DH and I were just talking about what we think it will be like when we first come home from the hospital--not the first few days, but like, when you walk in the door. What did you do? Were you inundated with visitors or was it just the two of you and baby? Did you plop on the couch? Unpack from the hospital? I would love to hear what those first few hours are like!
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We made sure family knew we wanted to come home and it just be us. We introduced LO to our dog then unpacked then I took a long bath !!!
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We took a million pictures of her with us, in her swing, sleeping, etc. because we are lunatic first time parents. It was Valentine's Day, so my parents brought us flowers for the table and a nice dinner, so we could celebrate at home. Then I laid on the couch the rest of the night while hubs brought me things because sitting and standing hurt my Frankenvag.
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My mom and grandma met us at our house. They held DS while we showered. DH was running around the house cleaning stuff up and went to the grocery store. Then we both took a nap while my mom and gma watched the baby. We were so tired from 2 nights in the hospital.
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Well, it took me about 15 minutes to get up 3 flights of stairs since I tore from end to end. That was fun. Then I slowly sat down while DH tried to get LO out of the car seat and then a little bit later our parents came over to see us. All I remember is being super hot because it was 95 degrees out and being in a ton of pain. My vision before all this was way different lol.
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It was awesome - I had dreamed about that moment for so long! We just brought her in, told her welcome to her new home and gave her a tour : ) Then we just chilled out with her. Our families live overseas so we were very lucky in that we had her all to ourselves.
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@maybebaby: We were so on edge- she was so tiny and we were just- bewildered! We didn't do anything but cater to her and try to figure her out! And my milk didnt come in until after we got out of the hospital so we spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was going on in the feeding department! We were so clueless those first few days! But we were so in love with being a little family I think we just grinned at each other 24/7!
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We brought him in the car seat into the living room and set it on the floor so our cats could come investigate. Then I did a load of newborn laundry - I thought he would be much bigger so I only washed a few little things before he was born! We were by ourselves for a few hours until some friends came to visit and my sister made everyone dinner.
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We didn't really know what to do with him, we were kind of amazed that they actually let us leave with him. We let the dog and cats sniff him then put him in the crib and swing. Mostly we kept getting up to look at him.
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We came home after five long days in the hospital (c-section plus random rash) and basically collapsed. Our family is far away, so we didn't have visitors until a few days later when we invited friends over. We lived in the living room for the first 4-5 days and LO slept in her swing.
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Thank you for all these answers! I am getting emotional just thinking about it.
@photojane: That's so sweet! And I LOLed at Frankenvag even though that is anything but funny
@Bao: Ugh, you poor thing How are you feeling now?@travelgirl1: That sounds perfect!
@PrincessBaby: So sweet. It must have been surreal!
@lemondrop: How did the pets respond? We have two cats, I like the idea of introducing baby like that so they can check him out. -
I came into the house and pulled out my camera to take a picture of DH carrying DD (in her carseat) into the house. Then I think I just curled up on the couch (or rather, armchair, which was easier for me to get in and out of) and cuddled with her. DH left a little while later to go pick up the dog from boarding, and a friend stopped by to drop off dinner for us. Our families are out of town, so we had asked them not to come until a couple of days later to give us time to ourselves. I think we also just stared at her and marveled that she was ours and they let us take her home!
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@maybebaby: much better now that LO is 6 months old, but it took some time!
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We put him on the kitchen counter in his car seat, from the taxi ride back from the hospital, and looked around our apartment, and realised that it looked completely different. It was as though we both had new eyes and just saw familiar things completely differently from that point. I can't speak for DW, but I know that I just stared at him for ages. Actually, 4 months on, I still do!
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He screamed. For hours. Just screamed and screamed. DH was in the bedroom trying to get over some sort of stomach bug + headache, so it was just me, trying to quiet a screaming baby, feeling beyond disgusting from 2 days in the hospital, frantically trying to nurse a hysterical baby, all by myself. (I don't think my milk was in yet. I ran to the store at some point, extremely agitated, to pick up some ready-made formula, but that part is hazy). Finally, at 10pm I lost it and started crying. myself...finally DH stepped in and took over. Lemme tell you, that was hands down the best shower I've ever had in my life. The experience was seriously traumatizing though.
This was also after a night of him non-stop screaming and me all alone in the hospital, and then having to deal with him all morning and checking him out & driving home by myself as well.
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We left him in the car seat and set him on the living room floor so our cats could come sniff him. Then we kind of looked at each other like "well now what?" My mom was there, and my MIL & FIL came by a few minutes after we got home to pick her up (she stayed with them for the weekend so that we could have some alone time before DH went back to work). The three of them stayed and cuddled him while I took the best shower of my life. We ordered a pizza that night.
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We had the dog meet us in our front yard to meet the baby and she led him into the house. My parents were over (in from out of town), so they helped us carry everything in, and my mom helped me unpack, while my dad held the baby for the first time and DH showered. Then I think I showered, and then the breastfeeding marathon resumed, while my mom did laundry and DH napped so he could help at night.
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We got home at night on the fifth day after LO was born (c-section plus she lost too much weight, plus she had an abnormal heartrate that we had to get checked out that day). We don't have family nearby and had no visitors. I remember walking into our silent house and feeling completely overwhelmed because we were on our own. The house seemed foreign to me because I had been gone for over 7 days. I think I pretty much cried and thought "what am I going to do now?" while LO slept in her bouncer and DH unloaded our bags from the car. Then we looked at each other and said we should go to bed, and LO started crying for hours.
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PS. I love this question -- I don't think I ever thought too much about what we would do in the moments we returned home from the hospital -I just worried about the bigger picture of having a baby 24/7 and knowing what to do.
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Totally surreal. Even driving off in the car, leaving the hospital didn't seem real... like, "They're just letting us leave with her? WTF."
We pulled into our driveway and the hubs videotaped me carrying her in. Put her carseat on the floor, then let the dogs in. They sniffed her for a bit and then left her alone. Since she was snoozing, we put the carseat in her nursery for a bit and brought in the rest of the bags. It was like we were in a daze!
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We came home just the three of us. We set her down in her carseat and took one more "coming home" picture, and then I sat down with her in my rocking chair - the same one my mom had when I was a baby. DH and I just stared at her and marveled that we were here. All three of us. For good. My mother came over an hour or so later with sandwiches and supplies, and flowers arrived from my in-laws.
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@maybebaby: They all did great, the dog fell in love immediately, as did one cat. The other two didn't care and just gave us annoyed looks. We brought home one of those kimono shirts and a hat he wore for them to sniff first, and played a few baby cries on the phone, but that's about all our preparations (vet people are some of the worst when it comes to pet preparations!).
Two of the cats still tolerate him, we keep all nails short now that he is mobile and likes to herd the cats. After a while they run out of patience and smack him.
You can always plug in a DAP (well, the cat version) diffuser like Feliway to help them cope (cause, you know their lives are so very hard)- you can get them at most pet stores. Usually there is a coupon somewhere on the Comfort Zone website. http://www.feliway.us/
http://www.petcomfortzone.com/ -
@HabesBabe: Oh! I will have to try and remember to get video of us bringing baby home! I think that's got to be such a surreal and special moment, it'd be hard to remember even watching it on video!
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@shopaholic: our video was a little anti-climatic, though... hahaha. both of us walking like zombies, it was really quiet because the baby was sleeping and the dogs were locked outside... but it was definitely a cherished moment and i am so so glad we captured it!
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Interesting thread!
I believe we stuck her in her swing (which she loved as a NB!) and my ILs came over with dinner! It's all a bit of a blur!
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It was so surreal! DH went in and calmed the dog/let her sniff DS' hospital blankets, then I brought him in in the car seat and into the bedroom so the dog could explore. Showed him around the house, changed him into Jammies, set up the pack n play in the living room and then FIL came over and we ordered pizza. Then I think we were up all night but honestly it's a blur!
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First, we got in the car and I saw every other car on the road as a speeding bullet headed right for us. I sat in the back next to the carseat, but on a pillow. Down there hurt. A lot.
My parents were at the house when we got there. They were out in the backyard with our dogs so we could come into the house without the dogs molesting us as we walked in.
We put the carseat on the kitchen table, then called my parents in. We chatted, said hello to the dogs and I plopped my butt on the couch. I was exhausted. My parents stayed two nights. It was a perfect amount of time. They made us meals and my mom was helpful when I asked her advice. Mostly, we just existed. We changed the baby, I fed her, repeat.
My husband took 2 weeks off work to stay home with us. We watched a lot of TV and stared at the baby a lot.
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We got home around 11 a.m. the day after Christmas. I remember DH opening up the apartment door and us just having so much stuff to carry in. We dropped it all in the living room and just sat there, holding her. Eventually we put her in the rock'n'play and took naps, but we mostly just sat there. We didn't have company until 2 days later.
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all i remember is the 3 of us walking in the door and me thinking "holy $#%t!' and i don't remember anything else haha.
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Ds was in the NICU for 15 days, so when we got him home, my ex FIL and my parents came by for a little bit and took turns holding the baby. My parents brought pizza.
The next few days I did a LOT of staring at him!
It'll be different with this one...since I get to bring her home within hours. I hope I don't hog her too much, lol. I know my parents and in laws will be anxious to come see her and hold her, but she's new to me, too, and I hope I don't go momma bear on them TOO much, lol.
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We had a party. Unintentionally. My grandma wanted to meet her asap so I wasn't going to say no to that, so my mom said that she would put a brunch together for our family. We had our parents, my brother and sil, and my grandma. My mom brought foods I couldn't eat while pregnant that I missed, like bagels and lox and soft cheeses.
It was nice, but my milk didn't come in yet so lo was hungry and she screamed the whole time
she screamed all night and we took her to the doctor in the morning and started supplementing. I'm glad that my grandma got to see lo so soon though. She passed away when lo was 10 months old and lo was her favorite person ever, she loved her so much.
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Thanks for sharing, everyone! I've always imagined the day to day but it is exciting to imagine that coming home period!
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We stopped at Portillo's to get food, ate that crazy fast in the car. When we got inside, I sat on the couch and we put him somewhere I can't remember and had that "oh, crap, what have we done moment." He slept a whole lot, then my milk didn't come in. A day later, he was a mess and we had to formula supplement before seeing the peds who okayed that until he gained at his 2 weeks visit.
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We introduced our dog to the baby and let him sniff her for a while. My SIL and her fiance were over to help us unpack and organize everything we received from the hospital. We took turns showering and getting cleaned up. Mostly though, we just stared and marveled at this little creature, while thinking holy crap what do we do with her now?!
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It was hot as blazes out! We used a convertible carseat from birth so we had a comical moment in the parking lot when the baby was too big for the tiny baby setting and we had to take out the carseat and fit him in it. I was going to sit up front with hubby but I coun't tear myself away from the baby!
When we got home it was just DH and I. He took a video of LO and I walking up the path and into the house. We just kind of plopped everything on the floor and stared at the baby.
Honestly it was the best day with just the three of us. I had made a ton of freezer meals so we had pasta with sauce and snuggled on the couch. I was so happy to be home!
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It was just us for a couple hours. Then our parents (both his and mine) came over (with our dogs) as it was Thanksgiving.
They went home after a cozy tgiving dinner and DH and I were left to figure it out!
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We came home and set the car seat on the floor. Our dog didn't care about the car seat at all, she was excited to see us. DH took her outside and then she came to see the baby. She just laid down next to his seat. Our cat was a little confused but happy we were home. For the cat I don't think it sunk in for a few days that the baby was staying. Lol. My family came over that night which was great because we had no visits in the hospital.
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Honestly... terrifying and confusing. We just... sat there and stared at her sleeping in the car seat. My 2 friends came over when we got home and they got to snuggling her and brought us baked ziti.
I was just... overwhelmed and lost.
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My experience felt more like @sera_87, but I had DH with me the whole time. My mom had cleaned our house and made dinner, so when we got home at 7:00 PM, exhausted and shell shocked we just sort of sat on the couch and looked at the baby. Then a few hours later the crying started (me and the baby). It's a little hazy after that but it does not make my top 10 list of favorite memories.
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god that first part when we walked in the door was a total blur!
my mom was with us that first week, so she had gotten there just as we did and we brought everything in from the car. I remember taking the baby out of hte car seat, holding him, letting him nap in his new Rock N Play and feeding him.
My mom cooked us a fabulous dinner and my DH was putting everything from the hospital away & cleaning up a bit from the night we were home & I was in labor.
it was surreal!
i was also in pain so just taking it easy & making sure to take care of myself!
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