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

Absolutely avoid noro , it's horrific. What a rubbish situation for you. Hopefully you can be at home as soon as possible after the birth and toddler can come visit you with dad in hospital not long after the birth.

In terms of c section recovery every day gets easier and by day seven i always felt basically normal just no heavy lifting etc. When my second baby was 2 weeks old I was able to walk my 3 year old to the local park and even lift them on and off swings a couple of times without any issues. There is a world of difference in recovery time between an emergency section after a prolonged labour, and a planned and very routine section. Many people you speak to will have had emergency sections. Even then it's not the end of the world. Just worth being clear they are quite different.

@YourTurnForTheTree this is such a great idea! @rc1232 would a neighbour etc or anyone be willing? I would certainly do this if it helped someone in these circumstances

*your DH will be with you!

@rc1232 hi, I hope you are ok. I think if you can’t find a friend to look after your toddler then you need to accept that the next best thing is to have the c section and have DH at home with toddler.

Is there anyone else who can come with you to the c section? If not, you will be ok. I say this because I had to have my little boy on my own, by c section. I was terrified. I honestly did not think I could do it. I remember going in alone to the hospital and dreading every moment. BUT… it was fine. First off, a planned c section is usually the most relaxed experience you can get as far as childbirth is concerned. The staff will be relaxed, you can plan to take in bits to make you feel comfortable etc. In my situation I confided in one of the staff members before going in that I felt alone and scared. They were very supportive. It was over in what seemed like fifteen minutes, I’ve honestly had worse dental appointments!

Of course the pain afterwards isn’t nice but it’s totally manageable and by the your DH will be bad with you anyway.

I know you may read this and still feel terrified but I know that this time next week you will have your second baby with you and all will be well. Lots of love x (please PM me if it would help).

I don't have advice, but lots of sympathy!

My first baby was born during covid so other than the actual procedure, my husband wasn't able to come to the hospital to see the baby until I got home.

This time around (3 weeks ago) my husband got hit by norovirus on the day on my section. Worst luck. Meant I was still in hospital on my own, although it wasn't as awful as during covid at least.

Could you find a doula asap? And their main role would be to hold an iPad with your husband there? Not the same ofc but you could keep chatting to him?

Good luck. You can do this alone and be proud of yourself.

Don’t make this a bigger deal than it is. You have great hospital staff, and elective cs are usually good experiences. The modern world puts so much emphasis on all this stuff, but your husband not being there will have no impact on his bond with the baby and the love you will all have for each other. In the kindest possible way, give yourself an affectionate shake and say, ‘I can do this’. Frame it positively. Your child will be with their dad and safe. And possibly ‘see’ their sibling sooner than if your husband was there. And your husband not walking in and out of a hospital puts him at less risk of noro too!

Good luck xx

I definitely not want I'll family anywhere near you.
Can you reach out to DD nursery & see if any chance of extra of extra cover either in nursery or with familiar staff OOH ( often will do babysitting in evenings)? Or perhaps local childminders, I'd def cover if at all possible if any of my families asked.
Edited to say I know of other childminders who have covered overnight stays for their families in similar circumstances

I’ve had 4 c sections, 1 emergency and 3 planned. The planned ones were absolutely fine, good experiences, nice and calm. If you had to do it alone, you’ll be absolutely fine - although if there’s any way you can find someone to look after dc, I would, because it’d be a shame for dad to miss it.

With regards to Xmas day - hell yeah I’d see people 10 days after the last incidence of D&V. Get yourself a good Xmas dinner cooked! It’s important here to realise that yes, you can mitigate risk by not seeing people who are actively ill, but the reality is - you’d have to avoid everyone all the time to prevent ever bringing something nasty into the house.

We all had it earlier in the year. Although the initial symptoms stopped after a day didn’t feel full better for about 7ish days

Obviously it depends on the reason behind your section. But could you ask if it could be delayed by a couple of days possibly?

c sections are never 100% guaranteed on a particular date anyway as if they have emergencies they come first

Yeah I’d defo see them after 10 days for Christmas!

Oh gosh what a tough situation you are in. I understand you are anxious but honestly there is no way I would want to risk catching norovirus after a c section. 100% better to both alone but then have you, your DH and eldest DC all well to enjoy those first few precious weeks.

As an aside, I had a vaginal birth first time around and a c section the second and I really wish c sections weren’t made into this big scary terrible thing they seem to be. All I’d heard before were terrible things and how much worse recovery would be. But it was honestly fine. I used hypnobirthing techniques to calm anxiety and it was over so quickly, didn’t feel any pain after despite it being an emergency one too. Walked to pick DS up from nursery a few days after. I know it’s not like that for everyone but I really wished I’d heard more positive c section stories before having mine, I thought it was going to be the worst thing ever compared to a VB.

Good luck with whatever you decide, this time next week you’ll be home all together enjoying the newborn snuggles

It’s entirely upto you what you do love but I’ve had 3 sections and the last thing you want when recovering is norovirus - the norovirus viral particles can live on surfaces for days and stays present in stool for 2 weeks so it’s easily transmittable even when someone has stopped vomiting / having diahhrea so there’s still a very strong chance of your little one picking it up from there house . If I was in your position I would go for your section alone and have your partner and child visit after - it’s not worth the risk love , I wokld keep him away from nursery till after Christmas too , then It gives you time to recover xx

Surely two weeks is extreme?!!! No one would ever see anyone if that's the case.

Not sure how helpful this is but either way DD2 norovirus set off my labour and me and DH were both in hospital with me giving birth while still being sick.

It was not pleasant BUT a) I had a side room as contagious b) DD2 didn't catch anything, although breastfeeding on the loo with diarrhoea was a low.

I'd have DH with me, and hand DC to the person who was poorly the longest time ago if it was me.

Where are you OP? Maybe someone can recommend a childminder for the day?

DH was at my cs but I honestly would have been fine on my own. And he won’t see the birth as such - there’ll be a screen up. There will be lots of staff in the room and you’ll be well looked after. I’d definitely opt for keeping DC away from any risk of norovirus.

I also did not want a cs, but it was fine, and I recovered well. Try to get your head round the idea of it - safety first, not personal birth preference. Then I think you can approach it as positively as possible .

I had noro 10 days after DS2 was born and it was the worst I have ever felt in my life, I didn’t have a c section but can imagine that would have been awful. I’d definitely recommend avoiding it if you can.

Do you know any parents of nursery friends that you could ask? What about local babysitting services?

In case noro does make its way into your home - all is not lost. My baby didn’t catch it from me even though I was breastfeeding and on the day I got ill, DH had gone back to work so I was solo parenting newborn and 2 year old, neither of them caught it despite me basically just laying in bed with both of them all day.

You do not want D&V after a c-section. That would be absolutely horrendous.
best of luck. A PP had a really positive story about being on her own for her c-section, so take solace from that and try to mentally prepare and think along those lines. Lots of lovely snuggles for you and baby alone. DH and toddler will be able to see you soon after.

Do you have anyone else who can watch your toddler? Or who can accompany you for the birth?