So, it turns out baby Eric arrived 5 weeks early, which was a shock to us all. The beginning was rocky, starting with the water breaking, and labour, and being in the NICU, but all's well that ends well, and we have now been home for almost 3 weeks. I wrote my whole labour experience up, but have not decided whether to share it or not.
Anyhow, that's not the point of the post, and as usual I digress. Before labour, I was 99% sure I wanted to deliver at UCSF because a) it was brand new and looked really good and b) it was closer to our house. The pulls for CPMC were that a) everyone who had been there absolutely loved it, b) on your final night there they give you a steak and champagne dinner or something crazy like that and c) your CPMC OB or OB with privileges shows up at your delivery vs some random doctor/midwife/resident. I was also hesitant with UCSF because I only knew one person who had delivered there and she said she would not go there again because they would not put her baby in the nursery and she couldn't sleep, and they were short staffed (to be fair, this girl seems a little difficult in general to me, so I took her review with a pinch of salt). Later, in one of my prenatal yoga classes, I met a girl who had delivered at the old UCSF campus, and she was going to deliver at the new campus, so I bravely asked for her number and asked if I could text her, and she said OK, and she had nothing but a glowing review for UCSF.
We ended up going to UCSF, Lingon liked it very much too because it was new. We loved everything we could have loved about a hospital about it. Is that a grammatically correct sentence? We checked in, got taken to a triage room, got checked out, sent to antepartum because I was not yet in active labour (actually we got sent to 2 antepartum rooms because one had a smoking TV, which was probably the only thing wrong with it, and I, the person in pain and suffering, was the only one to notice the smoke), and then to a labour room, operating room, postpartum room and then maternity ward. No complaints, except it felt like a really long time to spend in triage before anything conclusive happened and they decided to admit me.
So, great staff, from nurses to midwife to doctors, I felt like everyone cared.
About the maternity ward, again I had a friend who complained that no one took the baby to the nursery when she wanted to rest. I never got that chance, because baby Eric ended up in the NICU (or intensive care nursery aka ICN). Kind of a blessing in disguise, since it gave us a lot of time to get our ducks in a row, and rest, since there were a lot of nurses taking care of baby Eric.
The ward looked really nice. We had our own TV which I never watched. I did, however, use the TV to order food. I was always wondering, but had too much shame to ask, if food was free for partners as well, but I remember the anesthesiologist telling Lingon that as long as it seemed like I was the one who wanted the food, it would be free.
About the food. It was pretty good, and I have tons of photos to prove it. Like I said, food is only free for the patient, but one can order up to 1700 calories per meal (I think), which is a ridiculous amount of calories, and up to something like 2 entrees, 5 snacks, 5 sides, drinks, for a max of 17 items. I'm laughing as I type this. The menu was pretty extensive too. They have shakes too, in amazing flavours, but you cannot order that online, you have to call to order. I think once I ordered 3 entrees and the food guy called me and I had to cancel one. That was pretty funny.
It also turned out to be the right choice for us, because baby Eric ended up in the NICU (or intensive care nursery aka ICN) for 10 days and it was less taxing on us commute-wise. We loved all the doctors and nurses there, some more than others, but I could not find fault with anything. Part of being a NICU mum was that I got lots of sleep, since the nurse to kid ratio was really high (our nurse took care of 2-3 kids total). That really helped with my energy. I was amazingly energetic, partly coz I had to be, and partly because I actually was pretty well rested. I also got to learn a lot about infant care, which was also great, because I knew zero and refused to take any classes to learn, since I figured I learn on the job best anyway. All worked out, I suppose.
Also, with your kid in the hospital, the hospital has social workers that talk to you and make sure you are OK. Sometimes I felt a bit bad that we had all this support, since I felt rather undeserving, like I did nothing to deserve it except have a sick kid, but at the same time I was happy that someone seemed to care and I had someone to talk to. Part of this social work program was they would provide mums with a meal card worth I think $17 (the food at the hospital was pretty darn good and super duper cheap BTW, like breakfast sausage links are $1 or something), and reduced parking coupons. Amazing.
The other thing I loved about UCSF was that the amount of care they provide to you, both before and after you get discharged, is amazing. I still had access to social workers, a psychiatrist, lactation consultants, and all covered by (my) insurance!
I had such a wonderful experience at UCSF, if I had another baby, I would go there without hesitation.
Photos:
Room service menu - Here is a full size version. WAWWWWWWWWWW.
I did not want to get discharged... Look at all the food available to me!!
Anyhow, that's not the point of the post, and as usual I digress. Before labour, I was 99% sure I wanted to deliver at UCSF because a) it was brand new and looked really good and b) it was closer to our house. The pulls for CPMC were that a) everyone who had been there absolutely loved it, b) on your final night there they give you a steak and champagne dinner or something crazy like that and c) your CPMC OB or OB with privileges shows up at your delivery vs some random doctor/midwife/resident. I was also hesitant with UCSF because I only knew one person who had delivered there and she said she would not go there again because they would not put her baby in the nursery and she couldn't sleep, and they were short staffed (to be fair, this girl seems a little difficult in general to me, so I took her review with a pinch of salt). Later, in one of my prenatal yoga classes, I met a girl who had delivered at the old UCSF campus, and she was going to deliver at the new campus, so I bravely asked for her number and asked if I could text her, and she said OK, and she had nothing but a glowing review for UCSF.
We ended up going to UCSF, Lingon liked it very much too because it was new. We loved everything we could have loved about a hospital about it. Is that a grammatically correct sentence? We checked in, got taken to a triage room, got checked out, sent to antepartum because I was not yet in active labour (actually we got sent to 2 antepartum rooms because one had a smoking TV, which was probably the only thing wrong with it, and I, the person in pain and suffering, was the only one to notice the smoke), and then to a labour room, operating room, postpartum room and then maternity ward. No complaints, except it felt like a really long time to spend in triage before anything conclusive happened and they decided to admit me.
So, great staff, from nurses to midwife to doctors, I felt like everyone cared.
About the maternity ward, again I had a friend who complained that no one took the baby to the nursery when she wanted to rest. I never got that chance, because baby Eric ended up in the NICU (or intensive care nursery aka ICN). Kind of a blessing in disguise, since it gave us a lot of time to get our ducks in a row, and rest, since there were a lot of nurses taking care of baby Eric.
The ward looked really nice. We had our own TV which I never watched. I did, however, use the TV to order food. I was always wondering, but had too much shame to ask, if food was free for partners as well, but I remember the anesthesiologist telling Lingon that as long as it seemed like I was the one who wanted the food, it would be free.
About the food. It was pretty good, and I have tons of photos to prove it. Like I said, food is only free for the patient, but one can order up to 1700 calories per meal (I think), which is a ridiculous amount of calories, and up to something like 2 entrees, 5 snacks, 5 sides, drinks, for a max of 17 items. I'm laughing as I type this. The menu was pretty extensive too. They have shakes too, in amazing flavours, but you cannot order that online, you have to call to order. I think once I ordered 3 entrees and the food guy called me and I had to cancel one. That was pretty funny.
It also turned out to be the right choice for us, because baby Eric ended up in the NICU (or intensive care nursery aka ICN) for 10 days and it was less taxing on us commute-wise. We loved all the doctors and nurses there, some more than others, but I could not find fault with anything. Part of being a NICU mum was that I got lots of sleep, since the nurse to kid ratio was really high (our nurse took care of 2-3 kids total). That really helped with my energy. I was amazingly energetic, partly coz I had to be, and partly because I actually was pretty well rested. I also got to learn a lot about infant care, which was also great, because I knew zero and refused to take any classes to learn, since I figured I learn on the job best anyway. All worked out, I suppose.
Also, with your kid in the hospital, the hospital has social workers that talk to you and make sure you are OK. Sometimes I felt a bit bad that we had all this support, since I felt rather undeserving, like I did nothing to deserve it except have a sick kid, but at the same time I was happy that someone seemed to care and I had someone to talk to. Part of this social work program was they would provide mums with a meal card worth I think $17 (the food at the hospital was pretty darn good and super duper cheap BTW, like breakfast sausage links are $1 or something), and reduced parking coupons. Amazing.
The other thing I loved about UCSF was that the amount of care they provide to you, both before and after you get discharged, is amazing. I still had access to social workers, a psychiatrist, lactation consultants, and all covered by (my) insurance!
I had such a wonderful experience at UCSF, if I had another baby, I would go there without hesitation.
Photos:
Room service menu - Here is a full size version. WAWWWWWWWWWW.
I did not want to get discharged... Look at all the food available to me!!
