Each time we complete one of these pregnancy "steps" it gets more and more real: the first ultrasound, finding out the baby's a boy, touring the maternity ward, etc. It's all so exciting! Last night Craig and I toured the Winter Park Dr. Phillips Baby Center. (Dad, you'll be happy to know that the RN that gave us the tour is a die-hard Auburn grad. She looks forward to meeting you and talking football.) Vicki (the RN) was really nice and personable. She gave us a very thorough hour and 15 min tour of the baby center. We saw the room where we'll go initially, the room we'll deliver in and the "retreat" room where we'll stay for the next 48-72 hours. Thanks to Craig's involvement with designing the baby center (and his subtle name dropping), we were put on the list for one of the two VIP suites if one's available when we arrive. This VIP room is much bigger and has a huge bathroom. Normally you'd have to pay extra for this room or be a hospital employee to get upgraded. Good job Craig!
We got some very detailed information so I'll share it all here, but if you want to skip over, feel free. :) When we arrive we'll go straight to the second floor of the baby center unless is between 9pm- 4am in which case we'll have to go through the emergency room (Craig knows this, but Steph, you're my back up ride). I can't forget our cord blood kit (I'll explain this at the end) because when I check in they need to draw my blood for the kit in the inital set up of the IV and other connections. We did early registration so we won't have to do much paper work when we check in. I'll go into the inital exam room when we arrive where they'll examine me to make sure I'm not "faking it" and we're ready to deliver. If I'm ready, they will move me into the labor room which is really nice (ipod docking station, big screen tv, dvd player, WiFi, etc). This is where we'll stay until an hour or two after I deliver.
At the baby center, they always keep your baby in your room unless there's a problem. Once they move us into the "retreat" I'll be able to wear pajamas, eat, have a smoothie of the day at 3pm (I'm really excited about this perk), get a massage (another nice perk!) and walk around. They also serve room service for breakfast, lunch and dinner- for me, not for Craig. But that's okay because I'm sure he'll go to across the street to Mellow Mushroom anyway. :) The labor room and retreat room both have an oversized chair that pulls out into what looks like a pretty comfortable bed that Craig can sleep in. Hopefully we'll both get some sleep once they give me my epidural (yes, I'm getting one, I'm a wimp). We'll also have a mini fridge for snacks in the retreat room. Grandparents are allowed to visit anytime in the retreat room and friends can visit from 12pm-8:30pm. I have a feeling I'm forgetting some details, but it was so thorough that I'm counting on Craig to remember what I don't.
Craig and I have chosen to bank our baby's cord blood through Viacord. If you want more information on what that means, feel free to check out the website because there's no way I can explain it correctly. It's basically an insurance policy for our baby and for our peace of mind. http://www.viacord.com/
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