What did you do when you came home from hospital?

[HanBang]

I am being discharged tomorrow after a tricky birth and a week long stay in hospital for me and DS. I couldn’t wait to get home but now feeling like it will be an anti climax.

I don’t feel that lovely feeling you’re supposed to feel going home to begin our family as a 3. I know it’s a combination of being stuck in hospital feeling lonely - obvious restrictions on visitors and general baby blues - but I just feel meh about it. Whereas previously I would have been talking about cracking open the champers!

Can I ask what you did when you finally came home if you had a stay in hospital for more than one night? Or anything else special you did? Obviously I would have loved to be someone who got out promptly and had the best cheese toastie of their life but I feel I’m past that stage after a week of hospital food!

Help - I need a pick me up!

A long hot shower!

I had a lovely bubble bath and hot into my PJs and let DH do everything for me.

Have a lovely soak in the bath get clean pjs on a snuggle in your own bed watching a movie

Got, not hot

Have a long bath and your favourite takeaway. Enjoy your own bed. I'm assuming your partner hasn't been allowed the usual day long visits so make the most of them! Give it a few days of adjusting at home and then asses your mood again. Good luck.

Ps. There is always something to read on Mumsnet to cheer you up

I got in the door and thought oh fuck, what now?! I think it’s normal even after a less traumatic birth than yours.

It will be special though. I recommend enjoying some home comforts so getting your partner to hold DS while you have a nice bath or something.

Congratulations

Put the baby down in the car seat and thought "what do we do now?!"

Sit and stared at the baby with a glass of champagne! Bliss.

Put the kettle on for a cuppa! At the my husband did. It did feel quite strange, because I'm old and was in for 2 days. The flat we lived in was freezing I do remember that (no central heating) so we went round turning on everything we could find (it was snowing) (Now) ex husband was not the sort to think about making things nice before bringing me home. It didn't take long to settle in to family life though.
Many congratulations!

I had a lovely bubble bath, Chinese and went to bed for some actual sleep. I don’t think I slept much at all, noisy ward not because of baby. Then in the morning we just had breakfast in bed and snuggled lots as a 3.

I was really anxious and frustrated trying to get out of hospital with my first. But once I got in the car and everything felt familiar I felt much calmer and at ease.

Congratulations on your new baby! I would say - be very very gentle on yourself and don't have too many expectations. You will be exhausted, it's quite scary being "on your own" with baby after the security of the hospital, and your hormones are all over the place. I'd expect just to collapse in a heap of tears and anything better than that is a bonus! Don't underestimate how disoriented you might feel and even "easy" things at home will feel a huge effort. So - something simple but tasty to eat, a bath if you can manage that, and just spend the time looking at your baby, taking lots of photos, reading your congratulations cards, and if you feel up to it replying to a few messages from friends and family. Get some flowers in the house if you like them, they will cheer you up.

(I've had 3 DC with varying reasons for long hospital stays and complications, and the shock and anticlimax of coming home each time will always stay with me).

I self discharged from high dependency 3 days after a traumatic birth. It was around 10pm at night so I went home and just sat on the sofa before going to bed. It was so nice to be in my own home with someone else to hold the baby - I forced my husband to leave us in HDU after 2 days as he needed sleep.
I hope tomorrow goes well X x

A good wash and fresh clothes, ordered a takeaway and a sleep in my own bed.

Oh, and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

PS it gets better, massively! Just don't have any great expectations of the first day

I got home and cleaned the kitchen. I was induced early and for some reason hated that we brought LO home when the kitchen was still messy!

Went for a walk, only short but it was so nice after being in a boiling hot hospital for 48 hours!

Mostly just stared at the baby for a really long time wondering what to do next! Spent a lot of time in bed with him snuggled on my chest sleeping. Cried a bit about breastfeeding!

We went through the McDonald’s drive thru on the way home!
Then did the school run

Exactly what we did has been lost to the blur that nearly 14 months of baby induced sleep deprivation causes. I came home Saturday evening, after giving birth Thursday afternoon, 10 days after being admitted to hospital.

A couple of things stick in my mind. First is that we took DD on a tour of the house. She slept through the whole tour. Second is pate on toast. It tasted amazing. Other than that I just remember cuddles on the sofa. Oh, and a big feeling of OMG this is real. We have a baby.

Kettle straight on, eased into the bath, pjs and then sat thinking wow. It took me a few days for it all to sink in and those first few days are a blur if I’m honest as I was exhausted.

Top tips - Take it easy, let the housework wait and sleep when baby sleeps

I had a 36 hour labour and the tea and toast in hospital absolutely did not touch the sides so in the car on the way home I spent about £40 on god knows what from Dominos. We walked in, plonked DD down in her car seat. DH was too terrified to eat (he kept checking she was breathing every 3.5 seconds), I ate enough for all 3 of us

Panic assembled the Moses basket & next 2me, quickly washed a load of bottles & sterilised them, sent the OH out for formula and pizza. Panicked a bit more. Went to bed.

It was about 5 days before Christmas but DH had put the tree up for me coming home - and he is a massive Scrooge so meant a lot.
I pretty much went straight to bed, he went back to work (no paternity leave 21yrs ago!) and my amazing mil came over to make dinner and clean up 😬
I woke up to a sleeping, clean and quiet baby, fairy lights on and dinner ready.
Still one of my most favourite memories 21 years on