taking care of small children post-op

Hello everyone. I was wondering if I will need help post op caring for my children. Would that solely depend on how tired and weak I might be ? Was very surprised by a comment couple of days ago about a woman who had surgery denied due to lack of a babysitter

You can't lift anything for 4 weeks according to my centre in Ottawa. At the time my daughter was 22 months so I definitely needed help. No lifting them into high chairs, car seats, beds etc.

I.had a hard time with my 7 and 12 year old once my hubby went back to work, now obviously i didnt have to carry or.dress.them lol but omgeee! They talked none stop and even tht tired me out lol

My youngest is 7 and she was very helpful. I would say for the first week at home you can't lift and you must move slowly. I think everyone is different....but I had a huge muscle on my right side that was SORE. It took a week to start to heal....2 weeks before I could really move somewhat normally. I still walked my kids to and from school everyday from the beginning....BUT I left early enough that I could walk sloooooowly. I also timed my pain pills so to take them right before I knew I had to do something.

If you have help....like a friend to visit....use it. If you don't.....depending on how young your kids are, you CAN manage on your own...but remember slow and easy. If you have a baby or toddler you are going to need some kind of help...even if it's just a friend who drops by in the day time to help out. Just make sure you don't lift the baby in/out of a crib that will possibly strain one of the muscles trying to heal and that HURTS like a mother, lol.

If you don't have anyone that can help....maybe post here asking for a helper? People can volunteer to come by during the day for the first week and help out. We've all been there so who better to help =)

Yes need help big help! my mom kept my 2.5 yo for the 1st week after surgery and the 2nd week she stayed with us - i was so tired and i tried to lift my daughter but it hurt my muscles and set me back 2 DAYS.

Get help

I had surgery Nov/2013 and my 2 daughters are 2yr and 6month. I spoke at length with both my surgeon and family doc about post op instructions. Both informed

Hit the wrong button. ..anyway, both doctors said that pain would be the deciding factor on how much I was able to do. The first week I did not pick up either child due to pain and my incision needing to heal. I was however able to hold em when someone pass them to me with no issues. By the second week I was doing some lifting with my smallest, but definitely listen to my body when it said enough was enough. Discuss it with both doctors and see how they feel. My experience was that by no means is it easy, but not having the surgery was not an option so my family and I pulled together to ensure this could happen. Best of luck to you on this journey

How old are your children? I had my surgery this past summer and my kids were 2 & 5. My little guy is a climber, which was great because I just used step stools to help in him and out of his crib/highchair/change table. He was very accomodating, thank goodness but it was very hard not to lift him. BUT YOU CAN'T. I just kept asking myself, "Is this worth going back to the hospital for if you pull something?" I also used my old breastfeeding pillow and put it around my waist when I sat down so he could climb up and snuggle without smashing into my incisions. I didn't drive anywhere on my own at the beginning so I didn't have to worry about getting then in and out of the car.

So, yes, you can make some adjustments to do a lot on your own, but help is good, especially in the beginning, when all you want to do is sleep!

Best of luck to you!

If you can get help do it.  Take whatever help you can get.  Can you get by without it?  Not sure how old your kids are.  Mine were 3 & 6.  My Mom helped a lot, but my kids were very helpful too.  I lie with my youngest to get him to sleep and he was in a bunkbed, and prefered me on the inside (so it was harder for me to sneak out) but he would let me sleep on the outside, and I was able to use the top bunk to help pull me up to get out.  But he was able to climb where he needed to be.  And made sure I had everything I needed, and made sure i was alright.  My 6 year old helped out a lot too.

One thing I would suggest to do is to have frozen meals done ahead of time so that they can be just heated up for the first couple weeks.

Your pain level will determine a lot.

Cathy

I agree that with little ones, you need a couple weeks of help.  I couldn't chase her around for diaper changes because I was tired and sore.  Getting all the nutrition and vitamins in is a full time job the first couple weeks!  Take any and all help you are offered!

Good luck! Christine