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Our hospital policy is a minimum of 24 hours for vaginal and 36 for c-section, but you can stay for a long time - like a number of days, if there's a reason.

With my first, she was a c-section and we left right at 36 hours because I felt great, bfing was established, I was up and about, etc.

My second was a VBAC and I had a number of complications so I was in 3 nights. Between a very long labour and the complications I was actually in the hospital for a week total. LO#1 was with my mom and visited every day.

@bluestriped bee: my hospital discharges at 11am but they cannot make you leave before 11:59 pm of your second day since insurance pays for 2 nights for vaginal. I took my sweet time leaving and left around 3 pm (less than 48 hours after birth - I gave birth at 5:30 pm) because we had a plumber at the house! They were trying to get me
Out that morning. No thanks!

With our next I will probably stay both nights, if anything will go home early but have dD stay the second night at my in-laws anyways. We will see.

I had two vaginal deliveries without complications. We stayed two nights with LO1 (born at 5 pm) and one night with LO2 (born around 3 pm). LO1 was with my mil but I sent DH home to help her with bedtime and just stayed at the hospital by myself with baby. It was very calm but I just wanted to get home!

I was the there fri night thru discharge mon with DS and thurs-sat with dd. I got sick as soon as I came home from hospital with both kids--fever and chills so I wish I could have stayed another day with both! Had to get on antibiotics.

DS I was in hospital for 3 nights, DD a week due to being in NICU.

I can't imaging leaving after 24 hours, that would have been amazing!

Two nights with both kids. Both were c-sections. For my second, I was very sad at being apart from DD, but DH stayed with her on a night and they both came to the hospital during the day. I struggled with recovery this time and needed the hospital support, plus that alone time with baby was nice.

We stayed 4 nights with DS with a csection and 2 nights with DD with a vbac. DS was with my parents and very comfortable there so we were happy to stay and have DH with me.

@bluestriped bee: my DS was in the NICU after my csection and our OB let us stay an extra night because DS was still there. If I'm remembering right DS was born Thursday and I was discharged on Monday. If your insurance covers it, maybe you could get an extra night if you wanted it?

I only have one child. He was born at 1am after a longish but complication-free labor and vaginal delivery. We went into the hospital expecting to leave as soon as possible, but that first day was a whirlwind and the nurses were really helpful with the baby. We stayed for the full two postpartum nights, which really meant three nights in the hospital since we "checked in" to the postpartum room at around 3 or 4am. (If he had been born at 11pm the same night, then we would have been kicked out a day earlier!)

Assuming my parents, who live pretty close to the hospital where I delivered T, can take our son, then I can't think of any reason why I wouldn't take the full two days to recover and bond with the new baby without trying to chase a toddler. The hospital was really nice, and while the food was terrible my husband went to the sandwich shop for me a couple of times per day. Plus we had brought snacks. And my parents watch my son two afternoons per week plus the occasional weekend overnight. They adore each other. So I don't think it would feel too disruptive to him.

ETA: My concern about hypothetical labor #2 is how to get my son to my parents' house. Second labors are usually faster, and my parents and the hospital are both about 45 minutes from our apartment. Plus it's another 15 minutes to get the car from the lot. I would not want to wait another hour for my parents to come pick him up, but I cannot fathom a 45-minute car ride while in labor with a toddler in the car!!!

#1 - Born at 1 am on Thursday morning. Discharged late Saturday night. No issues

#2 - Born at 7 am Saturday morning, discharged Sunday afternoon (and a lot of that time was waiting for circumcision).

@T.H.O.U.: Yes, that would make the most sense but then I can't have the luxury of lying down in the back seat and screaming profanities during my contractions like I did last time.

But, my water broke before my labor started last time, so maybe it won't be so bad.

I'm not even pregnant though, so it's a little early to worry about this!

#1 was a c/s born at a military hospital and they needed my room - ha - so I left after 24 hours

#2 was a c/s and I stayed 4 nights - I enjoyed the "downtime" before going home to be a mom to 2!

I went home four hours after DD2 was born! Hospital policy is usually 48 hours for a normal birth (five days for a c-section) but if you have had no complications following a normal birth, you can request to go home after four hours. The Ped came to sign off on DD being released, I was cleared by the senior midwife, and off we went! I LOVED it!

Also, we were still technically under the care of the hospital midwives so they came to visit us at home everyday for the next three days, and would have continued up to ten days if necessary (or we requested it). DD's heel prick and newborn screenings were all done in our home, which was lovely!

@shopaholic: Been following your thread because I've been curious about this since we don't have family nearby. Nearest family is 1.5 hours away, but they run their own business that starts at 2am so they can't just step away and come to our rescue. At this point, I think we just have to bring DS along with us and hope that he stays asleep in the stroller or something if I go into labor MOTN. If it's during the daytime, we'll take/leave him at daycare then have DH pick him up and bring him to the hospital given I'm not about to push. lol Otherwise, I guess I'll have to talk to his teacher about after daycare care or see if they can drop him off at the hospital for us or something???