Planned c-section and toddler

[illona]

Hi all - we're expecting our second DC in a few weeks and have been given a c-section date for 39 weeks (due to complications in the last pregnancy).

There is a small amount of flexibility around the exact date of the op (the consultant has asked us for preferences) and I'd be interested in others' thoughts on accommodating our toddler.

The provisional date we've been given is a Thursday. DD is normally in nursery in the week. Earlier would be better in that things would be as normal as possible for her (and give DH more time at the hospital) even if we have an extended hospital stay, but is it likely to matter that much? Shall we just roll with it?

To be clear - not planning to go against any medical advice and I appreciate these dates will likely go out of the window anyway, but it's nice to at least feel like there's some choice for now 😅 Thanks for any thoughts!

Do you mean earlier in the day or earlier in the pregnancy?
I would take as early a time as they give you if you mean the day. Firstly, you’ll be fasting, and secondly, you will be bumped down the list if any emergencies come in. And things take time; I was scheduled to got to the anaesthetist at 9am and everything went to schedule but the baby was born at 11:30 and it was perhaps 1pm before we were on the ward. Things take a while.

If you mean earlier in the week I’d do whatever will lead to the least disruption to DD’s routine as possible/ the quickest return to normality. It’s a lot of big changes for a toddler to adjust to, so if you can keep some level of normality for her that might make the adjustment slightly easier.

I had DS via section on a Tuesday and got out of hospital the following day. In hindsight it was great as DD kept her normal (full time) nursery hours and routine and it meant DH was able to stay with me in hospital. We also had great family support and they collected DD and did bedtime on the day DS was born as I was the last on the surgical list. DH got her up as normal the following morning, did the nursery drop off and then I got home that evening. She was also still at nursery in those first few “wtf feel like I’ve been hit by a train” days postnatally, which I think helped everyone before we went into our first weekend with two kids at home.

Discharge etc can also take longer at weekends just as there are less staff around to sign stuff off. Ultimately if there’s any flexibility I would say earlier in the week is better.