# If you had a hospital birth, did you cosleep?



## FitMama (Jul 20, 2003)

I got to wondering this. I had an unmedicated hospital birth and we had rooming-in. But I just couldn't put my precious gift in that plastic box they called a crib. I am a totall by-the-book goody-goody, and was afraid the nurses would tell me to put the baby in the crib, but they didn't. DH stayed in my room in a cot and we took turns sleeping with the baby. I felt like I never wanted that baby to spend another night's sleep away from me. And he hasn't yet!


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## TigerTail (Dec 22, 2002)

yup, with the last two (with the c-sec i did put him down a lot, but he was right next to me or in dh's arms the whole time otherwise.) hospitals have gotten better since my dd was born & i had to practically cry to get her (but even then, there were nurses who wanted to 'reward' me for wanting my baby, you could tell their attitude, & they brought her to me much more than 'scheduled'. of course, i'm glad they were nicer with the last two, i was much bitchier in my late thirties than early twenties, lol.)

in fact, everyone there was at least rooming in. and *trying*







to bf. (if only the circ rate was as enlightened.)

suse


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## mommystinch (May 18, 2004)

My daughter was born at a Birth Center, and then transfered to the hospital NICU. She spent her first night in a plastic basinet, but I fought to get a boarding room, and she spent the next to nights in the hospital in a small hospital bed between me and my husband. It wasn't planned from the begining, but I would never change it


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## bu's mama (Mar 25, 2004)

Yes! I wound up getting one of the LDRP rooms which made it a lot easier also. It was so wonderful to have her snuggle next to me. I didn't think much about cosleeping before, but after my hospital stay I was a convert.

The nurses asked a lot to but her back in the nursery & I just politely said no she's doing great here. Some nurses were definitely better than others, & the annoying ones I just said she was nursing when she was in bed with me. When they took her to give her the hearing test, they brought her back & said they 'had' to give her a bottle & didn't want to bother me







: (yeah, that's why I wanted to be a mother, to not be bothered), so it made me feel better that she was with me. Who knows what else they may have 'had' to do.


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## guestmama9924 (Mar 16, 2002)

With my first, yes, and got in SO much trouble....my nurse was a complete maniac....needless to say I had #2 at home


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## WithHannahsHeart (Apr 22, 2003)

I did and of course she roomed in with me. It's all a bit fuzzy, but i do remember lying with her and at least trying to sleep, or us holding her as she slept. I didn't sleep much there, period - they ran a lot of useless tests on her and she didn't nurse well while we were there. But we spent a lot of time together, her mostly in my arms or daddy's when i wasn't trying to get her to nurse. It was sweet and lovely, and nobody tried to convince me to do anything else







.


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## Galatea (Jun 28, 2004)

I had ds at a hospital but with a midwife (insurance wouldn't pay for birth center). The midwives are well-known and no one messes with one of their babies. So he slept with me the second night and the bedrails made me feel secure. He was born at 9:33 p.m. so the first night he slept in the plastic thingy next to my bed and it was great that the nurses came in and changed him. But no one bothered us otherwise.


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## bethwl (May 10, 2003)

Yes. We also put her in the plastic box for some time, but we also slept with her on the bed. We were in a family birthing room with a queen bed and the baby never left the room (except for hearing test, to which dh accompanied her). However, we were there barely 24 hours after her birth, so we only had one night to really sleep together. During the day, someone was holding her all the time (my parents, my sister, or me or dh).

--Beth
dd Annika 8.9.03


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## Pukka (Apr 27, 2003)

Yes, though I didn't actually sleep. I just can't sleep in a hospital. Too noisy.
At first I had dd in the plastic bassinet because I didn't like the distance between the rails and the bed but then I figured out I could squish a pillow in there. Once I did that, dd was w/ me. The nurses at my hospital were WONDERFUL!!! Very pro-bf'ing. Encouraging me to bf as often as possible and for as long as possible. No one said a negative word to me about anything! I would have my 2nd there in a heartbeat!


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## Phoebe (Jun 12, 2003)

Yup. I was just telling ds that he spent his first night in the crook of my arm after I had my c section. He started out in his "box" but I couldn't reach him from my bed to sooth him. Dh was there too but I wanted to pat him and love on him. The nurse was the one that said "here, do this..." and she placed him there...bless her. I was just telling dh tonight how I can't imagine putting my just born baby in the nursery the first night out of the womb. How traumatic.

Anyway, lightening is happening...gotta unplug the computor!!


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## clothcrazymom (Sep 13, 2003)

I had cesarean births and still roomed in with the babies







I think the only requirement was that someone else was there with me to lift the baby if I needed...which was no big deal since we had it planned that way anyway. Actually, most of the hospitals where we live don't have a "nursery". So rooming in is very much encouraged...so was bfing


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## kofduke (Dec 24, 2002)

The first night I did not - was on magnesium sulfate, and didn't trust myself. The second night I just held him all night and stared at him!


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## beth568 (Jul 1, 2004)

Yep. I live in Boston and as far as I know, most of the major hospitals here strongly encourage rooming-in as long as there's no reason for the baby to be monitored in a nursery. I kept DD in the bed with me practically the whole time and none of the nurses said anything about it, except for one older night nurse who kept wanting to put her in the bassinet, take her to the nursery, or supplement her with formula.







: But everyone else was lovely about it. And that way I didn't have to worry about lifting the baby or reaching over to the bassinet after my section.

I'm planning to do the same thing this time, only I will be MUCH more assertive about it if anyone dares question me.


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## Colorful~Mama (Feb 20, 2003)

yep. coslept with all three babies. two cesarean hospital births and last summer my vba2c hospital birth. baby never left my arms


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## captain optimism (Jan 2, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FitMama*
DH stayed in my room in a cot and we took turns sleeping with the baby.

We did this, too. I was really tired after a long birthing process with many interventions, so dh actually slept with him a little more than I did. I took a photo, even though I was so tired I couldn't see, of my dh and my ds sleeping together for the first time. Wow.


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## GatorNNP (May 17, 2004)

I coslept with my ds most of the time in the hospital after my c/sec. The first night I kinda had to wait for a bunch of the drugs to wear off that they had given me since for heavy bleeding I had to have clot removed manually-yuk! Also they wouldn't let me hold him because my BP was too high, but what was wrong was I was really P-O'd, so my friend demanded that I get the baby in my hands and then the vital signs went down to normal! My sister stayed with us the second night since dh had to get sleep for final exams and she also slept with me and baby in my hosp bed.
One night I let him go to the nursery but that is because I worked at the hospital and my good friend is the nursery nurse, so I let them love on him a little while I was asleep.
The hospital policy is to inform moms that it is their instructions to put babies in the plastic bucket if they are going to sleep. (we have had several babies fall and hit the deck, one even had a fractured skull) I think some are on a little too much pain medication to be fully alert.


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## StephandOwen (Jun 22, 2004)

Yup, after a few times trying to get out of the bed to get Owen when he needed me I *gave up* and kept him with me. The nurses kept coming in but whenever they asked me to put him back I said he was nursing







They all encouraged rooming in but also made sure I knew if I needed a break I could put him in the nursery (which I actually did at one point because SOB (now ex) was *too tired* to wake up and watch DS the day after he was born so I could shower







: I should have seen it then that he wasn't ever going to help. Grrr... sorry, still a little bitter







). I didn't eactly plan to co-sleep but that one night converted me


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## Verity (Aug 29, 2003)

My first did not, but we had an LDRP room and ds was right beside my bed. (He went to the nursery only for about half an hour, and dh was with him the whole time.) With my second, I didn't stay overnight. My third slept with me in the hospital bed.


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## Fianna (Sep 4, 2003)

Yes, I did. But when the annoying nurse came in to take my blood pressure and temp in the middle of the night, she said something like, "When the baby is in the room with you she needs to stay in the bassinet." What the heck?! I just looked at her blankly and she went away. Then I went back to sleep with my baby by my side. Thank goodness we were only there one night.


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## eclipse (Mar 13, 2003)

i didn't with ds, but he spent most of the time we were in the hospital in the NICU. with dd, she slept the first night (and only night we stayed - wouldn't have even spent one night, but she was born at 11pm) sleeping next to my breast. no one said a word.


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## aprildawn (Apr 1, 2004)

yes and no. i had 4th degree tears and had a hard time moving. so if she was in the bassinet she stayed there. if she was in bed with me nursing, she stayed there. i wasn't intentional about having her in bed with me or not having her in bed with me. my mom spent both nights i was in the hospital with me so dh could sleep at home and get some rest. dd slept with her some too. sweet, huh?


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## mamaroni (Sep 12, 2003)

My first was born in the "midwives room" at the hospital. We had a queen bed, so all 3 of us got to sleep together (until the mean ped came in and yelled at me for not giving her the hep b shot--I didn't sleep much after that, I was too busy packing to leave! We were there just over 24 hours total). My second was born in the same hospital with the same midwife, but the room was already occupied. So we had a regular hospital room/bed, and I did have ds in my bed with me, dh next to us on a bed/chair thing. We were there less than 12 hours total.

We stayed home last time


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## babibelli (Jun 4, 2002)

for the first night, no-and it was not much fun for either of us (i didn't know about ap and cosleeping at the time) the second night i brought her into bed with me and she's been there ever since


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## fiikske (Jun 29, 2004)

Hi FitMama!

We also had a hospital birth, and although I only stayed one night, I really had a horror of those plastic cribs. So yes, we co-slept! The only moment where Hannah was put in the crib was just when the nurse brought me some food, and thought she'd help me by putting Hannah in the crib. But at her first scream, I took her out... and never put her back in there again.

Greetz,
Fiikske


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## Marsupialmom (Sep 28, 2003)

I had my first in a military hospital that really had no nursery. The only thing the nurses asked of me was to stuff this pillow between him and the bed rail. There was a huge gap they didn't want him to fall through.

All three of them co-slept with me in the hospital.

What was fun is when I had my second my son stayed the night in the hospital with us. He was on a twin size pull out couch with my husband. It was not until about 4 in the morning that they realized he was still there because he was soooooooooo good. LMAO!


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## loving-my-babies (Apr 2, 2004)

yes, we did the rooming in thing too. my son did not leave my side for the entire hospital stay. even when they did the PKU test (or whatever it's called) they wanted to take him upstair and I said no seree! I'm taking him myself and nursing him while you're at it! I told them it was my way or the highway. I did get a nurse come and she really wanted to help me "learn how to bathe him" and insisted on doing it himself, I said she could go bathe all the other babies, mine is just fine as he is!


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## annethcz (Apr 1, 2004)

DC1 was born in a hospital, and I coslept with him our first night. DH wimped out on me and went home to sleep. But I still have wonderful memories of cuddling with my brand new son on his first night.









Both DDs were born at home, so they got to sleep with both mommy & daddy their first nights (and beyond...)


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## loving-my-babies (Apr 2, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *annethcz*
But I still have wonderful memories of cuddling with my brand new son on his first night.









isn't that the most wonderful feeling in the world? My son is 5 months, and I remember that feeling of sleeping with your brand new baby, trying to breathe it all in! I closed my eyes and just wanted all my senses to be concentrated on enjoying that one moment that you can never live again... oh maaan, now I got emotional.. lol.... when I think of those first few hours, I always do!


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## fleuretlumiere (Feb 3, 2004)

WIth DD no because I was too exhausted to have been careful but I napped with one hand on her then held her the rest of the time.

With DS we were there for one night and I held him next to me all night







I used breastfeeding as my excuse when the nurses came in. For our hospital tour the guide actually said no cosleeping on the hopsital bed and no dh on the bed either. We didn't get any trouble though.


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## Devaskyla (Oct 5, 2003)

Yes & no. Both hospitals I was in for ds had no nursery, so he was in my room. Hospital number 1, dh was there with me all the time (it was an hour and half from home), so if I had to get up, he could hold ds while I manoeuvered (bad c-section), when we moved to the local hospital, dh went home and I couldn't figure out how to get out of bed with ds in it by myself, so he slept in the plastic things the next two nights.







I only recent thought that at the very least, I should have reorganized the room as best I could (it was really tiny) so that the plastic box was next to me instead of across the room. That was so hard trying to get to him!

I never planned on co-sleeping, though. It just kind of happened when ds started not staying/going back to sleep when I moved him after nursing. One night I just couldn't take it anymore when rocking and rocking him from the couch didn't work and laid him on my chest for a minute. He was completely out as soon as I did that and I managed to get a great sleep and we never looked back.


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## Taosmama (May 2, 2002)

With ds, I got transferred from the birthing center to the hospital and ultimately had a c/s, but we co-slept from the very beginning - in fact, me, ds and dh were squished in that twin bed much of the time!

Sadly, I had preterm labor with dd and she was born by c/s at 31 weeks, so she was taken away to the NICU. It was so sad to be back in my room with no baby to hold. But she's 18 mos old now, healthy, and glued to my side all night long!


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## tarahsolazy (Jan 26, 2004)

Yep, I had a C/S after a 32 hour failed induction for pre-eclampsia, and DS was with us the entire time. He slept in the hospital bed with me, or on the daddy daybed with DH. There is no nursery at the hospital I delivered at. If a mama wants a break from her babe and is alone, the nurses just have the plastic bassinet at the nurses station. They never said a thing, pos or neg, about the cosleeping, and were very pro BF. But, this is the Pacific NW.


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## littleaugustbaby (Jun 27, 2003)

We co-slept in the hospital. I had never actually planned on co-sleeping until DD was born, but once I had her, I just couldn't put her down!







She stayed in my arms the majority of our hospital stay, and when we got home, I figured that there was no reason to change a good thing, so she slept in my bed with me.


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## bc1995 (Mar 22, 2004)

Both of my ds's were born in a hospital. I coslept with both of them the one night each we were there.


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## dharmama (Dec 29, 2002)

YES!

We had a great hospital birth experience and I kept dd in bed with me the whole time with MUCH support and encouragement from the nurses!!









We planned to leave asap but stayed an extra day because it was such a positive experience.


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## sarahmae1 (Nov 11, 2002)

Yes and No.

With my first I didn't really, he was actually in the nursery a lot of the time because I was really sick (eclamsia and on mag sulfate, etc.) and couldn't really move. They did bring him to me to nurse and I couldn't get up or anything so I would nurse him side-lying in bed and keep him there until they came back and got him. Once we were home he co-slept with us in our bed the whole time.

With my second I did a lot of the time, but at the beginning of the night he would usually start out in his little bassinet thingy. That's they same as it is at home though too. He starts his night in the arm's reach and when he wakes up he comes into bed with me. I didn't get into trouble or anything, just when the nurses would come in some of them would be like 'where's the baby?' and then 'oh'. I would just say, oh I was just feeding him. They encouraged rooming in and he was with me the whole time.

I guess I should add that both were born by c-section.


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## Piglet68 (Apr 5, 2002)

I had a cesarian and yes! I was in the hospital for four nights and she slept with me every night from day one. The only time she saw the nursery was for her nightly weighings (and I went with her - I recovered super fast), or for a couple of things when DH went with her to make sure nobody tried to sneak her a bottle, pacifier, etc. (which of course they didn't b/c it was a great hospital - also in Boston!).

I actually loved the hospital bed. It had rails, and I put a pillow on either side under my arms. DD slept on my chest the whole time - she'd just fall asleep there nursing. And then I could use the remote controls to move the head of the bed down for us to sleep, then up for us to nurse. Wow - I really wished I had one of those beds at home, lol!

I hated those bassinets. Imagine going from a cozy womb to a plastic bucket with no physical contact with a human...YUCK.

The nurses never said anything - well, one came and and gave lip service to being careful about the baby in bed...but it was apparent she really didn't care, lol.

I plan to do the same with this baby - and I'll scream bloody murder if anybody tries to take him away from me!!


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## erlyco (May 31, 2004)

I had a c-section and still roomed with DS.

He went to "special care" until 2am the first night, but was with me after that. They wouldn't let me keep him in the "box" in my room because I couldn't get up, but they let me keep him in the bed with me, esp. since I was learning to BF. And thus, we became co-sleepers by accident.

I guess my emergency c-section was a blessing in disguise!!


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## monkaha (Jan 22, 2004)

I did with both. I did it with DD mostly because I was afraid someone would wheel her away while I was sleeping (I thought I was being wierd, after all, that's what those plastic bassinets are for, right? LOL). With DS, it was because I just wanted to be near him, and I hurt way too much to get up and down to get him from the bassinet.

I was just thinking about this last nite after watching friends, the one where rachel has her baby-you almost never see her holding the babe. Is that how "most" people are? But after reading this thread, I'm reassured that most people can't keep their hands off the babes. (yeah, I know, it's tv, not real life, but still, it IS a reflection of our culture.)


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## Nate (Sep 3, 2003)

DD was a c/s, and came at 10 or so at night (how horrible, I can't remember anymore!). By the time we got settled in our room it must've been after midnight, and I remember the night nurse strongly encouraging us to let her take dd to the nursery "just because you guys are so exhausted." And we let her.









But after that she slept w/ me in the bed--we were there 3 nights, and I think one night she was in the bassinet for a while, but she woke & started crying, and I couldn't get dh to wake up, and so I had to get up & hobble over and lift her out. THat was the end of the bassinet! :LOL Our night nurse was pretty good in a number of ways, but I still remember her telling me on more than one occasion about incidents where the baby fell and got trapped by the rails, or to be careful about having dd in the bed "because I'd hate for her to fall or get smothered or anything."







I just ignored her.

We tried to have her sleep in a cradle when we got home, but she just looked so lost in there! The first night she was in it for a while, and she started crying & dh woke up first to get her--I still remember him saying "couldn't you hear her?" Well, gee, I had a horrible cold last week, found out our dog has cancer, then had major surgery & my hormones are going nuts--hmm, I think maybe I'm entitled to be tired! After that we co-slept...


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## Piglet68 (Apr 5, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *monkaha*
II was just thinking about this last nite after watching friends, the one where rachel has her baby-you almost never see her holding the babe. Is that how "most" people are?

Sadly, when I would walk the floor of the L&D ward for my "exercise", I saw alot of this. I'd see mamas sitting up on their beds watching TV with the baby in the bassinet, sometimes over at the end of the room. I'd see visitors chatting away with the new mama while the baby was in the bassinet. And, despite the encouragment to room-in, I also saw several babies in the nursery.

I just really don't get it at all. When I see a tiny baby, I ache to hold him/her...what is wrong with these people? Well, actually I'm not sure anything is wrong with them, just that the image of babies lined up in a nursery is so pervasive, still.


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## wombat (Nov 3, 2002)

I had a c/s and we had rooming in.

I'm surprised to hear c/s moms saying they coslept in the hospital. Didn't the painkillers affect you? I think they gave me Duromorph in my IV after the c/s. The nurses would keep checking on me when they knew I was holding dd. And sometimes they'd take her off me and put her back in the bassinet (when dh wasn't around) - I think because the painkillers can make you nod off. And I've seen heroin addicts nod off and it was like that. After the Duromorph wore off, they gave me Percocet which also made me sleepy. In fact I had to halve the dose to stay awake. I was upset because I couldn't hold dd as much as I'd liked but I actually appreciated the nurses keeping tabs on me because I was too out of it, and not only that, I wasn't aware of how out of it I was.

We coslept when I got home but because I was on Percocet for a few weeks, I put dd in a SnuggleNest.


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## mammabear (Oct 21, 2002)

With both of my hospital births my babies coslept with me. It was frowned upon by the nurses, but I slept light and acted like I hadn't been sleeping when they came in.


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## sntm (Jan 1, 2004)

I did most of the time, but not entirely intentionally. Was not as crunchy then.







But I found it hard to reach over the side of the plastic isolette to lift him out to BF him. So, he ended up sleeping with me most of the time. DH has pictures of us both looking zonked with my boob hanging out









Just saw on lactnet athis awesome link -- look down to page 5 (I think) for the picture. hospital cosleeping


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## Nate (Sep 3, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sntm*
Just saw on lactnet athis awesome link -- look down to page 5 (I think) for the picture. hospital cosleeping

That is so cool!


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## prmom (Jun 14, 2004)

I did the cosleep in the hospital thing too. No complaints, infact sometimes dh would sleep with ds2 and ds2's temp was low so the nurses would ask dh if I could just hold ds2 skin to skin so that his temp would normalize. Also, one night a nurse came in to take our vitals and dh and ds2 were sleeping beautifully and the nurse said " How cute, I don't think I will disturbe their sleep". I coslept some with ds1 but was much more exhausted from my c/b so it was more difficult to trust myself to not drop him while I was groggy with meds.


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## Nate (Sep 3, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *wombat*
I had a c/s and we had rooming in.

I'm surprised to hear c/s moms saying they coslept in the hospital. Didn't the painkillers affect you?

Hmm...I know I was pretty out of it right after surgery, but I don't think the painkillers after that were particularly narcotic. I'm glad in a way that they took dd to the nursery that first night, b/c we were a mess, (wish it hadn't happened that way, but that's different). But I don't remember feeling particularly out of it. In fact, I feel like I was remarkably focused--but then we'd had a really tough week b/f her birth, so I think I was just relieved to be somewhere where I didn't have to cook, do laundry, think about sick pets, etc., and could just concentrate on baby & have food brought to me on demand.


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## Piglet68 (Apr 5, 2002)

The painkillers didn't affect me one bit, except that I felt no pain! Seriously, I was not the least bit groggy. I was on IV narcotic analgesics for the first 24 hours, then switched to Tylenol with Codeine (which I've taken before and know does not affect me adversely in any way).


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## Katie's Momma (Jun 11, 2004)

No, because my baby was in the Special Care Nursery!


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## jeca (Sep 21, 2002)

yes, with my last one they were super breastfeeding and cosleeping friendly. No formula bags at the end of the stay or anything, they didn't even have a nursery.


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## SMPH (Apr 25, 2003)

I had a c/b and we coslept. I only took Motrin after the surgery though...no hard painkillers. Nobody said anything to me at all.

My hospital is "breast friendly" and never offers formula. It's the only *group* of hospitals like this in the nation...they don't take formula from the companies so any formula they have on hand is stuff they've bought so they aren't quick to hand it out. I asked a nurse about the nursery while I was being discharged (on Wednesday) and she said it hadn't been used since Saturday. It's only used in "emergencies".


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## Autumnschild (Jul 20, 2004)

Yes, I kept both my DD's in my arms! With my first, it bothered me because they gave me Demerol, and I was scared to fall asleep with her in my bed.

With my youngest, I actually had a birth plan and was quite obnoxious, I'm sure, about my baby's treatment. I gave birth naturally, and insisted they leave the cord until it stopped pulsing. I had them package up the placenta for me to take home. They wanted to stick a tube down her throat to clear mucus from her stomach and I freaked out! I wouldn't let them put the ointment in her eyes or give her the vitamin K shot. After they weighed her, I insisted they give her right back. I wouldn't even let them take her to the nursery to bathe her! The pediatrician who came later to examine her commented on it...said he'd heard about me from the nurses...

So you can imagine that she slept in my arms the entire time we were there. I sure didn't...too busy gazing at my beautiful new daughter!

Sheri - proud mama of Sophia (2 years) and baby Claire (3 weeks)


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## marchmom19 (Jan 21, 2002)

i did too with my second (my first was in nicu at another hospital).

the nurse actually tucked baby into bed with me (I was so surprised) and put the chairs beside the bed to act as a railing and pillows. It was the night nurse.

The next night the nurse took the baby with her when I couldnt get him to stop crying and he fell asleep with her in her arm, and I was out when she brought him back to me. She just put him in the crib beside me (plastic box). I was so tired. But was so glad that the nurse cuddled him to sleep.

Was sooo amazing.







(this was in germany too!):


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## kofduke (Dec 24, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nate*
That is so cool!









That's the coolest little snuggle-nest thing I've ever seen! Those hospital beds are so tiny it must be a big help!


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## 3 little birds (Nov 19, 2001)

Nope, the first thing I was told when I got to my room after my c/sec with the twins was that I was under no circumstances to put the babies in the bed with me, blah, blah, blah.









One of the (many) reasons I had my son at home.


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## jessanddanny (Jan 11, 2004)

I co-slept at the hospital w/Seth and the nurses acted like I was NUTS!! Everytime they'd come in they'd try to take him and put him in his bed "so I'll sleep better!?" I would say NO, this is what I'll be doing at home and what I'll be doing here. It was a fight, but, I LOVED IT!!


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## rubysmomjess (Apr 23, 2004)

I haven't read all the replies yet but yes we coslpet at the hospital. We didn't have to sign anything (that I can remember). In fact, when the nurse came in to take dd's temp in them iddle of the night she recommend going skin to skin to keep dd warmer (born in december).

In the new hospital where i'd deliver if we do another hospital birth there are now queen size beds in the maternity section so Daddy came join in too! Also in both hospitals there is no nursery so you have to room in with your baby. Which I think is nice.

I would ask your hospital in advance.


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## julie128 (Jan 9, 2003)

both times. actually, w/dd1, dh slept w/her the first night.
nak


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## HRC121799 (Aug 8, 2003)

I had two hospital births, both c-sections (first emergency, second a planned cesarean) and neither of my boys ever slept (or spent time in, except for a couple diaper changes) in the little plastic bed. Both times the babies were in bed with me, or sleeping on dh (or in my 2nd ds's case, on my sister when she stayed one night in the hospital with me). So they were always in someone's arms. We never heard anything from the nurses on this that was negative. We never thought twice about it.
**ETA...after my first c-section, I was very, very out of it, dh held ds the entire time until I was awake enough to participate, the painkillers I had after that didn't affect me in a way that would make it unsafe to hold him in bed. With my second c-section, I felt great before, during & after, no nausea or sickness or grogginess from the painkillers, I was fine.


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## scrakalak (Jul 22, 2004)

Hello! This is my first post since my intro, so I just wanted to say hello!







: I co-slept in the hospital with my daughter 2.5 years ago. In fact, there wasn't really even a nursery to speak of in the place. They encouraged rooming in. I thought they'd give me a hard time about having her in my bed all night. But, no one said anything about it. They seemed just fine with it. They were very breastfeeding friendly, I had nurses and lactation consultants sit with me several times during our stay and help us get started. Other than, we were totally left alone in our homey little room where we labored, delivered and stayed for a day or two.

Very soon after her birth, they opened my gown and encouraged me to take her blanket off and keep her skin to skin on my chest during nursing and for warmth and closeness. I felt very supported and happy with my stay. It was a lot different from when my older children were born 14 and 17 years ago.

They had no pacifier or bottle on her little glass crib that was only used for when I had to go to the bathroom or change or as a little storage bin for her things, even without my specifying they did these things to support our nursing and close relationship right from the start. I think they took her from me once for about 10 minutes or so for an exam and PKU test during our stay.

They did have a holding room for babies, if absolutely needed, but it was the size of a closet, not the typical nursery, no babies were even in there that I saw. Babies were expected to stay with their mothers. And this is not a birthing center, just a regular city hospital.


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## ChinaDoll (Jul 27, 2003)

yes, with my 2nd (we didn't start co-sleeping with my first til 9 weeks)

nurses noticed but never mentioned it, and i would have fought them if they suggested otherwise. of course they already knew we were "out there" since I we kept our dd in the delivery room (up until the actual delivery, nursed her while in labor, then brought her right back in to tandem nurse with her new brother), and DH and I pushed our beds together so we could both sleep next to him!


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## Messy Nessie (Apr 13, 2004)

Rooming in was encouraged, but we had to sign a form that stated we agreed that we would not sleep with the baby in bed







My DD was a very sleepy baby and it didn't bother her much, but it bothered me! Another reason that I will be planning a homebirth with future babies!


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## Annalisasmom (Jul 9, 2004)

I co-slept in the hospital...They told me not to but I just couldn't put her in the plastic "bin"


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## Peppamint (Oct 19, 2002)

My dd was born in the hospital, and we coslept. They kept wanting to take her away and brought her back when I dozed off and put her in the bassinet, but when I woke up I took her back. I hated that they kept wanting to take her.







:

My ds was born at home. No separation and we never had a crib or bassinet. We took a nap in our bed a couple hours after the birth.


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## Lucysmama (Apr 29, 2003)

One night I did. The last night I was there.

The first night I was accidentally given too much morphine ( double dose right after my cesarean) and I was knocked out for 24 hours. I vaguely remember opening my eyes and looking around a few times, but it never even occured to me that I had just had a baby. I was seriously messed up.

The next night, I was still coming out of my haze. I tried holding dd in the bed with me, but I kept forgetting I was holding her and almost dropping her. I was just so doped up.

By the last night I was out of the morphine haze and she slept with me and stayed with me the whole time. But I am so sad I missed those nights. She did sleep in the room with dh and I, just in her little plastic box.


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## earthdaymomma2004 (Jul 5, 2004)

During my hospital stay we did room in, but I didn't feel comfortable having dd in the hospital bed w/ me while I slept. I felt too awkward. We were at the hospital two nights. As soon as she got home we were cosleeping...and I just love it!!


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## crat19 (Jul 25, 2002)

My ds was born naturally at 12:40 pm and we went home at 6:40 pm that day. The hospital required that we stay for no shorter than 6 hours after birth to ensure no complications occured. I did have to sign a waiver form tho. We slept all together in our own bed at home for our first night as a family of 3. Of course, this was possible because I had a fairly easy labor and delivery (considering it was my first!) and there were no complications. I had a wonderful doula for the labor and the nurses at the hospital were incredibly supportive of our choices. Our ds is 15 months now and we still cosleep.


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## shelbean91 (May 11, 2002)

I had rooming with all 3 kids (2 vag deliveries, one c-section) and coslept with them some of the time. I would put them down to eat or go to the bathroom and if they stayed asleep, I let them sleep in the bassinette. They were swaddled pretty tightly and didn't often notice getting put down. Overnight, they would usually stay with me in the bed.

With the first 2, the only time they were in the nursery was for the ped checks and the discharge class they have for moms before they go home. By #3, I decided I didn't need the class (nurses still tried to make me go, but doc said I didn't have to) and my ped was also my ob, so baby checks were done in room. Also w/#3, he had to be in the nursery for about 24 hrs to be under the bililights for jaundice, but he was brought to me every 3 hours for nursing. The nurses were great. I did have percocet for pain, but it didn't make me sleepy at all. The first day after the c-sec, they gave me something to stop the nausea and vomiting and a shot of demerol for pain (wasn't keeping anything down by mouth yet) and I was out of it, but still holding ds.

Hindsight being 20/20, I really was in NO condition to hold him- my doc and the other surgeon came in to talk to me and I really remember nothing of that conversation. I remember them being there and that was about it. I was very, very sleepy and out of it.


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## jacksmama (Sep 19, 2003)

At the hospital I stayed at they MADE you keep the baby in your room AND my nurses told me that sleeping with my baby was what I SHOULD do so I didn't have to keep getting up (I had c sec) and it was easier to BF! Funny, I had never even heard about co-sleeping then. I just did what I was told to do. I've never even thought about that whole time until right now. I must have had the SMART nurse crew?!! In retrospect it started us out on the right foot. Thank you good nurses!


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## BurnsideMommy (Jan 25, 2004)

Yup.

I had Austin at 11:14. Couldn't sleep until after 3 cause I was just so excited that he was here. I finally was getting tired and put him in that plastic box for an hour. He woke up crying & hungry, and I was so out of it that I didn't hear him cry. DH woke up, got him and brought him to me (had to wake me up). I was so devistated that I didn' hear my baby - I kept him in my bed the rest of the time I was there. He never cried after that at the hospital at all.

The nurses never said anything about him sleeping in my bed.
He's slept in our bed every night ever since.









My sister had her baby, and was always told not to sleep with baby in her bed. She got in trouble a lot from them. This nurse also got mad at us because her baby was asleep, and Austin was asleep so we laid them in the bed together and both of us sat at the foor of the bed talking & watching them (and taking photos). The nurse said it was bad for them to be there and insisted we move them?!? Not like anything is going to happen when we're 5 inches from them. This was up in Canada. You couldn't pay me to have a baby at that hospital.

Now I had Hunter at home, and he also has always slept in our bed.

Rissa


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## Mariposa (Nov 12, 2002)

no.







abby was born at 8pm and i was then put on mag sulfate for 14 hours or so. i was so sick from that they took her to the nursery about 1-2 hours after she was born and she had breastfed. i could barely hold her when they brought her to me she felt sooo heavy at not even 5.5lbs. i was so weak. i am sad that we missed that time together, but i had really high BP even after delivery. we have made up for it though! still HAPPILY cosleeping at 2!

the second night, they wouldn't let me keep her because my blood pressure was too high and i was in a double room so DH couldn't sleep over. luckily the nursery nurse brought her to me a lot and i kept her as long as they would let me. and she would stop by and tell me how she was whenever she passed by with another baby. i did fall asleep with her once, but they took her away for safety reasons.

just wanted to add that i am soon to be a postpartum nurse. when i did my externship in postpartum, we had to wake a sleeping mom and tell them to put baby in the bassinet for safety reasons. if i walk in on a sleeping couple, unless i actually have a reason to worry or to assess them, i will sneak out as fast as i can and let them be. of course, i won't have seen anything...


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## mackinsiesmom (Apr 3, 2004)

I had dd in bed with me. She didn't like that "crib" in the hospital and I didn't want her away from me. I waited nine months to hold her I wasn't about ready to let her sleep somewhere else. I didn't get much sleep those two nights because sleeping with a baby wasn't allowed and I was afraid that they would yell at me for it (it was a military hospital). So everytime someone came in I would have to wake up and pretend that I was awake so I didn't get yelled at (one of the many reasons why next time will be at home or in a birthing center).


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## polka hop (Dec 23, 2003)

*


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