Aa
Hospital Suggestions
This is our last night in the hospital. We go home with our beautiful baby girl tomorrow around lunch time. I just wanted to give you mommy-to-be(s) some suggestions.
Don't be afraid to go to the hospital to get checked out. Don't ever feel like you've gone too many times or asked too many questions. Your health & the health of your baby are the most important things! I went in on Friday night to be checked - we thought my water may have broken. It hadn't yet and then sent me home but I went into labor naturally on Sunday night. It was nice to know who to call and where to go.
Accept any and all help they give you! Don't be afraid to send your baby to the nursery periodically during the day & to stay for the night. You just went through labor & need time to rest! The nurses are trained and there to help. Don't think you're being strong or tough by saying no to the pain meds. Labor & child birth, especially a c-section, are tough and PAINFUL. You will need the pain meds to hold your child and get through your many, many visits with family and friends.
Don't let the lactation consultants make you feel bad if you have to give your breasts a break & give your baby formula. Breastfeeding HURTS! There's no way to prepare yourself mentally or physically for it. It is OKAY for your baby to have bottles of formula, too. The hospital will provide them. Our baby has had breast milk half the time and formula half the time. There's nothing wrong with it and she is still getting all of the nutrients she needs.
Make sure you eat something before you take your pain meds - even if it's just crackers. The main meds are strong and will make you feel sick all day if you take them on an empty stomach.
You cannot eat until you pass gas (not sure if this is only when you have a c-section). The nurses can give you something to help you pass gas. It ***** not eating for 24 hours after you have the baby because the anaesthesia has made it so that you can't fart. My nurse the first day didn't offer me anything even though I continued to express my frustration with not passing gas or eating yet. They've been feeding me chewable tablets since day/nurse #2 to help me continue to pass gas.
Don't be afraid to call your nurse. They give you their # and carry a phone for a reason. They get super busy. Youre not their only patient. Sometimes they need a reminder that it's been 5 hours instead of 4 since you've had your pain meds and then 5 1/2 hours the next time. Don't sit in pain like I did. Just call them!
Having visitors can get overwhelming. You just had a baby! Don't be afraid to tell your friends/family that you're tired and need to sleep. Keep the visits short or tell them to come back. You can have as many visitors as you want during your stay. They don't all have to come on day #1! I got bombarded by visitors on day #1. I didn't get to eat at all because I hadn't passed gave yet. The IV pain meds they give you make you super itchy so I was given tons of benadryl through my IV to help. Benadryl is much stronger through IV & can make you feel very, very out of it - especially if you haven't eaten. I was in some weird haze most of day one and didn't really get to enjoy my visitors. They just kept coming and I didn't get to sleep at all!
Don't stress about what to pack in your hospital bag. They will give you everything you need! You don't need to pack fancy pajamas, socks, slippers, robe, etc. The hospital will give you as many gowns and blankets as you need. You don't need to pack heavy duty pads or black underwear. They will give you the pads & undies. Why ruin/waste your own? The things I've used from my go bag are my toiletries. I haven't touched anything else.
I'm sure I have other useful tips but it's 5AM and these are all I can think of. They'll be back to (poke/prod) check on me in like 2 hours. GET AS MUCH SLEEP AS YOU CAN! They will check on you often but sleep in between. It sounds like that would be hard but I promise it's not.
If you ladies have any questions, let me know! I'm no expert - just a FTM who learned the hard way because of my own awkwardness & stubbornness.
Don't be afraid to go to the hospital to get checked out. Don't ever feel like you've gone too many times or asked too many questions. Your health & the health of your baby are the most important things! I went in on Friday night to be checked - we thought my water may have broken. It hadn't yet and then sent me home but I went into labor naturally on Sunday night. It was nice to know who to call and where to go.
Accept any and all help they give you! Don't be afraid to send your baby to the nursery periodically during the day & to stay for the night. You just went through labor & need time to rest! The nurses are trained and there to help. Don't think you're being strong or tough by saying no to the pain meds. Labor & child birth, especially a c-section, are tough and PAINFUL. You will need the pain meds to hold your child and get through your many, many visits with family and friends.
Don't let the lactation consultants make you feel bad if you have to give your breasts a break & give your baby formula. Breastfeeding HURTS! There's no way to prepare yourself mentally or physically for it. It is OKAY for your baby to have bottles of formula, too. The hospital will provide them. Our baby has had breast milk half the time and formula half the time. There's nothing wrong with it and she is still getting all of the nutrients she needs.
Make sure you eat something before you take your pain meds - even if it's just crackers. The main meds are strong and will make you feel sick all day if you take them on an empty stomach.
You cannot eat until you pass gas (not sure if this is only when you have a c-section). The nurses can give you something to help you pass gas. It ***** not eating for 24 hours after you have the baby because the anaesthesia has made it so that you can't fart. My nurse the first day didn't offer me anything even though I continued to express my frustration with not passing gas or eating yet. They've been feeding me chewable tablets since day/nurse #2 to help me continue to pass gas.
Don't be afraid to call your nurse. They give you their # and carry a phone for a reason. They get super busy. Youre not their only patient. Sometimes they need a reminder that it's been 5 hours instead of 4 since you've had your pain meds and then 5 1/2 hours the next time. Don't sit in pain like I did. Just call them!
Having visitors can get overwhelming. You just had a baby! Don't be afraid to tell your friends/family that you're tired and need to sleep. Keep the visits short or tell them to come back. You can have as many visitors as you want during your stay. They don't all have to come on day #1! I got bombarded by visitors on day #1. I didn't get to eat at all because I hadn't passed gave yet. The IV pain meds they give you make you super itchy so I was given tons of benadryl through my IV to help. Benadryl is much stronger through IV & can make you feel very, very out of it - especially if you haven't eaten. I was in some weird haze most of day one and didn't really get to enjoy my visitors. They just kept coming and I didn't get to sleep at all!
Don't stress about what to pack in your hospital bag. They will give you everything you need! You don't need to pack fancy pajamas, socks, slippers, robe, etc. The hospital will give you as many gowns and blankets as you need. You don't need to pack heavy duty pads or black underwear. They will give you the pads & undies. Why ruin/waste your own? The things I've used from my go bag are my toiletries. I haven't touched anything else.
I'm sure I have other useful tips but it's 5AM and these are all I can think of. They'll be back to (poke/prod) check on me in like 2 hours. GET AS MUCH SLEEP AS YOU CAN! They will check on you often but sleep in between. It sounds like that would be hard but I promise it's not.
If you ladies have any questions, let me know! I'm no expert - just a FTM who learned the hard way because of my own awkwardness & stubbornness.
Good advice for even a 5th time mom :) thanks for taking the time to post this. Congratulations!
Hope it helps!
Congrats and thanks for all the advice.
Thanks and appreciation to both of you ladies for posting this!! I'm a FTM and turned 28 weeks today,so time is approaching quickly. This is helpful for both scenarios and is useful to me for either way it goes. Congratulations to you @SPearson! Good luck and best wishes ladies!
Spearaon the passing gas part is just for c sections. Its abdominal surgery so they need to make sure everything if flowing properly before they'll let you eat otherwise you can get an obstruction which will then lead to even bigger problems. And as far as reminding the nurses, I appreciate this! I am a nurse myself and people don't always remember that they are not the only patient that day. Nurses have several patients (even more on maternity floors because they have mom and baby/babies in each room) and lots of charting in between. It is also important to remember that sometimes when the nurses take the baby its not to be mean, certain drs don't like to check on the baby in the room with mom and will request the baby be back in the nursery, also if the baby needs any testing done sometimes its better in the nursery cuz many moms don't like the sight of their newborn getting lanced and bleeding. Its more for your benefit. Also in those first few days of life a lot can go wrong, more than you think, and even if you seem to have a perfectly healthy baby so frequent monitoring is very important for baby and mom alike.
Also, I never wanted my baby to leave, so my words of caution would be - don't be afraid to yell at a nurse when they try to take your baby away hahaha! I had a completely different delivery so a different experience but I will share mine for those who want a natural delivery. In a natural delivery, hormones are released that help your milk arrive quickly and bond you to your baby. I had an enormous amount of energy right after giving birth but I only wanted to spend time with my baby the first day. I was open to visitors the second day but only those I was really close to. It's such an intimate moment.
I packed my own clothes. I wanted the disposable hospital underwear but not the gowns. They were awful at the hospital I delivered at. So I was happy to have my own pjs.
Also, they will give you stool softeners so when u do need to poo, don't be afraid to push a little. You won't break anything haha. I remember worrying right after but it was fine. Anyway, good luck in whatever delivery you have. The point is, don't be afraid to push people around to get what you want in the hospital. Firmness goes a long way sometimes. I do it with a smile the first time but if I have to ask twice the mommy in me comes out hahaha
I packed my own clothes. I wanted the disposable hospital underwear but not the gowns. They were awful at the hospital I delivered at. So I was happy to have my own pjs.
Also, they will give you stool softeners so when u do need to poo, don't be afraid to push a little. You won't break anything haha. I remember worrying right after but it was fine. Anyway, good luck in whatever delivery you have. The point is, don't be afraid to push people around to get what you want in the hospital. Firmness goes a long way sometimes. I do it with a smile the first time but if I have to ask twice the mommy in me comes out hahaha
Just read through and I had a natural vaginal delivery so my experience was completely different. One thing I do know, when breast feeding hurts, it means you have a bad latch. Never settle for a bad latch as you can do damage to your nipples. A bad latch can be caused by position but most often it is because you are not getting enough of your areola in to your baby's mouth. An LC can help you correct your latch. Also, supplementation this early on when you plan on bf can be detrimental to your milk supply as breast feeding is all supply and demand. If you aren't the one supplying then your body won't know what your baby needs. Just some words of caution from a mom who had been there. I breast fed my daughter for 2 years so I've seen it all.
Thank you for posting this :) im being induced next monday so this really helps :)
You are reading content posted in the Pregnancy: Ages 25-34 Community
Get information and tips on how to help you choose the right place to deliver your baby.
Get the facts on how twins and multiples are formed and your chance of carrying more than one baby at a time.
Learn about the risks and benefits of circumcision.
What to expect during the first hours after delivery.
Learn about early screening and test options for your pregnancy.
Learn about testing and treatment for GBS bacterium.
