Brian and I attended our one and only childbirth class today at the hospital where we'll deliver. On our own and with the help of my sister, we are studying the Bradley Method, but since the closest class is over an hour away from us and it meets twelve times, it just wasn't feasible to take the classes. My sister followed the Bradley Method for all three of her births, including her two-for-one special (aka: Nathan and Matthew).
In a perfect world, I'd have my sister in the delivery room with me. (Yes, of course Brian will be there.) Unfortunately, at two and a half hours away (just from our home; the hospital is even further), and with four kids of her own, it just isn't doable to drop everything and drive up here to help me deliver my child. If we lived closer, I know her presence would bring me great peace of mind. She knows a lot, and to be honest, I think she'd make a wonderful childbirth teacher.
As far as hospitals go, we don't have many options here. Back home where I am from, there are quite a few hospitals to choose from that are within driving distance. Here we have one local hospital (still about twenty-five to thirty minutes away), and the word on the street since I have moved here is that it is one of the worst hospitals known to man. In fact, their maternity ward almost shut down. We ruled that hospital out quickly.
Every other hospital is about forty-five to fifty minutes away. I knew I was interested in a having a midwife, and so began seeing one this past September, and since she serves one hospital fifty minutes to the west of us, that's where we decided to go. (Although, there's no guarantee my midwife will be available to deliver, but I explained this in a previous post.)
So today we got the grand tour of the place where our little one will come into the world. It's rather strange, because the hospital is tiny in comparison to the hospital where I was born. Parking is rather uncomplicated, with there being only one small lot and a quick walk across the street. The maternity ward has five birthing rooms. It was calm, quiet, and the staff was friendly. It didn't have the "hustle and bustle" that larger hospitals seem to have.
Even though I didn't really "choose" this hospital, I was pretty happy with what I saw, and I was pleased, for the most part, with what the childbirth instructor had to say about the place.
We got to see one tiny newborn in the nursery, and I looked a bit longingly at the cute little guy. Our instructor recommended that new mothers put their baby in the nursery at night so she can have some rest. I don't think so. I wouldn't rest UNLESS my baby was at my side. As I told my mom, I wouldn't leave my purse in another room. Why would I leave my baby? I don't care how good the security is; things can and do happen.
In a nutshell, it was a good day, and somehow we feel further along in our baby journey after going to this class and receiving a hospital tour. In two days, I'll be in my twenty-sixth week of pregnancy, creeping ever closer to the third trimester.
