A month or two ago I registered Joel and myself for a Maternity Hospital tour at our hospital. Seeing as we are first time parents, not sure what to expect, I figured it wouldn't hurt for us to know what to do when the labor starts, where to go, who to ask for, etc.
All hospital tours at our hospital of choice, Providence Holy Cross Mission Hills, are on Tuesday nights at 7pm. I knew that by scheduling this, my husband may or may not be able to make it due to the differing schedules of each TV/Movie set he works on. Sometimes he's off after 6 hours, sometimes 8 hours, sometimes not until 12 hours. I knew I could have to go alone, but I hoped I wouldn't have to.
I was SO lucky. Joel got off work at the same time I did, allowing us plenty of time to meet at home and head to the hospital together.
A little bit about our hospital....it's the shit. I'm not gonna lie, we are lucky that we have the opportunity to be near such an amazing hospital, particularity for labor and delivery unit.
According to all the stuff our presenter told us, our hospital of choice is pretty legit! Check this out:
"Our Women’s Pavilion, which opened in summer 2011, offers patients new state-of-the-art labor and delivery suites along with two dedicated Cesarean Operating Rooms. The Women’s Pavilion also includes a 12-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for premature and high-risk babies. Our CCS Designated Community Levell II NICU provides family centered care for your newborn allowing privacy for precious family bonding. And for high-risk moms who must be hospitalized well before delivering, Providence Holy Cross has developed an antepartum care program to meet their special needs.
Providence Holy Cross maternity care in the San Fernando Valley is recognized as being in the top five percent nationally by national health care ratings organization, HealthGrades, and has been reported as providing the best maternity services by the Daily News. In 2007, Providence Holy Cross was one of only 59 hospitals nationally to receive a "Baby-Friendly" Hospital Designation by Baby-Friendly USA, under a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund to promote breast-feeding. Our medical staff is dedicated to helping you along your journey of motherhood, providing a healthy start for your baby, and supporting your family."
HA HA however they have 11 out of 25 post partum rooms actually remodeled...so I told Joel that I WANT A NEW ROOM DAMMIT! If I have to push a bowling ball out of my lady parts, then I want the BEST ROOM POSSIBLE for my recovery. So I'm crossing my fingers all the other pregnant moms don't go into labor at the same time as me. Cause those room are SO nice! Like, don't mind if I bring my comforters and pillows cause I WILL make myself comfortable. Heck...I don't know when I will get that much help with the baby again, I'm going to take advantage of it!
What I really like about the hospital is it has some of the same core values that are important to me during the whole birthing process. Some of the key things I really liked was
1.) Minimal separation of mother and baby
2.) Rooming in for mothers and infants 24 hours a day
3.) Skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth
4.) Staff trained in breastfeeding support
5.) Education of families on bonding with baby
As sarcastic and laid back as I seem, I really do have some things I'd like to see happen with my whole birthing process. I don't want to call it a "plan" cause we all know what happens when we try to make plans....God Laughs at them!
Here are a few things I'd like to hopefully see happen when labor starts:
Here are a few things I'd like to hopefully see happen when labor starts:
1.) Get to hospital and not be turned away
2.) Get a sweet ass newly remodeled room
3.) Bring ipod player to set up a good playlist
4.) Remember to bring comforters and pillows cause the furniture there is old and used by many new parents
5.) Push Baby out in record time (that's more of a wish than a plan)
6.) Get a SWEET ASS newly remodeled post partum room and not one of the 14 old janky ones. (NOTE TO HUSBAND....MAKE THIS HAPPEN)
6.) Have skin to skin contact immediately after baby is born
7.) No one takes my photo until I make myself presentable...but feel free to take pictures of the new baby!
8.) Utilize the nurses and lactation consultants and master that breastfeeding thing!
9.) Go home with minimal tearing
10.) Utilize anyone and everyone who offers to help. I'm so serious...let's build this village.
Until then, I'm just plugging away on the daily grind. I went to visit some horse friends yesterday and got told how small my bump is for being so far along. And that made my day! Seriously..thank you!
How about you? Did your "birth plan" go exactly as planned?
I found that not having a birth plan that was too detailed was the best, and to definitely be flexible. Most of the time if you ask them for the new room (nicely and bring them treats you will get EXTRA class A service..i am talking extra juice and desserts ahaha)
ReplyDeleteAll i told my nurses when i checked in was to get her out safe and to be honest with me throughout what was going on ( i was also induced for medical reasons, and being over due a week ), I told them I was cool with an epidural and just tried to "enjoy" the experience as much as one can haha....
DEFINITELY take advantage of the lactation specialists, I ended up having to go to some after for a few weeks bc scar would not latch properly, and she did not understand the concept of sucking when she was first born, so she started off being syringe fed like a little bird for a few days (until she got a pacifier and then it clicked). And let the nurses take care of the little one at least for a few hours so you can get some sleep. your body will thank you for it (as hard as it is) bc once you leave the hospital shit gets real....FAST :)