I'm glad you posted over here!
Most Childrens Hospitals are very good about comforting kids...and their parents! My son has had surgeries at two different hospitals and we've had good experiences.
Some items to note and ask about:
Breastmilk is a clear fluid, so she should be able to nurse 3 hours before the surgery. If they try to tell you any differently, you can either try to argue it (speak to the head of anesthesiology) or just nurse her and don't tell them (I did that once, I lied about how long it had been, but only because I was very confident that the time guidelines I was given were wrong).
Policies vary, but many hospitals will let you carry her back to the anesthesia room and hold her while they put her under. And some hospitals let parents back to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). I was adamant that I wanted to be the first person my son saw when he woke up, and they were able to arrange it.
Because of her age, she will most likely be staying overnight to be monitored while she comes out of anesthesia (at our hospital, they keep anybody under 56 weeks, including gestation, so if she was born at 40 weeks and is 7 weeks old, then she's 56 weeks by their calculation, and would have to stay overnight). If you cosleep, ask for an adult bed in your room vs a crib. They might try to tell you it's against their policies, but you can ask to see the head nurse or the attending physician and tell them you want it anyway. I usually just go with the crib so I have a place to put my son when I'm not laying with him, then I just hold him in the pull-out bed when he's awake.
You should be able to breastfeed as soon as she is coming out of the anesthesia. At one of the hospitals we go to, their "policy" is the baby should take some sugar water before they allow anything else. I said no, that I did not consent to anything other than breastmilk, and that I wanted his first feeding to be at the breast. They allowed this after just a little bit of discussion. Even after my son had a lip repair surgery, he breastfed immediately afterwards. Your daughter will have a bandage on her neck, so you'll have to be careful about positioning. You can ask that a lactation consultant be there with you for the first feeding to help you position her. Football hold might be best for you initially.
Bring a pump, or ask for one to be available to you, just in case!
One of the hospitals we go to provides free meals to breastfeeding moms, so ask about that. If not, ask how meals for parents work, some give coupons for reduced price meals, some deliver to your room, etc. Pack some snacks just in case! There will probably be a kitchen on the floor that you can utilize.
If I think of anything else, I'll tell you! GOod luck! Update us!!!
s mama!!!
It sounds like you're in really good hands though, let's hope the biopsy goes really smoothly and is benign!!!!!
