Hospital Birthers: Were You Able to Bedshare with Your Newborn?

[Turquesa]

I've never had a baby in a hospital, so I'm wondering about the logistics of bringing your new baby into your bed with you to sleep. I've heard that some nurses scorn the practice, and others don't care what you do. What was your experience?

[Maluhia]

I think they just assumed I was always holding the beab, normal practice for an excited new Mama.

[listipton]

Originally Posted by Maluhia

I think they just assumed I was always holding the beab, normal practice for an excited new Mama.

I was also 'nursing' ds every time a nurse came in. Poor dh, he barely got to hold ds in the hospital.

[Drummer's Wife]

I think it depends on the hospital and individual nurses - but I don't think they can truly stop you from co-sleeping, yk?

I've had four babies (all c-sections) in 2 different hospitals (with a handful of nurses between all the shift changes during the 3-day stays. All four slept on my chest, all night long. I wouldn't have had it any other way. I had a couple nurses comment, but no one made me put the baby in a plastic box. I think it helped that DH stayed with me each night, so they didn't worry about me being unable to put the baby down (again, surgical births) or anything. In my situation, I was in an adjustable, single bed in a semi-upright position so I was super comfy with baby on my chest - nursing when needed. Some rooms have double beds, and some don't - so that's something you may want to consider.

[Nicole730]

I delivered at a "baby friendly" hospital. So rooming in was assumed, as was breastfeeding. DH, baby, and I all shared a double bed the two nights we were there. There was a bassinet in the room, but it was only used when the nurses changed the diapers and checked baby's temp.

[MamaMelis]

Originally Posted by Nicole730

I delivered at a "baby friendly" hospital. So rooming in was assumed, as was breastfeeding. DH, baby, and I all shared a double bed the two nights we were there. There was a bassinet in the room, but it was only used when the nurses changed the diapers and checked baby's temp.

This was pretty much my experience to a T

[BanditaMamacita]

I had my babies in a hospital-attached birth center, and i chose to spend 2 nights in the hospital with my first. The hospital is very baby friendly, and the staff seemed well aware of the "different needs and wants of birth center families, " as they put it to me, so no one ever said a word about co-sleeping, and made a point of asking about things that most hospital moms accept without question, like baths and hearing tests. So I dunno if my "birth center status" made a difference, or if they wouldn't have said anything anyway. Oh, and in the birth center, where we stayed for about 6 hours before transferring, there was only a double bed... no bassinet at all.

[lach]

I said that there was staff disapproval, but that might be a bit harsh: a nurse came in the very first night while DS was sleeping next to me and I was dozing, and she said that I shouldn't let DS sleep in my bed that night, because the drugs in my system from my C-Section might still be dulling my reflexes and making me sleep heavier than is safe while co-sleeping.

So I don't know if there was a hospital policy about bed-sharing, and I didn't really care to find out: I made sure that it didn't really come up after that. And she may very well have had a point. Not that it actually stopped me!

[_betsy_]

With DD1, no one said anything one way or the other.

With DD2 (different hospital, same geographic location), cosleeping was outright encouraged.

[broodymama]

There was rooming in at the hospital where DS was born, no nursery. I coslept with him and some of the staff tried to give me flack about it but I just rolled over and ignored them.

[boringscreenname]

I slept with DS the entire time we were in the hospital. All the nurses just assumed I was holding him.

One nurse jumped all over me, and said he wasn't allowed to sleep with me, but she didn't make me put him elsewhere. I just shot her a look and she eventually went away. I didn't like that nurse one bit, I always breathed a sigh of relief at shift change.

[crpsmnwife]

I had my first son in the hospital, and the nurses DID NOT approve of bed sharing. For the first 48 hours I woke up every time anyone entered my room so that they would think I was awake holding my baby (I was exhausted and didn't think that one out entirely)... I was caught by the ONE sympathetic nursing aide on the 2nd night. I started awake when she was already in my room, and I just stared at her like "I totally wasn't sleeping with my baby, but if I were, I'll bite your head off for saying anything". But she was awesome, she just winked at me and let it go.

When my best friend had her baby in the same hospital one year later, I ran interference for her the entire first day so that she didn't have to deal too much with the "hospital policy".

[KristyDi]

It was activly discouraged where I birthed. There were signs all over saying something about the bassinet being the safest place for baby to sleep and one of the nurses told me a story about a baby "falling out of mom's bed" recently.

I don't know what would have happened if they had caught me co-sleeping. I was too exhausted/unsure to try it. I didn't really plan on co-sleeping at that point. Amusingly enough that 2nd night in the hospital trying to get DD to sleep more than 5-10 min out of contact w/ me was one of the things that made me re-think the whole "baby must sleep in her own bed" thing.

I voted other, I'd say I was fairly neutral about bedsharing and didn't give it a try because of disapproval.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

The first shift nurse was quite vocal about not having the baby in bed with me while asleep. Apparently "against hospital policy". I was so out of it after a long labour and delivery that I think I just went with it (and to be honest, I was quite happy to have DD swaddled in the bassinet beside me - it was also a rooming-in hospital). As it turns out, I found out later, that nurse was notorious for pushing her opinions... anyway we did a bit of co-sleeping as soon as I figured out side-lying.

Different hospital for this coming baby, and a midwife delivery planned. If I'm told we are not "allowed" to bed-share, and if the nurses made life difficult, we'll just discharge ourselves early and come home. But I suspect based on everything else I've heard about this hospital, there won't be any discouragement.

[BugMacGee]

#2 never stopped BF'ing while we were in the hospital. Literally, she never slept more than 1/2 hour unless I was holding her. No one minded. Except me. I was a zombie for the next 2 years!!!

[StrawberryFields]

Other. We didn't have any plans ahead of time about what we were going to do and the staff never said anything about sleeping arrangements to us. Ds was very fussy, I was exhausted from a long labor. Dh slept on a cot and ds slept on his chest.

[EviesMom]

With DD, a c section, I had no comments about it, but i did have some open mouth gaping from lunch tray droppers off about the big breasts hanging out. I didn't really have her in bed with me asleep when someone else wasn't awake though. It is a big drop.

With DS, he was a homebirth but was hospitalized briefly at about a week old. They didn't give me a hard time in pediatrics either, and when I really NEEDED to sleep but DH was out and DS was fussy, the fantastic nurse carried him up and down the halls snuggled in her arms for about an hour.

[Subhuti]

I had two c sections and was able to sleep w/my girls. No objection from staff. I can see how someone would see it as dangerous ... come on, big drop, hard floor, drugged mom. However, I brought a sling and just basically tied them to my chest!

Also, you could bring a low blow up bed and put the baby between the two of you (your spouse and you) or next to you ... baby's too young to roll really. That way, there would be no real risk of a drop.

You'd have to ask the staff to move out the big hospital bed, but if I had it to do over again, I might do that, bring a blow up.

Liz

[isign]

Our hospital is still archaic. With number 1, he was born late at night and hospital policy dictated four hours in the nursery. By the time I got him back, it was almost morning. I didn't know much about bed sharing, but honestly don't remember what we did.

With number 2, I was not going to put her in a plastic box. The first night one of the nurses came in and told me I couldn't. I ended up spending the next 2 nights sleeping sitting up and waking up everytime someone came in. I was not making her sleep in the box.

[Turquesa]

Originally Posted by CatskillMtnMama

I can see how someone would see it as dangerous ... come on, big drop, hard floor, drugged mom. However, I brought a sling and just basically tied them to my chest!

It occurred to me (the OP) that I should have factored in the effects of the drugs. Those can adversely affect bedsharing if you're all but knocked out. Great idea with the sling!