On Sunday, I said the baby would be born on Thursday. That’s tomorrow for anybody keeping score. So, if my dreams of getting rich by out guessing the stock market are ever going to come true, it will all start tomorrow when the baby is born.
I made my Get Out Of The House checklist tonight. It has:
- Call doctor (with the doctor’s number)
- Get BeAGoodMom’s glasses
- Get camera
- Get BeAGoodMom’s purse
- Get my backpack
- Call my parents (they are watching the kids until we are back home for a few days)
- Make arrangements for kids (we have someone in the neighborhood that will come over if it happens at a time where we have to go and somebody needs to be responsible for the kids until my parents can get to the house. I put her phone number on the list)
- Call work
We already have the clothes for BeAGoodMom, the baby, and me in the car.
I think it is time for a new poll. The results of the last poll are pretty clear. 16 people said no videos in the baby birthing room and 3 said yes. Three people are clearly icky.
Laura pointed out that IF you decide to videotape the delivery, get a cold impartial camera operator. Dad has more important things to do and cannot afford to get distracted by things like lighting and getting the right angle.
Modified Mummy (also a Laura) did point out that the video could be educational for when the kids are older and cold help diffuse tense marital moments.
I guess we could add that it would be a great way to get teenagers to do their chores/homework/pick up the dog poop in the yard. “Go do your chores/homework/pick up the dog poop or we’re going to sit down and watch that video of the day you were born. Instead of the DVD, we’ll watch the version I posted on YouTube.”
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s go with another poll.
Our hospital makes it possible for the dad’s to stay in the room with mom and the baby until they are released from the hospital. What do you think?
Should dad stay with mom and the baby at the hospital or should dad spend the nights at home?
Vote in the poll on the sidebar and leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Definitely keep a digital camera (with spare battery handy) so you can get that first time of mom holding baby, and possibly first time of you holding baby.
Leave the camcorder or videographer at home. You don’t need distractions.
How do you feel about cutting the cord? Did it for my last two sons. Doctor insisted and it made me very uncomfortable.
I thought I wanted my husband to stay with me when the twins were born. But when they had to go to the NICU and therefore weren’t rooming in with me, we decided it was better if he go home. Otherwise, neither of us would have slept. He would have been on an uncomfortable cot, woken up every time the nurses came in. And I would have been lying there awake, listening to him snore. Of course, our house was less than 10 minutes away. Had the babies roomed in, I would have wanted him there to get them for me, since I was confined to bed for a while due to the c-section. And if we lived further away, I might have wanted him there for company. But it ended up being nice that he could go home and take care of the dog, and we could both get a good amount of rest.
I would think yes, for a first time dad. But you should go home to your children at night. Not to mention give your parents a break.
Our hospital (as well as being generally evil and not allowing epidurals) do not allow the Father to stay overnight beyond labour and delivery. As in, if you gave birth in the morning, you’d be moved to the recovery ward in the afternoon, and hubby would have to bugger off in the evening.
That scared the bejesus out of me when it happened the first time. I really wanted him there, as I was terrified and lonely and needed something or someone familiar to keep me going. I didn’t sleep a wink that night.
This time around however, I was adamant he was either staying, or we were all going! and I did. They wouldn’t let him stay, so I managed to get the midwife on the next shift to sign me out at 11pm. Yeah I’d lost alot of blood and felt just a tad tired, but I wasn’t staying there on my own again!
*ahem* slight tangent there, sorry.
I think that if the mother wants her partner there overnight with her (and babysitting arrangements can spread overnight) then the partner should stay. Really, it should be down to how the mother feels. Or how the hubby thinks she may feel (as, post labour, women are sometimes too tired to even think about stuff like that, let alone make a decision on it.)
I voted in your poll. I had my hubby go home and stay with our other children. It would have been uncomfortable for him, and I felt the kids really needed him at home.