How do I know if I am putting too much strain on my abdominal muscles or my incision site?

Sounds like you are doing the right things post op.I encourage my patients to walk and sit out of bed as much as they cna tolerate post op. This reduces the chance od DVT and other respiratoy complications. I do ask them to flex at the hips( bend forward) when mobilizing to take the strain off the suture line. I also prescribe stool softners and encourage high fibre low fat diets to avoid constipation as this is more likely to result in strin on hte repair. All the best with your recovery.

You sound like you are doing everything just right. During the first week, you should be up and moving around, but also taking it easy a bit. There is just no way to be up and about without using your abdominal muscles to some extent. This is completely fine and you should not be worried that the sutures are going to break because of this. The activities that we want you to avoid are more aggressive things (sit ups, weight resisted exercise, etc.) A little pull or feeling of tightness is OK. Pain is something to try and avoid. Keep on doing what you are doing. You will be able to step things up a bit next week.  

It sounds like you are being careful which is what surgeons want. That being said I do not like recliners as they are too difficult to get out of sometimes. I would suggest a couch during the day rather than the recliner. I like patients to roll on their side and get up that way as the repair was done usually in front. But each surgeon is different. I would discuss things with your surgeon.