Baby's first hour(s)?

crizz13 · November 2014

This may be a silly question, but our hospital really promotes skin to skin, immediate breastfeeding and not taking the baby for evaluations for the first hour. All of this sounds really good, but the way they said it at our birthing class, it made it seem like only I will be able to hold her for the first hour.... it's making me feel really guilty that my husband will have to wait to hold his daughter....

Being a FTM, I have no idea what to expect - maybe I'm taking them too literally? Maybe that first hour flies by?

Anyone with experience please chime in on what your first couple of hours with baby were like!

MrsG1019 · November 2014

Our hospital also does the first hour thing and they encourage mom
AND dad to do skin to skin! DH brought a button down shirt and did skin to skin for about half the time and I did the other half (we were there for about 1.5 hours before they took the baby for measurements and such. I can't imagine they hospitals only want mom bonding so I wouldn't worry about it. Ultimately no one can force even you to do skin to skin so you guys will make the rules!

ssstephanie214 · November 2014

My hospital also says they do skin to skin for an hour but also told me Dad can do skin to skin time too. I'm of the opinion that even if the hospital promotes something it's ultimately my choice what to do with the baby and if I insist FI holds her, it's gonna happen

MmmPopcorn · November 2014

At our hospital, they promote a lot of the same things, but skin-to-skin can apparently be done with dad as well. H told me he is open to it, so after the initial checking over baby and immediately getting baby to the breast, I'll probably tell H to strip down so that he can hold the baby skin-to-skin.

scarlet3egonias · November 2014

Dad can do skin to skin as well. They went over this in my class since our hospital has the same policy. That hour is intended for both of you to have alone with your child.

dr_pr · November 2014

What @MrsG1019 said. With DD, I held her initially, figured out she didn't want to feed (she had meconium so they had to suction her before putting her on me), and then passed her off to H after about half an hour. He had a button-down shirt on and decided on his own to also do skin to skin. It's your kid and your decision how you use your bonding time. Absolutely no one came in during that time at our hospital.

sparklingwhit · November 2014

My hospital promotes skin to skin and you can request that dad holds baby too. DH was just going to take his t-shirt off for his portion. Unfortunately I only got to hold him for about five minutes before he was whisked away. DH and I have gotten lots of skin to skin time since though

mamatohne · November 2014

My experience is a little bit different because I had a c section. But my hospital still enencouraged the first hour we were together as skin to skin. So the baby went to the nursery while they finished my surgery and as soon as I was in the recovery room they brought him in to me and immediately took his clothes off. We did skin to skin and breastfed before they would let anyone other than dh come in my room. They also encouraged dh to do skin to skin but my little man ate for almost the entire first hour. The first hour went really fast for us.

runningmama14 · November 2014

I was told that if you are planning on bfing, the more skin to skin with you at the start the better. DH and I already decided that I would do all the holding at that first session. He'll be right there to interact and enjoy too.

belmont1785 · November 2014

Many hospitals do this anymore because of the amazing benefits to lactation. Both mom and dad can participate. Also my mother in law is the lactation consultant at the neonatal unit for the past 20+ years where we will be delivering and she has told me about the newly discovered benefits to delayed bathing. Basically the vernix the baby is covered in when he/she comes out is very beneficial to the bonding process as well. And encourages the baby to receive healthy bacteria from its parents to build up it's digestive immune system. The plan is not to leave the baby completely COVERED in it, you wipe them off, but don't fully bathe them for 6 or more hours after birth. DH and I plan on bathing her together for the first time but many hours after birth instead of right away which used to be pretty typical.

I know you didn't ask for all this info, but I find it extremely interesting and it makes total sense if you research it.

Carebella · November 2014

Our birth center actually encourages 72 hours of skin to skin right after birth or as soon as you can after. They skip any bathing and try and do all of the baby work with the baby on mom or dad. As @belmont1785‌ and @runningmama14‌ mentioned the benefits of skin to skin are numerous and if you want dad to have some skin to skin time you definitely should go for it.

mamatohne · November 2014

@lissydee‌ what is the benefit of delayed baths?

belmont1785 · November 2014

@‌ tarynleann it is relatively new but delaying the baby's first bath is supposed to also be directly related to the mother/father bond process as well as many other benefits. The vernix promotes the baby to get good bacteria from his/her family and surroundings which aids in digestive health too. Also, it is extremely good for a baby's skin and the longer they keep that protective layer the less dry their skin will be and less reactions/problems.

You can Google delayed bathing as well. As I am probably not explaining it all perfectly.

Curlyfries851 · November 2014

Question: what does the vernix feel and smell like? I can see the benefits of leaving it on, but honestly, I'm afraid I'll be too grossed out to touch the baby if it's really gross...

mamatohne · November 2014

belmont1785 said:
@‌ tarynleann it is relatively new but delaying the baby's first bath is supposed to also be directly related to the mother/father bond process as well as many other benefits. The vernix promotes the baby to get good bacteria from his/her family and surroundings which aids in digestive health too. Also, it is extremely good for a baby's skin and the longer they keep that protective layer the less dry their skin will be and less reactions/problems.

You can Google delayed bathing as well. As I am probably not explaining it all perfectly.

You actually explained it a lot better than google did;)

belmont1785 · November 2014

The further along your baby is the less vernix they have and the less they need. For example a baby born at 36 weeks probably has most or all of their vernix and it would be extra beneficial to do delayed bathing. But a baby born at 41 weeks may not have much of any.

You do wipe the baby off some but even leaving some of the vernix in the arm pits and areas like neck etc can help. And it's been shown that even delaying the bathing 6 or so hours is beneficial. I don't exactly know what it's smells like but I don't think it's terrible. According to my MIL it's similar to snot (mucus).

The baby would not be just dripping in it or anything. You can wipe off their face etc. The point is not to just scrub them down in a full out bath with all kinds of foreign (to them) soaps/fragrance etc.

We plan on wiping her off pretty good. And several hours after birth (we will play it by ear) my husband and I will give her her first bath or I will bathe with her in the shower.

Curlyfries851 · November 2014

You seem to be the wealth of knowledge today @belmont1785‌ lol. Thank you for answering my questions lol

JFH2010 · November 2014

@AeandJb‌ FWIW skin-to-skin is beneficial for a loooooong time, not just in the first hour! I used to carry DS around in the Moby without a top on. Effortless skin-to-skin. They really benefit from it during the whole newborn period.

OP don't worry too much about it! Hospitals have started instituting that hour because it used to be that the baby was taken for procedures immediately. They're not trying to restrict what you do with the baby, they're trying to restrict what THEY do with the baby! DH did skin-to-skin shortly after DS was born, but I don't remember when, because it all felt very natural. But definitely in the first hour. And if he doesn't feel like taking his shirt off, no one is going to stop you. That time is for your new family.

carafern · November 2014

About the skin to skin, at our meet and greet with midwives and OBs at our hospital they DID mention that the most benefit to the baby was doing skin-to-skin with mom (this was a couple months ago, so I may not remember what they said exactly). It had to do with helping baby acclimate to being outside (help regulate temperature and stress levels?). Being skin to skin with mom is familiar in terms of scent and sound. Baby recognizes mom's smell and it is comforting.

They did say that of course, dad can hold the baby but the primary health benefits to LO in that first hour come from mom. Just thought I'd throw that in FWIW.

jlove253 · November 2014

My SIL who recently had her baby keeps making fun of "skin on skin" (how she phrases it) because she thought her lactation consultant was weird. Basically SIL has quite large areolas and is convinced this is what makes her the milk machine she is. They are also very flat, and she has had problems nursing her son since the beginning (she produces a ton, but her DS has various nursing problems). The LC suggested she use a nipple shield and kept insisting that she nurse without a top on whatsoever. Because SIL was convinced she'd have no problem nursing and is pretty private she was offended by the suggestion of the shield and toplessness, and then dismissed the skin to skin as well. Now I'm nervous she'll tease me or find me silly, which is ridiculous on my part because I already have a child and know how beneficial our skin to skin time was to both of us and look forward to having it with this LO. ugh.

In hindsight this is a bit of a vent and I should have put it in the randoms thread, but oh well. I guess I can add that DH loved his chance to hold our DD so closely, and was way better about intentionally doing so after we came home from hospital than I was. It was really sweet

Carebella · November 2014

Just saw this on FB and figured I'd share it here for those looking for more information. It has a lot of links to that expand and go into more detail.

https://www.mommypotamus.com/skin-skin-care-guide/

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