no baby bathing in hospital

[jembelina]

I want to know if I am the only one?? Who else chose NOT to bath their baby in hospital???
I knew I didn't want to as I didn't feel it to be necessary and it was something I wanted to experience in the comfort of my own home. Every single midwife I encountered was most surprised (and generally very disapproving) and tried everything to get me to change my mind. Day 2 at home ds had a beautiful warm, relaxing(for all) bath at home with mummy and daddy............very happy with my choice!
This came up at mothers group the other day and everyone was surprised......."oh, why??"

So, I want to hear from other mums who made this choice too!

[bec79]

I did bath my DD whilst in hospital. It is definately your decision to/not to bath your baby while there, but I can see why mid-wives would try to get you to change your mind. I don't think it would have been the cleansing issue, but more an issue of making sure you know how to do it correctly. I know this sounds silly (who wouldn't know how to bath a baby) but you would be suprised.

[rockabye]

I did bath my ds in hospital only because i'm such a fraidy cat. I was a nervous first time mum. I had a great midwife with me who put all my worries at ease.

But hey, if you were confident enough to do you at home by yourself then i say good on ya!!!!!! :thumbsup:

Some midwives really S*!t me! :banghead:

[cwsmum]

I bathed both my bubs in hospital...I had bad tears with both of them so they were kinda messy. I bathed DS on the 3rd day, the first day I could stand longer than a few seconds without my stitches throbbing...and DD on the 2nd day, mostly to fill in time while waiting for DH to arrive to pick me up.

I aggree that the midwives are pretty pushy when it comes to things like that. The hospital I went to they will show you how to bath bub...so you don't even have to do it the first time, even tho most mums want to give their bubs their first bath themselves.

Good on you for doing things you way :thumbsup:

[Melo]

DS was bathed in hospital, me and DP wouldn't of had a clue how to do it! I didn't even watch I was sitting on a chair in the room because they had heaters on it the room (to keep Bubs warm) and I felt really dizzy :confused:! If I didn't live so far away from the hospital I would of loved to bath bubs at home with just me and DP :smiliedance:

[KatherineIV]

I also bathed DS in the hospital.. I was so convinced I was going to break him (First time mum jitters) I wanted the nurse to show me how to do it so he was safe and comfortable..

I LOVE the idea of doing the first bath at home though and might follow that advice for babby No.2 when we have him / her...

All I need to do now is get pregnant hehe

[Ana Gram]

I didn't bath DD during the 4 days stuck in the curtain round a bed. The midwives didn't bug me about it as they got sh***y the first night when they gave her a bath as she was covered in ALOT of blood and she screamed the place down. They actually told me off for it! WTF??

[dannii]

yeah i bathed bub in hospital.. didnt see a worry.
however, when she was first born i was informed that the rules have changed and they dont bath baby straight after birth anymore! something to do with keeping the body temp etc..
Indy got bathed as she was a meconium baby. so that was different.

[reAllytee]

chellegoth :(

I didnt bath bubs but i had a midwife do it on our first morning. As it was their policy at our hospy to give the options to new mums to show first time mums which for me was great as bubs was so big & i had trouble standing let alone holding a 4.5kg baby & like Mum2Jacob i also got dizzy in the room for bathing bubs as it was also the area for light therapy for jaundice bubs so it was mega warm & i still wasnt very well. But yeah the idea then was the following morning i was to bath him myself with a middie present to show i could do it but again i knew i wouldnt be able to hold him alone so i got out of it because we were leaving that day anyways.
Bubs was then bathed by myself & my partner as i was too scared still & he was too LOL so we helped each other so i do have to say i think its a good idea if your unsure but good on you for not wanting to for your own reasons & sticking to it !!! :D :yelclap:

[Brooksy]

I couldn't bath my baby as Im only short and since I had to lean over they didn't want me to bust my stiches. So dh bathed dd a couple of times and then one of the midwives actually helped me bath her.

But there is nothing like bathing your baby at home where no one is looking over your shoulder.

[MariaO]

We bathed the baby in hospital and found it very useful having a midwife looking over our shoulders. Husband and I were scaredy cats too.

[Rell]

I bathed DD in hospital on about day 3. But DS was bathed by the midwife when he was only a few hours old:mad: I was not too happy at all. There was no reason why he needed bathing or why I couldn't bath him. it all happened so quick before I knew it the midwife had him nd was bathing him. No more brand new baby smell:mad:

[Chickadee]

DD came out pooing and didn't stop for about 3 hours. She had a bath before we even reached our room and a 2nd that evening. DH and a midwife did the 2nd bath together. At that point he knew more about looking after an infant than I did :rolleyes:

A first bath together at home sounds lovely though.

[Refresh]

...............

[reAllytee]

Yep sure is Ffrenchie :thumbsup:

[yummmmy_mummy]

i didnt get to bath dd the first time i lft that to dh while i had a shower but after that she was in special care and we were adviced to bath her as a bonding thing but we only got to do it a couple of times coz she was on oxygen and a drip and i was scared of holding her in case i knock her drip out of something it was quite scary but im glad i got to bath her in the hospital

[LittleBoysRock]

When DS was born I kept asking the midwives to show me how to bath him (being a first time Mum I was nervous about it and wanted to be shown).When he was 2 days old I was nagging them to let me leave hospital and asking if they could PLEASE show me how to do a bath.

I was quite disgusted that DS was 2 days old and still had blood in his hair from the bath and I couldnt get anybody to show me a bath.

About 30 minutes before we left hospital they showed DH how to do a bath. I wasnt there at the time (having scans done checking for blood clot in my legs). DH showed me how to do it at home the next day. :)

[Charlie]

I did bath my DD whilst in hospital. It is definately your decision to/not to bath your baby while there, but I can see why mid-wives would try to get you to change your mind. I don't think it would have been the cleansing issue, but more an issue of making sure you know how to do it correctly. I know this sounds silly (who wouldn't know how to bath a baby) but you would be suprised.
That's why we bathed her at hostpital... to learn propper holding...water temp...etc... I didn't want her first bath to be a uncomfortable mess of us not knowing what we are doing...:D

[wattle]

Actually dh did the first bath with the nurses showing him what to do. I was resting at the time. It was great because the next day we bathed ds together. Dh felt so special that he knew what to do, and he could show me. It was great that he already had the confidence.

[DB&O]

Liv was bathed by my DH after my c/s, while I was still in recovery. I think it was actually really nice, the photos of my big guy giving our little princess her first bath are heartwarming, she is enjoying it so much & in some of the photos she is just staring up at him, looks very content in her daddy's arms. He is very proud & is happy that it is something that only they share. The midwife & my mum were both there watching over him but he did a fantastic job. :D

[claireandbailey]

when i had my DD the midwife came around the day after she was born to show me how to bath her, the midwife done most of the work but it was good cos i got to see how to do it properly. Although that first bath at home by myself was so scary lucky i had my mum there to help me. my friend had her baby at the same hospital a few weeks before me and they didnt even show her how to bath her baby and noone even asked if she wanted the hospital photos done.

[lukaelmo]

Hmmm, no one pushed me to bathe the dude, I don't think I got round to till day 3 anyway. I asked a midwife to show DH how to do it... then the next day or so I asked her to show me how to do it... teehee, I had no idea, had never bathed a bubba before, in fact had never even really held a baby until my own :laughing: .

I think that if I hadn't asked they wouldn't have said anything... and for my next one I'll know how to do it and won't have to ask :D

[Oscar's mum]

I bathed DS in hospital! He was in their for 5 days with me though so I think he really did need to be bathed in that time!

[yummmmy_mummy]

noone even asked if she wanted the hospital photos done.
they didnt ask me either i was very upset

[Baby Girl]

DD1 was taken straight into a bath as soon as she was born and my Dp washed her and then they wrapped her and she had her first feed. She was very calm and it was nice having a nice clean bub minutes after she was born. She did get dropped on me as soon as she was born but I asked them to give her to her dad and he decided that they could bath her then rather than later. She has always loved having a bath.

DD2 was not bathed until we got home as i was only in hospital overnight and they didn't even ask to bath her at birth, just wiped her down - which i thought was more normal anyway. She has hated having a bath until she could sit on her own.

I wonder if the difference in how long until they were put into water made a difference or if it is just how they are!!

[WeThree]

I guess it depends on how long you are in for, if you are only in for one day or so, then you may as well wait till you get home, but i know lots of first time mums like the midwives to help them or show them how to do the first bath.
DD was bathed by my mum (one of the attending midwives) a half hr or so after she was born in a little green tub because she was covered in heaps and heaps of vernix, (much much more than my boys) and we wanted to see what she looked like! :D

[tyler's mum]

tyler had her frist bath the day she was born,,, we were in hosp for 4days, i wanted to clean of the blood n stuff of her straight away,,, she was pretty clean when born but still had stuff over her,,,,

[SassyMummy]

I don't even remember when Chanel's first bath was...I think she must have been bathed before I got to hold her...because she was clean (though her hair was a little knotted and had a bit of a blood thing on it).

I had a c-section, and I think I was a bit shocked once she came out. She wasn't breathing properly, but the dr asked if i wanted to see her. I simply said, "Um...yeah okay." He held her up and I said, "Oh, okay...cool" and kept talking to my DP! lol:laughing:

When I was in recovery, I sort of thought about her, but I was mainly just feeling sorry for myself...I kept throwing up all over myself...over and over, and was embarrassed that my pads had to be changed by the nurses...I felt so pathetic...lol.

A few days after my c-section though, a student midwive took me down to bath her. I loved my student midwife...she was ALWAYS helping me with everything...and she wasn't cranky and jaded like all the others...she was really sweet and VERY helpful. She bathed DD and I washed her down a little...I had to support my own body weight with my hands because of the pain from my scar.

I would NEVER have gone home to do it myself - I hadn;t the slightest idea what to do!

I think it's a good idea for all first-time mothers to be taught how to do it in the hospital. It's a nice level there anyway...much easier than trying to find a great spot to put a baby bath.

Next time though...I don't think I'll need help. Then again, I plan on waiting about 10 years...so I might need a refresher!