Any Single Parents With Toddlers?

[iceshayw 4]

I Have a two year old, and I'm a single mom. I also do not have any family in state to be able to help me post op. my question is, how were you able to balance being a parent and being fresh out of surgery? Any tips?

[skinnytata 11]

I'm not single but have a 3 and 5 year old. Everyone is different after surgery but for me, I needed about 3 days home to sleep and not have to care for anyone but me. By the morning of the 5th day, I took my 3 year old to the farmers market. I stopped taking anything for pain other than tylenol and was alert enough although I needed naps when my 3 year old did for about a week.

[iceshayw 4]

I'm not single but have a 3 and 5 year old. Everyone is different after surgery but for me' date=' I needed about 3 days home to sleep and not have to care for anyone but me. By the morning of the 5th day, I took my 3 year old to the farmers market. I stopped taking anything for pain other than tylenol and was alert enough although I needed naps when my 3 year old did for about a week.[/quote']

Thanks! Great info

[ImprovedDreamerGirl 2]

Who's going to watch your baby when u have surgery?

I was sleeved July 17th and I have a 31 month old and an 11 month old. My 31 month old is extremly active, so it was difficult the first few days. They tell u that u can't lift anything over 20 pounds.. so I couldn't lift them. My 31 month old is Potty trained, so wasn't a big issue, but I needed to lift the 11 month old to change his pamper. I'm lucky b.c he can already walk so it wasn't too bad.

[iceshayw 4]

I have an overnight daycare I can take him to for the surgery, I only have to be there for 23 hours.

[@DomLorenVSG 107]

I'm a single mom of a 4 year old and going to grad school nowhere near family. I have a very good friend here who was planning on helping by watching my son while i was gone for 5 days, but then his parents found out and now they've all chimed in to help me out. I would honestly ask some friends to help... If you can tell some friends you might be surprised on who might take him for a weekend while you recover. All else fails hire a babysitter for the first 48 (for after hours if your son is in daycare) and just have some one there for the first 2 or 3 days which are typically the hardest.

Never easy, but always manageable!

[kaysonsmom 59]

I am a single mom and I have a 5 yr old. It has been hard I'm not gonna lie. I haven't been able to rest and he is always wanting to go play outside in the hot weather and he doesn't understand that I can't. I try to keep him occupied in the house. He has a leapfrog explorer and a ds that I try to keep him occupied with.

[iceshayw 4]

Thanks everyone! I think the most I'm worried about is having to lift him to put him in his car seat and stuff; guess I have to be creative. I'll definitely see if I can have a friend help me out for a few days.

[clk 3,519]

Everyone is different. I'm not single, but I'm a military spouse. Read: I might as well be single sometimes!

I came home and had two days to rest before my husband went on a three week trip. When I had surgery my twins were 2.5 years old. I had a few days where I was just worn out all the time and tired but I managed. And I didn't have any help, so grocery runs, cleaning the house and toting the kids around were all on me. It wasn't easy (it never is!) but I managed just fine, and I'm sure that you'll do fine.

Make a few dinners for the kids in advance and freeze them, unless you've got simple eaters that you can whip something up for in a hurry. Do a big grocery run before your surgery so you don't need one right after you get home. Have everything you need post op ready for you - your meds, your shakes, your broth and all that.

And just be prepared for it to be challenging at some points. It just is. But you can get through it. I won't lie, even if it had been sheer hell for me post op (and it definitely wasn't) I'd still consider it a good trade from where I stand now.

Best of luck!

~Cheri

Oh! And DO set a timer to feed the kids. Honestly, my hunger was GONE so some nights I'd forget to feed them dinner until they whined they were hungry. Oops!

[iceshayw 4]

Everyone is different. I'm not single' date=' but I'm a military spouse. Read: I might as well be single sometimes!

I came home and had two days to rest before my husband went on a three week trip. When I had surgery my twins were 2.5 years old. I had a few days where I was just worn out all the time and tired but I managed. And I didn't have any help, so grocery runs, cleaning the house and toting the kids around were all on me. It wasn't easy (it never is!) but I managed just fine, and I'm sure that you'll do fine.

Make a few dinners for the kids in advance and freeze them, unless you've got simple eaters that you can whip something up for in a hurry. Do a big grocery run before your surgery so you don't need one right after you get home. Have everything you need post op ready for you - your meds, your shakes, your broth and all that.

And just be prepared for it to be challenging at some points. It just is. But you can get through it. I won't lie, even if it had been sheer hell for me post op (and it definitely wasn't) I'd still consider it a good trade from where I stand now.

Best of luck!

~Cheri

Oh! And DO set a timer to feed the kids. Honestly, my hunger was GONE so some nights I'd forget to feed them dinner until they whined they were hungry. Oops![/quote']

Thanks Cheri!

This was really helpful, I never thought of preparing the food in advanced for my son; great idea!