Tour of the maternity ward

[nicki]

Hi All,

DH and I had the tour of the hospital where i'm going to have the babe last night and for some reason i'm even more scared at the prospect of labour

As we were walking around I kept thinking I don't like it, its all too clinical,not sure what I was expecting,its not like I haven't been in a hospital before.

I don't think it helped that it was virtually empty (we went at 1900) and there were a couple of wards completely empty! it all seemed so eerie and then they said that our partners have visiting hours as well as friends & family which shocked me, I thought he'd be able to be with me all the time as he's the Dad, he wasn't too chuffed either, but he's not allowed.
Now i'm really worrying am I being silly? I was looking forward to the whole experience but i'm not now really

Nicki.x

 

[nikki1306]

Hi Nicki

Try not to worry you will be fine once you get there and when you are in labour all you will be thinking about is meeting your baby!!

Try to stay at home for as long as possible thats what i did,get yourself one of those gym balls and move about on that, it does seem to help bring the baby down and ease the pain!!

When i had my babies they didn't kick my DH out,he even had breakfast with me!! You will find the midwives are pretty easy going really, they will understand that you need support.

Try not to worry to much about it,you will be fine xx

 

[v11kae]

I remember the hospital tour also!!!! Just wait till the last 2 weeks and you wont care or even remember how bad it was, lol You will just want the lighter blighter out!

 

[Juzza]

Hiya Nicki,

Try not to let this be another thing to be worried about the most important thing is that LO arrives safely.

I'm planning to deliver in a Midwifery Led Unit which is absolutely amazing and just like a little hotel but if this LO doesn't come out before next Thurs i'll be on the Maternity Ward in hospital too which i must admit does bother me a bit.

My friend told me though that if for example you gave birth in the night you and OH could stay in the delivery room until the next morning which is good.

Also i think the MW's are lenient provided that its not too hectic and where we live (Cardiff) they have to be strict on security cos of baby nappers etc which is sad but reassuring.

Hopefully you'll only ne in a maximum of one or two nights and just think that while you and LO are sleeping and resting OH can be prepping the house for the arrival of his beautiful new family!

Lots of love Juz xxx

 

[melhoney]

I am sure you will be fine, Nikky!
My little one was born at 02:38 am and my husband and mum were there with me, and they left us together in the delivery suite till 6:30am. Then, we went upstairs in the maternity ward and yea, there I had to say good bye to both, for security reasons as well. But they let my husband enter to carry my bags...he was not supposed to even enter the ward! so, don't worry!

Same advice about staying home as long as you can...and using a gymball! That's exactly what I did...was 6 cm dilated when I got to hospital and 4 hours later my little one was born

One thing I found really helpful was this forum!! you won't believe it, but I kept on posting on here till I left for hospital...And believe me, managing the contractions and the typing is quite a challenge

For the visiting times, well, I was a bit annoyed coz my mum came esp. from france and was only allowed in the ward from 30pm till 50pm!!! but my husband could come from 110am till 10pm and then from 3pm till 10pm.
Still not enough for me, so I left the hospital after one day and a half!!! was fed up! and apart from my stiches, everything else was fine with me and baby.

Take care, and don't worry now, it won't do you or LO any good. Just think about this: if you were in France you would have to stay in hospital for at least a week!!!!!!!!!!

mel xx