OMG OMG OMG

We just got back from our tour of the maternity ward where we plan to have our baby.

(Breathe, breathe. Big milestone!)

It is awesome. Very quiet hospital, and with an excellent reputation (and having worked in insurance, I know the ones that do not have that excellent reputation, trust me). Baby vitals are taken in the same room with the mother whether she has a C-section or not. A labor pool is available, and there are squat bars available for all the birthing beds, and those green balance ball things, and they emphasize having moms get up and walk and change position to labor -- all on my list of things to worry about! Dads can sleep on cots in the mother and baby rooms if they aren't doubled up -- and except when there's a population boom, they feel no need to double up patients. They actively welcome mothers' birth plans, whatever they are. And they have a NICU.

This, plus two bird rescues (seagull -- an easy catch -- and owl in a box, both of which made it alive and lively to the center). What a great day!