Little fish has been kicking up a storm on certain days... E.g. Friday night, while waiting for a parking lot before dinner. Lol! And the hubby is always so excited to see her move beneath the belly. But so far, he's never really gone beyond saying "harlow harlow, what are you doing?" at the belly... hahaha.... except for last night, when he told the baby "please turn to the correct position soon".
So after the routine check-up, we went for this maternity ward tour at the hospital. I had some questions I wanted to ask the hospital staff - e.g. what will the hospital provide, what do we have to bring, what is chargeable, what is complimentary, how much can we claim from medisave, how do we claim complimentary parking - and i thought it's best if i joined the tour. They'd be able to show us the exact locations of the places we need to be as well, so why not?
Here's a chronological order of what happened during the tour:
Pre-Tour
We went to the admission counter to clarify stuff about the medisave since it wouldn't be covered in the tour itself. We were told that depending on the package (e.g. 1-bedder or 2-bedder, natural or c-section), we can claim up to $X from medisave, so we just had to minus that off the package price. The medisave $$$ will be reimbursed into the credit card acct - meaning we have to make full payment (disregarding medisave grant) first, and the medisave $$$ will be deducted from the final credit card bill after everything is processed.
We would have to have all the relevant documents ready though. And a pre-registration (about a month before EDD) would save us all the unnecessary admin trouble during the big day.
We were also told that if we were to book a 2-bedder package and there aren't any 2-bedder rooms available on the big day, we'll be temporarily "upgraded" to a 1-bedder (or equivalent) at no additional charges. And they'll make sure we are in a maternity ward, and not some normal ward :)
Maternity Ward Tour
1) First up, we were shown the pre-admission counter and this little room for registration of birth. It saves us the trouble of travelling to ICA to register the birth of the new baby. Though I think it's slightly more costly, at about $39, as compared to $28 at ICA (if i remember correctly). But then, think about it, you don't have to trouble yourself to travel to ICA while being tied up with tending to the newborn :)
2) Next, we were shown the lobby of the hospital and the drop-off point (for those cabbing). For ppl who are driving, we'll have to park at the carpark where we normally park when we go for check-ups. After 8pm though, the lobby will be inaccessible via the usual entrance, and we'll have to enter the premise via the A&E.
3) For natural birth, we'll have to pass the hospital admission letter to the admission counter at level 2 and proceed to level 3 and then we'll be tended to by the nurses. I can't remember what's the procedure like for c-section, but I think it also involves passing the admission letter to the admission counter. The admission letter will be issued after the pre-registration made a month back. So MUST remember to bring... heh... Anyway I've bought a clear-folder and will be stuffing all these important docs into it, and bringing it along on the big day.
4) We were then brought to the labour ward at level 3, where there's this monitor thingy that monitors mum's contractions and baby's heartbeat throughout. And the decision on whether the mum wants any form of pain-relief will be made there and then. They have everything ready. Epidurals would need a 30 min notice though, so ppl who want that will have to plan in advance. For me though, I'm really keen on having a non-epidural natural labour. But it really depends on whether baby will be in the head-down position in time :X If it's a c-section, it'll be in a different delivery ward though. And mums can choose between general anaesthesia or epidural. The thought of being wide awake while the doctor saw your tummy and womb open and pluck out the baby from within, and sewing you back after that, really creeps me out. And both GA and epidural have their own side effects :( Urgh... Though I know epidural c-section are getting pretty common these days, I still can't picture myself going through it. And if the hubby were to be in the labour room with me, I'll make sure his eyes is fixated on my face (or his phone) only... Don't look at the procedure! eww....
5) After touring the labour ward, we were brought to level 4 to view the nursery, maternity ward, and this place called parents craft room. There were two cute little girls in the nursery when we passed by. Super sweet and uber cute la :P I can't wait for the arrival of our little baby fish :D So anyway, we toured the 1-bedder ward and the staff intro-ed about the amenities & services available. Basically, the 1-bedder allowed the dads to accompany the mums through the night, and the little one will be in a bassinet next to mum's bed 24 hours. If you're in a 2-bedder ward, visitors (including dads) will have to be gone by 8pm, and the baby will be brought back to the nursery at 8pm too. Customised confinement menu (with selections of Chinese, Malay, and Western food) is available for all types of wards though. I did my math - for natural birth, the price difference between 1-bedder and 2-bedder will be around $600+ after deducting medisave; for c-section, the difference is about $1200 :( Well, I'd definitely prefer a 1-bedder if cost is not an issue. But hey, $1200 can see us through many packets of diapers and cans of formula milk (after baby's 6th month) and all sorts of other necessities... How???
6) Next, we were brought to the parents' craft room, and we were told that classes on how to breastfeed and how to bathe the baby will be taught there. They served some snacks and drinks there too :) How nice!
7) Finally, we toured the super atas and expensive suite... which will set you back by more than $10,000 for a 3d2n or 4d3n stay. Needless to say, it was really pretty in there, and feels like some luxury hotel. And they give you loads of complimentary services that are not available for the normal wards. But this is just too extravagant la. Siao ah, if I had that kind of money, I'd rather use it to travel to USA or something lol...
What's provided and what's not
Items that will be provided include:
- Kotex maxi pads for post-delivery
- Clothes for mum and baby during hospital stay
- Baby swaddle (to use when you bring the baby home)
- Baby diapers (if I remember correctly, it's Huggies brand)
- Hospital-grade breastpump for loan if necessary
- Basic toileteries
Items to bring:
- Baby bottles (if not you'll have to purchase from the hospital!!!)
- Baby's clothes for going home (only swaddle is provided)
- Baby's mittens and booties (enough for the no. of days in the hospital)
- Mum's going-home outfit
This is obviously not a comprehensive list - this was only what we were specifically told won't be provided. But at least we know what we can remove from the hospital bag by checking against the "provided for" list :)
So yea, that was the end of the 1-hour tour. And we went for dimsum at Chinatown with my family. My family was suggesting that I book the 1-bedder since I get more privacy, which means better rest, and the hubby and baby can accompany me throughout. But the hubby was saying since it's only a few days stay, why spend the extra money.
Post note: I've explained to the hubby that for natural birth, the difference in cash is only about $600+, so I really don't mind paying extra for the privacy (and having him and the baby with me 24 hours). My concern is if I have to have a c-section, the $1200 is really quite a lot lor... I really hope little fish will co-operate and get into the head-down position soon... Come on little fish, you can do it! We all look forward to meeting you in May :D
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