Hospital Differences

Chloe is currently at her third (and hopefully last) new hospital. I have been amazed to learn how controversial the science of neonatology is! The philosophies from one hospital to another, I believe, are basically the same but many of the practical things are quite different. It takes some getting used to. Here are just a few differences I've noted between Dayton and Beaumont:

D: Snoodles are given to the parents to wear inside their shirt. Once they smell like us we can put them in the bed to comfort the babies. (Note: I have not worn perfume since before Chloe was born.)
B: Plush "dolls" are not allowed inside the bed because they might have germs.

D: Chloe spends a lot of time on her belly because she breathes better that way. The nurses make sure to rotate her, though, to give her a nice shaped head.
B: All babies of 32week gestation go-on-their-backs! No exceptions! (Except for Chloe because she's not from around these parts...) The thought is that the babies need to sleep on their backs when they get home so let's get them used to it now (while they're being monitored.)

D: I heard a lot more reference to Chloe's weight as her milestone guideline. For example, she can wear clothes and begin weaning from her isolette when she's 1800grams.
B: They put her in clothes and started weaning her from her isolette immediately upon arrival because she's "old."

D: Chloe is treated like a fragile micro-premie. The nurses do most of her handling and care (with exception of the ocasional diaper change/temperature getting by me).
B: Chloe is already 38 weeks? She's a "big girl." Mommy (that's me) is strongly encouraged to do stuff for her like: dress her, diapers, temperature, suction her mouth, weigh her (unassisted), take her out of and put her back alone, etc. And I could see Chloe's nurse laughing at me (on the inside) when I put up her "Bone Fracture Risk" sign on her isolette. She didn't say anything, though, so I'm thankful that she humors me.

D: Chloe's isolette was always covered so she slept in a dark quiet environment.
B: The lights are always bright and we can't cover her isolette (for safety - they can get a visual of her more quickly).

D: The panic alarm on her monitor seemed to be set at more extreme levels. It would only go off if she was really bad off. If the panic alarm went off nurses would come running (literally) from all directions.
B: The panic alarm goes off much more quickly (for less drastic reasons) and, consequently, the nurses don't come running.

D: We're all in one big room. There are probably about 20 babies and 10 nurses buzzing around at all times.
B: We're in a pod. There are only six babies and two nurses (unless one goes to lunch and then there's one).

D: Chloe was on the high flow canula.
B: They don't believe in the high flow because they can't tell the exact pressure she's getting from it. (This is probably the main philosophical difference I've observed.)

There are some things I prefer at each hospital. For example, the forcing of Mommy (ie. me) to do more for Chloe is really empowering. I feel more like an actual Mommy and less like an observer. Of course, it may just be the forceful (in a good way) nature of the nurses we got. Our Dayton nurses are way too nice so they may have just been unwittingly enabling me and my paranoid fearful self. And I love that I can cradle her in my arms and stare at her face for hours on end. The part about the panic alarm freaks me out, though. I know that she's just fine but it still freaks me out. Anyway, there's no particular reason for this post. These are just some interesting observations I thought I'd share...