Babies first night home...?

Question

Im pregnant now and i was just wondering how it was for you to take you baby home for the first time...i want to know good and bad stories....this is my first child and ill prob have to do it alone because my husband will be in basic training/tech school for the AF...so im just wondering what i should expect....

Answer 1

We were very lucky. We didn't have anybody to help us out for our first child. Lucky for us she was an angel. Babies act differently. Yes ask all the questions you can while you are at the hospital. When you get home it is a bit scary. We did not know what to expect and didn't know what we were going to do. But the momma in you will come out and you will adapt and over come all the hurdles. You may not sleep much. Expect feedings every two hrs. Bonding with your baby is crucial. Enjoy it and you will do well. Later you will look back and wonder how you did it all. Good luck.

Answer 2

take advantage of the hospital staff while you're there...not that you shouldn't bond w/ ur baby, but let the baby stay in the nursery unless ur bf'ing and the baby needs to eat...otherwise, let them take care of baby during the night so you can rest!!!

expect to not sleep through the night...ask a close friend or family member to spend the night/a few days or even a whole week w/ you...my mom stayed the whole week w/ me b/c hubby couldn't take off work...i would have died w/o her

Answer 3

It took my milk a few days to come in so there wasn't much sleeping the first couple nights home. If there is any way to have a family member or friend stay with you the first week I would strongly suggest it. It's tiring and hard to get in the swing of things. My husband originally took 1wk off of work but I had him stay home an extra few days since I didn't have family available.

To be honest the first weeks are a complete blurr, I hardly remember it.

Answer 4

Don't let anybody tell you that if you keep your child in the nursery at night so you can catch a few hours of sleep that you won't bond with your baby.  You will be so sleep deprived when you get home so rest while you can in the hospital and enjoy the help.  the first night was ruff for me because I was nervous to sleep because I couldn't "watch" the baby ( I was paranoid but don't do as I did ) just nap when baby naps and make sure you have everything set up and prepared so you don't have to do anything when you get home except take care of the baby, congratulations.

Answer 5

Well, I must say, it is the next best experience to the first time you see your child.  Wonderful feeling, having that baby home.

Now, what sucks.  My babies were underweight, of course, because they were twins and for the first few months I had to set my alarm and wake myself and the boys up for food.  They had to eat every 3 hours to ensure they would be gaining adequate weight.  The first couple weeks wasn't so bad, after that though....AHHH.  I wanted to sleep sooooo bad!  I can tell you though, don't get discouraged (even though it feels so horrible while it's going on) because when this time is over, it'll seem like it was no time at all!

edit:  Yes, my husband had to work and I didn't want to wake him every 3 hours...BUT, one thing that did save my life was pumping and boppy pillows.  I could lay each of them on a boppy and feed them...taking turns burping them.

Answer 6

My husband is in Afghanistan, so I understand being alone while trying to do everything. Our first night home went pretty well though, we had major breastfeeding issues (which turned out to be a medical issue on my part) so that was tough, but as long as you take advantage of the sleep you can get & accept help from anyone who offers you'll be just fine!!  

Answer 7

my son was such an angel at the hospital ..the first 2 night i took advantage of the nurses caring for him and the last night i took him all night long..well the first day home was nice because everyone was there a i don't think i lifted a finger ( i had a c-section) well after everyone left and it was me daddy and baby, the first few middle of the night feedings went ok,but somewhere around 5am after his feeding he had lots of gas and began to cry and cry and cry..i was so sleep deprived i couldn't function, mind you my husband never once heard the baby crying and still doesn't, anyways i started to cry and thats when my husband woke up..i had a total meltdown! take all the help you can get..and rest as much as possible!!!

Answer 8

All babies are different just remember you will be fine and sleep will come back to you in about oh say 18 years :)

LOL

I have three kids the first night home with the first was freaky cause I had never been there before, we lived

The second she slept "like a baby" :), we lived

Third he cried, and ate and slept, we lived.

The most important thing is to love your child with everything you have inside you let him/her know God, never miss a day without giving your child a hug and a kiss and telling them you love them.  

Welcome to parenthood!  

Answer 9

My first night was extremely hard. I wasn't totally bonded with my child (which is normal) and was just so exhausted from all my visitors at the hospital. I thought it was going to be so much easier at home... I was wrong. My husband helped so much but I was breastfeeding and had to be up every 2-3 hours. There was no way around this. If possible, ask for help. Perhaps a neighbor could cook you dinner because you need to eat but will be too tired to cook. Let the house work go... it will still be there when you're more rested. Any help you could get... take it!

Best of luck.  

Answer 10

Baby's Second Night

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/basics/...

Answer 11

I was alone for the first night of my sons life. I had family there but I was the one to get up with him. Its such a personal experience that no one can tell you what it will be like cause you just dont know how you will react. I can say that youll find the power to stay up and youll do it with a smile. My best advice is to have family/friends near but know that you can do it. Oh yea dont forget to eat. For some reason every mom I know forgets to eat the first couple of days. Being with someone in the service as well you might as well except that you will do alot by yourself and you just do it. I know my husbands been gone more than hes been here. Good luck with everything.

Answer 12

The first night home is a total disaster.  At least it was for me.  Figuring out on my own how to do everything was so mind boggling as I was very sleep deprived.  I got even less sleep at home than I did in the hospital as my children cried and cried and cried for about the first 6 months for about 24 hours each and every day.