Post op Recovery - Moms of small children

Hi guys! I'm super excited for my surgery, which is scheduled for the 25th. My husband & I have no family here, so my parents are flying in and they'll take my 17 month old son with them for a couple of weeks while I recover. I know I will have lifting restrictions and I'm afraid I won't be able to care for him (my husband works crazy long hours and I'm son's primary caregiver).

My question is, what was your recovery like? How long will i be out of commission? Those of you with small children / toddlers, how long was it before you could resume normal activities with them?

Thank you SO much for any and all help!!

Was the childcare plan your idea and your parent's idea? Sometimes, generous offerings have the possibility of not being so helpful. The anxiety you are feeling makes it sound like this may be one of those times. For roughly the same cost of travel, could temporary, in-house help for both you and your child be a possibility instead? It's the end of school season; there may be a responsible high schooler looking for extra income. Hopefully, some young mothers will chime in on your "recovery time" questions. IMO, your comfort level for you and yours is of top priority.

Pay someone to help you with your son for four to six weeks and keep him at home.

You will be able to drive and do anything except lifting after a few days.

Thanks for your replies.

No, it was the mutual decision of all of us that he would stay with my parents while I recover. If I sounded dramatic, let me clarify - i feel very comfortable with this and am just having the normal anxiety of not wanting my child to be away from me.

Hoping some moms of small children will chime in here.

But how will your son be without his mommy? If your parents are flying in, I assume your son does not get to see him much. Can they just come in for a few days to make sure you are OK? You could hire a teenager who lives close by to come help you with him during the day since summer is almost here.

The arrangements are already made and set in stone. He's very comfortable with my mom. He loves spending time with her and she comes out regularly to see him so they have a good relationship.

My son was 11 months old when I had surgery. I was caring for him, on my own 3 days after surgery. Love the suggestions for 4-6 weeks of help bwahaha!

As long as you're not still taking narcotics (I stopped the day of surgery) and you avoid lifting him, you should be fine.

Wow!! Okay, that makes me feel a lot better. My husband is planning to take a week off at the end of my recovery to help with the baby, but it sounds like that may not be necessary.

What about lifting your baby out of the crib?

My kids were 3 and 5 when I had surgery, so a bit older. I needed some help the first few days, but after that I was fine.

When I was 17 months old, my brother was born. My mom had problems during his delivery so I went to stay with my aunt for a week or so. I saw my aunt several times a month so I knew her well, but I was still traumatized and missed my mom. I did not eat the whole week I was gone (I don't remember this but it was a family story I heard often).

Oh that's good to hear. With my c section I was basically incapacitated for an entire month so I guess I've been trying to prepare myself for the worst.