How long after c-section will I be able to walk my dog?

[GothMummy]

Sorry, but this is worrying me so any experiences will be very greatfully recieved!

My baby is breech, Im 36 weeks and if she dosnt turn I will be having a c-section. I have a large, strong labrador who walks nicely on the lead normally, but if he sees something that excites him (a squirrel, another labrador etc) he will get strong and pull ahead, he is only 12 months old so still in training. How many weeks do I need to organise someone else to walk him for me?

Im worrying about this a lot! We walk for 35 mins to school and then 35 mins back each morning and then about an hours walk each evening usually. Obviously when I have had the baby I will be walking and pushing the pram as well as leading the dog.

I also have a horse to look after but thats another question for mumsnet!

thanks

Hi

Never had a cs so can't really comment but maybe getting him used to a head collar (such as Halti or Gentle Leader) will speed up you being able to walk him again as will prevent the sudden lungeing

baby due end of june? is that right?
would it be easier to say get help with the school run until the end of term?
that would be possibly 3 weeks.

although i would have thought you would be fine before then.. the recovery isnt that long.

I had a great recovery from my CS, home after 24 hours and out with the pram the next day, but I would say a few weeks til you can take the risk of a big dog pulling on the lead. Also two hours walking a day will be far too much for the first couple of weeks, at least.

If you have someone who can walk the dog for you I would ask them to do both walks for four weeks and the extra hour for eight weeks, then you can go with them as soon as you feel up to it and work up to having pram AND dog, and can give them their p45 if you feel better earlier. DON'T do too much too soon, that will just make your recovery longer. Enjoy!

Its about how long is a piece of string!
Some people are fine to walk short distances a week or 2 after.
I couldnt walk for 2 months after mine.

I would deffo hold off on the 60 minutes walking a day with a dog and buggy

I haven't got a dog but did have a CS two months ago... If it's any help, it was about 4 weeks before I was completely comfortable doing stuff like loading shopping into the back of the car or mowing the lawn. But even then, I only managed mowing the back garden then and had to admit defeat on the front one - and before the cs I was very fit and active. It wasn't pain really, just general weakness and tiredness, which I found very frustrating. The official advice is usually to wait 6 weeks before doing anything physical. You might want to do just some of the walking to start with when you do get back to it, like doing the school runs and then letting someone else do the evening walk for a couple of weeks while you build up strength again. Hope it all goes well. I know how you feel with the worrying about doing things - my allotment has completely gone to pot but I'm only just starting to be able to contemplate getting the spade out and getting over there with baby in tow.

Thanks for the replies. It looks like its going to be DH doing the evening walk with the dog for a few weeks then :( and I will have to get my dog walker friend to exercise him in the mornings. Im fit and very active and used to lots of walking/horse riding but obviously with a dog and horse to care for as well as 5 year old to get to school etc and a new baby I need to think really carefully about the practical help I might need to care for my animals after a c-section.

Regarding the halti headcollars etc - we have one of those, havnt used it for ages though since my dog calmed down and learnt to walk nicely on the lead. He is a good boy 98% of the time!

Thanks for your replies. I can see from your replies that I was being unrealistic thinking I would be able to do all the dog walking etc after DHs 2 weeks paternity leave.

as a dog and horse owner too I think that's sensible - I was wheeling buggy and dog down the lane to feed and hay my horse every day 1-2 weeks after, but dog was off lead so no pulling, and horse had been turned away in field so not much to do really. It was really just a gentle stroll for a few hundred yards!

I do remember quite vividly lugging a bale of hay over the fence and then thinking ouch, that was a bit too much!

I also took my time getting back on riding, and did some post natal Pilates - I didn't actually ride till about 5 months after as had heard a couple of stories about people doing it too soon and having trouble due to stretched ligaments etc, and didn't want to set myself up with problems long term. good luck!

Redundant - my horse is also turned away for summer, so all I have to do is fill water trough with a hose pipe, provide hay - that may be hard if I cant lift - and clean out feet/fly spray/change rugs as appropriate. Hopefully. He may of course have other ideas about this, like injuring himself and requiring 18 weeks on stable rest (which is what he did just after DS was born! - He broke a splint bone in a freak accident because I was a bit late with his tea).

I hadnt even thought about how long I would be unable to ride for. I coudnt ride for 3 months after DS birth (which was a normal delivery) due to my stitches being very sore and bad healing of my scar tissue.

Perhaps I could stand in my horse's field and repeatedly throw the tennis ball for the dog for a hour whilst sitting in a chair!

Hopefully she will turn round either before or during my ECV next week though. I did initially want a c-section due to fears about going through labour again etc but now I have changed my mind!!

I think i was probably over-cautious about the not riding thing, and it wasn't at all related to my c-section, just general worry about everything (back/pelvis ligaments) being stretched.

You'll be fine, but yes do watch the lugging heavy things about - even chucking a rug over will be tricky to start.

I gave birth in middle of winter which was not ideal as spent about an hour wrapping baby up in a million layers before heading out each time! - at least that's in your favour! hope it goes well.

I would definitely er on the side of caution. I was walking my retriever 3 weeks after a cs, similarly mostly good but young and prone to getting excited (actually he's old now and just the same LOL). I did overdo it though, I shouldn't have taken him out so soon. I made things much worse for myself than they needed to be. I'd give it at least 6 weeks to be safe. It's those sudden sharp pulls that are the killers. Also I'd get back into using the head collar again. It will help.

Fingers crossed the baby turns.