Is it possible to have a C Section and have a settled baby?

[Lucypearl]

I had an emergency CS with my daughter after induction and am now 40+2 wks pregnant with my second child. Just been for a sweep and my cervix is still completely tucked away so having to face the option of another CS.

I desperately wanted a VBAC for many reasons but one is that my first child was a very unsettled baby - cried constantly, wouldn't sleep at all unless in someone's arms (day or night) and struggled to feed for weeks. It was exhausting - and I've always blamed my CS for a lot of these problems. I know it perhaps had nothing to do with it so I'd really love to hear from anyone who had a CS and had a settled baby that fed and slept and was generally contented.

I had an emergency caesarian with my DS and he was a brilliant baby for the first six months. Slept really well was happy to self settle etc. that all changed after 6 momths but I don't think I can blame the caesarian for that.

Dd1 was emcs. Textbook perfect baby! Slept through by 3 months, weaned really well and was lovely and happy all the time!

Dd2 otoh has been the exact opposite....

I had an emergency CS at 34 weeks and DS was in SCBU for 2 weeks. He was a very settled and contented baby when we got him home.

I had an emergency CS after induction and have a very chilled DD, now 3. She has slept right through from ten weeks to this very day.

I had an EMCS with my DS. He was a great feeder, I was breast feeding but wasn't producing enough milk so I dual fed him. He was a savage so would literally have a bottle every 2 hours during the day, it didn't matter if he was having formula or breast milk.

He was very chilled out as long as he was fed and warm - we used to put a hot water bottle in his bed so he'd happily go in to it if he'd been our arms for a while.

Sometimes babies are just a bit high maintenance - I'm 35 weeks pregnant so I'm sure I'll get a unsettled baby this time. All baby's are different. Try not to stress out too much.

Hi lucypearl,I had my twins by emergency c section after an 8 hour labour.
Needless to say my whole birth experience was far from what I hoped for however we all came out of it safely and healthy.
Both twins were always content,slept well,sleeping through the night dd from 6 weeks and ds from 12 weeks.
I really wouldn't put it down to your birth,I think you get what you get-in the nicest possible way!what I mean is that you may have a lovely contented sleepy baby this time,whereas if I had another(I'm not!) I would probably get a screamer that never slept!
I have a friend who is calm,peaceful birth,etc but baby was relentless with his crying and inability to settle.complete opposite to mine.
Good luck though,hope things go well x

Thanks everyone! I'm a little distraught right now and really needed to hear some positive stories like those

Lucy, elective sections are a very different deal than emergency ones. I had two and they were wonderful experiences and I had calm, settled, gorgeous babies both times. It will be fantastic, good luck!

I've had 3 emcs, DS1 (my first) and DD (my last) have been pretty high maintenance. DS2 is and was, pretty chilled out. Every baby is different I suppose!

Don't be distraught. You know what you're heading in to with a newborn, the first time around I was clueless and full of ideas about routine and what I would definately NEVER do when raising my child.

HA! I'm more of anything for an easy life when it comes to newborns.

Relax and wait for the baby snuggles.

My DS1 was SVD and didn't sleep for first two weeks and has always been a complete livewire.

DS2 was an EMCS and slept through from day 1 and almost spent the first month fast asleep. I was worried until the Health Visitor pointed out that DS2 was probably the temperament I envisaged for DS1, and he was the 1% of babies that everyone hoped they would get from a sleeping perspective. He's a happy little thing now, at almost 3 but still loves his sleep.

So yes, you have have a ECS and get a sleeper, depends on underlying temperament I think.

Useful to go to Cranial Osteopath to straighten them out whichever option you go for :-)

Good luck x

DD was emcs and she has always been fairly content - she isn't a great sleeper but she doesn't cry much, just prefers to watch the world go by and make sure she isn't missing out.

Again thanks everyone, lovely to hear your stories. Feeling a bit more optimistic. X

My DD was an EMCS and is really chilled, slept through from 4mo and is one of the sweetest children you could imagine. She kisses everyone who will let her and has never had any problems with transitioning through the stages.

She is a little quirky I will admit but that's for another thread.

I had one emcs, one elcs. Both babies very settled and calm. Maybe I was just v lucky.

I had emcs for my first, sleeping 7-7 by 8 weeks... vbac for second, he was def more difficult, but only by the standard set by the first! He was by no means difficult and sleeping thru by 5 months

Lucy....I had a planned section....very calm....almost civilised . Dd was a dream from day 1....I even asked to see Obstetrician 2 days after birth because she seemed so calm and quiet....I was worried! All the best x

Mine were both section babies and the most chilled out babies ever.
Right from the minute they came out they were so laid back - the nurses in the hospital kept telling me how lucky I was and how it would last etc. But it did, well until age 3 anyway!

I had an emcs with dc2 and he was a lovely baby. Very happy and settled, fed and slept well.

Stark contrast to screaming, non sleeping, non feeding dc1 (ventouse)

Yep, another similar story here. DD was EMCS after a four day labour but she was very content - we've never had less than a six hour stretch asleep from her.

Oh sorry I didn't give you any detail. Both bf and fed on the clock every four hours even tho I fed on demand.
Both slept thro the night from about six weeks and were barely awake during the dy until about five months.
I put them in their cots to nap and sleep on their own from day one tho. I did cuddle them to sleep as well but the majority of the time straight in the basket as soon as they yawned or rubbed their eyes and they were brilliant at going to sleep.

My dd was born by elective section. She was born sucking her thumb, and was fast asleep again minutes after birth. I spent two days in hospital watching her sleep, briefly waking to feed every 3-4 hours.

She slept through by 6 weeks, and by two months slept 14 hours a night. She self settled every time, an absolute dream :)

Very different to her big brother......

Yes. DD was a planned cs and an 'easy' baby. Doddle to bf and the nights weren't too hard.

Even DS, who was an EMCS, wasn't too bad. He slept through from 12 weeks which is a huge bonus, although he cried in the day and wouldn't bf.

Planned cs's are so much nicer than emergency ones .

DS was an emcs and was settled from the off and has always been a brilliant sleeper.

DD was a crash section under ga, and was never settled. That changed after a great deal of cranial osteopathy at 18-24 months old.

I wouldn't worry, I think how settled a baby is has very little to do with how they enter the world. Each baby has their own personality, hopefully thus time you will get a chilled out baby ??