22 Month Old Is Having Surgery Monday Morning - Question About Feeding Before

My thoughts are to let her sleep. She will be hungry anyway when she wakes up, the jello water will digest fairly quickly, and then she may not get back to sleep for a while which then will make her hungry AND very tired and grumpy. Plus you will get no sleep which will make you more stressed, which she will feel that something isn't right with mommy which will make her more upset. Just get a good sleep, I'd rather deal only with the hunger than everything else being intensified because of lack of sleep.

I don't know if you give her a snack before she goes to bed, but you might want to give her a extra big snack that night.

My daughter just had surgery on Monday. She too usually wants to eat when she wakes and I was worried. I decided NOT to wake her. It went very smooth the next morning. We were so busy getting ready and once you get tho the hospital, they keep you really busy going from place to place, so food/drinks did not even cross her mind. I say feed her late Sunday night, my daughter had dinner at 8PM and then went to bed shortly after. It will be okay and will not be a problem at all. Here is a (((HUG))) as the mom needs it more than the child. Good luck and know that all will be fine.

My daughter had strabismus surgery at 10 months and we had the same dilemna, especially since I was still breastfeeding at the time and she didn't always sleep clear through the night without waking up to nurse. However, I woke up at that 2AM "cutoff", decided she was sleeping soundly and let her be. It ended up being a good decision. When we woke her up in the morning, she was preoccupied with what was going on around her and her different surroundings and didn't fuss at all (we did have stuff with us in case we needed a distraction tho'). Of course your daughter is older, but assuming she gets in right away, I'd suggest letting her get a good night's sleep. Good luck with the surgery! We lucked out and our daughter appears to be just fine after one surgery (I know at least one child who's had 3), so we're grateful we got it done. It's a little scarey (for the parents), but the results are worth it! And we were surprised at how quick the recovery is from this surgery. The hardest part was getting ointment in her eyes for a few days afterward, but within 24 hours she was a new baby!

my son has had two endoscopies (one at 16 months, one at 22 months)with similar surgery prep. I never woke him up before to give him anything to drink. He went to bed at normal bed time at 7:30pm, offered lots to drink before then and was worried he would be hungry/thirsty while waiting for the am surgery, but for some reason he was always just fine. I think they sence the difference in the day's routine... espeically if they are woken up early. I also think the less in their stomach pre surgery, the less of a chance of nausea afterwards... but i'm not a medical person so dont quote me on that one. waking up the little just to drink soemthing might be creating more of a fight to go back to sleep or when you do actaully have to take it away.

Hi A.,
My son just had tubes put in his ears, and we weren't to show up at the clinic until 9 am, with the same eating /drinking instructions. We opted to let him sleep, knowing he'd be hungry/thirsty, but thought it would be more difficult to have to handle the hunger if we got him up early. We got him out of the house as quick as possible, and it actually went really really well. With your surgery being much earlier, I bet she'll do just fine!! :o)

Jen

My daughter had the same surgery, similar timing and all.
We decided to let her sleep also , and were happy we did. I think waking her up early would have only awakened her appetite too and letting her sleep worked out perfectly. I couldn't believe how peaceful and calm she was in the waiting room (she was 15 mo and the time).

I agree with the others--don't wake her up. More importantly, I wanted to put your mind at ease regarding the respnse from Vanessa B. I'm sure she meant well, but it probably made you panic a bit. Strabismus is an eye surgery and should be pretty straight forward. There may be some eye pain but I would think it would by mild. My daughter had tear duct surgery at about 7 months; my husband and I both took a full day off of work just in case; she was a little groggy aftewards, but they did let her take a bottle almost right away and we were released home about an hour after she woke up. Within hours she was literally back to her normal self! Of course every child is different, but eye surgery in kids is usually pretty "quick" (Of course that's a relative term!) so it's not like she'll be under anesthesia for a "long" time (again, it's all relative!) Good luck--it will be fine!

My daughter (12 months old) just had surgery last week. We were told not to give her anything to eat or drink (including water) before her 7:30 am surgery, so I didn't have the option of giving her clear liquids.
She normally gets up between 6 and 6:30, and we had to arrive at the hospital at 6 am, so I chose to get myself ready first and waited to wake her up at 5:30. She was so sleepy, she didn't really know what was going on until we got to the hospital at 6. She was fine until her usual breakfast time (7 am), but there were so many people coming to consult with us and get her ready for surgery, that the time flew by and it wasn't that bad.
She was very thirsty afterwards, though! I think she was a little nauseous from the anesthetic, so she wasn't hungry until the afternoon.
Good luck!

I would let her sleep. I have a four-year-old son who has had several surgeries (hernia, heart, ear tubes). Surprisingly, he has not seemed especially hungry on the mornings of surgeries. I was afraid of the same thing, but he did fine.

Let her sleep it will just confuse her if you wake her up. Just wake her up about 10 minutes before you have to leave (or as long as it takes for her to dress & be ready) then she won't have time to think about food. It is probably a good idea to give her a nice snack before bedtime.
My son was fine when he had his surgery right away in the morning without anything in his stomache. They will probably let her eat shortly after she wakes up. Good luck!

Hi A.!

I would probably let her sleep.

I had strabismus surgery when I was little. All went well. I did the eye exersises after the surg and I have had no problems. My eye healed well. Really tiny little mark from the incision (small enough that I have to hunt for it b/c I can never remember which eye had the surg).

I remember waking up after the surg and being surrounded by doctors staring down at me on the gurney/ bed. and then I got to go to a Tootsie Roll bin and choose a prize. Not being scared. Just tired. I think my Mom was really calm (outwardly) and so I had no anxiety about it.

I hope this helps.

I will be praying for your little girl on Monday am and for her recovery.

Blessings,
G. H.

Let her sleep - the change in her usual morning routine will keep her occupied and I doubt she'll mention food. You'll be busy before surgery...

Good luck!

I just had surgery last Friday, and while I'm obviously not a toddler, here's my input from just having gone through the experience myself. I doubt you need to worry about dehydration or anything, she'll get an IV as soon as she gets in there so I don't think there is a medical need for you to get her up to give her something.

She's probably going to be really sleepy for like 24 hours after the surgery, and then sleep a good part of the day for the next few days as well, so you'll have plenty of time to get some rest. The biggest problem I've been having is with constipation because of the pain meds and the inactivity- it's really, really uncomfortable- so watch for that and catch it early early if it looks like it's happening. It's pretty traumatic if you let it go to the point of needing 'intervention'.

if the surgery is at 7:30 and she usually wakes up around then I think you should let her sleep. You both are probably going to need as much sleep as possible because you might have a few nights of not very much sleep after the surgery and your schedule is going to get messed up but I think if you wake her up early she might stay up and that would make it worse.

Hi A.,
Let her sleep. She most likely will have a "fit" in the morning, but most all the children do and the nurses are used to it. It is better for her to sleep than have a fit from being too crabby and tired.

I have gone through this with little kids, and I found that if you get them up while still sleepy and don't feed them- or yourself in front of them, they should be fine until after surgery.

My oldest had two surgeries both when she was little and my youngest who is 2 just had her tonsils out in April. Either way you do it, your child most likely will be restless and hungry or thirsty. If you are having the surgery at Children's they have a play room that helps with the distraction. Just be sure not to eat or drink anything infront of your child. (My oldest had a lazy eye but luckily patching worked) Good luck to you!!

...do you mean today or next week Monday morning? Well, hope it's next Monday so you can get all our advice on this forum.

I would suggest staying away from salty food the night before. That worked for us.

I would suggest you make sure your hospital has the following, for our family had an awful ordeal at one in LaCrosse. We wish we would have insisted having the surgery at a hospital with a pediatric intensive care unit and a critical-care pediatric anesthesiologist. We had a bad experience with our daughter that's why I mention it.

Just let her sleep! Feed her some carbs the night before.

You know your child best, but I would say let her sleep. Waking her up may be more trouble than dealing with her being hungry in the hospital. She needs to rest and so do you before the long day ahead of you both. Good luck. You will be in my prayers!

My advice would be to let her sleep. She will need the rest more that a little bit of water or jello. She will have a busy morning and food just might be the last thing on her mind with everything going on. Good luck, I'm sure it must be scary to see your baby go into surgery.