http://www.mountcarmelhealth.com/hospitals-facilities/mount-carmel-st.anns/

http://www.mountcarmelhealth.com/patients-visitors/maternity-tours/

After reading so many contemporary books about the labor process and HOW MUCH GIVING BIRTH IN A HOSPITAL IS BAD BAD BAD FOR MOM AND BABY I was pleasantly surprised to find a progressive, woman-focused maternity center.  While we’re not necessarily focused on having a “natural” (read: drug free) birth, the maternity pavilion at St. Ann’s is incredibly receptive and supportive of the idea.  The labor rooms (especially the ones with tubs) are big and seem focused on making the process as comfortable for mom AND dad as possible.  Most equipment is hidden in furniture, and lighting is soft and calming.  The books (and to a lesserdegree, our birth classes at CHOICE) really make you think that you will have to fight to keep the baby near us after labor, at St. Ann’s the protocol is kangaroo care.  We wrote our birth plan not knowing what to expect, and almost everything we requested is standad at the hospital!

Oh, and there’s a Tim Hortons in the lobby.  Flippin’ sweet.

It was a reassuring and comforting tour, and even though I looked everywhere, I couldn’t find this:

Mixed (chicken) eggs, broccoli, lettuce (lolla rosa & mixed oaks and leafs), new potatoes, green beans, pulled pork from Oink Moo Cluck, teeny tiny scallions, asparagus, Blue Jacket chevre, carrots (small and swwet, my favorite!), kale, the aforementioned strawberries from Wielands, and Blue Jacket feta.

They made the same choice as us and have not found out the baby’s sex.  ”Meep” was at first the onomatopoeia for their baby’s communications, but has become it’s nickname.  In case you were wondering what the hell I was talking about.

And check out these unbelievable cookies that one of Tori’s friends from pottery class made! Little tags and everything.

Today I was returning home from a trip to the baby store and I pulled past my garage to find a huge day-glo green tag on my garage wall.  I really don’t think that the two things are related, but I can’t help but feel doubly violated.  The “broken window theory” has it’s faults, but it’s hard not to reach the conclusion that crime breeds crime.  Clintonvilles southern and eastern borders bump into some dicey neighborhoods, and I refuse to let that element creep into the part of Columbus that I love the most.  We’ve got a baby on the way and I don’t want to have to lose sleep wondering if this is the right place to be living.

Spring is around the corner, and I’m anticipating that the increased outdoor activities of the neighborhood will help stop this kind of activity.  I’m also planning a trip to the local police station to talk with some of our local cops and share my concerns.  Crochety?  Hell yes.  But this is my home.  It just grinds my gears.