workfree and greenstone sorry to hear about your babies' upcoming operations. Hope everything goes well. I am a nurse. (I think i let that slip on the antenatal thread, but try not to admit it at baby groups or even with my MW and HV because people expect me to know what is going on with my own DC!). Anyway, obviously the recovery depends on what procedure your baby has, but it is surprising how quickly babies tend to bounce back after their anaesthetic. Like, greenstone said keep on top of the pain relief if necessary, and don't worry about badgering the nurses for it. Most parents say the worst bit is leaving their baby in the anaesthetic room. You should be able to hold them while they are put to sleep, then should be taken to the recovery room when they wake up afterwards. I can put my professional head on and give you this information and answer any other questions if you want, but can only imagine how hard I would find it to go through that myself as a parent.
Re mat leave: I can only afford 9 months off so wîll be going back in August. Already August doesn't seem that far away, especially as my shifts are 13hrs long so I don't see DC at all on work days. DD will go to nursery that DD1 goes to and my mum will look after her one day a week. DD1 has also been looked after by in-laws one day a week, but DH does not think he will be able to pick One child up from school and one from his parents (motorway journey in rush hour), feed them and them home for bed. We are not looking forward to discussing that with in-laws. The added complication is that DD1 will start school just a couple of weeks after I go back to work, so it will be a lot of change for all of us at once.