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Anybody had surgery with a babe...

844 views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  Dallasmama 
#1 ·
I am going to need 3-4 hour long procedure done under general anesthesia with a round of Kevlex antibiotics. My ds is 8 months old and nursing for 99% of his nutrition. Surgeon believes meds will not harm through breastmilk. I want to nurse before pre-op and have dh assist me after I awaken.

Now, how to ease burden during the interim hours for babe who has never been apart from the source for more than1.5 hours... I hope that I won't need to stay overnight; anyone have experience with this?
 
#3 ·
I had my appendix out when my toddler was only about 5 months old. Talk to your general doc. to about if the meds are ok with nursing. Tell everyone in the hospital ( several times if necessary!) that you are nursing. Talk to the anthelogist( I can't spell today- the guy with the knock out drugs.) before surgery and mention again you have a nursing babe. Post -op, if you're clear to nurse right away, have your dh help and use plently of pillows. You may have to pump and dump for the first round.

As far the possible overnight thing- no advice. I was stuck in the hospital overnight. It was a couple hours before dd broke down and would take the bottle or sleep for dh.When I got home she was totally p.o.'ed with me. I had to woo her back to the boob.:LOL
 
#4 ·
Willowsmama: what was the clinical reason for your overnight stay? Did they want to keep you for iv antibiotics or a drain in the surgical site? Or was it an option you had? Did they let your family stay for most of the evening so that you could visit and nurse? I'd like to maybe get a visiting nurse and be at home after the surgery. Life will be simpler and more peaceful if I am recovering at home.

The surgeon is an ear-nose-throat and cosmetic surgeon who specializes in children as well as adults. He doesn't think the drugs will hurt my son. He said the antibiotics will get in the breastmilk but won't hurt him. He sai pump and dump was optional.

What did your husband and babe do the day of the surgery to minimize disruption?

I will also be having a CT scan with contrast dye this Sunday a.m. Does anyone have any experience with that?
 
#5 ·
I had to stay overnight because my surgery took place so late in the afternoon. I had an emergency appendectomy because I was misdiagonised by an E.R. doc. my 1st trip was at 230 in the am while everyone was asleep, I was sent home with Previcid at 430am. By noon I could barely stand up straight.At 2 in the afternoon, I hobbled back into the E.R. pushing the baby in the stroller and told the that I didn't have acid reflux or upset stomach and someone would figure out WTH was wrong with me. Now. I called dh at work and had him meet me at the ER as soon as he was done with work. At 430 pm I was referred to the surgeon and finally at 545pm I was prepped for surgery. Dd was with me the whole time.She nursed right before i went. After surgery, i had to stay because it was so late. They wanted to check my fluid output and the gas( for the less invasive surgery they inflate you like a balloon) made me feel bloated and icky. I was released at 730am after much crabbing and nurse tormenting.

Dh and dd left because I was so upset about having to stay. Dh dealt but was very happy when I manged to hobble through the door.

I was actually pretty lucky, my appendix was ready to (and almost did) burst.
 
#6 ·
I had a CT with contrast when I was nursing and the hospital told me to wait 24 to 48 hours to nurse. I know both lactation consultants and called them right after I was done and gave them the name of the medication (the precise name, I made them write it down for me at the hosptial.) They looked it up for me and told me that basically I needed to pump and dump for one feeding then I was fine. It's the iodine that is an issue from what I gather. The hospital people simply won't know, and even if they call the pharmacy (which they did for me -- told them 24 to 48 hours) they likely won't have the most recent bfing information and will err on the side of caution and tell you a day or two. That's nuts!

As far as the hospital stay goes, I would check with the hospital and see if you have to stay overnight if your dh and child can stay with you. I have a friend who had to be in the hospital overnight and they brought in a crib and a portacot for her dh so they could stay in the room with her.
 
#7 ·
nak

thanks for sharing your stories. willowsmama: how did your husband cope that night? jish: i never even worried about the contrast dye; my surgeon knows i nurse because i was nursing during the whole biopsy. Why wouldn't he advise me on this. i will call the hospital tomorrow and find out the exact solution they will be using and then call some lll leaders or post it on the breastfeeding section.
 
#8 ·
The surgeon likely doesn't know anything about breastfeeding and most meds. In all honesty, that's not his area of expertise and it's hard for doctors to be in the know about everything. That's why it pays to know lactation consultants.
I used to get frustrated when docs wouldn't know about bfing and meds, or the like, but then I realized that they likely run into only a few bfing moms a year, if that, that it doesn't really come up for them much.

As for my CT, it was on my kidney. They put in an IV while I was on the CT table and when they got ready to do it they put the dye in. The dye is actually sort of cool. I had to keep my arm in the air which was sort of a pain since there was no good place to hold it. The dye has a warming effect from top to bottom. It's sort of like when you haven't had a drink in a long time, then you have a glass of wine and you feel warm all over. They warned me in advance that it might feel like I was peeing my pants, which it sort of did, cause it really warms the urethra. The hardest part of it for me was that I would have to take a breath then exhale and hold the exhale. The told me it would be for about 10 seconds at a time, but I counted and it was between 30 and 45 seconds each time. It's hard enough to hold your breath that long, let alone exhale and not take a breath for that long.
: All in all the CT was a breeze. Don't worry about it at all.


I hope you are okay. Good luck with your surgery. I just had surgery to remove what they thought were enlarged lympnodes from my armpit to check for lymphoma. I'm 6 months pregnant and opted only for local anesthetic but the anesthesiologist was there in case they needed to put me under general for any reason. I'm guessing that if they can put a pregnant woman under general, it can't be too awful if you're nursing. I was also on the same antibiotic right before my surgery and they said it was fine for pregnancy, I'm guessing the same would hold true for nursing too. Sadly, it gave me an awful yeast infection and I spend the whole morning of the surgery wanting to itch my crotch.
: Not cool.

Best of luck with your surgery and I hope all turns out well.
 
#9 ·
I will be telling all personnel at the hospital that I am a nursing mother and I will tell them to use anesthesia that is safe for a child. I had general anesthesia for a procedure in the past when my daughter was 18 months and I nursed as soon as I felt well with the approval of all doctors involved. Like they said then, mothers can have general anesthesia for c-sections and they will still be encouraged to nurse right away.

Thanks for the description of the CT scan. I am actually not worried about the procedure, more curious. I am mostly worried about my babe in all of this.

I am also a bit angry with my body. I am 28, why does my body seem to be decades older? I don't want to have to disrupt my family and my whole month! Pout.
 
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