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It’ll definitely be like a heavy period but from what I’ve gathered its lighter and shorter than vaginal birth (I’ve only had 2 CS).
I might be totally wrong but I thought maybe it’s because they suction a good bit of it out during the surgery. But that’s just my guessing, totally unscientific and I’ve never bothered to look it up. Haha.
I want to say I had heavy bleeding (like bad period) for about a week and then light-moderate for another week or two after that. Towards the end it was truly like spotting. I never had to use more than a heavy flow pad.

With my scheduled c section I had heavy ish period bleeding for about 14-16 days, then medium to light for about 7 more days.

I have heavy periods as it is, so I had to use those Mack daddy ones they give you in the hospital or Depends. I think I only bled like 2-3 weeks though!

@DillonLion: I've had 2 c-sections. With my second, I had my post c-section bleed for about 1-1/2 weeks. My next [actual] AF was 4 mos later (while BF-ing).
In the hospital, they give you mesh panties and "diaper" pads that fit inside after a C/S. I was OVER those by day 2. I had DH pick me up some Depends in a size larger than I needed (* easier to pull down after surgery AND makes it easier for docs and nurses to check you post-op.). They were AH-MAZING until I was ONLY bleending enough to only need maxi-overnight pads.
Something not many people may think of (or need) but I appreciated was (1) my own surgical pajamas (* they sell cute patterns online) with BF-ing access for the first 3 days and (2) a lush or comfy robe for "walking the halls" post-OP. It felt awesome to change into clean P.J.s and they were accessible for hospital staff to run checks. FWIW - Days 4 and 5 in the hospital, I wore a regular "night gown set" along with my robe and a comfy pair of slippers.

The amount of bleeding I had was basically the same for my c section and vaginal. Surprisingly, I’d say I even bled more/ longer after my csection than my other birth and that was after having lost a litre of blood in surgery.

Anyway, you only need pads, woohoo! And it doesn’t hurt to sit on your bum, also woohoo haha. It seems that the majority of people have less bleeding though because they suck out a whole bunch of blood during surgery. I wore the hospital mesh underwear for two weeks probably because it was very high, thin, stretchy, and comfy and was nowhere near my scar. I just put them in my washing machine and they held up alright. I didn’t have any constipation issues and was eating prunes and beet salad the day after surgery to keep things regular. I did have some bad gas pain in my tummy for a week or so that was uncomfortable and I tried to drink lots of ginger tea to soothe that symptom.

I know you didn’t ask this, but roll to the side to stand up or get off the couch or bed and use your arms, try not to engage your core or an muscles or anything. That’s the major difference between a csection and vaginal for sitting, lying down, and moving around I feel.

@purplepumps: Oh yeah definitely the hospital mesh or something else high waisted and soft waistband (like not the scratchy elastic, the ones wrapped in cotton). I got high waisted maternity ones that folded over and they were heaven. Also high waisted or even specific postpartum leggings. The waistband has to to well above your incision or it rubs and hurts. For me even maternity leggings and jeans were a no because they had a horizontal seam that hit right along my incision.
Or get lots of flowy nightgowns and dresses. My first was a September baby and it was still hot so I wore a lot of empire waist dresses and nightgowns around the house.
2nd was February so lots of the high waist compression leggings. Blanqis.

ETA: these underwear are amazing. Even the seam was soft and didn’t bother me. I was so sad when I finally lost some weight and couldn’t wear them anymore.
Motherhood Maternity Women's Maternity 3 Pack Fold Over Brief Panties, All Nude, Small https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JM619SQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Qb-lDb30SE5BX

@paigeface: this made me lol. My post c BM was equally as awful and painful. After my second C it was so terrible and DH wasn’t home and I contemplated what would happen if I died on the toilet or had to call 911. Maybe dramatic but it was pretty painful. This time I started taking stool softeners before I even went in for surgery and ordered prune juice as soon as I was allowed.