Recovery when you have little kids

[AWholeNewMama 34]

Hi all! New(ish) to the forum. I was here in 2012, considering a lap-band, but surgeon advised me to finish having kids before I did WLS. So here I am, done having kids, and now I'm looking at RNY. I go for my initial consult in a couple weeks, and if the timeline is anything like it was when I first saw my surgeon in 2012, I should be having my surgery in just a couple months. That said, I need to start thinking about recovery. I'm a stay-at-home mom and have 3 little kids, including a 2-year-old whom I still need to lift on occasion. For those who have done this surgery and have kids, can you please tell me:

1. How long was it before you could lift your children?
2. How long did you need help taking care of the kids after your surgery?
3. How many nights did you stay in the hospital?
4. Anything else I should know about post-op and kids?

TIA!!

[SandyS 77]

Congrats on making a lifelong positive decision to get healthy! I had RNY 11-20-14 and my hospital stay was 4 days. I had acquired an infection from the Foley catheter and I had a fever of 101.6. Tomorrow I go for my six week post op and I am still on lifting restrictions which is nothing heavier than a gallon of milk. That restriction should go away tomorrow. I've stuck with it because the risk of getting a hernia. Good luck to you!!!

[jems 36]

I had the rny on Dec 17 2014. Going for my first check up on Thursday. I only spent 1 night in the hospital. My mom is here, staying for a total of 5 weeks to help me with my 2 year old. I feel like I could do more, but waiting for the surgeon's approval. Currently have a 10 lb weight limit for lifting. Not being able to pick up my daughter is the hardest part.

[AWholeNewMama 34]

Okay, six weeks is about what I thought. This will be my 4th abdominal surgery, so I think I know the drill, but then again I've never had my insides rearranged to quite this extent.

Thanks to you both for the input!

[InspirationMySon 135]

I have a 2yo as well who loves his momma & would lay with me sometimes when I rested after surgery.

Every surgeon is different on restrictions, like mine said within reason on lifting. But something like weights was out of the question until week 3. My husband took almost 2 weeks off to help me when I got it done. By the 2nd week I was up & doing normal things like taking to dog for a walk or going to walk on the treadmill daily.

My hospital stay was short like 12 hours after surgery I was going home. But I had no issues with pain, was up & walking as soon as they'd let me. So it has a lot to do with your recovery style & how motivated you are.

I have had a csection & tubal ligation both were more annoying then RNY post op. The worst is the gas pains you can get from the medical gas they used to inflate your belly during surgery. Get your Fiber & Miralax in!! The last thing you want is the additional pain of not going.

You have 3 kiddos you will be so happy you did this - it's great to be able to keep up with your children & still have energy! I feel like a much better roll model now.

[wcdaniels 48]

According to my surgeon:

1. How long was it before you could lift your children? - We were on 10lbs restrictions for 6 weeks
2. How long did you need help taking care of the kids after your surgery? - I didn't really start to feel normal until 3-4 weeks. I was fine taking care of my 5 year old around then, but that's quite different from a 2 year old. I felt totally recovered at 6 weeks, so if you're counting on that, you should be good.
3. How many nights did you stay in the hospital? - I was in there 3 nights. I had a swelling in my stoma that wouldn't allow Water to pass the first day after surgery. Most of his patients only stay 2 nights.
4. Anything else I should know about post-op and kids? - It was really hard not picking up my daughter for 6 weeks. We were both so happy when I hit that 6 week mark!