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Houston Babies
the reason for my blood sugar post
We're still trying to decide between St Luke's & Methodist (although we still have some time to make up our minds.)
I asked my OB about them, because we delivered Mar at Methodist but were leaning towards St Lukes for this one because of their better c/s recovery policy.
He said that yes, while St Lukes does let you keep the baby in recovery with you if both mom and baby are healthy, that they do tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to the baby and that if she had any temp or sugar issues, she'd probably be put in the nursery or possibly NICU for observation while I recovered and moved rooms.
The other side of the coin for Methodist is that (I hate saying they aren't cautious, because that sounds reckless, which they aren't) but they aren't as cautious as St Lukes. However, they do have a one hour observation after a c/s. We were able to get Marion back after 40 minutes at the insistence of Josh and my doula.
We could go with St Lukes and be totally okay and not be separated at all, but we're risking a more dramatic response if her temp or sugar issues are a problem (she had slight temp issues after her bath at Methodist, but nothing skin to skin didn't cure.) Or we could go with Methodist, where we know we'll have an hour apart, but we could hope to get another nurse who would be willing to bend the rules a little bit for us.
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Re: the reason for my blood sugar post
i delivered at st lukes, and if we do have another child i'd do it again in a heartbeat. that being said, they will take every precaution for your baby. if that means that the nicu is in order, your baby will go to the nicu at tch.
dd spent 8 days there, and while it was totally necessary in the beginning, dh and i spent the last 3 days she was there trying to get her out. she'd had a short drop in heart rate 3 days after she was born that was fixed with a simple backrub. they wanted to keep her in for a week from that, but dh and i disagreed. it only happened once and they weren't doing any sort of tests or procedures, so we didn't see the point.
her other issues improved so much that the attending who had been with dd from the start agreed with us and overrode the attending that made the call to keep dd. both of my nephews were delivered at st lukes as well, and the youngest had a few problems, but tch didn't see the need to admit him and they just observed him in the nursery at st lukes. whatever you decide, your baby will be in good hands i'm sure.
If it's any help, DD#2 had some temp issues and should have been under the warmer, but we were allowed to do skin to skin and work on it that way. With that being said I had a normal vaginal delivery, DD placed on my tummy and then moved under the warmer while I was being cleaned up for 15 or so minutes. From what I've heard they will allow you to have your little one with you after a c-section at Methodist too if there aren't any concerns...just like St. Luke's. Since c-section babies tend to have more fluid issues that's why they observe them...or that's what I was told since DD#1 had to be under the lights longer and observed more due to fluid (she had the same issues as c-section babies being born so quickly).
Honestly I think Methodist is working toward being more baby/mommy friendly. Our nursing care was amazing this time. I thought it was great last time, but this time I was blown away. I can't wait to do my evaluation so I can compliment a few nurses that went above and beyond to ensure that I had the L&D experience I wanted.
The breastfeeding support at Methodist was phenomenal this time too (way more than I needed) and while DD needed to be under the warmer (for 4-6 hours) we were allowed to break the rules and do skin to skin with her and nurse as much as we wanted.
I also found that delivering in the same place I delivered DD#1 was reassuring and I felt more at home. It also helped that they were completely booked and I had one of the suites during my stay...score!
I am not sure if any of this helps you, but since I just delivered at Methodist I thought some of it might be relevant.
I'd go w/ St. Lukes to avoid the mandatory 1 hr. Push for them to let you nurse on the operating table. Ask if there can be a nurse there to help you. I needed some help to get him positioned (one of the midwives actually did it for me, I mostly laid there feeling stoned) but I think getting him on the boob immediately was so important. In recovery he never left my arms (well except to DH's, my mom's etc.) I'm not sure that Cooper's blood sugar got checked before we went into recovery, by the time we got to our room and it got checked, he'd had a full meal.
My BFF's baby did have low blood sugar at birth, I think they tested him immediately, (maybe Cooper avoided this because the midwife was there to rush him onto my boob?) They did push a bottle of formula but that's as far as it went, no NICU or observation or anything. And, honestly, BFF was not at all assertive about her baby's birth, I think had she said "no let me try and BF first" they probably would have let her.
I hope that made sense, I haven't had coffee yet.
Well... I can definitely say St Luke's errs on the side of caution, given we're currently dealing with the NICU because of breathing irregularity. She had fluid in her lungs following the c-section and is still having variations although not as dramatic. But they kept her another day because she had a borderline glucose read and we're arguing a bit about formula supplementation, too, even though the lactation consultants are great. I'm not totally happy with the 'must eat every 3 hours' regimen but going along with it to try and get her into my room.
?
Fortunately the charge nurse there is on our side and trying to get her out too.?