Anyone else's baby had to have op under GA?

[jinglesticks]

Any advice? How did you cope? What usually happens? DD will be just over a year. Is it normal for me to stay overnight in hospital with her? I feel like I have so many questions that I didn't ask when we saw the consultant. Has anyone else been through this?

My DD had an op at around 18 months. it was in a private hospital and was day surgery.

I was with her all day and when they administered the GA I held her hand until she was out (took seconds) then went and waited for the call to go and collect her. usually you go to the post op room as they come round.

It's scary but actually it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be.The nil by mouth for 8 hours before was a bit of a pain though.

BTW - the hospital usually gives parents a leaflet for these situations which explains what happens - if not, ring the ward where your DD is going.

My DS had an op at around 21 months so a bit older. I was very nervous about it so rang up and actually talked to the ward. A very nice nurse talked me through all my questions and assured me it would be ok.

He slept in a cot at the side of a bed but they didnt take the bed away so I could stay in that if you see what I mean. But I was 5 months pregnant so maybe they made an exception. Other wards had big black reclining chairs in them for parents to stay over night.

Whether they stay over night depends on what they are in for, time of day etc.

If she is staying over night yes you will stay with her I would imagine

Hello. My DS had a cyst removed from his throat when he was 18 months old. We were invited to the hospital for a pre-op tour so had an idea of what to expect and were given advice on how to support and prepare DS. He had a GA and therefore was nil by mouth for most of the day, which was a bit difficult. We spend the afternoon waiting on a day ward where the staff were used to dealing with young children who were waiting for an op so we felt v well supported. I was allowed into theatre and held him when he was put under (needed mask as he struggled against the injection) which I think was reassuring for him (a bit distressing seeing him go out and then having to leave him though, tbh). DH and I went for a coffee and theatre called as soon as they were finished and we went down and I was able to hold him as he came round. He was really thirsty and drank lots of water straight away. I was allowed to stay the night and was lucky enough to be given an empty bed next to him on the ward. Only one other patient and it was very quite so we both slept. He woke early the next morning and was ok so we were allowed to go quickly.

I won't lie and tell you it was easy because I found it quite difficult. However, we were well-cared for and given very good information every step of the way. DS didn't seem too bothered by it and recovered quickly. Sorry to hear that you are having to go through this. I hope your DD recovers quickly.

Hi yes my ds has had GA 9 times but he was a day patient every time.
What I would advise is

1. Take someone with you to support you (I was emotional)
2. Make sure they give her pain relief before she wakes and keeps on giving her the correct dose on time.
3. Really talk to the Aneasnative (sp)to get the correct dosage for her particular circs.( one time the aneasnative didn't really introduce herself properly and I thought she was just a doc askign polite questions about my lo while we were both waiting for something/someone else and consequently the weight ratio dosage was ALL wrong and he didn't know which way was up poor thing}

Other than that everyone was lovely and will look after you both.

Thanks so much for the feedback and advice. I'm getting so worried about it, it's good to hear from others who've been through this.

The wait and worry is often worse than the actual reality . I have never met a childrens nurse who was not lovely.

I found out this week that my 10 week old DS needs to have an urgent operation under GA to fix a hernia. So i can't give much advice, but am feeling the same too. Nice not to feel so alone! I'm terrified as he's so small, but on the other hand, they do GA operations on little ones all day every day. And if it need to be done, it needs to be done i guess...Good luck :)