5 things to have in mind if your child goes to hospital

You may already know, but my Baba had a congenital heart disease. He had to have a heart operation last week. Of course, I had some expectations when we were booked to stay at the hospital for a week. But there is some stuff that you don’t necessarily expect when you experience such a trauma.

Here is a list of 5 things that you should remember when you witness your enfant going to the hospital.

  1. Horrible things will happen to your dear child(ren) before the operation

You know what it is like when you go to l’hôpital. It smells weird. You are extra nice to the baby on the way there. Déjà, he is suspicious that something not good is coming up.

Even worse, the pre-op arrangements will be long. You will be starving and will have to pretend you are having fun with the youngster.

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The show must go on!

And then, la rencontre. The naughty nurse! She often wears a dark blue outfit and she is très méchante! She wants your baby’s blood. Baba was far from being keen on her. I am telling you what. It only took 6 different nurses and 1 hour to get the necessary quantity of blood out of him.

Le pauvre diable was fighting against it: crying, kicking, screaming… The whole thing and Frenchie Mummy was not much better. Secretly, she has to admit that she didn’t like either those naughty women…

  1. Your child will be having the day of his life while you are waiting for the operation

Blissfully unaware of what is coming up, he / she will think that you are in the toys’ heaven. It’s full of jouets in children’ wards.

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Blissfully unaware! On le cheval, pretending to be a cowboy!
  1. Bring two pairs of shoes or a super good one!

When it was decided that I would stay at the hospital with Baba, I packed  for a full week. I got my information beforehand and it was confirmed that Brad Pitt was not to be seen in the ward that week. Even the cute consultant we met once was on holiday. So I didn’t need to make myself extremely pretty. The decision was made to bring some comfy and cheap flip flops from Primark.

Bad decision! They broke within 2 days!!! Belle-Maman visited us one evening, so I took the opportunity to run to the hotel room I booked next to the hospital to change my shoes. The picture was far from the usual Frenchie Mummy! In the end, it was impossible to walk with my broken shoe. Never mind! I just took them off.

So yes, I walked barefooted to the hotel. If you happened to see a woman with a stripped dress walking shoeless on Westminster Bridge Tuesday night, that was me! But don’t worry, I was still rocking it with my hair blowing in the wind and my matching underwear!

Ok, I admit, I looked more like a gipsy than a stylish Frenchie woman there. But I already told you before: no famous and hot actor was supposed to be in the area at that time! Plus, I was also wearing my shades to try to be incognito!

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Frenchie Mummy is always très stylish!
  1. Your little one will be the centre of the attention

I don’t recall how many times nurses at the hospital told me how cute Baba was. The truth is, it’s always nice to receive a compliment. After all, I made him! So I did a good job, right?

But le petit monstre got used to getting too much attention in my opinion. Once, I went to make myself a coffee and when I was back, he was in a nurse’s arms. Apparently, he was crying. I left for 3 minutes, I swear! I know what happened here. Baba just decided to use his charms on the nurse…

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Obviously, he made some new fans while at the hospital…

Another time I dared going to the loo, to discover that my baby was gone tats. Next thing I knew, he was playing music with other children in the playing area… No need to say that he loved having a public just for himself….

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Showing everyone how to do it…

  5. Your kid will not be mega tired or sleep a lot once you are home

If you believe so (or secretly hoping so that you can recover yourself from the whole experience…), then I am telling you that you are in for a shock! I have never seen a boy so alert and active since we are back home. If anyone is being tired and needs some extra sleep, it’s Frenchie Mummy.

Baba is just his old-self and barely goes for a nap in the day! Even worse, he has been un cauchemar to go to bed over the last few days… The routine that we had in place so far is gone and we have now to start it all over again! He is such a monkey that he is even pulling my hair if I dare to fall asleep before him… Children eh? And you want another one!?

yeah-right

So here is what I learned from our experience. I tried to be cheerful as much as I could as having your little one operated or just in the hospital is never easy for sure. Please share with me your own experience if you had any with your own children.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. It feels good to be back blogging after a break!

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32 Comments

  1. September 8, 2016 / 8:13 pm

    Oh yes, I definitely agree with all of these. I always pack a very comfy pair of slippers for our hospital stays – much nicer when spending a long time on the ward. The day before the op is horrible – we’ve had very similar experiences with having bloods taken, but once all that is over and you’re just waiting, all the toys available on the ward do go down very well with little ones! So glad that all went well with Baba’s op and hope that you get settled back into a routine at home again very soon x

  2. September 8, 2016 / 8:18 pm

    This definitely gave me a good chuckle. It’s so good to hear that the little guy handled it all so well-mama, not so much. I totally get it though, I would be an absolute wreck!! <3

  3. September 8, 2016 / 8:20 pm

    Aww! Bless you! It’s good that you have seen the funny side of a worrying week! When my girls were both in hospital having heart surgery they loved the play room….They still talk about it now 7 years later. lol
    I hope your little one is recovering well!

  4. An imperfect mum (Catie)
    September 8, 2016 / 8:54 pm

    Your positivity and sense of humour are amazing! So glad baba is doing well! ❤️ I can’t believe your shoe broke bloody typical. The last time we had a hospital stay I was 7 months pregnant and ended up in the blue scrubs with everyone calling me a teletubby! You have to see the funny side in scary situations or you’d go mad! Well done mama

    • thefrenchiemummy
      Author
      September 8, 2016 / 8:57 pm

      Oh such a funny memory you will remember forever though! LOL mwah xx

  5. September 8, 2016 / 9:25 pm

    I’m so glad your little one is recovering. My daughter has had 2 major operations and they’re horrible experiences. I still feel sick and anxious when I think about some of the stuff that happened to her there. It’s amazing how quickly kids recover, though, isn’t it?! My daughter had a major incision along her abdomen in January this year and the scar has virtually disappeared already!

    • thefrenchiemummy
      Author
      September 8, 2016 / 9:26 pm

      Sompleased to hear and is she doing ok now? x

      • Lucy At Home
        September 8, 2016 / 9:47 pm

        Yes for the most part she’s doing really well but it’s a long-term issue that will be with her for life. Thanks for asking, you sweetie!

  6. September 9, 2016 / 2:36 pm

    Oh my dear. Big hugs to you and Baba. I had tears in my eyes looking at the brave face of your little ine and Bless You for keeping it light and writing a post about this experience. You rock!

  7. September 9, 2016 / 6:54 pm

    So pleased the op went well. My 22mo has a zipper scar from a sternectomy to remove a tumour. He bounced back so full of life and hasn’t looked back since!

    • thefrenchiemummy
      Author
      September 9, 2016 / 7:29 pm

      So happy to hear your little one is ok. A tumour must have been so scary! A big hug to you both xx

  8. carla
    September 10, 2016 / 3:18 pm

    Both my children have had to have emergency operations and it’s utterly terrifying. They do get fussed with a lot of attention and there is always an abundance of toys and bright colours on the children wards to make them feel at ease though. I feel children take these kinds of things on the chin a lot better than us adults!
    #justanotherlinky

  9. From Day Dot
    September 10, 2016 / 4:49 pm

    I’m glad it went well and he’s back to himself straight out of the hospital. It must have been a horrible experience but it sounds like he had some fun too! #justanotherlinky

  10. September 11, 2016 / 12:20 am

    Im glad all is ok. Having something happen to your little one is never fun. I haven’t had anything like that but we have spent our fare share of time in hospitals. From neck injurys to broken bones, as a parent it never gets easy. But like you my kids all ended up having a blast being the center of attention and being waited on hand and foot. I hope that will be the last visit for you both. Thank you for sharing.

  11. September 11, 2016 / 8:38 am

    Im in awe of you. I had a short spell in hospital with my baby and i was a total mess. I love how you are so brave and can put a comical spin on it. Glad to hear he has recovered well #justanotherlinky

  12. September 12, 2016 / 12:30 am

    Poor little guy. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been on you. Glad everything went OK

  13. mummyemblog
    September 12, 2016 / 9:05 am

    Hope everything went well xxxxx

  14. September 12, 2016 / 9:50 am

    I don’t know how you do it. You are so strong. Im so glad that the operation went OK. Thank you so much for sharing you experience #MMBC

  15. September 12, 2016 / 12:53 pm

    Wow, I don’t think I could handle all of that as well as you – and what a trooper your little guy is! Glad he looks so happy, despite his ordeal! #justanotherlinky

  16. September 12, 2016 / 4:10 pm

    I was so overwhelmed by 1. Your little one was obviously a star, well done all xxx #mmbc

  17. September 13, 2016 / 12:30 pm

    So glad to hear it went well. You really are made of strong stuff, your little one is very lucky!

    #TwinklyTuesday

  18. Double the Monkey Business
    September 17, 2016 / 3:55 pm

    I didn’t know that you were going through this hun. I am glad that it went ok, you are one strong mama. xxxx #AnythingGoes

  19. randommusings29
    September 18, 2016 / 12:42 pm

    Its good to see you both took it all in your stride – even that was a shoeless stride 😉
    Thanks for linking up to #AnythingGoes 🙂
    Debbie

  20. September 19, 2016 / 1:37 pm

    You’ve managed to add a light hearted note to a serious topic! Neither of mine have ever been operated on but BB was in hospital last year with pneumonia – the shoes tip is a good one! #twinklytuesday

  21. Gemma - Heart Mammi
    October 11, 2016 / 12:26 pm

    Martha was once in Hospital for 10 weeks, luckily there is a shopping precinct near Great Ormond Street Hospital as the one pair of shoes I brought with me totally broke and I had to buy myself a new pair.
    Hope little Man’s recovery is still going well.
    #heart2heart

    • thefrenchiemummy
      Author
      October 11, 2016 / 12:42 pm

      Still good thanks for asking. Shoes in hospital! A nightmare!!! Thank you so much for reading x

  22. Gnei Usama
    December 12, 2016 / 9:39 am

    I know I am too late to read this post but just got stumbled on it. I am sorry you and baba have to go through this But happy that brave little soldier handled it well. I can relate to the baba’s feelings about naughty nurses, my little one too dispise the blue uniforms. Lol.And you are a strong mother who can see the positive side of a situation when it needed our attention and concentration.

    • Cecile Blaireau
      Author
      December 12, 2016 / 12:43 pm

      merci for this great comment, never too late! Xxx

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