Birthing Center Tour

So i had my tour of the Birthing Center on Wednesday and it went wonderfully. She took about an hour to show us around and talk to us about all our concerns and questions.

The center itself is not what it sounds like. It is really (seriously) a house. When you walk onto the front porch and enter the front door you are in a very nice living room. They have a full size couch, 2 recliners, a love seat, a book shelf and a TV equipped with a DVD/VHS player. She also informed hubby that he can bring his Xbox or Wii and hook it up (as a side note i told her she should have never told him that because now he will get punched while i am in labor and he is busy playing football lol). Beside the living room there is a computer room which is open for us to use if we need to/want to. There is a full sized kitchen and dining room if we want to fix a meal or what ever we need (there is also a gazillion fast food places near by). There is a back porch where we are free to go outside and rock in the rocking chair and labor if we want to, right off the dining room.

There are 2 birthing rooms. The main room look much like anyones regular bedroom. It has a full sized bed, a very beautiful wooden rocking cradle, a rocking chair, a full sized mirror, and a large bathroom. In the bathroom (which is of comfortable size) there is a full size, very deep, jacuzzi tub which we are aloud to use for either laboring and comfort or to have a desired water birth. It is also fully equipped with all the regular bathroom stuff.

The second bedroom is pretty much the same except a little smaller. It is mostly used in case there should be 2 births at one time (which she said in all their time has never happened) or for family and friends who want to nap during the labor process. There is also another bedroom with a twin size bed for friends and family. There is 2 other bathrooms that are a little smaller and contain only showers, toilets, and sinks mainly for family and friends or in case you don't want to be in the tub and would prefer a shower while laboring.

They do have office space in the house (which is why the second birth room is smaller) where they do check ups and such for women who come there for their prenatal care. No one besides friends, family, and med staff are aloud in the building during a labor/birth.

They have all the medical stuff needed and do have a RN on staff. The main birth room is equipped with oxygen for both mother and baby if needed, a scale, and other medical supplies that might be needed in case of an emergency. They also have all the normal (birthing center) stuff like birthing balls, squatting bars, and such.

The hospital is literally right across the road if an serious emergency should arise but she said it is very very rare that they have to call in any medical interventions. They usually call ahead of time as soon as they know a birth is coming to inform the hospital so they can be ready with an ambulance just in case.

She reassured me that the baby will be placed (if i don't catch the baby myself) directly in my arms after delivery and they will not take the baby to clean him up until i am ready to rest and feel comfortable handing him over. This is a big relief to me as in the hospital i was always the 3 or 4 person to hold my own child.

We have decided, after seeing the house, that we want to take the kids with us (as long as i don't go into labor in the middle of the night). My MIL will be going with us to keep an eye on the kids (i am so excited because she has never been present for the birth of any of our kids before). Susan (the RN and the woman who does the tour) gave us some great ideas for keeping the kids entertained. She said a lot of people choose to use the kitchen and make it into a sleepover/birthday party for the baby. We can bring sleeping bags and movies, pop popcorn, and maybe even bake a cake. The kids can do crafts and make cards for the baby all in attempts to keep them entertained and also help them get excited and feel apart of the baby's arrival. i also feel like having the kids there would keep me from panicking (because of the pain lol) and calm me more. No one likes to show pain and fear in front of their kids so i think it will be of great comfort to me to have them there. Also i want them to be amongst the first to see the baby after he is born rather than waiting on us to bring him home.

You are required to stay at least 4 hours after the birth and are ask to leave no more than 12 hours after the birth. If i have GBS (Group B Strep) as i did with Phabian i am required to stay at least 12 hours so they can monitor the baby. She said since i had GBS with Phabian they will probably give me antibiotics just as precaution (even though i did not have it with MJ). Since it is such a very serious thing they want to take every precaution to make sure mama and baby will be ok.

I think i covered just about everything. I am still very nervous just because there is no asking for an epidural if the pain gets to bad and i do have a tendency to panic at times lol. I am also very excited to finally have the chance to get the birth i have desired all along. Things have changed so much from my feelings during the birth of Phabian and now. I want things to be natural and easy (that is not the word i am looking for but can not describe it at the moment). I have planned and prepared so much more and thought about things this time around that i never thought about with Phabian and MJ. It is almost like i realize now all the options and choices i have that i did not know about then.

Now we are just playing the waiting game. 33 weeks in with 6 1/2 weeks to go and not much to do now other than wash baby clothes and hope Sione' participates with our plans. I guess that is the kicker. We can plan as much as we want but it is all up to Sione' as to what happens in the end.