DD is having her surgery on Friday
it went from the GP saying it was nothing cos she still behaved normally, to the paed refusing to see her and sending us straight to surgeon. three month wait for surgeon, then less than a month til she goes under the knife
so, i'm a little anxious - and trying to plan rather than think
and i don't know what i need to plan
i know there isn't much - but i guess i want to know - what do i need to take to the hospital? i'm under the impression it's day surgery, so what will we need for that? should i have a spare bag in the car with overnight gear just in case? should we take anything to entertain her before surgery? after?
and what about at home - we have panadol - should we get nurofen (or similar) tomorrow? will she need it?
she is mostly toilet trained, but since developing the hernia, has had some regression, so still wears nappies overnight - we use cloth nappies - should i take nappies for her for the time after she comes out of surgery
sigh - i hate being an anxious person - i've got all this stuff going through my head and i just - arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! i want to be calm for her. and i guess i don't want to be flustered friday morning - i don't want to do anything that lets her feel like it's a big scary thing - and one way to do that is to have everything ready tonight and tomorrow night
I'd definately take an over night bag.
As for nappies I was told when DD recently had surgery to put her in what ever she wears at night, we used a pull up rather than a nappy.
Pain relief it's up to you if you can easily access a chemist otherwise grab some pain stop night.
I'd also take a portable DVD player or tablet for entertainment (one places supply DVD players)
She might sleep heaps in recovery especially if she's had morphine, or be like my DD and not :/
Good luck darl, she will be ok
Xxxxxx
ETA its very normal to feel anxious, you also need to decide who goes in with her, maybe send DH.
DD1 is having surgery next Tuesday, so I feel for you
Huge hugs hun. I can hear your anxiety though your post.
I haven't ever had to go through anything like this with my kids, so I don't know in reality, but just being removed from the situation and the anxiety, I would say,
Yes to an overnight bag, JIC. Maybe even some clothes for you/DH too.
Yes to nappies, again, JIC. She might be in a little pain and might not want to get up to go to the loo for the day?
Yes to entertainment, something quiet, like her favourite books, maybe movies or game on an i-phone/portable DVD player or something like that, textas/paper ect...quiet activities she can do in a hospital, and while maybe she might be in recovery.
Yes to the nurofen. The doctor will probably tell you what is best to give her, but if she is in pain and really needs it, you can give her both panadol and nurofen at the same time, they act differently and have different active ingredients in them, so will help her with her pain more effectively.
Maybe bring some snacky foods/packaged drinks ect, for you and DH, but maybe for her too. Take something to keep you busy, movies on your phone/portable DVD, books, magazines, puzzles...I know you might not be able to concerntrate, but best try to keep busy while she's in surgery.
All of the above have been great suggestions and can't really add more other than favorite toy or snack for when she comes round. I know my DS was so hungry after his op. wishing dd well and a speedy recovery and that you are ok.
Ohhh I forgot about the favourite toy Loula! DD2 took blankie in both times and DD1 took a toy in to hers lat year.
For DD2 last month they did ID braclets for her doll too!
When Bailz was in hospy last year (although a bit different) we had some of his familiar things - eg a blanket from home, a few familiar toys, and lots of change for coffee, snacks, lunch etc
Good Luck babe, I know how scary this must be, I'm certain you'll all get through it fine, sending you lots of hugs xx
was planning on taking one of her blankets, letting her choose one of her toys, maybe her magna-doodle thing. hadn't thought of portable dvd player - to be honest, i don't think there is much point - she isn't really a big tv watcher, even when unwell (unfortunately!)
i contemplated pull ups - but i have no idea on sizes, and given sensitivities that she has that are similar to mine, i'm not keen on the idea of using disposable materials now and testing whether she reacts. i'm not too phased about taking cloth nappies - we do them everywhere else.
will make sure we all have comfy clothes in case we have to stay in overnight. not that i want to! thankfully mum doesn't live too far away, so if we need extra, i know i can call on her and she'll bring anything we need (meals etc) - we'll have snacks and drinks, but anything substantial, mum will deliver (she wants to be at the hospital - i've said no she doesn't need to be there - so if we call her, she'll be there before we even hang up!)
i'm feeling a little calmer now. think fatigue has taken over - bed time for me (this is the latest i've been up since the miscarriage - i just have zero energy!)
i have a mild sore throat. i THINK it's related to general inflammation in my neck area which i'm dealing with, but there are a few sick peeps at work. DD doesn't have any signs of sickness - hoping it's not contagious - i really don't want to get to the hospital in the morning and have her surgery cancelled! i don't have a temp or any congestion, just the mild sore throat. i don't want her sick. i don't want to be sick. i don't want to have to cancel and rearrange leave (but i'll do it if i have to!)
Oh hun, ni know you've been worrying about it... massive
It can't hurt to have a spare change of clothes or an over night bag packed JIC, when Z had her nose fixed i took her in in some comfy PJ's and a dressing gown and had other clothes packed. I let her take her baby and i made sure i had some things on the iPhone to keep her occupied while we waited.
Dr's suggested alternating panadol & nurofen for the first 24hrs just to help with her comfort levels so it might be a good idea to have a back-up supply.
A portable DVD player can be a good idea for afterwards so she can just lay back & relax but sometimes they will have those in the day surgery area anyway... can you call the hospital and ask for any suggestions and see if thats an option as sometimes it's easier NOT taking a lot of things IYKWIM.
The RCH had little coloring packs & things for the kids while waiting aswell which Z loved.
Miss E is a very strong little girl and it will break your heart to see her go off to surgery and come back again (as it does for every mum) and it's ok to be nervous, hell i wanted to vomit the whole time we were in the waiting room, you know i am here and you can text me a million times that day if you need me.
Sometimes knowing the ins & outs can make you feel worse so get the information you NEED and then just go with the flow on the rest, but just letitng her pick things that make her comfortable will help you guys a lot more too.. she's a clever girl and she's a strong girl (just like her mum) and she will come out of this prefectly surrounded by love and comfort
we bought a new coloring book today. will let her take some cars (cos, being my kidlet, she can't do the girly girl thing and take a DOLL!). will throw her tinks jim jams in the car with some other overnight stuff. i don't want to lug too much stuff - it's supposed to only be day surgery, done in the morning.
i'm in a pretty good calm headspace now. was working this morning (paying back flex) and my stomach was churning with anxiety. i can cope with most of the thoughts. her going in, coming out, being groggy, sad, pain - i know we can deal with that. i get a horrible churning and nearly cry every time i think of her having the gas mask. thinking of it from HER point of view. i don't want this to be something that scares her long term. she's not a great lover of medical peeps anyway (ok, she's a bit shy with everyone lol) - i don't want this to be a moment that sticks in her head as something that will upset her and scar her long term
sigh - hopefully she will forget it very quickly and bounce back easily. we've got DVD's stacked up in the bedroom so E and Mummy or Daddy can snuggle. i suspect she'll say no to that pretty quickly so the mattress may end up being dragged from her bed to the floor in the lounge so she can play, then lay down, and won't miss out on anything.
oh, we've organised food and drinks for us for at the hospital - and bought extra soup today for the poppet. no matter how under the weather she is, she will eat tomato soup! so if we can't encourage anything else, hopefully we'll get that into her!
Thinking of you tomorrow BG. Try not to worry about you being sick - when DD had her surgery I was chock full of a head cold I could barely see straight, but it didn't have any impact on whether the surgery happened or not. I was just worried about breathing all over her while b/f (she was just shy of 4mo).
Sounds like you've got lots of things to keep E occupied, but don't forget about you too. If she ends up in overnight, then you probably will too, so make sure you pack pjs, toiletries and a pillow for yourself. And take something that will keep you occupied while she's in theatre - the waiting is horrible.
i've already packed two books - the one i was reading at work, the one i'm reading at home - will choose which one seems to appeal the most tomorrow
i've worked out clothes i can wear that will be comfy enough to sleep in - will throw some toiletries in just in case. we don't live far from the hospital (less than 10 minutes) so if she is in overnight, i'll send DH home and he can grab anything extra we might need. dinner is organised, so we can grab that and reheat it anywhere we can find a micro
oh, mum has a key at the moment, and has to drop dad at work a couple of k's from home tomorrow night (she drives almost past our house) so i can get her to grab anything too - she drives back past the hospy to get home
have to remember to pack phone charger - if i've got that, i'm set
oh yeah, my worry is breathing germs on her while i'm BF her too!
and the fact that she insists on kissing LOTS around sleep times - mummy, then daddy, now daddy has to kiss mummy, then we have to kiss her again, then cuddles, more kisses, goodnight, sweet dreams, love you moon and back, MUMMY you have to say it too, one more kiss, then boob and bed lol
Sigh - i HATE having anxiety issues at the best of times
this most certainly isn't the best of times. Nearly fell apart with DH earlier - things we'd discussed yesterday, and he asked me the same stuff again - i just asked him how the hell he could forget from yesterday, i was barely holding it together, i didn't care what he did, just let me focus on breathing - and making sure i don't fall apart for Miss E.
The little girl that ALWAYS wakes up when i'm getting ready for work decided today was the day she wasn't going to wake up! It took aaaaaaaaaaages. but she's now up and showered and watching TV (a concession seeing she can't eat or drink - any distraction at the point!)
my stomach is one huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge knot and i feel like i want to hurl. anti up-chuck drugs have been moved from work bag to handbag just in case. wish i could tolerate anti anxiety meds so this sort of stuff didn't defeat me like this
on the upside, E is completely unaware of my anxiety today. i've managed to cover it pretty well.
Hernia surgery
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