Toddler adenoid surgery

[peekaboob]

DD (19 months) is having her adenoids out tomorrow. We're on morning surgery list.
My particular worries are:
We co-sleep and she spends all night at the booby bar, loves the boob for comfort and won't take a dummy and I'm worried about how she can get comfort for the 4+ hours prior to op time. I am literally her dummy and comforter.
Having to hold her when she is being put to sleep.
Her waking up and me not being there.

If anyone has been through similar please can you let me know your experiences? I'm getting increasingly anxious as the day goes on and I'm packing our bag.

Having to hold her when she is being put to sleep When DS had his op I had to hold him in a koala hold so neither of us could see what was going on behind my back with his hand being injected. Then I put him down on the trolley- it was a lonely walk back

Her waking up and me not being there They took me down to recovery as he was waking up - he was confused so I don't know if it was the first time he'd woken up. They wanted me to lie on the bed and hold him as they push the bed up back to the ward but that seemed a little daft so I just held his hand. Once we got back to the ward he slept and couldn't remember waking up downstairs anyway.

When dd had hers out at similar age along with tonsils they handled it all brilliantly. While they were putting dd to sleep she was on my knee watching peppa pig on a hospital ipad and everything was done behind us. They tried and failed to put a cannula in hands and feet so dc was put to sleep via gas.
DC was away hour and half and they came to get me as soon as she was waking and I lay in bed in recovery with her before being transferred to HDU. She was there overnight but this was because she had sleep apnoea.
My little one handled the food wait OK but she never had much of an appetite before her tonsils and adenoids came out so can't really advise with this one. I was told the younger they are taken earlier so hopefully that happens for you x

Thank you both

I have been through this!! Also very milk focused bed toddler. Same surgery

Very happy to share how we handled it. First, what time of day do you need to start nil by mouth?

Bf not bed

My DD had adenoids and tonsils out at 2.5. She handled it 1 million times better than me! At our hospital she was the youngest so was first on the list so between waking up and seeing the consultant and surgeon and going down for the Op we just kept her busy with toys and books. We arrived at 7 and she was taken down at 9.30 ish. Her veins aren't very good so they used gas to put her to sleep and cannulated once she was under. It's much worse for us to see than it is for them to experience. She was down for about 1hr 45 mins and they got me when she was coming round and she was abit confused. As soon as she saw me she fell asleep on top of me and that was that.
She slept for most of the day even though they were trying to get her up and to eat. Then from 6pm you would think nothing had happened. She stayed overnight due to having sleep apnea like a PP. once home I tried to get her to rest as much as possible but she was bouncing off the walls from day 2 and just kept topped up with calpol but she never once said or acted like she was in pain.
It's honestly so much worse for us than it is then. Good luck x

This is what we did:

I stayed with dd while she wasn’t really noticing that she was hungry. In the time before we had to arrive at the hospital we did on the move exciting stuff with the buggy. I ensured I was standing at all times and she was in the buggy and moving/doing exciting stuff. We went to the zoo and bought a nice new teddy eg.

Then just before the nil by mouth for milk kicked in I told her I was going to do some jobs and left her just with her dad. She wasn’t upset as she was watching a movie on the iPad. Her dad then distracted and played toys with her in the ward playroom. I knew if I stayed with her once she got thirsty she would want milk and wouldn’t understand why she couldn’t have it.

I rejoined later at the operating theatre door, just as they were going down to theatre. By this point she was upset and thirsty and wanted milk when she saw me, but the upset only lasted a short while and then she’d been put to sleep.

I wore a high neck top to ensure she couldn’t be trying to help herself while she was about to be put under

When they go down they will probably suggest you put her on your knee. At that point she might be thirsty and might not understand why she can’t have milk, but it will be over quite quickly and if you talk to her calmly she will have your voice to reassure her.

I’ve done this op twice with an under 2 and they can thrash and cry as they go under but it’s very quick and she will know you are always there with her.

With waking up there is a good usborne book called going to hospital. I talked my dd through the story and explained that when she woke up the nurses and drs would be looking after her and they would then tell mummy and i would be coming. You should be able to feed her as soon as she comes out.

Before the op I asked if I could feed in the recovery room after and both times they said it was ok provided she was recovering well. That was nice for her I think. Worth flagging in advance that she’s bf and you want to do that

@Onceuponatimethen thank you. Our nil by mouth is 4am. DP said he would just put her in the car and drive for a couple of hours if needed. Good points about standing up, as soon as I sit down she wants the boob. She's allowed sips of water once we arrive at hospital - they called earlier to confirm the op. I mentioned she's bf and likes to for comfort and she said she'd make a note on the list. I'll ask about post op in the morning. We need to be at hospital around 7am so will leave at about 6.30.

Thank you @jayde28.

Yes I’ve done that time slot in one of my dd ops !! So this is how I did the feed. I ensured she woke for a good long feed just before the cut off for milk (so 3.15) and gently nudged her to feed. I made sure she had a good long active drink. Then I rolled over and got her back to sleep.

Once she was asleep I got up and got dressed in my high neck no moo outfit (at 4 am 😂) and went down to eat.

We then let her sleep as long as we could but woke her up with an exiting telly thing she loves already playing on the iPad. That worked and disrupted the normal routine and she immediately started watching and didn’t cry!!

No sitting down and keep her busy!!

Then off to hospital

Once you get to hospital you could then go off for “jobs” in the cafe while he distracts her on the ward and then he could call you when he’s asked to go down to theatre and you could rejoin

Should have said I also co slept and if I hadn’t got out of bed at the nil by mouth time a) I would have had to change into something bomb proof to stop her getting milk and b) she c would have cried buckets if she woke for milk, I was there and said no, so I wanted to avoid that

Forgot to say we took her straight from bedroom to car so there was no time for her to get into where my milk / breakfast mode

That's all really helpful @Onceuponatimethen . Thank you. I need to have a think about what I'm wearing tomorrow. Have had 19 months of boob friendly clothing and I'm not sure I have anything restrictive 😂

I seriously thought about wearing a swim suit 😂

You will probably want a non restrictive top to change into while she’s in surgery otherwise you will be flashing the hospital when you are trying to feed her in the recovery room!

Good luck with it all

@Onceuponatimethen I'm layered up! Ready to sweat a few pounds out on the ward 🥵. She hasn't woken yet but have tv poised for Ben and Holly at first stirring. Feels weird doesn't it, like the feeling of getting up early and going on holiday except you know it's going to be a shit day out for the first half of it iyswim?

I know exactly what you mean! I hope it all goes really well

We've only just gone down to theatre! That was a tough morning but she did so well. Now to wait for her to come back out.

Well done!! I hope it went well when she came out

How did it all go?

We're home, all went well however the surgeon wants to see us in 3 weeks as he found some issues with her voice box as her breathing was making a funny noise so he investigated with a camera when the adenoids were removed.
She was an absolute star though, and handled the day really well. DP not so much and I nearly sent him home. He was there to distract but useless at it then having a pop at me because I was asking him to distract her. Following me around shushing her is not distracting

It sounds as though all went very well with the op itself. It also sounds as though it was good her voicebox was checked and hopefully you will get some more clarity when you go back

I can actually visualise the shushing and your exasperation I would be lying if I said I hadn’t had similar

I hope you are managing to have a nice and put your feet up now. It’s a big thing for us mums when they are so little and sounds like you handled it all really well