Gift Ideas After a C-section

I wouldn't bring anything to the hospital - just more work for her!!! Flowers are sweet, but they die and she has to get them home without water spilling all over the car. She needs less help now and will need more in 2 weeks and 4 weeks before she is able to drive, lift, and so on and when she is way more sleep deprived.

Cleaning help, stopping by to do laundry, helping with the baby when she naps, pre-cooked meals, someone to take out trash and recycling, perhaps help with Thanksgiving, going out in 2 weeks for more diapers or just to refill the dish soap and toilet paper for the adults, driving her so she can get out of the house and feel like she's able to do a little something without lifting shopping bags, maybe Christmas shopping or helping to get out the decorations from the attic or basement....think about her real life and not about baby gifts. These are the "true friend" moments that will make a difference.

Give her a coupon for a cleaning service for her home!!! That would be perfect and very appreciated.

I love the idea of a gift certificate for a cleaning service, as mentioned below!
I would also suggest NOT to bring several outfits and flowers to the hospital. It's hard enough getting home with a new baby, probably even harder after a C section, and to have to worry about packing up and carrying out a bunch of extra stuff just seems like a burden.
Have the flowers delivered at her home, ideally on the day she comes home, and ship or leave gifts there as well.
I also always provided my mom friends with a good freezer meal, something like a casserole or soup/stew they could easily warm up at the end of an exhausting day (aren't there always many of those in those first few weeks?)

Meals in containers that she can toss and not worry about getting back to you. Rides to the doctor as she won't be able to drive for a bit. Help with cleaning if she will allow it. Visit and sit with baby so she can shower.

Another thought: My daughter didn't want visitors at the hospital. She told the nurse who she wanted to see. Because she told friends and relatives ahead.of time, they didn't come
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I've had 3 abdominal surgeries. My daughter just had a c-section delivery. SURGERY results in serious fatigue. So does carING for a newborn. I agree the best gift is one of service. Pay for a cleaning service or go over once a week or so to sweep, vacuum, laundry, whatever she'd like done. She may prefer privacy. Drop off a casserole, soup, or something easily heated up. ALL the previous moms gave excellent advice.

I smiled at the MENTION of the milkshake. My daughter asked for one. BECAUSE there was concern for a medical issue, the baby had to stay in the hospital for several days. BECAUSE Mom was breast feeding she also stayed in the hospital. HER husband brought in a couple of meals.

I suggest giving your frI end some ideas and ask her what she'd want.

Fatigue is a big handicap after surgery. Pain too. I've been surprised and proud at how well my daughter has done.

Nothing delivered to the room!!!! Other than maybe a delicious milkshake for mom!

Visit her at home after the hospital. Bring a casserole and a chocolate cake and some paper plates / plastic forks.

All my babies were born by c-section. Mostly I did everything except lift my baby, housework and drive.

Do you mean a gift, or doing something helpful for her? I had my husband and my mom help me by getting the groceries, cooking, doing the laundry, bathing the baby (mine were huge and I wasn't supposed to lift them), etc. So there's a lot you could volunteer for if you know her well. Even doing errands (I wasn't allowed to drive).

I had a c-section and standing upright isn't easy and you're told by your ob to spend as much time laying down as you can. So, I would suggest: Unless you're going to carry your gifts from the hospital for her, don't give her anything which will require her to move more than she absolutely has to.

I spent a lot of time in bed, sleeping and nursing, with occasionally trips to the bathroom. I would have loved to have a pretty bedjacket to wear at home and some easy to heat up meals in the fridge.

Take care.

i had c -section for my birth. i was up and about that same day. didn't feel pain or discomfort. but as a new mom, i would have loved a guft certificate for a massage to use a few months after the baby is born. that will be her me time away from responsibilities for a few hours.

Please don't overwhelm a new mom who has just had a c-section with lots of "stuff." While well-intentioned, all of this "stuff" can really create stress on a new mom who is just trying to get her bearings and get into the swing of being entirely responsible for an infant.

While an outfit for the baby might be a nice gift, I don't think you need to bring several, and please, for her sake, don't bring outfits or things to the hospital. There's no room for all that stuff, and it's just more that she has to keep track of and bring home.

Find out when it's okay to visit---some moms like hospital visits; others don't.
I personally wanted to rest while I was in the hospital after my c-section. I made sure people
knew that so there were no issues.

I think Sherry's idea of easy meals in disposable containers would be a perfect gift. Find out if there are any dietary restrictions (allergies, vegetarian) and make some meals. If you're not a cook, gift cards to a restaurant where they can order take out would be great, too.

While the idea of a cleaning service is great, personally, I would not want strangers coming
into my house before I had a chance to vet them, and that's probably the last thing on her to-do list right now. If she already has a cleaning service, a gift certificate for that service would be very nice. Rides to the doctor or showing up with a bag of grocery staples are also very thoughtful things to do.

I agree with all about limiting your visits to the hospital. Recovery can be exhausting, and I just didn't want to see a lot of people.

When deciding what type of gift to give to her, keep in mind that her ability to lift, drive, and climb stairs will be restricted during the first few weeks. So anything that you can do to help with those things will be appreciated. One of my friends drove me to the salon to get my hair cut and colored (and coordinated everything with my husband so that I didn't have to worry about our newborn.) I felt so much better just knowing that my hair looked good when people visted! Church members dropped off meals. And a neighbor came over every few days just to tidy up the house while I slept. I don't remember a lot of the material things that we received. But those three things were like small blessings.

Offer to drive. I couldn't drive for two weeks after my C-section but had to get to my own OB appointments as well as newborn pediatrician appointments. If you can lift the baby and car seat / carrier - that is a big help as well. C-section moms can't lift that carrier or a stroller for at least 6-8 weeks.

No gifts to the hospital - take them to the home. In fact, ask mom whether she wants visitors or whether it is better to wait until she is home. I was so lonely when I got home - in the hospital there was non stop company.

If she is nursing, a brand new nursing top - that is what I took all of my friends whether they had a C-section or not.

I had two c-sections--both emergency. The last thing I wanted was to have visitors at the hospital. I was exhausted, experiencing some pain, trying to figure out nursing, and already had nurses, doctors, midwives, residents, and about 10 other people in and out of my room every half hour or so. Plus, my husband worked in the hospital so he had co-workers, who I didn't even know, sticking their heads in to say hi. I just wanted to be left alone with my baby!

Seriously, the best gift anyone could have given me was gift cards to restaurants. Especially to someplace that would deliver! Once my husband had to go back to work, there were nights when I barely ate anything. I didn't have the energy to cook or to pack up a baby and go out somewhere. Not to mention I couldn't drive. A second best gift would have been to have some home cooked meals dropped off for us. I would not have liked a housekeeper. I'm too private of a person. I don't get manicures or pedicures. I would not have been able to lay on my stomach for a massage. Any of those types of gift cards would have been wasted on me.

My suggestion would be to wait until mom has been home with the baby for a couple of weeks. Call or send a message asking if you can drop by and if there is anything that you could bring her. If nothing else, bring a gift card to Target or someplace like that.

I agree with what others have said about bringing gifts to the hospital. The rooms are so small and there is so much to haul home. I got a couple of floral arrangements that we left behind at the hospital because we didn't want to make multiple trips to the car. Especially since parking was two blocks away from the maternity ward.

Gifts for the baby--one outfit that is a 6 month or bigger size. Just make sure it will be season appropriate. Don't give a size 6 month winter outfit if the baby will be 6 months old in May. My favorite gift to give is books. Buy a couple of board books or cloth books. With first babies especially, moms get so many things. My first baby didn't wear half of the clothes she got just because we got soooo many.

It sounds like you really want to shower mom with special things, but honestly, it isn't necessary. One thoughtful gift is more than enough.