My advice, enjoy the experience, relax and let nature run its course. We did all the classes we could find for the first, nice to know what to expect and it helps relieve a lot of stress so it is worth it in that respect.

2K for a birthing suite? Sheesh…it was part of the package, no extra charge at Kaiser Woodland Hills when our first was born. The other two for other reasons were done in more traditional OR style birthing rooms. But dang 2K!!!

Choosing how you’re going to deliver your baby is obviously a very personal decision, but I gotta tell ya, Cedars has a reputation in town for being more money-hungry than patient-friendly. You’ll have to check out the rooms and birthing suites before knowing if the suites are worth the 2K. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t.

Have you considered going anywhere else, though? We had a baby last October at Good Samaritan downtown, and could not have been more pleased with the staff and facilities. We have several friends who have also happily delivered there, and the NICU and nursing staff are excellent. Not to mention, my fabulous OBGYN refuses to work at Cedars anymore, because he feels the nursing staff is too overworked to care for the patients, and the hospital is more focused on turnover than patient comfort. We have a relative who delivered there who can also attest to that.

Go Go Boot related injury + long story + Heathervescent = hilarious blog post. Please tell.

My now-ex-wife and I went through the pre-natal class experience, only to have the whole education process negated by an epidural and an emergency C section. You never know what’s gonna happen.

BTW, I recommend St. Joe’s in Burbank.

Hey there, I had a bb last July @ Cedars and the experience was very very good. I did not stay at the luxury suites, but the rooms where you stay after the baby is born are pretty nice, private, very comfortable bathroom, the food is surprisingly good x hospital food.
The prelabor rooms, and the actual labor rooms were recently remodeled, and are very nice! I had my baby at a very nice one, with views I couldn’t enjoy, as you can imagine, but overall it was an excelent experience.
All the nurses were very sweet and helpful!!!, except for some of the pm shift that were kind of a pain, waking me up every minute to take the bb away for tests and such. But after I asked them to let me sleep they did… LOL.
They also have a lactation consultant come and visit you at the room, in case you decide to b-feed.
I remember looking for info on Cedars when I was pregnant, that’s why I couln’t help but leave you an answer!! I hope it helps, you’ll have a tour once you are done with the birthing class and they will show you around.
Good luck!!!

Hey there, I had a bb last July @ Cedars and the experience was very very good. I did not stay at the luxury suites, but the rooms where you stay after the baby is born are pretty nice, private, very comfortable bathroom, the food is surprisingly good x hospital food.
The prelabor rooms, and the actual labor rooms were recently remodeled, and are very nice! I had my baby at a very nice one, with views I couldn’t enjoy, as you can imagine, but overall it was an excelent experience.
All the nurses were very sweet and helpful!!!, except for some of the pm shift that were kind of a pain, waking me up every minute to take the bb away for tests and such. But after I asked them to let me sleep they did… LOL.
They also have a lactation consultant come and visit you at the room, in case you decide to b-feed.
I remember looking for info on Cedars when I was pregnant, that’s why I couln’t help but leave you an answer!! I hope it helps, you’ll have a tour once you are done with the birthing class and they will show you around.
Good luck!!!

BTW, this message on Love the Belly’s website:

“Dear Customers and Friends,
After 4 years gestation period I am sad to say that due to an unexpected loss of lease, Love the Belly has officially closed its doors for business.”

Try posting this ? at citymommy.com, you’ll get a ton of responses. And I do recommend birthing classes, good to know what can happen.

How do you get on City Mommy? It’s invite only.

Browne

I took my pre-natal class at Cedars and it was very informative. My husband learned a lot and was actually usefully during labor. Since my first kid came 3 weeks into the class, I got reimbursed for those last weeks. My second kid came a week before the class was to start, so I was fully reimbursed for that.

If you’re delivering at Cedars it’s the best way to go as you’re taught specifically how Cedars works. And as for delivering at Cedars, oh me oh my, talk to women who delivered there and everyone says, “When I check out of the hotel, I mean hospital…” It was very nice and the food was really good. The only thing that sucked was the 3am and 5am tests. “Oh you can’t sleep hon?” Not with your hand up my cooter, nope.

I had my daughter at Cedars. The actual birthing room was fabulous; we watched the sun rise over the Hollywood Hills. The labor and post-partum nurses were great, but I didn’t care for my delivery nurse too much.

The regular room post-delivery room was just fine. Private, big enough for us, and comfortable. You don’t need to spend $2k extra per night.

As for the pre-natal classes, I bought a DVD online and watched that instead. Far easier to deal with (no using up precious weekends or evenings sitting in a class) and just as informative.

My advice? Go with the process. I wanted a “squat in the woods and push out a baby” type delivery but there were too many unforeseen complications. I’m glad I was in a hospital with access to decent medical care.