Time at hospital

[mom2mykidos3]

I was just wondering my PS said that Miriam would only be in the hospital for 3 days. Is that being really optimistic? I was thinking more like 4 or 5. I was just wondering how long all of you were in. I need to know for the rest of my family that is taking on the babysitting for me. thanks

[cheryl2]

Clara was in the hospital 5 days. She had the traditional FOA/CVR.

[mom2mykidos3]

Oh sorry I guess I should say that Miriam will have CVR and the FOA.

[KALEMSMOM]

Kalem had the CVR and FOA and his surgery was December 19 and we were discharged x-mas eve afternoon. So he was there for 6 days.

[snickers9246]

We had ours Oct 5th and were discharged Oct 11th to come home, so 6 days as well. I know some hospitals send them home though as soon as they can peek out of one eye! Holly had the traditional surgery as well.

[craniomommynbaby]

We were told to expect to be in the hospital for about 5 days. Well, Simon's surgery was on June 29. On July 1, they wanted to discharge us and have us stay that night in the Ronald McDonald House next door. Simon's eyes were not even cracked open yet! He started running a low fever, and we stayed until the evening of July 2. As we were packing up, his eyes cracked open.
One thing that we were not really prepared for was the change in his sleep habits. It was like having a newborn all over again! You might want to see if you can enlist some babysitting help over the following weeks just so that you can get some rest. (It seems to take a month or two for the little ones to get back on track.)

[snickers9246]

Gee how could I forget that Cindy!?! LOL!! Newborn Doodles was easier than Post Op Doodles!! She was away from 10:30 pm - 4- 4:30am every night for a couple of weeks! If I tried to put her to bed or shut off a light she freaked out!! She's never slept with lights on so if kinda freaked me out too. Thankfully we got through that, it took a good month or more to have her back sleeping half *ss normal again. She doesn't sleep with the lights on anymore. We've discussed this before nd I think the consensis (sp?) was that most of them are possibly afraid of the dark cause their eyes were swollen shut for a few days and they couldn't see anything then at all. Who knows what goes on in their little heads eh? :adore

[Jennifer]

We were told to expect 4-5 days. Day 3 they said we could go home in the morning (of day 4). I thought they were crazy, though by day 4 we were all ready to go home. If it is 3 days great! I would plan on 5 though.....just cuz they all handle things a little different, each seems to swell differently, handle medication differently, etc....
As for sleeping- Emily was horrible before, so after wasn't that hard or new to me.....though she never slept w/ more than a little nightlight before and after was horrified to be in the dark....she slept w/ a lamp on for a few weeks!

[mom2mykidos3]

I figured about the sleeping habits. Miriam does sleep through the night now, so I enjoying it while I can. Thank goodness that my husband will be home for a total of 12 days, including the time in the hospital. Thanks for the response.

[Luvmyboys]

When I first went to the PS they told us 5 to 7 days now when we were just there this last visit they told me 3 to 5.We go in on a Friday they have us leaving on mon.

[Katie]

Dillon had his surgery on Tuesday and we went home Friday evening. We ended up back in there Friday night for another day because he was vomiting and not holding down foods (he ended up being just fine, his tummy just didn't like the meds). We were initially told 4 to 5 days on average.
This gets me to wondering, why do they send these kids home so quickly? Don't get me wrong, I know they do fine going home quickly, but I'm curious. I just remember Dillon's CFS mentioning that back when he first started doing these surgeries, the child usually stayed in the hospital 3 weeks to a month. Do you think they go home that quick because insurance limits the days they will pay for in the hospital, or because they heal better at home? Both maybe?

[laurensmom]

She had her surgery on Monday and by Wednesday they were kicking us out of the PICU and telling us we could go home if we wanted to. We insisted on staying till Friday. Thursday they encouraged us to go home but once again we said not until Friday, so we were sent packing by 8am Friday.

[craniomommynbaby]

Katie,

I was under the impression that first the hospital needed the bed and then they just thought we would all feel better at home. I did feel like they were pushing us out at first, and I was very thankful that he started running a fever. The nurses were relieved that night too!

When I had my surgery, I was in the hospital for a month. I had the turban around my head, and they kept me strapped down. I would struggle and strain and move the crib all the way across the room. Apparently they kept me in a nursery some of the time. My dad luckily had a job next door and could visit my mom and me every day.

[Jennifer]

Katie....Good question on time..... Apperantly there is a 'concern' at our hospital w/ some of the nurses-- they don't all think it is necessary for the cranio babies to be in the PICU at all. (I had a very talkative nurse and the PICU happened to be exremely full that night). The main comments were the Wehby's babies do so well and really they are only on a medicine schedule that they provide....they really don't have to do anything else w/ these babies (no drain tubes, off ventalaters etc before they come there).....

I imagine insurance and home care are both parts of it....

[mom2mykidos3]

Our CFS said 12 to 24 hours in the PICU. I thought that was crazy. I want at least 24. Miriam's surgery is on a Friday so I figure they won't be able to send us home at least until Monday just because it is a weekend. Thanks for the input. I figure I will get a babysitter until Tuesday. Then maybe I will get one for Hunter, my 2 year old, for the rest of the week. I worry about him around Miriam. He isn't the gentlist boy.

[ExpatJen]

we were told 5 days but it turned out to be 8. I never thought to ask why it was longer - so many other quesitons seemed more important at the time. I guess it was because of the drains and the fact that the doctors were worried about infection (something unique to Audrey's surgery, not routine) and she had to be on antibiotics a little longer.

[snickers9246]

Well we don't have to worry about insurance issues up here and we were out after 5 days. We have medical care for everyone, no questions asked here and it's free, no cost to anyone but our government. Holly was int he Critical Care Unit (similar to your PICU) from about 4pm after the surgery til 8am the next morning. It was nice to have her in her own room to try to make things less strange for her. Not all the sounds and people, especially with her swelled shut. We could play her Einstein movies if we wanted and she could hear the music and we could talk to her and rub her arms etc. I loved having her out of the CC unit. Mind you we didn't do that for a couple of days cause she had some pressure after and they had to put her on some kind of steroid to take down the swelling, but it was nice to have the privacy I guess is what I'm saying.

[cheryl2]

I know when I had my eye operations as a child I was kept in the hospital at least a few days. When Clara had the same surgeries, she came home the same day. My parents say now they think I could have gone home sooner. Hospitals are noisy places and you have very little privacy, so I like getting out as quickly as possible. But on the other hand, it makes me nervous when they want to send her home and she is still vomiting from the anesthesia. I think doctors used to keep people in the hospital longer because they could. Now because of insurance, they are pressured to discharge people as soon as they can. That's fine with me, as long as the kids are really well enough to be taken care of at home. I would bet that even in Canada, the government health program frowns on keeping people in the hospital longer than necessary.

[plukids]

We were told 3-5 days. Sylvie was discharged on day 4 in the evening. We were in the PICU for 24 hours and then moved to peds.

Cindy, It sounds like recoveries sure have changed. Thank goodness for that. I cannot imagine what that must have been like for you.