Making Your Hospital Stay Work For You

We recently came home from the hospital with our second child. We had the unique situation of delivering baby #2 in a completely different hospital than baby #1. The stays had very big differences. Delivery process aside (both c-sections) the postpartum stays vary so greatly that we wanted to give some tips so that no matter where you deliver, you can enjoy those first few days with your baby to the maximum.

I want to leave some tips for expecting moms to get the most out your postpartum hospital stay.

TIP 1 - Nurses
All nurses are not created equal. Some nurses win awards, have been doing this for 30 years, have 12 kids of their own, and are so kind you want to call them "momma bear" and they would probably let you. Other nurses look like they should be your little sister and make you feel like you should be giving them advice on why their new nose piercing was not the best idea and that there are certain types of boys to stay away from. The last thing they seem capable of is understanding what your body just went through and what you need on an emotional level.

TO DO: Be prepared for each nurse to handle you differently. Some will just bring you a cup of pills at seemingly random times and expect you to take them without question. Some will expect you to call them when you want pain meds and then explain what hurts and how it hurts in great detail before they hand over medication, and only after they have described in detail all the possible side effects, etc. More on pain meds later. Just be prepared for different nursing styles and temperments amongst the staff that will be caring for you. They really mean it when they say they are there to help you in any way they can, so don't hesitate to ask, ask ask. The "momma bears" will even help you take a shower if you want to.

TIP 2 - Charts
There are lots of things to keep track of during your stay: when the baby eats, when the baby goes peepee and poopoo, when you go peepee and poopoo, when you take your pain meds.

TO DO: Be prepared to keep track of everything that is important to you by yourself (in other words, make sure your spouse is prepared to do this). At our first hospital stay we did this using paper charts we brought with us. At our second hospital stay there was a dry erase board we used. Second time around, we weren't so worried about when the baby last ate and for how long on each side, etc...our babies are excellent eaters and this time breastfeeding came much easier. But we were interested in keeping the pain medication I was taking on a regular schedule so that there were no periods of time when a pill was missed and the pain began to be unbearable. Let each nurse know that pain management is important to you (or breastfeeding, whatever the case may be) and that you want their help in supporting you in keeping track, etc.

TIP 3 - Meals
If you are delivering at Northwestern's Prentice, you are in luck...the food is pretty good and you get a room service menu to order from at your leisure. Most other hospitals bring you a menu the check off items on before the scheduled meal and then deliver it when they get to it.

TO DO: At Prentice there are 3 tips.
1. Ask the person that takes your order (over the phone) what you can have (i.e. one entree, 2 sides, 1 dessert and 1 drink) and then order the max. Your spouse can help you eat what you don't get to...or your toddler if she happens to be visiting when your lunch arrives with a chocolate milk and a fruit cup you hadn't planned to get to.
2. Make sure you order in advance, it really does take 60 minutes from the time you place your order to the time they bring it.
3. Find out from your doctor how soon you can order from the full menu (I think this mainly applies to c-sections). With baby #1, I had to have clears (think jello and chicken broth) for 2 whole days, but with baby#2 my doctor said I could have solids as soon as I wanted if I wasn't feeling nausiated. So within 5 hrs of having my baby, I ate mac n cheese and a fruit cup and chocolate brownies.

Tip 4 - Nursery
With baby#1, we didn't take enough advantage. By the second or third night we turned our baby over to the nursery staff for 3 hours each night so mom could get some sleep and dad could get a shower and a change of clothes and something hot to eat. We put a note in the crib with the baby that she was a breastfeeding baby only, but I think they might have given her a little something else once or twice to sooth her so I could get some sleep.

TO DO: Find out right away what the nursery policies and hours are and decide if you plan to check your new bundle of joy in during your stay so you can sleep. You can also send her to the nursery to get a bath. If you are breastfeeding only, make sure that you know whether or not they will bring her back to your room when she get fussy instead of giving her a bottle and decide how you feel about that. It's your call, sometimes a good 4 hours of sleep will be better for you than ensuring nary an ounce of formula ever passes your babies lips.