping on the couch for the first month. It was just easier. While this was still an issue with #2, I bought a snuggle nest this time and stayed in bed. The link is below. The other option I considered was the co-sleeper bassinet that attaches to the bed but my best friend who also had 2 c/s got that one. She complained that because it was attached to the bed on her side, she had to crawl over her husband to use the bathroom so she ended up using it as a regular bassinet away from her bed.

Anyway, I highly recommend the snuggle nest. My baby is 6 weeks old now and I don't really use it anymore. I'm using the bassinet from last time. I'm so happy I got it though.

http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Delight-Inc-Snuggle-Patchwork/dp/B000BM8G0I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1211995636&sr=1-2

Best of luck!!