Your stay in hospital

[Erika]

If you had a hospital birth, how long did you stay in afterwards?

[Erika]

I had Sasha on a Monday and was discharged the following Friday. However, since she was still in SCBU, I went back on the Saturday and roomed in with her until she was discharged the following Tuesday.

Now, if I have more children and they don't end up in the neonatal unit, I will ask to be discharged earlier (as long as you are doing fine, the hospital will let you leave earlier). I was feeling physically fine within hours of the birth and I prefer being home in my own bed than in a hospital.

The only thing that could hinder my chances of leaving early is the threat of blood clots. I have to take heparin until 6 weeks after birth to stop the possibility of getting blood clots. Since I am at the highest risk a day or 2 after labour, the doctors may prefer me to stay in.

[Beka]

varied with all my kids-

with Chase she was born v.early thursday morning (just past midnight) and by saturday i was getting verrrrrry antsy in hospital but no one as much as mentioned my going home despite a normal, uncomplicated vaginal delivery, a healthy birthweight baby (8lb) with no issues with feeding so i pushed and eventually found out it was because of my age they wanted to keep me a week :eek to ensure i was settling with baby as i was a teenager- when i found this out i created merry-hell and left within hours (sunday breakfast and back then it was unheard of for a dr to willingly let you leave on a sunday!)

With Jude he arrived 6am on the saturday and i left on sunday morning (but in the 6 years between having chase and jude they'd lost the tabboo over sunday discharges) i needed the overnight stay for personal reassurance as it was 6 years since my last baby and i was v.uncertain

With Dyl she arrived just before 4pm (actually 5 minutes off the exact time and day Erika had predicted :lmao ) on sunday and i got placed on the ward by 8pm, i returned home at breakfast the next morning (after having raised Cain the night before insisting i wanted to leave with DH at the end of visiting! only got me to stay by swearing he'd be back as soon as the opened)

With Loki he was born 2.24am and they were completing my discharge paperwork at 10am- i was home for lunch but it was a very straight forward birth, he was a v.good birth weight and he began nursing like a charm from birth onwards.

I'd say "if i have anymore..." but i am done- baby phase is fasy dwindling and we're not going back to it

[Shasta]

I had Taj on a Friday evening (6:48 pm) and went home Sunday just after lunchtime.

I had Gavin on a Monday night (9:10 pm) and went home on Thursday just after lunchtime.

I had Jonah on a Thursday morning (8:23 am) and went home Saturday just after lunchtime. They wanted to keep me until Sunday but I just couldn't stay another night, I was so homesick it was making me depressed.

[Sam]

4 hours :)

I went home at 1am with Jasmine LOL

[Kristi]

A week with Dylan because he has jaundice. I was BF him so I had to stay there with him. Not that I would have wanted to leave anyways.

With Caleb 72 hrs since he was a Csection and same with Isabella.

[Beka]

:eek Shasta and Kristi you were both up and about quick post-section, i think if i had that surgery i want them spoon feeding me for a week at least :lmao (never guess i am a big wuss with hospital procedures would you?)

[SarahJ]

I was in for a week.
AND I had a fairly normal vaginal delivery!!!

They were a bit concerned about general weakness (I passed out after giving birth) and the fact that my milk took five days to come in. Tara also had jaundice and was taking supplemental feeds as her weight was dropping fast :(
So every day I asked to go home and I was told very gently that they would love me to stay a little longer! I wasn't too fussed - it was a gorgeous private hospital with good food, lovely views of the French Alps and I had my own room. Plus Ray worked just next door and could come and see me before work, at lunch and then after work hours.

This time will be very very different. Here in NZ they discharge you to a satellite birthing unit within two hours of giving birth (barring any complications) and then you stay there for 1/2 days until you want to go home. I'm just freaked out by the idea of driving (well, dh driving and me obsessing) with my tiny little hours old newborn!!

[Jurgita]

3 days. When you have your first baby they wouldn't let you go home earlier than that here.

[giffy]

With B, I was in for 7 days as this was standard for a c-section.

With J, a VBAC, it was 6. I would have gone home on day 5 except that it was 114 degrees and no AC at home.

R was born by c-section at 8.20am on the Friday. and I went home the following Thursday. I had an extra day because we were having feedong issues.

[Heather]

With Spencer, I had him on a Saturday morning at 1:27 am, and I got to leave Sunday, sometime after noon. He stayed for 3 more weeks.

With Josh, he was a c-sec, so I had him on a Sunday at 2:31 pm and they let me leave Wednesday after noon sometime. He stayed for 6 more weeks.

Trevor was born on a Friday at 5:16 am and I got to go home Saturday at like, 6 pm or something. Things had gone pretty good, so once they were ok with Treb's blood sugar #'s, they shoo'd me on out(there were a TON of babies born the same day as him.. If I remember correctly there were at least 14..JUST that day, and I forget how many the day we were discharged).

With Miss Virg, she was born on a Monday at 9:51 am and we got to come home Wednesday afternoon sometime.. I think it was like close to 4 or 5. They kept her an extra day due to all of the bruising she had-they wanted to keep an eye on her since it was hard to tell if her breathing was ok just by looking at the tone of her skin(she was black and blue from the birth.. had 2 black eyes for the first 2 weeks of her life :(). Plus, she wasn't nursing right away and she took a little bit before she finally pooped. But! she was ok and I got to bring her home with me. Thankfully she responded Wonderfully to the photo therapy at home(with all the bruising we were in and out of the docs EVERY day for the first week and a half for blood tests-jaundice- and check ups), so I didn't have to take her back to the hospital. I totally would have in a heart beat if it had been necessary, but it would've killed me at the same time(after having to leave 2 at the hospital.... I was really hoping that she wouldn't have to go back in).

[Desirae]

Aidan.. I went in Wednesday. He was born Thursday and I was home... Monday. So four additional days after birth.

Colin was four days also. I remember I was so upset cause I thought the four days included the day of the section. :( I wanted to be home with Aidan but knew I should stay and use up that last day of "rest".

[Polly]

I was admitted Tuesday for a scheduled C and went home Saturday. Came back on Monday because Elizabeth had jaundice.

Polly

[KERRY508]

I had my kids at 5:45 a.m. on monday, and went home thursday afternoon. I got 4 days because I had c-section.

[Kate]

I had an 8 day stay with Maia...but that was because I had a borderline post-partum haemhorrage - a haemhorrage is classed as 500ml+ of blood lost, and they collected 450mls, and there was other blood they didn't catch that would have made up the difference. So between that, doing a Sarah and nearly passing out (and having to call the nurse in to rescue me from the shower) it was decided that they needed to keep an eye on us.

I also had a wonderful doctor who felt that getting breastfeeding properly established was a good reason to stay in hospital to get whatever back up was needed from all the lactation consultant midwives, except I wonder if she would have been so okay with that had the maternity unit been full...