Making the Rounds

Last week, MJ and I attended a tour of the labor and delivery ward at the hospital where I'll be delivering this baby.  MJ in particular was looking forward to the tour, since (according to him) the most important things for him to know are where to park and where to bring me.

Fortunately, we figured those things out on our own.  Our tour guide, while nice, didn't seem extremely knowledgeable.  At times, she made statements that directly contradicted what our childbirth class instructor -- at the same hospital -- told us.  MJ and I agreed that between the two, we definitely trust our childbirth class instructor more!

But as we had been told, the facilities at our hospital were very nice.  Once I am in labor, we will be settled into a delivery room, where we will stay until the baby is born.  The delivery room is large and features a lighting setup that rivals most Hollywood sets, a "transformer bed" with moveable legs and arms that can convert into a various positions, an overstuffed chair for MJ, and plenty of space for visitors (and medical personnel).  There's also a baby station in the corner with a heating lamp, so Otto can be weighed, measured, tested and bathed in the room with us without taking him to the nursery.

After the baby is born and we are both stable, all three of us will be transferred to a recovery room, where we will stay until we are discharged (probably two nights).  The recovery room is smaller than the delivery room, but apparently the bed is much more comfortable.  There's a couch on the side that will serve as MJ's bed at night and a place for visitors to sit during the day.

The hospital recommends that we take advantage of the nursery whenever we need to rest, because a) I will be exhausted from labor, and b) once we get home, we will not have handy neonatal nurses available to watch the baby whenever we need to sleep.  I've received the same recommendation from friends of mine, so I'm sure we will take advantage of the opportunity whenever possible.

This hospital also has state-of-the-art security in the labor and delivery ward, as well as an outstanding NICU.  Between the hospital and my amazing doctor, I definitely feel that we will be in good hands.  I have pre-registered for the hospital, so all that's left to do is pack our bag and wait!