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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jul 3, 2015 11:25:19 GMT
The thread about the children being switched at birth made me think of this:
When I delivered each of my children, I wouldn't let the nurses take them away until I had a real good look at their faces/heads. I looked for hair color, birthmarks, size of features, anything I could that could possibly distinct them from another baby. Then I would very pointedly remark about it to the doctor and a nurse and have them agree with me.
I was always so afraid that I wouldn't get my own baby back, even with all the bracelet precautions and such.
Thankfully all my kids look like their parents very clearly, and none were away from me for more than a few minutes at a time, so very little risk of being mixed up.
So, were you ever worried about the possibility of having your baby mixed up with another?
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Post by gar on Jul 3, 2015 11:50:22 GMT
Can't say that I remember thinking that at all, especially just after delivering them! What made you so aware of it?
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Post by chrissypie on Jul 3, 2015 11:51:15 GMT
No, it never really occurred to me at the time!
Since then I've reassured myself that they all look very alike. Phew!
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iluvpink
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Posts: 4,281 
Location: Michigan
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Post by iluvpink on Jul 3, 2015 11:53:04 GMT
No. I worry about just about everything but I don't remember that being a concern. I remember when we toured the labor and delivery section of the hospital while I was pregnant, they went over the security issues and thinking they seemed pretty thought out. After that it never really entered my mind.
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anniebygaslight
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Jun 28, 2014 14:08:19 GMT
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Post by anniebygaslight on Jul 3, 2015 11:54:02 GMT
We put name bands on babies, checked by the mother BEFORE the cord is cut. Much less room for error.
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pridemom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,843
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Post by pridemom on Jul 3, 2015 11:57:30 GMT
No. My babies were always the biggest ones and we used small hospitals. only my eldest spent much time in the nursery and it wasn't my choice, they had stupid policies. So, we changed hospitals and had our girls 30 miles away.
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Post by Patter on Jul 3, 2015 12:02:12 GMT
Having identical triplets I was worried about mixing them up myself. LOL!  |
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Post by supersoda on Jul 3, 2015 12:11:02 GMT
There was a baby switching story that came out right before I delivered my first DD, and I was totally paranoid about it. I wouldn't them take her from my room, and made DH follow her for her initial check-up. (I was also paranoid that they would try to introduce an artificial nipple.) I guess I brought home the right kid, because everyone she meets says she looks just like me. I was much more chill with my twins. They were the only twins in the hospital, so I figured as long as I brought home two babies that looked the same I was ok.  |
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Post by maureen on Jul 3, 2015 12:13:55 GMT
My son was the only boy born at the hospital while we're there, I knew there was no chance of messing that one up.
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styxgirl
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Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Jul 3, 2015 12:13:57 GMT
We put name bands on babies, checked by the mother BEFORE the cord is cut. Much less room for error. They did this when my babies were born. I still never let them out of my sight. I wasn't really worried about them bringing me back the wrong baby ... I just wanted them to be with me. |
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Jul 3, 2015 12:44:45 GMT
When my daughter was born they handed her to me right away. They hadn't checked her or done the Apgar score. They handed her to my husband who gave her to me and I was so smitten with her face.. and not having my glasses on... I Took a glance and thought she was a boy.
They made arm and leg bands they wouldn't use first names incase you changed your mind, and they used the mother's last name. So the bands said Baby Boy Last name.
We were calling her Jackson. They put the bands on her.. still in my arms.
When it came time to clean her up.. the midwife picked her up and turned around... and said, " this baby has not left this room and I think she's a girl"
It gave us all a laugh, I scrapped my daughters "life as a boy" I kept one of the bands.
My daughter was with me all the time, we even left the hospital and had to check back in two days later because she lost too much weight. luckily we were able to check back into the maternity ward so I stayed with her for the second stay. So I wasn't worried.
BUT at the time we gave birth, there was a case in the UK where a couple having IVF had the sperm mixed up with another couple, and as we did IVF... that made me nervous,
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Post by Crazyhare on Jul 3, 2015 12:48:55 GMT
Since my little girl was born so recently, it's not something I worried about. I didn't see her until about 30 minutes after she was born. She had a little trouble breathing and they whisked her away to the other side of the room while they sewed me up. But my husband went with her and spent the whole time with her. He took photos the whole time, so I'm sure I got the right baby. She was never taken away from our sight until the next day.
I couldn't imagine finding out that your baby was switched at birth. You'd have a bond with the wrong one, but would feel like you should have yours. What a horrible situation to be in. I'm glad hospitals have taken more steps to avoid the problem.
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Post by littlemama on Jul 3, 2015 12:49:42 GMT
My ds was a full term baby in the NICU. There wasn't much chance he was going to be mixed up with all the tiny preemies. Had he not been in NICU, he would have been in my room at all times. My hospital did not take babies to a nursery.
Now, what I would freak out about is having twins and potentially mixing them up before they were old enough to tell me who they were!
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Post by mikklynn on Jul 3, 2015 12:54:47 GMT
No, I didn't worry about it. They did bring the wrong baby to me to nurse once, but I knew he wasn't mine! The mix-up was because both babies were named Matt and our last names were the same except for the first letter. Ours is M, theirs is N. THAT was weird.
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Post by anxiousmom on Jul 3, 2015 13:00:29 GMT
My ds was a full term baby in the NICU. There wasn't much chance he was going to be mixed up with all the tiny preemies. I had one of those too (he was there for a little over a week.) At almost nine pounds, the NICU nurses said there was no doubt which kid was mine.  They also said that they had to go over to the other area to get gowns and diapers that would fit him. They didn't normally stock his size in the NICU. The other kid, I guess I never even gave it any thought. I was tired- my husband had just moved out and I figured I needed to sleep as much as I could before I left the hospital. |
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lesley
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Post by lesley on Jul 3, 2015 13:01:27 GMT
Having identical triplets I was worried about mixing them up myself. LOL! Patter, how did you tell them apart? I remember a friend had little thread bracelets in different colours for her identical twins. She used to panic that the girl called Cara at birth was actually the one called Beth now, and that, when they got passports, they allocated the wrong birth certificates. She used to lie awake at night fretting about such things. |
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Post by roundtwo on Jul 3, 2015 13:11:38 GMT
When I was in the hospital with my second, the nurses brought me a baby to feed. I knew from the moment they put the bundle in my arms that it wasn't mine and showed them our unmatching name bands. It was quite disconserting to say the least.
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Post by myshelly on Jul 3, 2015 13:18:57 GMT
Yes.
One of the many, many reasons having a baby in a hospital sounds absolutely horrible to me.
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Post by maryland on Jul 3, 2015 13:40:14 GMT
I never even thought about that! My first had a lot of black hair, so she was easy to identify. Our third was 10 pds., so it was easy to know which one she was! All my kids were born in hospitals with small maternity wards, so that made it easier!
To me, most babies look alike, so I can see why some would worry.
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Post by scrapsotime on Jul 3, 2015 13:40:43 GMT
I wasn't worried about that, but each of my children were born with something distinctive that was committed on by the doctors or nurses. My daughter had very dark hair that was like a Mohawk hairstyle, my middle son had extra fingers and youngest was almost 10 pounds - bigger than any other baby there at the time.
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Post by maryland on Jul 3, 2015 13:44:14 GMT
No. I worry about just about everything but I don't remember that being a concern. I remember when we toured the labor and delivery section of the hospital while I was pregnant, they went over the security issues and thinking they seemed pretty thought out. After that it never really entered my mind. Our hospital was the same way. I was so mad because I am terrified of elevators, and because of security reasons, when I went to the hospital to have the baby and to leave, they wouldn't let me take the stairs! It's a rule they have for the safety of the babies so no baby gets taken. That makes sense, but I am a crazy woman when I am told I have to take an elevator!
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Post by Patter on Jul 3, 2015 13:45:31 GMT
Having identical triplets I was worried about mixing them up myself. LOL! Patter, how did you tell them apart? I remember a friend had little thread bracelets in different colours for her identical twins. She used to panic that the girl called Cara at birth was actually the one called Beth now, and that, when they got passports, they allocated the wrong birth certificates. She used to lie awake at night fretting about such things. As soon as they were born, they were labeled Baby A, B, and C. Then they moved them to the NICU. I had "kind of" already named each baby by "personality" before they were born. So, after I had them, they took me through the NICU, and we gave each baby their name that was put on the isolet. Then when it was time to take them home, we put yarn on each baby's wrist. We used those colors for them for years, and the yarn for about 6 months. The yarn was great because it could get wet when we bathed them, and as they grew it was easy to cut off and tie on a new piece. Worked great, and I am certain my girls were never mixed up. I have a friend that also had identical triplets, and I am certain she mixed up her girls. We even talked about it, and she was not concerned at all. I haven't seen them in years but it always bothered me for her! |
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Post by melanell on Jul 3, 2015 13:46:55 GMT
This was pretty much my situation. I didn't worry. |
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Post by epeanymous on Jul 3, 2015 13:47:08 GMT
Now, what I would freak out about is having twins and potentially mixing them up before they were old enough to tell me who they were! I have identical twins, but they were a pound apart at birth and one had a strawberry birthmark on there top of his bald little head, so I didn't worry about it (they looked so dissimilar to me anyway that I didn't know they were identical until we had them tested; looking back at baby pictures, however, they look exactly the same). My last baby never left my room, and, honestly, I never worried about it with the other babies. They all look exactly like dh's side of the family, so I am not worried now either. |
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Post by melanell on Jul 3, 2015 13:50:12 GMT
We put name bands on babies, checked by the mother BEFORE the cord is cut. Much less room for error. They did that with mine, too. Wrist and ankle bands with my name and theirs. And they had a little square thing on them that set off an alarm if they were removed from the maternity wing OR if they fell off. And DS #1 had a particular talent for kicking off his ankle one. We wouldn't even realize that it was off and some poor nurse would be running in to check on him. We never figured out how he was doing it. The bands were fairly tight, but that kid must have been doing some sort of self-origami with his little foot. |
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Post by maryland on Jul 3, 2015 13:51:22 GMT
There was a baby switching story that came out right before I delivered my first DD, and I was totally paranoid about it. I wouldn't them take her from my room, and made DH follow her for her initial check-up. (I was also paranoid that they would try to introduce an artificial nipple.) I guess I brought home the right kid, because everyone she meets says she looks just like me. I was much more chill with my twins. They were the only twins in the hospital, so I figured as long as I brought home two babies that looked the same I was ok. Is your oldest 17? There was a story in summer 1998 about a baby switching, the children were at least 5? before it was found out. How sad for the children and the parents!
It's funny, but when we are around all of my friends, they say the kids look exactly like me.  When we around my husbands friends, they say they look like him! So they must be our kids! But once at the beach our youngest (5) was running around with her sisters. Our youngest has white blonde hair and gets really tan. I have dark hair and my husband (blonde as a child) isn't so blonde now. A woman walking by asked if the youngest was adopted!
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cakediva
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Post by cakediva on Jul 3, 2015 13:53:19 GMT
It never even occurred to me! We had "rooming in" back then, so they weren't out of my sight long (just for a bath that DH went with).
My oldest had SUCH a crazy head of dark hair, she would have been hard to switch with the other baldies.
DS was born at home, so there was no switching him!
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jul 3, 2015 13:54:23 GMT
My babies were never out of one iof our sights in the hospital. My husband went with them for their baths and the babies slept in my room. Not really because of fear they'd mix them up - it was extremely common in out hospital to keep the baby with you.
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Post by maryland on Jul 3, 2015 13:56:38 GMT
I wasn't worried about that, but each of my children were born with something distinctive that was committed on by the doctors or nurses. My daughter had very dark hair that was like a Mohawk hairstyle, my middle son had extra fingers and youngest was almost 10 pounds - bigger than any other baby there at the time. I read your post and thought I wrote it!
My oldest had lots of black hair and the nurses "styled" it like a Mohawk! She was our first, so being a new mom, I thought I should style it like that too and did it for a month! My brother, SIL flew out to visit when she was almost a month old and we got her picture taken with her 6 month old cousin. I styled her hair differently and my brother said he was glad I stopped the Mohawk!
And my youngest was 10 pds., the biggest in the nursery!
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eleezybeth
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Post by eleezybeth on Jul 3, 2015 14:00:32 GMT
I had 3 c-sections and DH never left their sides. The last one never left my sight but the first 2 did, but DH was with them the whole time. The 3 hospitals all had the same precautions with the bands, alarms and locked wards. The last ward even had a security guard.
About 3 hours from where I'm from had a big lawsuit over a switched at birth story. They grew into obviously different skin tones than their families. 60 Minutes did a story on the adults and the one was never accepted into her family because of her skin tone (Mexican into a Polish family). The other one was. It was heartbreaking to watch how the one had never been accepted, ostracized, etc. When they figured it out at like age 50, the one family welcomed both daughters.
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They also said that they had to go over to the other area to get gowns and diapers that would fit him. They didn't normally stock his size in the NICU.
When we around my husbands friends, they say they look like him! 
