Connect the Dots Ginger | Becky Allen: Prepping For Labor: Leaving The Hospital

Friday, April 11, 2014

Prepping For Labor: Leaving The Hospital

 ~Daddy and Mason the morning after we arrived home. We were all exhausted!~

*If you are new to the blog, WELCOME! Please click on the Pregnancy tab at the top of the page to see other posts on pregnancy!*

Fast forward to after labor and some recovery, as most of your recovery will be at home. It's your last day at the hospital and eating yummy hospital food. (my hospital food wasn't too bad last time I was there. They were very accommodating to my melon allergy and brought me red meat). Generally release time is from the hospital is like check out of a hospital. Around 11 or 12. There could possibly be an orientation for new parents along with a breakfast /brunch. Make sure you check with the hospital on their checkout procedures when you are doing your hospital tour. I didn't go to the brunch provided by my hospital as we opted to only be in the hospital until Mason was 24 hours old. I wanted to get home and have a little extra time with daddy at home before he left for Iraq. We checked out of the hospital at midnight. I felt very blessed to get a whole extra day at home with daddy.

The Day After: During the day following your birth, or shortly after, (if you deliver during the middle of the night) There will be staff workers coming in to have you and dad fill out the social security paperwork for your new baby. The official paperwork for the birth certificate. They will also hand you a folder with brochures and of course your cute little foot print that they made of your new baby just after they are born. In the folder will have the address as to where you send the paperwork for the birth certificate and social security card. Put this in your file you have and put it in your bag right away. You don't want to have to be looking for it later and it is very important.
~Mason at 3 days old at the airport to say bye-bye to daddy. Daddy left for Iraq with the Army for 11 months~


Rooming In: Rooming in is having the baby be with you at all times. Following a non-complication delivery and birth, the baby will be put in a bassinet and wheeled with you to your recovery room. The bassinet will be fully stocked with diapers, wipes, ointment, the nose bulb thing along with other things you could possibly need. If you need to rest away from the baby for a time you have the option to send the baby to the nursery. Before you let them cart off the baby to the nursery make sure you pack daddy's bag with the diapers and whips, and when baby comes back the bassinet will be fully stocked again. I delivered Mason at 8:50pm. We got in my recovery room by 11pm. I was exhausted. My high from the hormones was gone and I just wanted to sleep. Mason was nursing but my nipples were already hurting. I remember he was crying and I started crying cause I just wanted to sleep. I put on my birth plan rooming in at my discretion but in nursery no pacifier, sugar water or formula. Breast milk only.

Matt was already out cold on the cot next to mine. I called the nurse and asked for Mason to be taken to the nursery for 2-3 hours and to return him for nursing. The nurse took him and I passed out and woke up about 3 hours later. Freaking out cause I hadn't been woken up for him to be fed. I called the nurse and they brought him back and he nursed like a champ. Nurse said he was great and slept the whole time. No crying or fussing. The nurse also helped me learn how to hold him how he liked to be held. Of course after he nursed he started crying again and I couldn't fix him so I called the nurse but that is what they are there for.

So the rule for rooming in, if you send the baby to the nursery, take the diapers and wipes from the bassinet. They are for you to have. To help you during this new experience. And it is ok to send the baby to the nursery. You are not a bad mom for doing so if you had planned on not doing it originally. We all need some sleep, and the baby will be back in about 3 hours or when they are hungry anyhow.

Stay Neat And Tidy: Make sure you keep dad's bag packed with all the stuff you get from the hospital. Just try to keep your room as clutter free as possible so that you are trying to figure out what to do with everything. Friends are going to stop by, you might have some stuffed animals, throw them in the bag. We had a little trolly thing that we pushed our stuff out on so that helped. I just couldn't believe that we had as much stuff as we did for only about 36 hours total. Also during the day before you leave or earlier before you leave have dad take stuff out to the car so you don't have as much stuff. He has to go out and get the car seat anyhow.

Actually leaving the hospital: You will want to change your baby in the going home outfit you planned and picked out for them. It will feel weird dressing them and their outfit will be hanging on them because they really are small. You will be required to put your baby in the car seat and have it inspected by the nurses before you will be allowed to leave the hospital. Then you will more than likely have to walk to you the front entrance. This was shocking to me. I always saw women being wheeled out to the doors after having a baby, but nope. You will generally walk. It is good for you anyhow but it is hard. I felt like I had ran 5 miles just getting from our room to the front doors to where Matt picked me and Mace up. It was the hardest and slowest and most uncomfortable walk I have ever done. Just be prepared for the idea that you might actually have to walk a good distance to leave the hospital. Even after a c-section. Have your significant other put the car seat in the base so you don't have to lift the baby, and enjoy the ride home sitting next to your baby watching them so intently as you go over bumps and around turns. And notice how well your SO will drive, how safe they are and how much they are driving under the speed limit!

I hope this helps you prepare for leaving the hospital. This is great for me to remember. I have been asking my friends who have had babies recently seeing if I missed anything but I guess my memory was coming back at this point.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...