How to prep for a trip to the Hospital
When it comes to our children, there are few things more daunting than a visit to the hospital. A hospital trip can be overwhelming for both parents and toddlers alike. However, with some careful planning and preparation, you can help make the hospital visit a smoother and less stressful experience for everyone involved.
We recently went in to hospital for our 2 and a half year old to have Grommets. To say I was nervous, is an understatement. My daughter, like most toddlers, does not take well to doctors poking and touching at her little body. So, naturally I was worried that she wouldn’t handle a hospital trip.
Before the visit
Books:
Firstly I found a number of books that would introduce the concept and experiences at a hospital in a fun way.
These books gave her real expectations of what happens in a hospital and to a patient (click to find the link on Amazon):
Role Play:
Role play or dramatic play is fantastic for acting out the specific scenarios that apply to your child’s procedure. For us, we weren’t staying overnight or even changing out of her pyjamas. So, our role play was mainly based around having a mask on to go to sleep, keeping still for doctors if they need to put the mask on or put a needle in.
Allow your child to be the Doctor, Nurse and Patient
Use their favourite dolls or soft toys
Allow them to be the Doctor or Nurse and YOU are the patient
Use lots of descriptive language and praise
The Reality (during the visit)
For us, most things were accurate and she was able to manage herself well
Being hungry in the morning
Meeting nurses
Mask for the sleepy gas
Lots of waiting and distracting
Some inaccuracies that caused a little stress
Being swaddled
Mum and Dad not being there when you wake up
These were parts we did not expect and were unable to prepare her for. Being swaddled was important to stop her from pulling the gas mask off. We were also unable to be there when she woke up as she had to be intubated and that is quite traumatic for parents (the nurses were protecting us from seeing them removing it).
The Aftermath:
The day of the surgery she missed her midday sleep. She slept after the surgery until 9.45am and then wouldn’t go down at 1pm. So, she was grumpy in the afternoon and then passed out at 6pm. She slept until 615am and didn’t make a sound all night.
Second night disaster (aftermath of overtired from the day before).
Third night sleep started to improve
Change and traumatic experiences can impact a toddler/babies sleep, as much as it can for adults. If we keep this in mind, we will have a better understanding and be able to responsively settle our children as they need.
