March 24th
I wanted to take a few minutes to go back to March 5th - Delivery Day. Even though we only had about 14 hours to get our ducks in a row, we got it all done - we sent Aubrey off to Nana's and LA and I went out for a quick meal out together. As Aubrey left LA and I looked at each other and we both said "Last time we will be three". We got everything done and made it to the hospital at 6:00am (probably only got a couple of hours of sleep) and got checked in which was painless and the fun began. Mommy got the chariot ride and I got to tag along with all the bags - at this point everything is feeling very familiar to 18 months ago.
When we got to the room a few things were different. They added a rocking chair, replaced the 13" tube TV with a 15" flat screen and had wireless internet. WOW! Eighteen months and they had made some much needed improvements. I am sure it was added to the bill. With all the improvements, I was beginning to think that this was going to be a better experience for me than when Aubrey was born. However, I was quickly reminded that this was about LA and not me. Funny how it took two of us to get to this point and two us together for 39 weeks and 5 days but when you walk into the hospital it's all about her. LA was thirsty and they had been bringing her something to drink and needed something else so when the nurse was going to get her something I asked her for a ginger ale and you would have thought that I had asked for the most expensive bottle of champagne. She stopped at the door and turned around and looked back at me - you know the look "I am not your waiter". That's when I replied "Yes, the ginger ale is for me and I am here to be pampered." The husband evidently doesn't qualify for a drink and should be getting his drinks out of the vending machine. Honestly , just put it on my tab.
I'll skip the blow by blow details on the birth process but I let you know that LA almost had the baby on the floor. She was getting her epidural and was turning to get her legs back in the bed and said the words that will get any husbands attention - "the baby is coming out"! That gets your attention - All parties to their duty station. The nurse checked her and confirmed that the head was just about to come out - get the cart, call the doctor, don't touch the stuff on the blue table. LA announced again that "the baby is coming out" and I was like come on people. I promise you that if a pregnant lady ever says "the baby is coming out" unexpectedly, you are going to freak out and want to do something even if you don't know what to do - if you are at the hospital, in a cab or at the house. After that announcement, it wasn't much longer before Corey Wyatt was born. So back to the epidural, pretty much a complete waste of our money. LA had trooped through about 95% of the birthing process. I'll go ahead and admit that I am a little girl and would have called for the epidural much earlier. She was a trooper and I love her for it.
So while the hospital experience was better (see my earlier post about the chair bed) than the first experience - internet access really is beneficial while you are just sitting in the chair waiting for the excitement to begin. I am not saying it was great but they still have a lot of room for improvement in care of the husband. I will be submitting my suggestions to the hospital CEO.
I wanted to take a few minutes to go back to March 5th - Delivery Day. Even though we only had about 14 hours to get our ducks in a row, we got it all done - we sent Aubrey off to Nana's and LA and I went out for a quick meal out together. As Aubrey left LA and I looked at each other and we both said "Last time we will be three". We got everything done and made it to the hospital at 6:00am (probably only got a couple of hours of sleep) and got checked in which was painless and the fun began. Mommy got the chariot ride and I got to tag along with all the bags - at this point everything is feeling very familiar to 18 months ago.
When we got to the room a few things were different. They added a rocking chair, replaced the 13" tube TV with a 15" flat screen and had wireless internet. WOW! Eighteen months and they had made some much needed improvements. I am sure it was added to the bill. With all the improvements, I was beginning to think that this was going to be a better experience for me than when Aubrey was born. However, I was quickly reminded that this was about LA and not me. Funny how it took two of us to get to this point and two us together for 39 weeks and 5 days but when you walk into the hospital it's all about her. LA was thirsty and they had been bringing her something to drink and needed something else so when the nurse was going to get her something I asked her for a ginger ale and you would have thought that I had asked for the most expensive bottle of champagne. She stopped at the door and turned around and looked back at me - you know the look "I am not your waiter". That's when I replied "Yes, the ginger ale is for me and I am here to be pampered." The husband evidently doesn't qualify for a drink and should be getting his drinks out of the vending machine. Honestly , just put it on my tab.
I'll skip the blow by blow details on the birth process but I let you know that LA almost had the baby on the floor. She was getting her epidural and was turning to get her legs back in the bed and said the words that will get any husbands attention - "the baby is coming out"! That gets your attention - All parties to their duty station. The nurse checked her and confirmed that the head was just about to come out - get the cart, call the doctor, don't touch the stuff on the blue table. LA announced again that "the baby is coming out" and I was like come on people. I promise you that if a pregnant lady ever says "the baby is coming out" unexpectedly, you are going to freak out and want to do something even if you don't know what to do - if you are at the hospital, in a cab or at the house. After that announcement, it wasn't much longer before Corey Wyatt was born. So back to the epidural, pretty much a complete waste of our money. LA had trooped through about 95% of the birthing process. I'll go ahead and admit that I am a little girl and would have called for the epidural much earlier. She was a trooper and I love her for it.
So while the hospital experience was better (see my earlier post about the chair bed) than the first experience - internet access really is beneficial while you are just sitting in the chair waiting for the excitement to begin. I am not saying it was great but they still have a lot of room for improvement in care of the husband. I will be submitting my suggestions to the hospital CEO.
I had to get Jennifer to ask for a drink for me. It seems they thought there was no reason for me to get thirsty. She also had to ask them to bring me a pillow... although I'm sure they didn't do that before because they knew I wouldn't be able to really sleep in that chair bed anyway. THIS (changing how fathers are treated at the hospital) is the kind of healthcare reform that is needed...
ReplyDeleteAnother fun part is that we're still getting bills. Susie was born in October. None of these bills say what they are for... they just say pay X amount. Jennifer called to see what the bill was for and you would have thought she asked for top secret info. I'm going to try and talk her into having our next baby at home.