Baby switched at birth at Sibley

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I also can't believe you hounded the poor other woman and got all up in her face about formula feeding! Sorry but you come across as a complete crazy person.

Where did you see that? She had every right to find out what exactly happened to her child while this stranger had her. Are you insane???

OP - please disregard the bitches here. I would have been mortified if someone gave my child to a stranger no matter how short the "visit" was. It is absolutely okay that you spoke to this woman since the hospital was not giving you the whole story. I am sorry that this happened to you. They should definitely have better security measures and maybe now they will.

Oh give me a fucking break. No, you don't ever have the right to track down and harass another patient. Not even to confirm your precious snowflake was fed formula, horrifying as that is to contemplate.

The fact that you keep calling this child her special snowflake is ridiculous. I won't what you would have done if this happened to you? Did you hand your newborn over to strangers on the metro? Did they feed your special snoflake?

Didn't think so.

I wouldn't have played detective to track down and harass an innocent party, that's for damn sure.

Where does it say she harassed her? I get that you think it's no big deal, but simply talking to someone is a far cry from harassing them.

Tracking her down by invading her privacy is harassing her. Sounds like the other mom handled it with grace, though.

Also writing the article without the other mother's consent as it was her experience as well.

She didn't name the other woman so no consent was needed. You clearly don't understand how articles are written.

And the woman could have refused to talk to them. Turns out that she is a decent human being who had her child in the same hospital that fucked up OP's experience so I'm sure she wanted to help. Some of us mothers are not selfish bitches claiming harassment every time someone asks us a question. I really wonder how some of you get out of bed in the morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Man you guys are so mean! Stop bashing OP.

What, REALLY, would you have done if your child were given to another mom???? Doing skin to skin, kissing, blah blah blah. And what would you have done if your LO was breastfed by another mom? NOT OKAY!

I cannot believe the rude b's on this post.

For real. I would have FLIPPED OUT. And I'm sure that the nasty bitches on this thread would have too.

[Anonymous]

so many mean, nasty, unnecessarily rude comments. You can disagree with the way OP presented her story (both here and on WaPo) without being a complete jerk in your anonymous commenting.

I would be very upset if this happened to my baby. It is a big deal. I delivered at Inova and they seemed to have a good system for making sure stuff like this doesn't happen. As a PP mentioned, they scanned my bracelet and baby's bracelet whenever we were separated/reunited. It seemed very secure.

[Anonymous]

Wow, someone actually googled the author's wedding and said her hair was "ick." Way to stay on topic. I delivered at Sibley just over a month ago and at the 2 am check the nurse didn't do a bracelet confirmation at all. I had to ask for one and then she reluctantly did it. I'm glad this problem is getting some attention. They need scanners!! It's a Hopkins hospital and they're about to open a new maternity wing. They should be at the forefront of technology.

[Anonymous]

OP, what happened to you was awful but what you wrote makes you and your husband seem so obnoxious that Sibley's actions get lost. Your comment about being disappointed your child was gulping down formula is obnoxious. And do you really still wonder if the child crying in the middle of the night is your daughter? Really? Your husband playing detective makes him seem like an ass when all he had to do was get someone senior at the hospital involved. I also find it very odd that you are so critical of formula yet you sent your newborn off to the nursery and didn't bother to inquire when she wasn't brought back to you at the stated time. Maybe next time don't ship your newborn off to the nursery, ok?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, in principle I'm with you, but your Wash Post piece is wildly overdramatic (I think in an attempt to be funny??) Your horror at your child 'gulping down formula' is a huge eyeroller. But I'm sure you have a very promising career ahead of you as a mommy blogger.

This. I was also a nervous new mom at sublet but the tone of the article does a disservice to you. You come across as a nut job.your baby wasn't kidnapped. And honestly you sound more concerned that your baby "gulped" formula lien it was cyanide. Are you this insufferable and rigid in all your parenting choices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, in principle I'm with you, but your Wash Post piece is wildly overdramatic (I think in an attempt to be funny??) Your horror at your child 'gulping down formula' is a huge eyeroller. But I'm sure you have a very promising career ahead of you as a mommy blogger.

This. I was also a nervous new mom at sublet but the tone of the article does a disservice to you. You come across as a nut job.your baby wasn't kidnapped. And honestly you sound more concerned that your baby "gulped" formula lien it was cyanide. Are you this insufferable and rigid in all your parenting choices?

+1. This is a very serious issue and it should have been a real news article instead of a personal blog that she got paid for. The issue is of huge concern but how it was written came across very nutty. If you wanted to get paid, sue the hospital. I would think you got compensated, there would have been a clause about writing about it.

[Anonymous]

I don't see what the big deal is...it sounds like the other mom was concerned as well. I'm not reading it like the majority. I think it sounds reasonable to search out the other woman when they realized Sibley was covering it up. She is a journalist, and despite what someone says on page 1, I'd say she actually IS a novelist with one book published and another one coming out from a big press. ???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see what the big deal is...it sounds like the other mom was concerned as well. I'm not reading it like the majority. I think it sounds reasonable to search out the other woman when they realized Sibley was covering it up. She is a journalist, and despite what someone says on page 1, I'd say she actually IS a novelist with one book published and another one coming out from a big press. ???

She isn't exactly an investigative journalist; she reported on entertainment news. Yes, she's a chick lit author. However, it boggles the mind that she got anything published b/c this piece for the post is so poorly written. (Seriously, the fried tuna troll has better writing chops.)

The nurses they spoke with were inconsistent on what happened--that's why you report these things to an Ombudsman. It wasn't a "cover up." It's not good what happened, and I'm sure it was disturbing to experience as new parents. But it's also disturbing how she and her husband felt it was right to interrogate moms who had just given birth at the hospital. And she doesn't even see how inappropriate this was.

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of people don't know to report things that go wrong to an ombudsman. I wouldn't have known that and they definitely didn't talk about it in my birthing class. Especially true if you've just given birth and haven't slept at all! Maybe it's something they should address in birthing classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people don't know to report things that go wrong to an ombudsman. I wouldn't have known that and they definitely didn't talk about it in my birthing class. Especially true if you've just given birth and haven't slept at all! Maybe it's something they should address in birthing classes.

Well, her husband works on the Hill, so if he doesn't know what an Ombudsman is, it's little wonder why our government is so mired in inefficiency.

However, it's true, many people don't know they exist, but when you check into Sibley, even for an ER visit, they give you information on the Ombudsman and DNR papers. (Yeah, that second one is a confidence builder.) But if you google, "sibley hospital complaints," the first link is the Ombudsman.

[Anonymous]

Her husband has a Masters in Public Administration, and he can't figure out how to lodge a complaint with a hospital? Pathetic.

[Anonymous]

NP here.

I'm so sorry this happened, OP! Thank you for writing an article about it, and posting on here. Sibley should be ashamed of themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What eye popping hysteria.

It looks like hysteria, until you read the last lines. Her book is coming out. She wrote this article so she could get her name out and WP could include that. Had she been a nobody I would have been more sympathetic. When I read she's an author, freelance writer, and her book is coming out, the impression changed to, she's making this a bigger deal to get publicity.

But of course I agree Sibley's cover up was just CYA and hugely disappointing. They should have just told her the truth from the get go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I gave birth in Shady Grove Hospital, a decade ago. My newborn was lying next to me when two very strange looking young women came and asked if I wanted the baby to go to the nursery. I said "no". I was not sleepy and I wanted to nurse my baby some more, besides they really looked strange and I did not want to hand my baby to them. They started insisting that I needed to rest and that they need to take the baby back. I asked them who they were, and they told me they were volunteers. I refused and asked them to leave. You would think that they would leave, but they didn't. They told me instead that new mothers do not know that they need to rest, and so I should let my baby get back in the nursery. My DH arrived and I asked him to make them go away.

When the nurse arrived, I complained about these women, and she told me that they do not have volunteers who take babies to the nursery. I described the women and the nurse did not know who I was talking about. Anyways, I did not pursue this and we left the next day. I was totally freaked out. One of the reasons why I did not hand over my baby was because these women had a very strange appearance and manner of talking. To this date I wonder if some kind, grandmotherly kind of person would have come to me, would I have given my baby to them to wheel to the nursery?

So, too bad if I am being paranoid, and some other expectant mom becomes paranoid - keep an eye on the baby. My DH had strict instructions to not leave the baby alone when they took him from the delivery room, and he did just that.

Wow. This is terrifying. Did the hospital do anything to find these women?

No, we did not do anything more than tell the nurse. But I was paranoid and did not let the baby leave me, we left the next day. Also, this was not my first baby and I had an easy natural birth, so I did not want to stay at the hospital, away from my other children. We did feel that the nurse was very nonchalant about it and so did not feel safe. In hindsight, we should have made a stink and alerted the hospital etc., but we just did not do that. Sorry