Week 29: June 1-7

Brian came home on Friday, which of course was great. I can't imagine him being gone for months at a time - I miss him so much after just a few days. I'm going to pull a Scarlett O'Hara and say "I can't think about that today, I'll think about that tomorrow." You all know how that goes. Goodness knows that I have enough going on in my head with this whole baby thing! Suffice it to say, it's nice to have him home.

On Sunday we went and toured the hospital where we'll be delivering. When I picked the hospital it was based mostly on a few people recommending it. There are 3 main hospitals here in town, and I actually had at least one person mention each hospital. St Joe's (where we are going) had the added benefit of being closer and I had been there a few times so I knew where it was. Done! Now that time has gone on and I've learned more I am SO GLAD I chose this place. I am sure they are all just fine, and different places have different benefits, but so many of the things I view as important are not only possible, but encouraged at this facility.

- Fantastic staff. All of their nurses are qualified to teach, and many are certified lactation consultants. Having experienced the one ER visit I know they are quick, compassionate and professional as well. They also have a triage staff that will answer questions on the phone, which is great.
- One LDRP room. That stands for labor, delivery, recovery postpartum. It basically means that once I get settled I won't have to move to another room for any part of my stay. Of course, if a C section is necessary that will happen in an OR. Also they do have an area on another floor that is only for postpartum moms and if the baby and I are both in tiptop shape I might have the opportunity to go up there. Mostly it's just very quiet because there isn't the hustle and bustle of folks having baby up there.
- Couplet care. Or at least, that's what they call it. It means that unless there's a problem, the baby is only in the nursery for brief procedures and spends all the rest of the time with me. They even do the initial bath and everything under a warmer in the room. If I ask for a break they'll take him for a while, but it's not like a nursery full of babies, even at night. I had read about this and was planning on requesting "rooming in" but it's not just an option, it's how they do things at this hospital. Fantastic!
- Breastfeeding support. This is something that's very important to me, and to them! I don't have to make a point of requesting no bottles or pacifiers for the baby, that's automatically howt hey work. They also have lactation consultants at least until the evening every day, ready to help out. Plus a lot of the other nurses have experience in this area.
- A dedicated anesthesiologist. There is someone on the floor 24/7 who does epidurals and C sections, and nothing else. They give epidurals for 80% of their deliveries, and I think I mentioned some of their thoughts on the subject in a previous post. I'm pretty sure we're going this route and it's great to know we don't have to wait for someone who's on call, even in the middle of the night.
-Low staff to patient ratios. In fact, I'll have a nurse all to myself all through my delivery, which will only change if I labor over a shift change. She'll stay with me for a few hours after delivery, then I'll have postpartum nurse. They each see 4 patients, so that's still a really low ratio.
- Private room! This is the only hospital in town that guarantees a private room through the whole process. That includes postpartum. No room sharing! Part of this is that Brian will be able to stay the night if he'd like, and they provide a cot for him which is great.
- 48 hour standard stay. That's 2 days AFTER the delivery, not 2 days from the time I'm admitted. It's more if needed (like with a C section), but that's a nice buffer for the nurses to help us get our heads together and for me to not have to do anything but heal and get to know the Pea.

The facilities are nice, though a bit old when it comes to decor. They're building a new birthing center, but we're a little early for that :). All of their technology/medical stuff looks fantastic, it's just the decorations that are pretty 80s.

That was the big news for the week. I am feeling like I'm growing visibly every few days, and the Pea feels like he's taking up more and more room in there. He still gives a kick/punch every now and again but the majority of his motions are more like pushes and rolls, and sometimes he just LEANS against my stomach until there's a big hard bump.

I've also been having Braxton-Hicks contractions pretty regularly. Well... irregularly but more frequently. Every few days I'll have a few of them, and some of them are even sort of uncomfortable. For a little while I was worried that I wouldn't know if it was actually false labor, but they are very sporadic and they go away, so that's a good sign that they're nothing much!

I'm at +21 pounds now, no more dropping back to +20 that I've noticed. Even if I gain a pound a week I'll still be at around 30-35 pounds which is just right. Maybe I won't cut back on sugar TOO much. :)