To not know what to do? Norovirus, newborn baby and c section

what solutions are you looking for? How many childcare agencies/childminders, and mum friends have you called? Have you got neighbours that can help?
i have zero family in my area, I had medical emergencies when I needed my DH and I called people and asked for help. It’s not ideal but there are trained and vetted emergency nannies for a reason and most mums are happy to help if they can (in an emergency). I would absolutely help you.

of course you are allowed to feel sad, but every single post is about that and you are ignoring every suggestion to find a solution and have DH at the birth.

If I were you, i would look for a local fb group for a babysitter and see if you can find someone. We were in the same position as you...we live abroad and no family/friends to help with our DS when i laboured with DD. We managed to find someone at relatively short notice who was great. You could even hire them to take your DC for a walk around the hospital when you are having your surgery and then your DH can come and take over as soon as you are out of theatre. Its a rubbish situation to be in....I fully remember how it feels.

Don't risk noro. If you're worried about support during the section maybe there's a doula available though I guess it's very short notice and normally you'd build a relationship with one first.

I'd personally not risk Xmas either but if your section is next week, I wouldn't have been arsed seeing anyone at Xmas anyway. A quiet one just the 4 of you is probably easier for your recovery?

seems so sad you have zero mum network. Is there not one local family with a child dds age who you are friendly with who could have her for a few hours?

Absolutely don't risk the family care imo, norovirus with a newborn and abdominal wound sounds hideous!
I understand you don't have any random friend to call but can you not pay a one off babysitter/nanny etc? I'm assuming as a planned c you know the time of day, so all you really need is someone to care for your dc during the day while your dh is with you, then he csn come back and stay with dc overnight. Not as easy as him staying with you but better than missing entirely.
Are there any local mums groups you can ask of if anyone knows anyone? Just on your local area fb? Do it early enough there is time to to a trial run so it's not a stranger.
There must be someone out there with childcare experience (and I would want that rather than a well meaning unqualified stronger) who is willing to do a one off days work for payment.
Ask your sons nursery if they know anyone?

And for the noro situation, call your midwife for advice. If your DC or husband get it whilst you're at hospital, tell the nurses there. If need be they will put a plan in place with the consultants, for instance keep you a few days more.

We had a similar childcare situation when our second was born, and we had our regular baby-sitters come watch our eldest. We needed both as they weren't available at such short notice, and my husband went back home at night after the birth.
It wasn't ideal but for 48h it worked ok. They were nice enough about our situation too and charged us a lower rate given the high number of hours.

There must be someone you know who does not have Noro. Even a mum friend? A neighbour you know a bit? It’s only 1-2 hours no?
In your situation I would book a babysitter from a reputable agency. I have made lots of suggestions of solutions for childcare abd you just keep posting how sad it is for DH instead of finding solutions.

Not every childminder or nanny in your area will have children with noro going round.

I don’t have any advice on your ill relatives situation but I would recommend having a look at csectionuk on instagram. You don’t need ti pay for her courses but her page has some good tips and advice on c section recovery. I had one earlier this year and it was a very positive experience - really calm, staff were great & a smooth recovery. Good luck !

I think the 2 weeks thing is pretty extreme to be honest. I think in your case a week is sensible but surely the original family member would be fine by Tuesday to have your DC?
The chances of passing it on are surely outweighed by the benefits of having g your DH with you.
For what it's worth. DH and DC had norovirus last Xmas. They all passed it between each other within 48 hours. All were better within 3 days and didn't pass it to anyone else that I'm aware of - including me! I was obsessive about bleaching everywhere though!

Just keep on top of the main meds after. I’ve had an emergency and planned section and similar recovery for both. I had paracetomol and ibuprofen which tbh don’t do much but then also had dihydrocodeine which did help. The first couple of days are quite brutal but day 3/4 I started to feel a bit better and by day 6 I felt more myself. I was back to driving after two weeks with my second.

Id try to get someone to watch your youngest. Is there really no friend or nice neighbours or family friend? Just to have her for the few hours around the birth

Please don't be terrified.

With my C section the only pain I had was like an intense ab workout. I could get up and move and it didn't stop me doing much. I'm no martyr either, I wasnt powering through any pain. I just kept on top of routinely having ibuprofen and paracetamol and making sure to gently move about but not over exert myself.

I'll be honest I was bricking it before the surgery as I'd never had it before but I don't know why I was worried in hindsight. It was a very positive experience. Can't even remember my sons dad being there because it was my and DS in our own bubble of a world.

Please don't assume you're going to be isolated or in pain. You only hear the bad experiences usually but many of us have good experiences especially when elective.

Oh that’s awful for you OP.
You will be absolutely fine if you end up on your own for the birth, but I’d be looking for an emergency nanny in this situation. With it being an elective section your husband only needs to be away during the day, so if your toddler is used to nursery I’d say an experienced nanny would be able to keep them distracted. You could have a look on childcare.co.uk, contact local nanny agencies etc.

I had an horrendous bout of Norovirus this Spring.. really bad, the worst bout for a good 10 years.

They say people with blood group O+ are much more prone to getting it badly.
{My blood group}

@rc1232 It's not a 'given' that your husband will go down with it... I've been in a house where I've had it , and kept rigorously to one room and bathroom and bleached everything- and son never caught it from me.

Hopefully he won't catch it.

It's frightening how virulent it is, but hot soapy water is a a good way to help wash the virus down the sink..hand sanitiser is ineffective with norovirus.

Could dad not rush to the hospital when they are getting ready to take you down? Have family at the ready to watch your child outside of their home for a few hours. I know it still means them seeing your child but if you can limit contact and just explain to your family the anxieties you are currently having.

I'm so sorry OP.

I would do everything I could to avoid norovirus too. As well as the risk to the baby, it will be really painful with diarrhoea and/or vomiting after a section.

I get that it all seems so unfair.

Could you possibly videocall your husband during the section? I follow a couple on Facebook who did this during Covid for infection type reasons and seeker to find it some comfort still.

If it helps I’m just recovering from norovirus…I didn’t feel quite myself Thursday morning and fell asleep at my desk! Stomach started making awful rumblings that night and between about 5am Friday and lunchtime today was terrible, but I’m feeling better now and I expect to be back to normal by Tuesday if I carry on like this. BIL, who works in the medical field, said the strain going around now seems to be brutal, but not particularly long lived.

I really feel for you, OP. As somebody that was sick a couple of hours following a c section, it's not pleasant.

Noro has just ripped through our house and it was brutal. A week and a half later and I still feel rundown and knackered. Having a newborn and toddler is tiring enough and you need to feel as healthy as possible.

Take care of yourself x

I've had a section and in the early days of recovery, even a slight cough or a laugh is excruciatingly painful. A vomit bug would probably be the worst pain imaginable on your weakened stomach muscles.

Do not risk getting Noro, it's so bloody contagious

Thinking about it DH came in to see me next day with DD1 who would have been 48 hrs clear at that point. Although she had zero interest in her new sibling as she was only 18months old and more interested in the taps

FWIW my best friend had a natural delivery the first time, and c section second time (no choice). She said later that had she known, she would have taken the c section every time!

The staff will be lovely to you. It will be fine if your DH can’t go. Horrible situation but you will honestly be okay!

So I was throwing up, gave birth, had shits- probably about 36 hrs? They let me out of hospital after 48 hrs as I was on some other medication and I was completely fine. My parents had looked after DD1 who was the vector of disease and my mum caught it but she came round to see DD2 the day after we were home.

Also OP, I found the first 24-48 hours tough moving but was fine after that and was using stairs easily. My colleague was batch cooking 2 days after! An elective is very different to an emergency section.