Hospital Tour

Ironically, after waiting an extra month to do the hospital tour because of the hubby's last minute work commitments, he ended up having to work again...the joys of business ownership!!  But I didn't want to chance waiting another month so I headed off to the hospital tour on Saturday morning myself, toddler in tow.

It was of such a great benefit to me - it really made a difference being able to see the place where our baby would be born.  The tour started with all the general information you would expect about labour and the actual hospital stay in particular from one of the midwives on staff.  This was the second hospital midwife I have met and she was just as lovely as the first one.  We looked through the rooms, as well as the whole ward in general, nursery & birth suites.

This hospital is so different from my last one.  It's not as 'pretty' to look at, the rooms are all smaller and older, but there were other differences that made it seem so much more 'homely'.  For example, at my old hospital, the bed was THE major furniture item in the birth suite and the constant fluro lighting made it seem more like a hospital.  These birth suites still contain a bed, but they are not the major feature of the room, and even the midwife commented that they rarely get used, only really for epidurals.  There's also beanbags, mattresses, fitballs, couches etc.  The lights are dimmed too which makes it seem a lot less like a hospital.  They also have ensuites with a large corner bath that I'm hoping I will be able to utilise for a water birth.

The rooms were simple, but clean and tidy.  All rooms are private rooms, mostly singles with just a single bed,   big comfy recliner, ensuite, tv, phone etc, and all except 2 of the rooms also have their own balcony.

I also noticed that this hospital seems to allow mums more privacy than my last one.  Last time, it was very rare to have an hour go by without someone coming into my room.  Here, they deliver breakfast, lunch and dinner to your room, but morning & afternoon tea is delivered to the kitchen so you can wander down and help yourself if you want them.  There's also a fridge filled with juices, softdrinks etc, as well as tea and coffee that can be accessed at any time.  They even have a sign for the front door of your room that you can use if you want to have a sleep - like a do not disturb sign effectively.  You have the ability to get your own fresh linen or extra supplies for the baby if you wish too.  Particularly as this will be my second baby, I love the sound of being able to have that extra privacy if I want it.

The tour has left me so excited...I want the baby here now!!  It also made me feel even more comfortable about the labour.  I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm not scared at all, but it has definitely made me feel a lot more relaxed about it and in a way, excited to see how it will all happen and hopefully being able to have that 'healing birth' that people talk about.