Tips for St. David's North Austin?

Re: Tips for St. David's North Austin?

• jml5q

  January 2012

  you'll definitely get a lot of these questions answered on the tour, but here's my input:

  -How are the nurses, lactation consultants, etc? Do you have to be pro-active on getting help or are they pretty much on top of it? every nurse i had at namc was fantastic! (2 births there). my L&D nurse both times was amazing. especially the second time because it all went so fast. if you want a LC, you have to ask for one. i never saw one either time, but i didn't ask. some of my nurses were really good at helping with latching.

  -How fast did you get the epi once you asked? the first time i waited about an hour i think. but it was 9:30pm on new years day. the second time at 8am i got it within 20-30 mins of asking for it. i was progressing quicky and my nurse was an awsome advocate of me getting it really fast. DS was born about 30 minutes after getting it.

  -Did you use the baby nursery at night and was that a good experience? i didn't use the nursery either time. i kind of felt like they are really big advocates of the baby rooming in. but i'm sure if you ask they'll keep them in the nursey until the next feeding (if you're bf-ing)

  -Any tips on things to bring... like pillows, cd's, i-pods, etc. definitely bring pillows in a non-white pillow case. my dh brought speakers and ipod to listen. and bring a laptop.

  -Is there a baby photographer service that makes the rounds at the hospital? there is no longer a photographer that comes around. now they have this thing where you just roll the baby's bed out to it and place it under the camera and it takes pictures for you. You get one sheet free of the images and then you can have them emailed to you to purchase more.

  -Is the hospital food decent or should we plan on alternatives? i thought the food was really good. you get to order off a menu so you can get what you want. you can also buy a voucher for your dh to get food ordered to your room so you can eat together.

  -Anything else to be aware of? the bed/sofa thing that your dh gets to sleep on is really short, but they will give him pillows and blankets.

   i had great experiences both times i delivered at NAMC.

  

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• MrsNole member

  January 2012

  sxb317:

  
  

  -How are the nurses, lactation consultants, etc?

  ***all my nurses were great except one night nurse in post partum, she was rather loud at 2 am.  The LC was ok but I think I was expecting too much.

  Do you have to be pro-active on getting help or are they pretty much on top of it?

  ***what kind of help?  Anytime I called my nurse she was in right away. 

  -How fast did you get the epi once you asked?

  ***Very fast, like 5minutes tops.  Even having it placed was super fast. 

  -Did you use the baby nursery at night and was that a good experience?

  ***baby didn't leave my side so no help there. 

  -Any tips on things to bring... like pillows, cd's, i-pods, etc.

  ***bring anything you'll need to be comfortable while laboring (afterwards if you find something you need DH can run home and get it).  Including birth ball, pillows, slippers, iPods, lotions, etc. 

  -Is there a baby photographer service that makes the rounds at the hospital?

  ***No, they have a machine that you wheel your LO to and take pics, you get one free sheet of pictures. 

  -Is the hospital food decent or should we plan on alternatives?

  ***I loved the food really.  My favorite was the chicken quesadilla.  Though DH was less than pleased with some of their food, maybe the momma's just get a better selection?? 

  -Anything else to be aware of?

  *** Not that I can think of.  Let us know if you have more questions.

  
  
  
  

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• august8080 member

  January 2012

  I posted some questions about delivery at NAMC a few months ago. Here's a link to my post and the replies. I wasn't asking quite the same questions, but hopefully you'll find something helpful in there!

  https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/60285271.aspx
  

  
  
  
  

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• felinity

  January 2012

  -How are the nurses, lactation consultants, etc? Do you have to be pro-active on getting help or are they pretty much on top of it?I found the nurses to all be really nice and generally helpful. The day nurses seemed more helpful than the night ones, but I was learning to nurse twins, tandem, and they were all helpful with that.  One of my day nurses was magic. I wanted to bring her home with me. She was super helpful and encouraging in those early days. The lactation consultant came by twice in the four days I was there post-c-section. She was helpful, too, but I was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. I hired a private lc when my babies were a couple of weeks old, and that was a bit better.   -How fast did you get the epi once you asked?N/A - I had a semi-scheduled c-section. -Did you use the baby nursery at night and was that a good experience?We did. The nurses really kind of encouraged us to use the nursery at night because there were twins, and they both had minor eating-related issues (low blood sugar for one, weight loss for the other).  I had a pump for the duration of my stay, so I was able to keep my milk supply up while they were gone, but I will say, they're likely to feed your baby formula while he/she is in the nursery at night.  I found the process of trying to keep up with my babies' appetites to be an uphill battle, and the formula feeds they got didn't help.  But I've got supply issues to begin with, and twins, so your mileage may vary.  Be clear on what you do and don't want to happen, if they take your babies to the nursery. -Any tips on things to bring... like pillows, cd's, i-pods, etc.They gave me lots of pillows to use. My iPhone worked for music stuff (which I didn't use).  Bring some comfy clothes to wear, rather than the gown. It made me feel a lot more human to wear real clothes. -Is there a baby photographer service that makes the rounds at the hospital?I had no idea about the baby camera thing. Maybe my husband did - I'm not sure. I was kind of out of it. -Is the hospital food decent or should we plan on alternatives?I was really impressed by the hospital food. But be aware your husband will have to buy his own. -Anything else to be aware of?Good luck! I hope it goes well. 

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• Betts12 member

  January 2012

  1)  Nurses/ LCs. 

  The nurses were, on the whole, really good.  I say "on the whole" because my primary day nurse was switching over from another department and didn't have a whole lot of postpartum experience.  Looking back, it made a difference in terms of little things like getting a fresh nightgown, etc. (things I didn't know when or what to ask for).  She also didn't tell me that my room would be busier than a bus station during the day - hearing test, birth certificate, all sorts of people shuffling in and out.  It was impossible to get any rest during the day.

  The lactation consultant was not helpful, in my opinion.  Even though I asked for one almost immediately, she didn't visit until the morning I was scheduled to leave.

  2)  Epi - Within 1 hour.  But, my labor was pretty far along (5 cm).  The anesthesiologist said he pumped in a little extra at the beginning since I was at 8cm by the time he actually hooked me up.
  

  3)   Baby nursery - Wonderful!  I used it the second night and it was the best thing I ever did.  Yes, I felt guilty but was never made to feel guilty by any of the nurses.  They brought DS to me whenever they thought he was hungry.  I will never forget hearing a baby screaming coming down the hall and thinking, "God, I hope that's not mine."  And, yes, it was!

  4)  Things to bring - No suggestions.  Maybe an extra bag to take extra stuff like giant pads, ice packs, diapers.

  5)  Baby photo service - I think it's just a station that you wheel the baby to.  No photographer.

  6)  Food - Great!  While DH was with DS getting a bath, I ordered a pizza to my delivery room.    Fast service too but I think they stop serving to the room around 7pm (?).

  I would ask your postpartum nurse to give you as much of a heads up as possible about expected visitors to your room such as the hearing test lady, birth certificate person, pediatrician, etc.  The first day I felt like I couldn't take a shower because there were so many g-damn people in and out.
  

  

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• Betts12 member

  January 2012

  I also wanted to add that I found the nurses to be very respectful and encouraging of my desire to exclusively breastfeed.  DS was brought to me about every 2 hours from the nursery on the second night (the one night he stayed there).  Also, they did not give him a pacifier except during his circumcision, citing that it helped him naturally cope with any pain.

  Good luck!
  

  

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• sxb317

  January 2012

  Thank you for all the great advice. It sounds like NAMC is a great place to deliver and very similar to the experience I had at Chicago Prentice.  I did not know they take the newborns away for a bath though, that seems strange to be seperated so soon from your baby so that's a good heads up. I don't remember ds1 getting a bath at the hospital at all. Hopefully they'll be flexible about it. And it's great to hear they're respectful about your feeding choice in the nursery. I do feel slightly guilty about using the nursery but getting a good night's rest (as much as possible with the feedings) before going home and facing the insanity was worth it in my opinion.

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