I'm scheduled for surgery 1/11. I CAN'T WAIT! This is a dream come true for me.

Hubby and I are going to have to bring our 6yr old son to the hospital in the morning when I get dropped off the day of surgery.

What in the world will I tell him? I don't think he would understand the lap band surgery concept at age 6, and I certainly don't want to worry him.:think

Any suggestions out there as to what I can tell him? Why mommy is in the hospital, and why she's staying overnight.

Then, once I'm home......how do I explain to him why mommy isnt eating food anymore, just liquids.....

I also have a 2 year old son, but he's too young to question anything.

Greatly appreciate any advice you can give.

I have 3 sons, ages 3, 6 and 7. I told them about the surgery, granted the 3 year old didn't get it. But my 6 and 7 yr olds had a lot of questions about the surgery. They watched the videos online before hand and saw my incisions/scars afterwards. I don't think 6 is too young to understand it.

However, I did not take my sons to the hospital with me. The surgery waiting area is only for people over age 12 anyway, atleast at the hospital I was at. After surgery dh was there with me, but there is no way I would have wanted any of my sons there. My surgeon keeps patients overnight as well. So my sons ended up staying with a friend of the family for the night anyway.

Well, just tell him. He knows about cuts, scrapes, teeth, and probably 'sick' - flu, cold, etc.

Mommy's getting better and this is Mommy medicine...as you drink your Protein shake.

No biggie.

i have a five year old and i showed him my belly after surgery because he likes to jump on me alot so i wanted to show him that i had a booboo so he wouldnt jump on me. he did tell everyone that i had my stomach cut open but he didnt really ask why. i did tell him that mommy is trying to lose weight. he didnt really ask any questions. right now i am able to eat reg food so he doesnt notice much. i am 6 weeks out. in the beginning when i was eating less he didnt notice. once he saw me having a pb and said mommy are you going to throw up and i said that i got my food stuck because i ate to fast. so he can tell when i am having problems with food.

andrea

Why not say you are having the Dr. "fix" something so you can be healthier.

Not sure he will actually nnotice much that you're not eating the same food, but you could tell him the Dr. wants you to drink the liquids because they help your tummy get better faster.

All true statements and are probably easy for a 6 year old to understand.

I have 4 children, My oldest will understand he is 13. I can tell the little ones I have a boo boo. I am concerned about my daughter she is 8. I know she is embarrased abouth my weight, she is my little diva!! Do you let your children know the reason you are having the surgery?

Here's what I did. I had my girls (9 and 6) spend the night at a friend's house the night before the surgery. They didn't know about it. While I was sleeping off the anesthesia, my husband went to get them. He told them that I had a little operation to make my tummy feel better. He said I'd be sore for a few days. That way they weren't freaked out about coming to see me in the hospital. They didn't know anything about it beforehand, so they didn't worry, and when I knew they were coming in, I made every effort to be awake and look as okay as possible. They ended up taking it very much in stride ... almost a little too much in stride! haha!!

I have 3 children also. My middle one is a 6 year old son also. I just told my children that I was having a surgery on my tummy to help me loose weight so that I could ride bikes with him and his sister and daddy. I told him that it wasn't healthy for mommy to be this big and that I wanted to be smaller so that I could play more with him. Go down the slide and swing on the swings, ect. He was happy about that. They went to school that day and I was home when he was having a snack after school and he was like, you look smaller already mommy!

Good luck.

My son was 8 when I had my surgery. I told him that I was having a surgery to help me to be healthier, and that our whole family was going to start eating healthier. He had lots of questions. It was so funny. His main concern was that the doctor might "see my privates". I assured him that they were only working on my tummy. He was a little worried.. We decided to let him be at the hospital with us pre and post op. He took a nap with me in my hospital bed that afternoon. He immediately thought I was looking skinnier. Now when he prays he asks God to help us all be healthy, especially mommy. He has seen my scars. I think telling them the truth about what is going on and including them to what ever extent their maturity allows alleviates a lot of fears. It did with my guy.

He will see you becoming more healthy and more alive and that will be the most comforting thing to him.