On this evening we and three other couples ventured the snowy roads to take a tour of the St. Joseph Family Birthing Center. It is exactly a seven minute drive from our house, and now that we know exactly where to go, park, and enter (and in any urgency of the moment) I am sure it will take much less time with David at the wheel. The lobby is very nice with a waterfall and a clean elegance of soft corners and wood grains. A nurse met us and told us exactly what what we could expect in terms of what would be going on during the delivery. The labor and delivery rooms are very nice and well equipped with lots of options for any type of birth that one may desire. They really seem to encourage interaction with the new life by allowing nearly continuous time with the baby from birth until you go home (48hours for a safe, normal birth). On the tour we did get to hear one woman actually in labor, (a little reality check) but the halls were amazingly calm and quiet. The mother/baby rooms that you stay in after the labor and recovery were a bit smaller- they called call them “efficient”. All in all, the time was well spent. It was just nice to be out with one another thinking about baby stuff and getting ready. You too can take a little virtual tour by visiting http://www.sjmercyhealth.org/body.cfm?id=268 Well, it’s 8 weeks and counting….are we there yet???
