Daughter Having Surgery.

when she gets up get her dressed and ready to go to hospital, if you are fast she will not have time to eat. While there she can have something to keep her ocupied and thoughts away from food.

We've been through this a few times and it's hard. She's only 2 and doesn't understand. Hopefully, the surgery will be one of the first for the day. With two of our surgeries, we had to wake the kids up, we took them strait to their car seats and left. We had no food or drinks with us. Once we got there, they were distracted by the environment and forgot about it. I do remember my son begging for water though. It was tough but we got through. If it turns out that the surgery isn't until late morning, I suggest you get her in the car and just go somewhere; that way she will be distracted and can't help herself to any food. Good luck! This adnoid and ear surgery is bound to make life much easier for you!!!! ...did for us!

My daughter (3) just had surgery. Same situation. They couldn't tell me the time until the day before. They ended up scheduling her early in the morning. Most places try to get the younger kids in first. However my daughter starts asking for food as soon as her feet hit the floor. So I just distracted her as much as I could. Singing, dancing, toys, etc. Every time she thought about food or drink, I would do something. We also stayed up late the night before and had tons of snacks before midnight, to help her not be so hungry the next day. Hope the best for you and your daughter!

I agree with the first mama, the hospital should schedule surgeries starting with the youngest child and working their way up =) my daughter was 4 when she got tubes in and we had to be there at like 6am
Also, I'm not sure if they still tell parents to feed kids ice cream but don't do that! Milk products can thicken phlegm, making it harder to swallow, and making you feel like you need to cough, which is not fun after getting tonsils/adenoids out! Try and avoid anything too cold or hot for at least a couple days. I was 18 when I finally got mine out and for the first day all I ate was watery, room temperature jello! Lol
Good luck and I hope your daughter recovers quickly!

E., I feel for you, my daughter also had surgery when she was 6 for her eyes and about 6 months ago at 8 years old to get tubes in her ears. And she also wanted breakfast as soon as she got up, but what I did with her was I let her stay up late and gave her a bowl of cereal at about 11:00pm she went to bed and woke up wanting to eat but her Daddy and I explained to her that she could not eat. He and I woke up EARLY that morning (if we even slept) and ate brakfast BEFORE she got up, dishes washed and all. It was hard not to let her eat but I took crackers, water, juice and dry cereal in baggies for after the surgery.

You'll probably have to be at the hospital **REALLY** early the day of the procedure. I doubt she'll even THINK about eating. If she does, tell her she'll have to wait until afterwards.

I know when my daughter had tubes/adenoid surgery, eating was the LAST thing she was thinking about.

GOOD LUCK!

I once heard a counselor say "Sometimes you gotta stop being their best freind and be a parent." You just say no. There are reasons why the Dr.s don't want you to eat anything. If you allow her something to eat, she could choke on it during surgery. I know its going be hard that morning. I suggest not eating anything in front of her and that includes the older daughter. Feed her before the little one gets up. Good luck

The procedures are usually done bright and early so you may be up at six.

It's going to be hard, but we had to just tell our daughter no.

My daughter had her tonsils/adnoids out at six. She slept through the night for the first time in her life after the surgery. It made a huge difference in her quality of life. Good on you for getting her the care she needs. :)

At 9 she can understand and remember the "no food" idea. As you know, it is important for anesthesia that she NOT eat. Tell her her surgery will go much better and she will recover much quicker by limiting her intake to clear liquids only. (b/c it will)

Also, I found out when my 12 year old had surgery years ago....don't make a big deal about it. The more you talk about it in advance the more nervous about it she'll be.

Since you probably will have to be at the hospital earlier than her normal wake-up time, dress her in sweats instead of PJ's so you can just whisk her out of bed and into the car. She won't be as hungry if she's already out of her normal routine. Just be honest and firm with her. Eating will make her sick during surgery so the doctor said she can't have anything. You're really sorry and you love her but you have to do what the doctor said. Congrats to you for being so persistent!! Best of luck with the surgery and recovery!

You've had great advice so far, but I thought I'd add my experience.
My son, who's nearly two, had a surgical procedure just a couple weeks ago. I was worried because he still nurses a lot and I thought he'd just throw fits, having me there but not nursing first thing in the morning.
He didn't. Getting up early, going to the hospital, being in the waiting room, etc was all so different, he barely noticed that he was hungry. I brought a bag with his favorite books and we just read and cuddled. It wasn't bad at all.

My 4-year-old just had her tonsils out. She is SO much better now. The eating and drinking was not a problem at all. Like people mentioned, just get up and get going. WHen she had ear tubes, I even just brought her in her pajamas. I agree that you and you family should not eat or drink in front of her (out of sight, out of mind). Just be sure there is no food in the car if you usually allow snacks in there. When my son (1 1/2 at the time), went for ear tubes, he found a stray cheerio on the floor of the car and ate it. They delayed his surgery as a result. Good luck!

I like the idea of making sure everyone else eats prior. If you can, try to keep her up as late as possible to eat. I would suggest some protein as it will keep her full longer than cereal or pancakes. Maybe if you have a portable DVD player or can borrow one, she can watch something while waiting. I know that distract my kids from eating! Good luck!

I once had surgery scheduled for 11 and it was an hour late. I was very hungry early but once I got past it, I wasn't so hungry before my surgery. Hard to explain to a 2 year old though! Good luck.

Just be sure and do what they order. If they have food on their stomach and throw up while under anesthesia they can die or have brain damage. So be strict about it and do not cheat.

Maybe let her have breakfast for a late dinner the night before and hopefully the surgery will be scheduled very earlier so you can wake her just in time to get dressed and head out. That way she won't have time to think about breakfast.

its been my experience that they take the youngest patience first. our son tube surgery was at 7 am. i would give your daughter warm broth. remember that skiping one meal wont hurt her. tell her what a great girl she is. its only one morning, hang in there momma.

My daughter had to have tubes just before she was a year and I faced the same dilemma. She was still primarily breastfed on demand, so it was a very long night. I offered her the breast every hour on the hour to get her as full as possible--you can do it as Anon suggested with snacks.

You will likely have to be there pretty early for a 2 year old. Have a couple of little, inexpensive toys wrapped up to take to the waiting room with you. Something new to distract her.

Also, when they call you with the time, speak up if you feel like it is going to be too late. Be nice but be firm. Even if you have to wait one more day for an earlier time--maybe because there are fewer younger babies that day--it may be worth it. There is chance you won't have to, tonsillectomy is pretty rare in a child that young.

Be prepared for when she comes out from under the anesthesia. Maybe it was related more to my daughter's age...they warned me that she would be upset. That was an understatement...it was the first time in a year that I saw her that hysterical. Despite many months of ear infections!