Surgery Is Scheduled

After my gallbladder attack I did a lot of research. Research on the foods I could and couldn’t eat, research on surgery, and research on the effects the surgery would have on my life.

My biggest concern, however, had nothing to do with me, but with Norah.

She still isn’t taking a bottle very well when I’m out and for the most part I can’t leave for longer than 2 hours without her becoming upset and sometimes unconsolable. Especially at night.

So I needed to know that having her with me at the hospital would be OK. And nursing wouldn’t be an issue after surgery. Except I’m getting conflicting responses and information.

I met with my surgeon today to discuss everything. How long the procedure would be (1-2 hours tops), what my diet would be like after the surgery, and then I talked about Norah. And the fact that she won’t take a bottle and my concerns about not being able to nurse.

He said that the only thing he would have any concern with is the anesthesia in my system. Not to worry about the meds because they could work around that. And he said that I could discuss the type of anesthesia used with the anesthesiologist beforehand so that we use something they’d use on an infant if an infant was being put under.

I felt better. I felt like this wasn’t going to be a problem. And I was ready to schedule my surgery knowing that my little one would be able to be with me and nurse before and after surgery. Until his nurse came in to schedule the date of the surgery.

And she… well she told me differently. She mentioned that most doctors recommend pumping and dumping 24-48 hours after surgery. And then she went on to give me tips on how to get Norah to take my milk. Spoon feeding, using a nursing bra over the bottle to give her a familiar scent, etc. She told me a story of how she had to go to the hospital after one of her little ones was born and dealt with the same thing. And she got me worried all over again.

I did a few internet searches – yes, I know this is NOT the same as my doctor’s word – and from what I can tell I should be fine to nurse after surgery. KellyMom and Anesthesia Web shared research to back up their answers and stories from LaLecheLeague also confirmed that I should be able to nurse after surgery just fine.

For now I won’t stress about it. I’ll go by what my surgeon has said and will wait to talk to my anesthesiologist a few days before surgery. I’ll also still continue to give Norah to daddy on the weekends to try a bottle and will have pumped milk ready for them before surgery next month. Just in case.

As for the actual surgery… That seems easy enough.