Washington Babies
Please share your Overlake tour/birth experience!
I called to schedule a tour the other day, and they're not having another one until August unless you're a part of the birth classes... which I'm not, b/c this is my 2nd. Oh, well. That's definitely my bad for waiting so long, but I wouldn't have if I was really concerned about it. I know they have a highly recommended facility, and somehow going through this the 2nd time around, even though it's a different hospital, I don't feel a real *need* for a tour... it would've been nice, though.
Can any of your ladies share what you've seen on your tour/during your birth at the maternity ward? Pros, cons? TIA!
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Re: Please share your Overlake tour/birth experience!
maybe you could see if there's a class you could tag along with?
I didn't have my baby there, but I toured b/c our class was with Overlake. I think the biggest thing you need to know is how to get in to the birthing center. It was weird. The top floor of a parking garage was where the entrance was.
I did ask that... nope, the next of the class tours is in August. Oh, well.
Yeah, we've been there for a few other things, and that doesn't surprise me at all. They do have weird entrances like that.
I delivered there without a tour and I was fine
I agree with Jill, just make sure that you know how to get to the Childbirth Center. Definitely pre-register online as well.
My experience was absolutely wonderful! I hope yours is too!
I delivered at Overlake and had a great experience. I'm not sure what you're looking for but some things I remember from the tour are:
You change rooms after delivery. Personally I loved this because the new room was all clean
There are 2 snack rooms for you, hubby and guests. One has a window and one does not. The one without is better stocked than the windowed one because according to my childbirth class teacher people can't see in to tell that it's a snack room.
Have you figured out where the maternity wing is? It's separate from the main hospital which is handy. You park in the parking garage and take the elevator to the top floor and you're there. Loved that, especially since my pants were soaked.
They have DVD players in the rooms and WiFi. We didn't use the DVD but they're available. All the birthing rooms have tubs,
If you have specific questions, let me know. That's what I can think you might want to know!
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I delivered at Overlake in January and they were going under major construction and it isn't supposed to be done until the end of the year. That is probably the reason why you can't have a tour of the maternity area since half of it is probably blocked. While there I had to deliver in one of the postpartum rooms which was cramped for 6 people to get in and out of. It was mostly the nurses that had to maneauver around my doctor. Unfortunately there was only one room available with a tub from what I heard and the rest had showers. I was still wheeled into a different postpartum room after delivery.
Otherwise my experience at Overlake was great. The nurses were great and one helped me stick to having a natural birth. They might be working on the postpartum rooms now so you might have to stay in a delivery room during your postpartum stay. It might be better because I hear the delivery rooms are bigger.
A new thing they did while I was there was to also put some postpartum patients on the east wing on the 3rd floor. It sounds very inconvenient to go all the way over there but I think it's a newer section. They will only put patients there if mother and baby have no complications.
Husbands do get free snacks and drinks like the other pp's have described but only in the main maternity area on the 6th floor. You can ask the nurses for a ton of free things to take home and keep asking them for witch hazel, hospital undies/pads, spray bottle, seat, some kind of spray and even a pack of sanitary pads. If you forget something like your toothbrush or toothpaste they also have some. Oh, they even have socks with tracking on them but I got them when I unexpectedly was sent there. Take your free Halo blanket, syringe, and nuk pacifier for your baby too.
Parking is at the west parking garage and the birthing center is on the 6th floor. They will give you a parking pass so you don't have to pay for parking while you're a patient there. You can park from floors 4-6. I think the other floors are reserved for doctors and other staff at the hospital.
This was exactly my experience. It was wonderful.
The only Easter Bunny I can get behind.
Maxwell Joseph 4/09 Lucy Violet 10/12
My tour my horrible. Every place we went where there were chairs, one of the dads would grab a seat so that pregnant women were left standing. Ahole. I feel for his wife.
As for birth, it was great. I had a planned emergency c/s (as in I planned on a c/s, it was jsut a few weeks sooner than planned) and DS was in the SCN/NICU for 9 days. I was inpatient for 5. It was rough becasue it was not expected to be that bad, but they took great care of both of us. I never doubted that he was recieving the best care possible.
I loved the snack rooms. I was there a long time and nothing beats jello when you're not feeling well.
I just did my tour today actually!! I just moved here 2 weeks ago and I am due August 17th - I was in a panic when I called and said I needed a tour and they just happened to have a cancellation this morning. My husband was not able to go, so it was just me.
Basically, the parking for the birth center is levels 3-6 and the birth center is on level 6. If nothing else, I will be taking my husband just to see where to park and where we will be walking to when the time comes. Fill out your preregistration forms, park, and turn them in at the birth center. That way you can at least see where you will be going and have some kind of idea about what to expect. Nothing else was very informational - it is a great hospital, but not unlike most hospitals you have been in. It was a relief to me just to see parking situation and walking into the center to get a feel for it.
Oh! I just remembered, I do have one specific Q. W/DD's hospital, the instant the baby is born, they slap these bracelets on the baby's ankle and on the mom and dad's wrists. The bracelets have an alarm sensor, so if anyone tries to take the baby outside the maternity ward that isn't wearing a bracelet w/the matching code, a deafening alarm goes off throughout the entire hospital. I'm not super worried about baby-stealing or anything, but I thought that was pretty cool!
So what do they do for that kind of security at Overlake?
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If you want to drive by you should go after 6pm. I think that's when you can access the parking garage for free. You may be able to get in free if you stay less than 1/2 hour but I can't be certain. The cost is $3 if it is during business hours. I'm sure you can look it up on their website.