Hours to days hospital postpartum:
Some of the most formative few days of your life, yet a time when you may feel the most unsure and uneasy about everything.

Many moms have never been a patient at a hospital before. It often feels like a foreign place. And while growing, birthing and loving on your baby by no means needs to be medicalized to be healthy, this is the path many (including both of us!) chose for many of our births.
It’s not a prison but also not a hotel.
I
t’s not camping but you may have gotten better sleep in a tent.
It’s a revolving door but you also have a say.
You are likely a healthy person recovering from an incredible event, yet your body feels broken.
Making new moms feel safe, respected and loved is something we carry deep into our cores.

Here we have some insider intel things to ask or advocate for, most apply to any hospital where you will be celebrating baby day:

1. Ask for the best hospital food items or drink combos

We know the best looking items from the hospital cafeteria, and the worst. We steer you in the direction of our favorites, or tell you the closest sub shop/sushi place that delivers!

We know the best hospital pantry items, and know where to go to snag more if we're out of stock (peanut butter on saltines in a pinch can be chef's kiss)

We can make you a delicious concoction of juices and sodas in mocktail form to sip on while you snuggle that baby.

2. Learn how to use the fancy hospital bed

Those hospital beds are pretty intense. They're intended for someone who is actually sick and can't get out of bed often. BUT, we can teach you how-to use all the bells and whistles in your favor:

some have USB plugs built in
raise and lower not just the head, but the feet and center
take off the footboard
keep the mattress inflated/deflated
if breastfeeding, how to maneuver it for the best chance at those early latches

3. Utilize the nursery for baby if needed
We do not want you falling asleep with your baby in your arms in a hospital bed, chair or anywhere else. The safe sleep seven is very difficult to practice in a hospital safely. You are very exhausted, your support person is exhausted, yet baby doesn't want to be put down. If your hospital has the nursery as an option, take advantage of it if you're comfortable. Rooming in is of course ideal for bonding, breastfeeding and quality sleep just to name a few, BUT we would so much rather you let us know if you can't safely care for baby during your first couple of days postpartum than get into an unsafe situation.

4. Fill in the gaps about your birth.

A lot was happening when baby was born. A whirlwind of people, emotions, sensations and possibly interventions. There most certainly are gaps in recalling everything that was going on, some of them may not have even been told to you unfortunately. So our advice, ask questions on these few topics to start:

any tearing/repairs
blood loss and your follow-up blood count
appearance of placenta
baby's Apgar scores and assessment

Much of this information will be in your discharge paperwork! But you deserve to know these things. It has been shown to help with working through birth trauma, filling in the gaps of birth.

5. Help out with the first baby bath to be comfortable when you're solo

Those itty bitty babies seem so fragile, yet sometimes so gross from their time and exit from your belly. A baby bath at the hospital is certainly not a requirement. Most hospitals now wait at least 12-24hours before offering to bathe your baby, unless you ask otherwise. You are allowed to be present and involved in the bath if you'd like one for baby! Ask questions, help with the hair part that they generally like so much, and be ready for the snuggles after. Using the baby soap from the hospital is also not necessary, you are welcome to bring your own (like you did for yourself) or even opt for a bath with no water. And by bath, we mean a sponge bath or in very shallow water until that umbilical cord stump falls off.

6. Understand how to use perineal products and/or incision at baseline
We truly do want you to know how to care for your own body. Asking for a demonstration on how to apply the cooling spray, tucks, etc are encouraged! Ask questions about them and can even have your partner listen in so they can get it ready for you while you're using the bathroom. For cesarean births, knowing what is normal for your incision is huge. We encourage a lot of moms to take a picture of their incision so they know what it looks like at baseline. If a picture isn't your thing, a nurse can describe to you the areas of bruising or parts to look out for. We want to empower you to feel like you've got this!

7. Ask for all baby care and assessments be done in your room

You are the parent, you are most certainly able to ask that they stay with you. Certain things baby may not be allowed to stay with you are sterile procedures (like a circumcision) or testing like ultrasounds, echocardiograms etc. If your baby is in the NICU, the baby will not be able to stay in the room with you, and their policies will be a little different. But still remember you are the parent. They want you, and only you.

8. Encouragement and bags to take all your goodies home with you

Anything opened will be thrown out when you leave (yes its a waste!) so take it with you! Wipes, diapers, all the perineal care products, underwear, nipple cream, pump parts etc! We even have plastic bags to take things home with you. You don't have to sneak this stuff out, its yours!

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