Adventures on the Maternity Floor

Disclaimer: I wrote this at the hospital, but have been too busy to blog over the last few weeks. Sorry if it's old news.


Blake: "Who is this joker and why is he all up in my space?"
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We spent three days on floor 5 and a great time was had by all. During the first 36 hours, Casey and Blake were very sleepy but could be convinced to eat if we agitated them enough. By Saturday night, they were in full-out newborn mode and needed a lot more rocking, swaddling, shushing, etc. Thank goodness for the newborn nursery where nurses could attend to them while we got the last few hours of sleep for the next 4 weeks.

Alex and Sasha came to visit us a few time and were somewhat excited to see the new baby brothers, but much more interested in my high-tech bed with all the buttons. They also favored the maternity lounge with the unlimited juicebox and cracker supply. The fam really stepped up to the plate by taking care of the big kids while we were gone. Even though they missed us, we could tell the kids had a great time with their aunts, uncle, and Grandparents.

As my 2nd experience on the maternity floor, I noticed that not much had changed in 3 yrs. There are so many highlights, but here are my favorite.

Ten Bizarre Things about Floor 5

10. The state-of-the-art room with modern decor and equipment. And a 15 inch TV from 1986.

9. The bed which inexplicably moves every 10 minutes to prevent bedsores. Because so many new moms are tragically afflicted with this problem. Also last time I checked, most of us are not 90 yrs old.

8. Nurses that enter the room every 30 minutes to retake my temp, Casey's temp, Blakes temp, my blood pressure, Casey's blood pressure, Blake's blood pressure, etc.

7. Nurses who wake me up, turn on the lights, ask me 5 questions about who's dirty diaper this is (Casey's? Blake's? One of those babies with the blue hat?) and then leave with this helpful reminder . . .
"Please get some rest. It's so important that you sleep here in the hospital while you can."

6. The food. No matter how little I eat, the friendly nutritian delivery service person continues to bring me more. We also had several awkward moments where they asked if I was going to finish my hospital dinner while I was clearly eating Chinese take-out with Chopsticks.

5. The bruises left on the boys from all the blood that is drawn. It looks like they were attacked by a colony of vampire bats.

4. The team of SIX pediatricians who visited us on our last day to discharge us. Two attendings, two residents, and two med students in our little room with two parents and two children.

3. The snack room with unlimited free ice cream. SO GREAT!!!

2. The crazy swaddling skills of the nurses. One nurse can swaddle both babies with one hand while taking my blood pressure and temp with another.

1. The newborn nursery--where babies can play while their parents get a few hours of shut-eye. If only we had one at home.

Gratuitous Shot of Casey dressed in ill-fitting homecoming outfit, crying because his parents are already embarrassing him.


Nu trading places with me in my torture-device/bed.


Alex: "So these little guys belong to me now?"


Sasha: "Let me show you the tricks Mommy. I just read that "Happiest Baby on the Block" book.