Hi Eve,
I was fit to leave hospital after 24 hours (in fact I wanted to leave after 12 hours after poor nursing care overnight) .... I was in pain but was dampened with various pain meds i had been prescribed for the first few days.
Was fit enough to do a "mini" shop (nothing heavy) 5 days post surgery and returned to work (a full time job) 14 days after the surgery.
I would *guesstimate* you would be OK to take your kids to the park any time between day 5 and day 10 post op ..... as long as you are NOT lifting the kids -- as long as they are mobile enough to walk themselves.
If they are still in pushchairs see if you can enlist some help pushing the pushchair for the first few weeks from a friend or neighbour. You WILL probably feel strong enough to push a buggy, but should NOT do so.
(OK, i pushed a very small shopping trolley around Wilkinsons but it was *tiny* and the amount of shopping in it was *tiny* and i am a 44 year old adult and it was entirely my own risk -- I wouldn't go risking things with kids.)
We are not *supposed* to lift NOR push (trolleys or vacuum cleaners) for 6 weeks -- those are the official guidelines.