Staying VS going home

[Charlotte91]

If I was to birth naturally and there was no issues, I would discharge myself as early as possible. I think my local maternity says 5 hours after birth or stay for 3 days.

Which would/did you prefer? Staying?? Going home ASAP??

[grub17]

my first i stayed 4 nights in private hospy with dh.
with my 2nd i birth centred her up and stayed 4 hrs post birth.
If i had another i'd defninitely be heading home again asap! basically i woke up in labour, popped the kid out after 3 hrs, and got home in time for lunch and dr phil! Spent the rest of the day lounging on the lounge smiling with my baby on my chest. It really was bliss! (felt a bit surreal tho lol).

[Lily Dust]

I tranferred hospitals within 6 hours of DDs birth to my local hospital. If I had my time over, Id have left the hospital I birthed at and never looked back. If I ever do it again I wont be staying any longer that absolutely necessary. For me, the hospital stay caused so much anxiety, uncertainty and tears that I wouldnt have had at home.

[diannescruffy]

With my first I stayed 4 days only because back then you had to but with my others I was home the next day.

Regards,
Dianne

[AngelPants]

i stayed 4 days last time, mainly cause of feeding issues and high risk of PND. this time around i am hoping to go home within 24hrs. it all depends on how bubs and i after birth.

[PumpkinZulu]

Go home! I was set to go home 4 hours after, ended up having my mum visit and went home 7 hours after. I had DD at 3.30am. Was fantastic to be home

[LuluHB]

With DD1 I stayed 4 days and was climbing the walls by the end of it. Having said that, it took us until day 3 to work up the courage to bath our little girl for the first time so as new parents it was not a bad thing to have a bit longer in hospital. I still remember calling the hospital the first night we were home when DD1 was screaming and almost begging them to let me come back !

With DD2 I was home within hours of her birth. DD1 was barely 12 months old and I was desperate to get home to her, even though she was being brilliantly cared for by my parents. I don't like hospitals, love my own bed and love my own space so going home immediately was the right choice for me that time.

This time I'm still not sure what I will do. This pregnancy has been very hard physically and I'm beyond exhausted. I know I will get lots of support and help at home - DH works from home and my folks live 5 minutes away so I will have people around me to help with school drop offs, pick ups etc. Meals I know Mum will help with. The girls adore my parents and their dad, but DD2 especially is very much a mummy's girl and has no idea that "Mummy's sleeping so leave her alone for a while" applies to her. My concern is that I'll go straight from the tired state I'm in now straight into looking after the house (because I can't help myself, especially given I know we'll have visitors to meet the new baby), looking after my "big" girls, and looking after a newborn.

I had PND after DD2 was born, so I am very conscious of this time around getting as much sleep/rest as I can and making life as stress-free as possible. Whether the answer to achieving that is staying in hospital or coming home quickly is still unclear to me. Hopefully when #3 is born I'll have strong feelings one way or the other.

[OceanPrincess]

A lot of it will depend on how you are feeling and how the birth was.

With DD, I stayed in 4 nights. With DS, we stayed 1. I could have gone home after 4hrs, as is their policy, but I chose to stay the 24 hours they allowed. Part of it was just to reassure myself that all was good and part of it was as Lulu indicated above - a bit more rest in hospital before heading home. My DD was very full on at that age and while I missed her, I was glad for a bit more of a break. I found the birth centre where I had DS pretty quiet and relaxing.

With this one, see how I feel. Probably stay in one night again, or the 24 hours thing, depending on what time he/she arrives.

[~TT40~]

Part of the program I am in they give you 24hours max. Alot will depend on when Spock is born, if I stay over night or go home later in the afternoon etc.. I won't be going home home either though, I'll be going to my parents, so will probably get out of hossy asap. But there are alot of variables obviously, so just see how you feel, don't put a limit on yourself, do whatever you feel most comfortable with. You will find it being very different to your DD, little things you probably didn't think about some good and some bad. so really just go with what you and your hubby want.

[Phteven]

I much prefer being at home to being in hospital so I will always discharge myself at the first opportunity.

[HotI]

A lot of it will depend on how you are feeling and how the birth was.

Yep, and what support you have at home (practical support and medical support). After birth, it takes me awhile to get my strength back. First birth, i stayed in hospital 4 days and still needed a wheelchair to get out to the car and extra support at home. Second birth was at home, but i had daily midwife visits, my hubby was off for a few weeks and we had other practical support in terms of meals and helping out with my DD. If the 2nd was a hospital birth, and i didn't have the support available at home, i again would have wanted to stay a few days til i started to feel stronger.

[Tegam]

First stayed 3days
Second 4hrs
Third Homebirth
Forth 2hrs

I loved going straight home. With dd3 we got home at midnight and had a glass of champagne

[Amaunet]

I think it depends on where you would be staying too. I stayed 4 nights with DS1 to make sure we had bf worked out. I had my own lively quiet room and fab meals so I enjoyed my stay. With DS2 I stayed 3 nights to have some "us" time without DS1 getting jealous. Again my own room in a private hossy. If (when ) we have another I would stay again as I enjoy the recovery time and time for the bub and I to chill out together. I also love having a midwife or lac consultant to help me get bf established. However, if I was in a shared room at my local public hossy, I'd go home within 4 hours. Not restful, noisy, terrible food and the midwives are run off their feet so no real quality time for bf support etc.

[RhiChiChi]

DD I stayed in hospital for 7 nights and needed it as I was having bf issues. I discharged on Day 8 and was ready to be home. This time around it will depend on what happens with the birth & bf etc.... There policy is 4 nights for vaginal but I'll see how I go.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

DD1 was 48hrs due to GBS+ and her being my first, getting used to things.

DD2 was 48hrs due to GBS+ aswell but I would have chosen that anyway, it was nice bonding with her and getting BFing down pat.
DP & DD1 visited every day (sometimes twice for DD as mum had her while DP worked) so we could bond as a family but it was nice not being home surrounded by everyone & doing our own thing.


Sent from my iPhone, more than likely while I should be doing something else!

[naomi54]

I stayed in hossy with DS1 5 nights due to issues all round.....even then as much as i wanted to be home i was scared to come home
With DS2, i was allowed home within 4hrs but stayed for 2 nights, it was nice for bubs and i to bond together and get BF established properly this time......DH went back to work the day after i got home (so kinda wished i stayed longer lol)
This time round i will be staying atleast a night or 2 again, i like bonding alone with baby without the other 2 pushing in for attention, i do miss my kids and bed etc, but i like knowing BF is going well and bubs and i are safe......but it will depend on how i am feeling and how bubs is, i might go home earlier....(as long as hubby cleans the house before i come home LOL)

[Pholi]

it's interesting that people have so many different, but equally valid reasons, for doing opposite things.

For me, I am expecting to want to stay in what should be a private room at a private hospital for several days, because I am anticipating potential major BF issues, and I am pretty sure I'll need all the help I can get for a few days, at least.

[luna moth]

With DD I stayed 40 hours for a few reasons:
- hospy had air-con, home didn't
- wasn't all that confident with breastfeeding (in hindsight, this is ridiculous)
- wanted to feel strong enough to walk home, which I did.

If I had my time over, I'd have left a lot sooner, within 24 hours, I'd say. The interruptions, the rules, being on my own (private room, public hospy) just got to me.

This time round I'm leaving at 10am after baby is born. Unless baby is born at 9:45am, that might be pushing it. If I can walk home, I will.