Hospital birthers: How long did you stay after the birth? - Page 4

[St. Margaret]

DD was born at 7:48pm Monday night. We were out of there sometime the next evening, early evening but it was dark, April in SD... probably 7 or so. So 24 hours. Our OB was fabulous and we discussed it ahead of time, and there was never an issue with the ped. I don't even remember the ped coming to the hospital... but I just be forgetting.

This time we're HBing because being there for one day was too long! And having DD we don't want to be away then.

[kltroy]

I stayed about 36 hours after my hospital birth with #2. She was born at 3:30 AM and we were all pretty wiped from pulling an all-nighter. She and I slept most of the day afterwards while DH went home to take care of our 2-yo son. We could have probably left that evening, but why? It was kid #2, and I enjoyed the peace and quiet and ability to focus on just me and my new baby, rather than my rambunctious 2 year old son at home. 36 hours was just about perfect for me - I was excited to go home when we did, but enjoyed being away for a couple days.

I think there are some things they generally want to do with baby before you leave - PKU and related tests are the main thing, and they want that done right around 24 hours after baby is born. I suppose we could have had those done when we returned ot the clinic the day after I was discharged for a weigh-in, but it was fine.

[cchrissyy]

I had my three in hospitals and always left within 24 hours. i pretty much wanted to sleep and get out ASAP, and there was no hassle about it.

[Artichokie]

i had my dd at night on a Thursday. We missed the pedi check on Friday for some reason so we stayed til Saturday early morning. I really wanted to leave on Friday but it wasn't a huge deal to stick around. Dh and I got a steak and lobster supper Friday night and I got some extra time with the LC. I mostly wanted to leave because there was no room in the hospital bed for dh and I was desperate for a family snuggle/sleep. It was also hard to cosleep with my dd @ the hospital b/c the bed was so small and they have an official policy against it - if I am asleep the baby had to be with dh or put in the basenette thingy. I wanted to cuddle with my new dd while I dozed, not hand her off!

[jump mama jump!]

they kept us there for about 46 hours after an uncomplicated vb. 2 stitches. I'm told that's nothing. I hated it. I wanted out so bad. Every time I'd finally fall asleep I'd get woken up for this check or that, or food, which was awful and totally not enough, and had extremely limited vegan options. Seriously, I can only eat so many pb&js. And when my dh and best friend brought me real food after visiting hours, the nurses were not too happy about it. They were also not happy about me being totally nocturnal. And the meal schedule being daytime-only totally sucked and threw me all off. Also they didn't even get a lc in to see me til the afternoon right before I left! I had so much trouble getting dd to latch and the nurses were useless. They just kept putting sugar water on my nipples! WTH?? I had to get my big sis, who is a lll leader to come help! It's such a shame the pp care was so miserable, because the actual l&d floor/ppl were great. I don't know what I'd do if I ever have another kid around here because I'm torn between the l&d care and the pp care in importance.

[wickenching]

Local hospitals here in Ontario have to keep you for 3 hours after the birth. After that, Mom and babe are free to go home.

[MegBoz]

Even though I had a totally uncomplicated vaginal birth with a barely-1st degree tear & very healthy DS, I had to stay 48 hours b/c I was GBS+ & there was no time for ABTs. That's the policy & I decided not to fight it.
(Even though Early-Onset-GBS shows symptoms within 24 hours like 95% of the time, and late-onset GBS can not show symptoms for 3 weeks! But, ya know, whatever. Who expects evidence-based medicine anymore? )

I felt awesome immediately after birth & could easily have left after a few hours.

Ugh, it WAS an eternity!

• The LCs were bad, so don't think that's necessarily a bonus. It seems LCs are like OBs - you must shop carefully. (Something that should have occurred to me. )
• Food was DREADFUL! Not only did it not taste good, it was not nutritious!! I felt deprived of fiber, protein & veggies. I honestly felt malnourished & couldn't wait to get home to cook for myself & eat DH's cooking again.
• Bed totally uncomfortable.
• People coming & going a lot through the day

Maybe 24 hours is fine so you can get a little hands-on help as a first time mama with things like diaper changes & swaddling, but I wouldn't want to stay longer than that.

Being there didn't help me recuperate - being home did!

My MWs were happy to have let me go in under 24 H if everything was fine, but most peds want 24H, some even require 48. (This, according to the nurse who did the hospital tour.) At least at this hospital they were punctual & accommodating & got the paper work ready before 48 hours so we could walk out on the 48-hour mark (7PM.)

[MyFullHouse]

I stayed the "prescribed" amount of time with my first 3 (two overnights). With #4, we had planned to leave as soon as I felt up to it. Because ds was born just minutes after midnight, it was suggested (and I agreed) that we stay through the following night. We were both discharged before the following 9am, so it was around 32 hours. It would have been a bit less, but our pediatrician was skeptical and needed some convincing.

[limette]

I have no idea what the recommendation is here, I do know that one of my midwife's clients left an hour after her baby was born.

For me, they said I could leave whenever I wanted but I was in a lot of pain. I had third degree tears and hadn't peed for the entire labor and was incapable of doing so afterwards. I booked myself in for the night so I could get a catheter and recover. I really didn't think I'd make it to the car, the pain was so bad.

[aikigypsy]

Here, the policy is 2 overnights. DD was born at 8PM on a Thursday, and they wanted me to stay until Sunday, but I left Saturday, making it between 36 and 48 hours.

I had been in about 4 days (except that I went home one night in the middle) before the birth for a long induction, so I really, really wanted to get out of there!

This time, I want to make it a super-quick trip, but maybe I'll feel differently once I get there.

[allisonrose]

Like some PP, I happily stayed 48 hours when I had my first in the hospital. We had some difficulty established breastfeeding and ended up getting a nipple shield the morning we left. It wasn't the ideal but it allowed me to continue breastfeeding. If I would have been home already, I wouldn't have known what to do.

Also no worrying about food was great. And they gave me soooo much food! Yeah not the best ever but horrible.

With my second, I am planning a homebirth. If I were looking at a hospital, I would consider leaving earlier. I've already breastfed once and I've had interaction with some local LCs through a bfing support group if I did need help. I also think I would feel antsy to get home and have my two children together. Hubby would likely stay with our son at home overnights if I were in the hospital with the newbie. No fun not having the family together.

[EmTheWife]

I delivered on a Sunday at 2 am, and requested to go home that same day in the evening. The hospital wanted me to stay 2 full nights. We compromised on one full night, so in total, about 32 hours. We wished we could have left sooner, because we did not find the hospital restful, and there was too little food (well, I was really just famished, but still!). The benefit of going home mid-day on Monday was that I got to see the Lactation Consultant, to make sure nursing was going well, and she gave me some great tips!