32 Weeks and a Hospital Tour

We hit a major milestone today...32 weeks!!! If the baby was born today, he would need some support keeping warm and breathing, but for the most part, he'd be fine. Jackie and Stefan had little Ava at 32 weeks and her perinatologist told her that the advances made in pre-term care since Ava was born is incredible and baby's born at this stage of the game, while still at high risk for lots of different things, grow-up to lead normal, healthy lives. And that's a good thing to hear!!!

Right now, baby continues to plump up with baby fat. At this point, he is head down and his legs are long enough to reach my rib cage. Every once in awhile I feel him kicking me right there and it takes my breath away. He is about 11.6 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 4 pounds. His latest development is hearing...mostly the sounds of my heart beat, food digesting and blood rushing through my body. The constant sound of those things is why babies find dryers, vacuum cleaners, and sound machines so soothing after birth. Our sound machine for this baby has been ordered and is on the way!!

Today, we went for a tour of the Northside Forsyth Hospital. It's located in Cumming...a small town north of Atlanta and is closer to us then the baby factory known as Northside Atlanta where Ally and Kelsey were born. It's a new facility that just opened in August, but many of the Labor and Delivery nurse/staff who worked at the Atlanta hospital transferred to the new hospital because of the closeness to their homes. That's nice to hear because that means it's not a new staff just learning how to run a Women's Center. The facility itself is amazing. I wish I had brought the camera to take pictures of all the things we got to see. To begin with, the foyer you walk in to feels more like a hotel than a hospital. There's not much "medical" about this place. When you get inside, there is a separate off-shoot for admissions...a private, personal corner of the atrium to get checked in. Once you get checked in, you are taken to one of 6...just 6...labor and delivery rooms. They do have another 6 Urgent Care rooms that are exactly like the Labor and Delivery Rooms, but they only use those if there is ever an overflow. And so far, they haven't needed them for that purpose. As we walked to the LDR, we passed the nurses station which had somewhere between 4 and 6 smiling nurses all ready to greet us. We walked in to the LDR and it was HUGE!!!! There was a flat screen TV with a DVD player. There were 2 long couches that convert in to beds for dads-to-be and visitors. The bathroom was amazing...a sink and toilet of course, but they all have whirlpool tubs for showering and relaxing in. All the rooms have huge windows with privacy shades that still allow for natural light. And each room has a private "newborn nook" with all the paraphernalia a newborn station needs...a warming bed with lamps and all the equipment to do initial check-ups, baths, and so forth. After you leave the LDR, you head up to Family Centered Care for the rest of your stay. The rooms there are smaller than the LDRs, but still just as nice. The showers are glass enclosed and each room has a flat screen with a DVD player as well. And, of course, there is the couch that converts to a bed for dad to stay the night. On our way back to the first floor, we passed by the nursery where 3 little babies, 2 boys and a girl, were sleeping and getting checked out. They were all so cute. And it was hard to imagine a tour group walking by in a few weeks and seeing our little guy in there. We toured the cafeteria after the hospital tour was over and that was nice as well. More like a food court with tables than a cafeteria. The only downfall is that there is no McDonald's right in the hospital like there is at the Atlanta facility, but there is an Atlanta Bread Company just outside the facility...which Bo may have to visit before he comes to see me.

After all that, there really is no reason we wouldn't go there...other than insurance. We have a Pediatrician that does not visit that hospital, but they do go to the Atlanta location. If for some reason our insurance is not accepted by the in-house pediatricians, we'd have to go to the Atlanta facility...which is just as fine for us. But, there's no reason to go there if this place will take our insurance. The smaller atmosphere made it very cozy and we KNOW we would get expert care and more personal care because of the smaller facility...all good things in our book.

At the tour, we found out that we were by far the "most experienced" parents there. 2 other couples were there for their first child and another couple was there for their second. We were there for our curtain call...because little Andrew will be the last!! It was almost a smack in the face to go in to the LDR...so weird to think we are doing this one more time. It brought back lots of memories of being there with Ally and Kelsey. And, it was kind of exciting at the same time...we get to do this one more time!! Next week, I am taking Ally to a class for big sisters and brothers. They get to learn how to hold a baby and change a diaper. Should be fun. Kelsey is going to stay with daddy because it's just too much for her to handle right now. The hardest part will be convincing Ally that she is NOT the mom and she can't just pick the baby up or change his diaper whenever she wants to. I'll be sure to bring the camera for this fun experience and post them next week after our special class.