We recommend that the two of you introduce your new baby to your family together. Once you have had some time bonding as a new family, we will invite your friends and family into your L&D room for you to introduce your new baby to them. We recommend that if you are breastfeeding, you do so before the baby has been to the Nursery for the first time.

Usually your baby can stay in your room with you for 30-60 mintues after birth, as long as the baby is doing well and staying warm. However, the baby does need to go to the Nursery for a thorough examination. Your Labor & Delivery nurse will briefly examine your baby, but the Nursery nurses will do a very thorough, in-depth exam and will notify your pediatrician of anything they may find that may need more attention.

Once it is time for the baby to go to the Nursery, Dad will carry the baby accompanied by your Labor & Delivery nurse. Be sure to take your camera to get a picture of your baby on the scales.

Once inside the Nursery, the baby's Nursery nurse and your L&D nurse will compare together the numbers on the shared Mother/Infant ID bracelets and the official Newborn Identification Sheet, to verify that the numbers match. Whenever your baby is brought to you, the Nursery personnel will check your bracelet with the baby's bracelet to make sure the numbers match. This is another security measure for your baby.

Once the baby has been weighed, your L&D nurse will usually suggest your support persons return to tell you how much the baby weighs. This is a polite way of asking you to leave the Nursery. Visitors are limited in the regular Nursery as an additional security measure for your newborn. Visitors are invited into the Nursery to weigh the baby and then again when the baby receives the first bath.