Hi all,

I do not have my surgery date yet but I believe it will be. The third week of September.

I have two kids age 5 and 2.5. I'm not really worried about my 5 year old but my 2.5 year old needs being picked up constantly.

Any suggestions for how to handle it? I have my mom in town for two weeks but after that I may have to hire sitters to help out when picking up the girls from school.

You won't be able to lift/push/pull over ten pounds for a while, and the only exercise you can do is walk. Maybe your 2.5 year old will have to become a little more independent and be a helper to mommy; that's a tough situation, I remember dealing with mine at that age (he's 22 years now) and I'm not sure how you're going to deal. Hopefully someone with current experience, little ones and the sleeve, will take time to comment.

Much luck to you!

My youngest was 5 when I had my surgery so it was a little easier since I just told her I couldn't pick her up for a while, but her biggest problem with it was that before I had surgery she used to climb on my back while I was sleeping in the middle of the night, she said it was the most comfortable place to sleep, lol. But she managed, and actually doesn't due it anymore since she went without for so long. But back to the point, Remember that though you can't pick your child up postop, if you sit in a chair you can hold them on your lap since your not really holding there weight that way, that should help with appeasing them of the need to be held. Remember for the first couple weeks you may not have very much energy at all so you should make sure you have someone to help you care for your children. Good Luck.

My son is 3 and I had my surgery on 8/27. I spent several weeks working with him. Reminding him he is a big boy and didn't need mommy to pick him up to put him in his car seat and such. He's potty trained and independent so I haven't had any issues with having to pick him up except for earlier today when he was in much need of a time out. Had my oldest (she's 11) remove him and place him in time out for me. Maybe Dad can help in that but otherwise I think if you work with your kiddo you can make it work so that you do not need to lift during your restrictions. Just start working on it now so its not such a shock later.

I had my surgery on 8/7. My surgeon said to be on weight restriction of no more than 20lbs for 10 days. I have a 2 year old & it went smoothly. You should be fine by the time your mom leaves.

My baby was 10 months old when I had surgery. My husband works out of town and is only home on the weekends. I was very lucky, my sister is a teacher and was out for the summer. She kept the baby for a week then I had a teenage niece come stay with me for 4 weeks. I wasn't suppose to lift for 8 weeks. But 5 was all I got I just made sure to use my abdominal binder for extra support and to remind me to be careful. It all worked out ok. Just be careful and use proper body mechanics.