Less than a week! (39 Weeks)

I doubt she'll actually come anytime between now and next Monday but it's still fun to know that there's less than one week until she is "due"!  

Although it's been really nice weather here lately, I'm excited to be able to bundle her up in this cozy little car seat cover that Devin's parents gave to us!  I opened it on my birthday and was really excited - it's SO soft!

Last night we got to do a labor & delivery tour of the hospital downtown where I'll be delivering.  I'm planning on attempting a natural delivery, so I've been reading some books and both of them make it sound like hospitals are too pushy with all kinds of things that make natural difficult, such as asking you every 5 minutes if you want an epidural, having you hooked up to something all the time so you can't move around, not letting you snack or have anything to drink, etc.  So, I was nervous/interested in what the hospital would be like because I've been clueless up until now.

Labor & Delivery Tour

totally reassuring! Maybe it was just the nurse giving the tour, because she said she loves working with moms going natural, but here are some of the things I love about what we heard and saw:

1) I've never been in a labor room, so for some reason I never even pictured that I actually would have a room all to myself.  I was picturing a sheet divider with another preggo girl next to me but no - the delivery room is humungous!  There's a jacuzzi tub in there which I liked because I was hoping to be able to use one.
2) They have a one-to-one nurse/patient policy so you have ONE nurse that is dedicated to you for the whole time and she has no one else to see.  However, that doesn't mean she always be in the room which I also liked because I think it'd be nice to just deal with the pain sometimes without having someone ask me every 5 minutes what I need.  They have a nurses' station with a bunch of computers where they all sit and watch the monitors of their patients and then come in when they are called or if something on the monitor is alarming.
3) They do allow you to move around as much as you like, there was even a chart in the room for different positions to be in when managing labor pains (not laying down in the hospital bed, which I also pictured they'd make me do).  And although they like you to be monitored most of the time, they have monitors you can wear that are okay to go in the tub with you or walking around the halls of the hospital. 
4) I think it depends on the doctor a little as far as food/snacks, so I'm going to ask him tomorrow, but as far as I know I will be able to drink water. 
5) This was reassuring for breastfeeding: They are PRO skin-to-skin contact!  They try and have baby up on mom's chest as soon as possible and breastfeeding within the first 1/2 hour or so...they don't even do all the weight/height stuff until 1/2 after she's born.  I was worried they'd try and do all their tests/shots/etc before letting me try and breastfeed.  They also don't give babies formula/bottle if the baby is in the nursery unless mom gives permission.
6) They don't make you wear their hospital gown.  They said you can wear whatever you want to deliver in.  I'm sure I'll probably still wear a gown or something because I don't want to get my clothes all messy but it was just another thing that made me feel like they're going to be pretty respectful of my/our wishes.

I'm sure there is more that I can't think of right now but I'm definitely more excited now than I am nervous...which is so relieving with how little time we have left!

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