Avoiding lifting toddler

Hi everyone I haven’t actually had a C-section, but I had a hernia repair surgery last week which requires me not to lift my toddler for six weeks. I figured this puts me in the same boat as a lot of c-section mamas so I thought this could be a useful place for me to ask for any hints and tips that you have 😊 How did you cope with not being able to lift your little one after surgery? So far I have: - Trying to have someone else around at all times - the most effective, but hard to sustain for six weeks! - Teaching him to climb onto the sofa via a little step so that he can sit with me to read books, etc - Looking for a little toddler table for him to eat at so that I don’t have to lift him into the high chair - Seeing whether he’ll nap on a mattress on the floor so that I don’t have to lift him in to his cot - not sure how successful this will be but he does sleep on a little mat at nursery so I figure it’s worth a try! Any other hacks much appreciated! 🙏

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That's pretty much everything I prepped my kid for! He loved learning how to climb everything so it was pretty easy. The sleeping on the floor was the biggest adjustment and for the most part I didn't have to lift my kid. There were a few times that I did but I tried to get him to position better or climb up on something to ease the effort

I got mine use to it before the surgery,taught her to be more independent and to be extra gentle with hugs.

@Salma can you give specific examples of ways in which you taught your little one to be more independent?

@Sophie main issue was its not that she wasn't capable of doing certain things but mostly just wanted mummy to do for her, so I taught her how to put shoes on properly,all the shoes she has, carrying her own bag, taking off and putting on clothes, where to leave things, made it part of their routine, doing own personal care teeth brushing, washing hands without any input from me, playing more independently so she is less clingy by giving different activities of interest puzzles, books, blocks, maths, science etc, I made the house more friendly for her, so there are stools she can use to reach things, have coat and clothes hangers in store room at her reach to get coat and clothes, offering her choices, which colours look nice together so I let her pick her own combination, where to put dirty dishes, clothes, shoes. It's not 100% but it's much better. Anything and everything to make my recovery easier and help her development. She still sometimes insist mummy do things but a lot less.

My daughter was very upset I couldnt pick her up after surgery. I’m not sure how old ur child is but my daughter was almost 3 at the time of my c section and I found a big stuffed animal that was smaller than her and told her I can’t lift anything bigger than that so she didn’t think it was just her that I couldn’t pick up. It seemed to work fairly well but I think it depends on if ur child understands bigger/smaller

When you SIL had a c section her eldest was just over 1. She learned quiet quickly she couldn't be picked up by mummy for a little while. She would cuddle her legs if no one was around to help her onto the sofa (although she was pretty good at half climbing the sofa).

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