Baby switched at birth at Sibley

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never seen so much shameless jealousy. Ya'll, you look like idiots commenting on her writing style and calling her names.

Between a bunch of anonymous hags and the editorial staff at the WaPo, whose opinion do you think actually carries weight.

Losers.

Y'all!?!?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some big differences in the two scenarios. First, I'm sure the volunteers were vetted before they are allowed to work in the nursery. I'm sure my background was not checked before I delivered in the hospital. Second, you agreed to the donor milk and formula. While the fact that the baby got formula is really not that big deal in grand scheme of things, the decision should have been the mother's. It shouldn't have happened because the hospital gave a baby to the wrong mother.

I think the OP exaggerated a bit in her article to make it an interesting story (Ebola, WTH?) as do most journalists, but I would be pissed if I was making a good faith attempt at nursing and instead my kid was given formula without my permission. There's articles about how formula changes a baby's gut bacteria, and plus since it's more easily available typically than breast milk for a new mom, it probably stretched out her baby's stomach making it harder for OP to keep up with her supply.

Really, one bottle of formula is going to ruin breast feeding. That is not an article written by a journalist. A new article should just have the facts.. that was a mommy blog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never seen so much shameless jealousy. Ya'll, you look like idiots commenting on her writing style and calling her names.

Between a bunch of anonymous hags and the editorial staff at the WaPo, whose opinion do you think actually carries weight.

Losers.

Y'all!?!?!

Seriously. Y'all should check yourselves before y'all call others idiots, hags and losers while pointing y'all's fingers at others for calling her names.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never seen so much shameless jealousy. Ya'll, you look like idiots commenting on her writing style and calling her names.

Between a bunch of anonymous hags and the editorial staff at the WaPo, whose opinion do you think actually carries weight.

Losers.

I'm not jealous. I asked about the process of getting something like this published, because it seems like either the editorial staff dropped the ball, or maybe there's not much editing, maybe it's more like a letter to the editor disguised as a lifestyle piece.

Also, reader opinions carry a lot of weight. If nobody reads, they're out of a job. And it mattered enough to get the title changed, didn't it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

How do you know her husband works on the Hill? You are creepy PP, stalk much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The main problem with this whole thing is the OP's sensational headline, and calling her essay an "article."

I'm curious about the process of getting an essay onto the On Parenting page. Can anybody submit anything? Is there an editor to look over it? This little essay is a far cry from an actual story being investigated.

Ha ha, yeah, the "main problem" is the headline and OP's writing style. The main problem is that OP's baby was given to a stranger by the hospital staff. What the hospital did is shocking, no matter what kind of writer OP happens to be. I bet not many new mothers in the hospital after giving birth are professional writers.

Crappy wording on my part.

Clearly the main problem of the story is the mistake made in the hospital. But it kind of gets lost in the talk of ebola and all of the what-if's. I don't doubt that a mom would be fairly freaked out by this. But the ebola comment, and her husband hunting down the other mom after "glimpsing" something on a piece of paper also bothers me.

I do have a problem with OP's choice of wording in the title, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good grief OP, I expected a story about 8 year olds struggling to adapt to learning about their bio family vs. the family that had been raising them.

The switch itself, that's bad. The cover up is unconscionable.

I suspect that what OP sees as a cover up is little more than factfinding that has taken time and third hand stories that have been repeated, not conspiracies and cover ups.

Thank you for some rationality. It is amazing to me how so many on this thread are taking both the OP's story and the comments that have followed as fact. Has the WaPo done any validation or source-checking? Don't we learn to get all sides of the story in kindergarten?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good grief OP, I expected a story about 8 year olds struggling to adapt to learning about their bio family vs. the family that had been raising them.

The switch itself, that's bad. The cover up is unconscionable.

I suspect that what OP sees as a cover up is little more than factfinding that has taken time and third hand stories that have been repeated, not conspiracies and cover ups.

Thank you for some rationality. It is amazing to me how so many on this thread are taking both the OP's story and the comments that have followed as fact. Has the WaPo done any validation or source-checking? Don't we learn to get all sides of the story in kindergarten?

Husband called in a chit to get wife's column planted to coincide with book release.
Called it here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was on Huff Po parents today. Op is obviously using it to try to promote a book or mommy blog or some other ridiculousness.

No one is denying that it shouldn't have happened. People on here are literally acting like a woman with AIDS breast-fed this baby. Just absurd.

Seriously, the OP is eating up this thread b/c she's a marketing machine (in addition to a crappy writer). However, I posted the rich bitch comment and I'm not a nurse at Sibley. Just someone who is disgusted with how the OP and her husband completely violated the privacy of women who had just given birth. Shame on them.

Wow. Well, your internet personal of "I'm from the wrong/poor side of the tracks and know how to call it" is boring, overplayed and stupid (as in sounds like a reality tv show from 10 years ago...). (1) As for her being "rich", there's nothing in the article that has to do with her being rich. This could easily have happened to any mother rich or poor and any mother would have trouble with this, regardless of money or class. The only reason you think she's rich is b/c you stalked her wedding photos and judged them. Weird, pitiful and jealous, which is why the other posters are calling you CRAZY JEALOUS. Also, reporters aren't rich. This woman seems middle class and maybe could afford her wedding and maybe is in debt for it. (2) Nothing in the article suggest she's a "bitch", unless you're the nurse that got in trouble and don't know how to say sorry or face your mistakes. In the article, the woman describes "panicking" after the hospital didn't bring the baby to her for over 2 hours and after she as told conflicting stories about where her baby had been and what had happened. I would be upset too and start imagining all kinds of worst-case senarios. If you READ the story, it's clear that to the author that her worry over Ebola is irrational and panic, and she never actually accused the other mother or woman of having Ebola or AIDS or anything like that. In fact, she says meeting the other woman was, basically, the only thing that happened all day to calm her down. So I just don't get your comments and you sound like you just enjoy making personal attacks... I thought maybe you were one of the nurses, which kinda explained your comments. But if you're not, you are just plain crazy and - how does Outkast say it? Oh yeah, "A bitch's bitch...just a bitch." And not a rich one either, the sad, poor kind...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was on Huff Po parents today. Op is obviously using it to try to promote a book or mommy blog or some other ridiculousness.

No one is denying that it shouldn't have happened. People on here are literally acting like a woman with AIDS breast-fed this baby. Just absurd.

Seriously, the OP is eating up this thread b/c she's a marketing machine (in addition to a crappy writer). However, I posted the rich bitch comment and I'm not a nurse at Sibley. Just someone who is disgusted with how the OP and her husband completely violated the privacy of women who had just given birth. Shame on them.

Wow. Well, your internet personal of "I'm from the wrong/poor side of the tracks and know how to call it" is boring, overplayed and stupid (as in sounds like a reality tv show from 10 years ago...). (1) As for her being "rich", there's nothing in the article that has to do with her being rich. This could easily have happened to any mother rich or poor and any mother would have trouble with this, regardless of money or class. The only reason you think she's rich is b/c you stalked her wedding photos and judged them. Weird, pitiful and jealous, which is why the other posters are calling you CRAZY JEALOUS. Also, reporters aren't rich. This woman seems middle class and maybe could afford her wedding and maybe is in debt for it. (2) Nothing in the article suggest she's a "bitch", unless you're the nurse that got in trouble and don't know how to say sorry or face your mistakes. In the article, the woman describes "panicking" after the hospital didn't bring the baby to her for over 2 hours and after she as told conflicting stories about where her baby had been and what had happened. I would be upset too and start imagining all kinds of worst-case senarios. If you READ the story, it's clear that to the author that her worry over Ebola is irrational and panic, and she never actually accused the other mother or woman of having Ebola or AIDS or anything like that. In fact, she says meeting the other woman was, basically, the only thing that happened all day to calm her down. So I just don't get your comments and you sound like you just enjoy making personal attacks... I thought maybe you were one of the nurses, which kinda explained your comments. But if you're not, you are just plain crazy and - how does Outkast say it? Oh yeah, "A bitch's bitch...just a bitch." And not a rich one either, the sad, poor kind...

Karin? Is that you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we all just agree that Sibley is a crappy hospital. We delivered there, and I've never felt so disrespected. God forbid you're anything but white.

I had a very bad experience a Sibley, and I am white. I stayed there for a few days after a C-section. The nurses were very rude and disrespectful. I switched to another hospital for my second child.

[Anonymous]

I had a baby mix up at Sibley. A nurse took my baby to the nursery for a test, and brought back the wrong baby. It was quickly discovered when our wristband numbers didn't match. it was a little alarming....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we all just agree that Sibley is a crappy hospital. We delivered there, and I've never felt so disrespected. God forbid you're anything but white.

I had a very bad experience a Sibley, and I am white. I stayed there for a few days after a C-section. The nurses were very rude and disrespectful. I switched to another hospital for my second child.

I had a very bad experience at Holy Cross, and I am white. From check-in to delivery to post-partum care to staff pediatricians to discharge. I switched to Sibley for my second child and had a fantastic experience in comparison.

[Anonymous]

I was supposed to get a painkiller for tearing at Sibley after labor and when I asked for it, the nurse told me I had already taken it. My husband insisted I hadn't been given the pill (he was there the whole time), and so the supervising nurse listened to him and checked. Turned out the nurse had my pill in her pocket. Other than that incident, which was bizarre, I wouldn't say my experience at Sibley was bad, but it was mediocre enough that I'm delivering elsewhere for my second kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:isn't it a coincidence that the very thing OP obsessively feared throughout her pregnancy actually came to pass?

I'm dubious, too. If you really are so fearful about this, you don't choose to send your baby to the nursery-- nowadays when hospitals are getting rid of nurseries and rooming-in is presented as crucial to breastfeeding success, it seems odd that a woman whose husband is at the hospital with her, who is very concerned with breastfeeding success, and who is anxious about baby getting "switched at birth" would request to send her baby to the nursery.

I'm not critical of the choice, but it was an unusual choice for a woman who presents herself as slavishly devoted to nursing her baby and obsessively fearful about babies getting switched around.

This exactly. The author clearly made some things up or at least embellished.

Many hospitals that don't have strict rooming-in policies force you to send the baby to the nursery for certain tests. When I gave birth to my oldest, this was the case (by the time I had my second baby, they'd changed to doing the tests in-room). I made DH go with baby #1 for every test because I was paranoid about this happening, too, honestly.