Hospital Tour

We went and toured the birthing unit at PVH (Poudre Valley Hospital) where little Eggmund will be making his debut in 5(!!!) short weeks. Here's the mini-recap:

The Good
1. Really liked the birthing suites - they're spacious, comfortable, and have all the necessary equipment for mom, baby, and coaches right there in the room.
2. PVH has a lot of policies that support things that Nick and I like: keeping baby with mom at all times (barring medical issues or a specific request from mom for a 'nursery break'); support and education for post-partum lactation consultation, car seat checks, etc; all testing, paperwork, and general baby handling is able to be done bedside to minimize seperation between baby and family; access to things like intermittent monitoring and non-medicinal labor supports (such as jacuzzi tub, birthing balls, heating pads, etc.) to encourage a variety of pushing/labor styles and positions.
3. On the birthing unit there's a 1:1 ratio of patient to nurse, so you have your own private nurse with you throughout the process. When you move to the post-natal care unit the ratio only rises to 2:1, which means you (and baby!) continue to have a high level of monitoring and support.
4. Everything is kept to one floor - labor/delivery rooms, recovery rooms, nursery, NICU, operating suites, etc.

The Bad
1. Had a brief tour of the NICU, which gave Nick and I a mean case of the sorries. I'm thankful that PVH has a truly top notch NICU available, because if (god forbid) we were to need it, we obviously would want the best care possible for Eggmund. But watching a young couple scrub up to go in and visit their child just broke my heart...

The Ugly
1. As we went downstairs to complete some pre-registration paperwork, we stumbled across a PVH patient yammering away on her cell phone in the middle of the waiting room. This lady was (approximately) 4'11", (approximately) 280lbs, and (approximately) wearing a scrap of fraying fabric that may in some circles be considered a 'nightie'. One thing that wasn't "approximated" was her distinct lack of panties and/or bra-like undergarments. As well as a distinct lack of "lady-like sitting style". Poor Nicholas - it was like some horrific train wreck that neither of us could peel our eyes away from. Wow-ee. Definitely gave Nick and I a good giggle...We'll be laughing about the patient and her underwears situation (or, more specifically, lack thereof) for some time to come! Hopefully my lady bits don't look like THAT by the end of this little experience...(makes it a little less funny when you think about it like that.)