4 Reasons I Did Not Sleep at the Hospital After Birth

I had absolutely no expectations for the stay at the hospital after birth. I had read that epidurals make your legs numb, making you not able to walk. I was able to walk, it was just very slow. What I did not know was that you basically do not get any sleep when you're in the hospital.

We were in the hospital for 46 hours and I slept a total of 2 hours during that time. I took a few 5 or 10 minute cat naps and one long hour and a half nap.

1. One of the main causes of lack of sleep was that I had to breastfeed every two hours. The very first time breastfeeding him was great. Then I tried to do it without help, which was a big mistake. It hurt the entire time and because I was doing it wrong, my nipple became one big sore. They had me breastfeed him football style, where he is laying beside me. It forced me to lean forward nursing, which made it impossible for me to fall asleep, which is good. 

2. Another reason for lack of sleep was when we were in the delivery room, the blood pressure monitor went off every 15 minutes, and there was a machine that made a beeping noise when it didn’t get a blood pressure reading because I wasn’t wearing the cuff. We asked a couple times for them to turn it off, but we didn’t get any relief from it until we relocated to the mommy/baby unit 10 hours after Samson’s birth. 

3.  Nurses, the lactation specialist, cafeteria delivery people and random other people for tests or paperwork kept coming in the room what seemed like every hour. Anytime I started to get comfortable, someone came in the room.

4. The final reason I could barely sleep was that I was so attentive to my son that any time he made a noise, I was wondering why. He made tons of noises, still does. One of the things I love about him. I had a hard time letting him stay in the bassinet. You aren’t supposed to sleep with your baby next to you or on you. Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve done both. I made sure there were pillows to soften his fall if he had one and keep him tucked in to ensure that he wouldn't. But that was the only way I was able to sleep for that hour and a half, with my son sleeping right beside me on the bed.

Were you able to get any sleep in the hospital? What was your post birth hospital experience like? Let me know in the comments.