Night Before 8 Month Old's Surgery

My son went through a surgery at 4 months. It was not a good night listening to him cry because at that time he was still getting his formula regularly. I think I cried more than him. He was OK after a while though but it was tough. He did go under anesthesia but he was fine. He had three surgeries before he was one year old all of them with him under anesthesia. They would not let me in the operating room because they said it is not easy for a parent to watch their child go under anesthesia. Now he is two and half and full of energy and very bright for his age. I think your child will do well. I will keep you in my prayers.

When my son has surgery at about that age I couldn't feed him a bottle (I didn't nurse) for 3 hours before surgery (I think it was that time). No food for 6 hours. I think I was able to give clear liquids if I wanted to (apple juice or water) up to 1 hour beforehand. They know babies can't las that long without liquids and nutrition. The hospital should go over all that with you when you do your preop.

Hi, my son had this surgery twice when nursing. I think they let him nurse up until a few hours beforehand and it was fine - he did fine - just distract him a lot. My son was 1 year old the first time he had it . A few hours after they took out the stitches (around day 5), he scratched for a split second during a diaper change and opened it up. Worst hour of my life but they told me it is fairly common for this to happen. The second time he was a year and a half and they repaired it all and they gave me special arm braces to put over his hands during diaper changes. Also kept him in pants/shorts with the diaper so he didn't reach down there. Don't want to scare you, want you to ask for the arm braces so you don't have to go through this twice. I nursed him as soon as he woke up. The "training doctor" saw me nursing him when he was 1.5 years old the day after surgery and he looked at me cross-eyed and whispered to the female nurse, who seems to have set him straight, haha! The anesthesia was not an issue. 1 in 100 little boys have hypospadia, so they do this surgery all the time. My only advice would be to wait a few more months if his hypospadia allows - our very, very experienced surgeon was a firm believer in 1 year as the age to do it, but my son's was considered a moderate case. I said a prayer for your boy, God bless you both.

Yes, I had a child go through this, and sadly, they did have a horrible night, not so much because of being hungry but because they were in a strange place. The best you can do is nurse him right before the cut-off time, and unless you have time to ween him off the night feedings, there isn't much else you can do, Find out how soon after surgery he'll be able to nurse and concentrate on that.

I pray that all goes well with your son's surgery.

Hello A.B.,

My son has double inguinal hernia's that required surgery when he was just a month old. I was terrified.

It's been over 13 years, so some of the details are a little hazy .. but what I do remember is he did OK with the cut off time for nursing .. he slept, I was up all night. The day of the surgery is a blank for me .. but i do know that the night following the surgery was the first full night of sleep I had in AGES!! He was still a little sedated and just slept and slept.

Recovery was nothing, he never seemed to be in pain and we just went about our little lives :)

Everything will be fine <3
you're a good mama to worry

Been there, done (almost) that...

First of all, breastmilk is the thing they digest the quickest so they can have that up until quite late in the night. Second of all, make sure that your son is FIRST on the surgery schedule. At our hospital, they always schedule youngest to oldest (the older they are, the longer they can go without anything in their tummies). If you're not on first thing, be the loud mommy - it's your right and your job ;)

Secondly, be strong for your little guy. Mine never compained before his procedures, and I always chalked it up to us trying to keep things as upbeat as possible for him (or maybe they just know somehow).

Lastly, make sure you speak to the anesthesiologist who will be responsible for your son - I've found that they pay more attention when parents make it clear that they understand that the majority of the risk is due to the meds. Be firm, ask questions about anything that doesn't feel right (use your instincts but keep emotions at bay as much as possible), and demand top notch treatment. You are his advoacate and his most important medical expert ;) Remember, mama, this too shall pass...