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Anonymous wrote:I delivered twins vaginally (with no pressure for a C, though they were well positioned / both head down) at VHC. I was with Northern VA Physicians to Women.
Thanks for this rec! Have heard good things about Dr. Prather at Nothern VA Physicians to Women.
Anonymous wrote:VHC or GW will be your best bet to avoid a C-section. On the other hand with twins I’d *really* want to be at INOVA FFX, even though their post-natal care is absolutely nothing to write home about.
Have heard this about FFX as well-- do you say this mostly because of the level 4 NICU and nice facilities compared to VHC and GW?
Anonymous wrote:Had head down twins and was told I needed a cesarean at Inova Fairfax. This was a few years ago. I didn’t know any better and had a cesarean. Both kids are fine. I had an ECV and VBAC at GW with baby number 3. When I met with the doctors at GW they said most of their twins attempt a vaginal delivery unless medically indicated for a cesarean. One of their doctors even does ECVs on breech twin A (success is clearly less)!
Fairfax was more luxurious for sure, but I got better individualized care at GW.
This is really helpful- I did some digging yesterday on GW and twins. Got a recommendation for Dr. Steven Ralston at GW MFA. I've just heard that things at GW MFA are a bit chaotic with the midwives practice losing most staff, etc. I may just need to interview a few practices with privileges at FFX, GW and VHC and see who's willing to do what. Obviously with twins I'm sort of just along for the ride, but good to know in advance who has expertise in twin vaginal births.
Hi OP- curious how things played out for you and what you'd recommend? I'm in the 1st trimester with twins and I'd love to find a doc who is adept at making vaginal delivery possible 
Hi there: I'm an advanced maternal age mom of 1 in Alexandria with twins on the way toward the end of the year. I had postpartum pre-eclampsia with my first but the pregnancy/birth itself was complication-free. I delivered with Physicians & Midwives at Inova Alexandria with my first and while I appreciated the midwife-heavy practice and was generally happy with the practice's care, I wasn't crazy about Inova Alexandria, and would prefer a hospital with a real nursery and probably a NICU with twins on the way. I would also love to attend a practice that won't assume from the get-go that a C-section is the way to go. If I must go the C-section route, that's fine, but the idea of recovering from major surgery with 2 infants and a 4 yr old makes me want to do everything I can to go the traditional route.
If any twin parents have recommendations on great experiences with certain practices/hospitals, I'd love to hear them. I was very focused on having a second child, but I must admit that the blessing of planning for #2 and #3 at once is overwhelming! Thanks.
If any twin parents have recommendations on great experiences with certain practices/hospitals, I'd love to hear them. I was very focused on having a second child, but I must admit that the blessing of planning for #2 and #3 at once is overwhelming! Thanks.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Wally5 wrote:Anonymous wrote:You won’t send your child to preschool if they have to wear a mask? How could we tell you what the policy will be in six months?
If you'd rather not engage with the question at hand, may I suggest not commenting? I'd rather not send my 2 year old to a place that won't let him take his mask off outside. If that strikes you as an insane position, we have nothing to discuss.
Although that comment was worded poorly, I think the point was that no one is going to be able to give you a definitive answer of what the ay of the land with masks will be in 6 months, so if you won't send your child to preschool if there is a mask requirement, you will be risking your deposit should you choose to make one. I guess what you have to consider is how upset you will be if you don't make a deposit, the mask requirement is lifted, and you don't have a spot there versus loosing your deposit if they mask mandate is not lifted and you don't want to send your kid.
+1. No one here can tell you what will happen in six months. Most of us have learned that by this point of the pandemic.
No sh*t. That's why I was asking for active predictions given the changing landscape. Don't respond to questions that you consider to be beneath you, your royal highness.
Anonymous wrote:You won’t send your child to preschool if they have to wear a mask? How could we tell you what the policy will be in six months?
If you'd rather not engage with the question at hand, may I suggest not commenting? I'd rather not send my 2 year old to a place that won't let him take his mask off outside. If that strikes you as an insane position, we have nothing to discuss.
Anonymous wrote:I think the political center of gravity will move right as the double vaxxed but not boosted people decline indefinite boosting and masking. Plus, with a small amount of luck, future variants will be omicron level of severity (or less).
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/15/health/covid-19-booster-dose-slow-uptake-us/index.html
42% of double vaccinated democrats are not planning on boosting.
I don't think the vaccines will make a difference either way because they are not effective at stopping transmission. That was a fig leaf from the beginning.
100%. I just don't know how quickly any of this will translate into DC preschool guidance so that schools can go back to focusing on educating little ones.
I realize that the DC preschool masking/testing/quarantining requirements have been discussed ad nauseum. But since we're days away from the city's indoor mask mandate expiring, and a week or so past the vaccine pass expiration for the general public, I'm wondering if someone with their ear to the ground at OSSE or DC Health or otherwise has an updated best guess about what preschools will generally be requiring in the fall. I'm being asked to put down a deposit ASAP for my now 2 year old.
Given the so-far less-than-promising data around the under-5 vaccine trials, the standard line that preschool directors give about masking "until the vaccine" seems unwise at this stage. I frankly can't believe that so many schools are still masking kids outside, but rather than debate it, I'm mostly trying to make an educated guess about where we'll be in September.
Many thanks.
Given the so-far less-than-promising data around the under-5 vaccine trials, the standard line that preschool directors give about masking "until the vaccine" seems unwise at this stage. I frankly can't believe that so many schools are still masking kids outside, but rather than debate it, I'm mostly trying to make an educated guess about where we'll be in September.
Many thanks.
Anonymous wrote:Oh one other amazing thing about Butterfly House - not only were we not asked to pay during Covid closure (while they continued to pay staff) they reimbursed our tuition for dates not used in March of 2020.
Thanks so much for this feedback. It's crazy that daycare reviews are so tough to come by unless you get them by word of mouth. I like the campus feel and outside play emphasis for sure.
Piggybacking on this thread to get more details on Butterfly House- worth the tuition? I've been on a waitlist for St. Anthony's and have little hope of an opening there anytime soon.
Jumping on this thread to share a review of Inova Alexandria with future expectant moms looking for feedback.
You can do better than this hospital. I delivered my baby here in Jan 2020. He's my first child, so I don't have other experiences to compare this one to. While I generally had decent care, there were many things about Inova Alexandria that were not as advertised, and as a result, we struggled on a few fronts.
First, they actively advertise that they provide nitrous oxide to laboring mothers. This was one of the reasons I chose this hospital. They do not. I was already well into labor by the time I was told that there was no nitrous available at the hospital. I had mentioned this several times prior, had discussed it with my physician/midwife practice (who exclusively delivers at Inova Alexandria), and it was in my birth plan-- no one thought to tell me that there was no nitrous until go time.
Second, once I decided to get an epidural (given that there was no nitrous and I'd been induced a long time prior), the anesthesiologist clearly messed up as he was setting it up. To the point where he apologized to my doula-- not to me or my husband mind you. Thank God I didn't end up with something terrible happening on that front.
Third, since I was induced, I was in the hospital for longer than expected before delivery. They had the most uncomfortable bed known to man. I got no sleep, and both my husband and I went into the delivery completely exhausted as a result. Birth plan basically went out the window.
Fourth, this hospital PRIDES itself on breastfeeding support. It's everywhere on the walls, the literature, you name it. But guess what-- their support is lousy. I had to request help multiple times. It got to the point where I had to beg the head nurse to ask a lactation consultant to sit with me and make sure he was latching. Breastfeeding is hard regardless- but at a "baby friendly" hospital where they tell you about their fabulous lactation support, and I did literally everything in my power to flag that there was a problem and I was struggling, they failed me. I saw at least four different lactation consultants. There was a lot of happy talk, but very little practical help. When it wasn't working, they couldn't help me, and I left the hospital basically hopeless. I had to hire a lactation consultant to come to my house the next day and by that point my baby was a big fan of formula.
Fifth- As it turns out, part of the reason breastfeeding didn't work for me was b/c I had severe postpartum preeclampsia that went undiagnosed while in recovery, even though we spent extra days at the hospital because my son had jaundice. My body was busy trying to keep me from stroking out rather than producing milk. Thank God I was told by a midwife to make an appt within 48 hours of discharge to have my blood pressure checked. I might very well have died in my sleep otherwise.
Sixth, I had the worst experience with a nurse of my life there. One particular nurse insisted on drawing blood from my days old son in the most painful way possible while he screamed as I've never heard a baby scream before. She was ignorant, ill-trained, and thinking of her to this day makes me furious. Other blood draws were a breeze compared to this because they were done properly and he never screamed again. She clearly had no idea what she was doing.
Seventh, My baby had jaundice and they did a terrible job of giving you any option but to have a giant, drafty, old school light machine wheeled into your room so that you- in a hospital with trained staff and having had no sleep in days- have to make sure that a tiny baby who cannot have a blanket doesn't take off the thin fabric that protects his eyesight, etc. It was awful.
Eighth, there is not really a nursery here. They make this clear on the tour, but you might want a hospital with a decent nursery. What they have is makeshift, drafty, and not appropriate for proper care.
Ninth, they literally never let you sleep. I'm not talking about the baby keeping you up. They come to check vitals constantly at all times of the day even when there's a do not disturb sign up. We went home having not slept in basically five nights, which led to a nightmare scenario for a brand new family of three. Despite all of this checking, they still didn't catch that my body was shutting down. Maybe that wasn't possible to do-- but it is notable that I kept alerting nurses to classic preeclampsia symptoms and I was repeatedly told that those were normal after having been pumped with fluids during labor.
Tenth, I left never wanting to come back to this place ever again. It was a miserable experience despite the fact that there were some staff who were helpful and tried their best. Unfortunately, I had to go back to their ER two days later because they had all of my recent birth records and health history on file. Here's where they actually saved my life, and I had a generally good experience with excellent staff- save for the lactation consultant who was horrible, insulting, and should be fired.
You can do better than this hospital. I delivered my baby here in Jan 2020. He's my first child, so I don't have other experiences to compare this one to. While I generally had decent care, there were many things about Inova Alexandria that were not as advertised, and as a result, we struggled on a few fronts.
First, they actively advertise that they provide nitrous oxide to laboring mothers. This was one of the reasons I chose this hospital. They do not. I was already well into labor by the time I was told that there was no nitrous available at the hospital. I had mentioned this several times prior, had discussed it with my physician/midwife practice (who exclusively delivers at Inova Alexandria), and it was in my birth plan-- no one thought to tell me that there was no nitrous until go time.
Second, once I decided to get an epidural (given that there was no nitrous and I'd been induced a long time prior), the anesthesiologist clearly messed up as he was setting it up. To the point where he apologized to my doula-- not to me or my husband mind you. Thank God I didn't end up with something terrible happening on that front.
Third, since I was induced, I was in the hospital for longer than expected before delivery. They had the most uncomfortable bed known to man. I got no sleep, and both my husband and I went into the delivery completely exhausted as a result. Birth plan basically went out the window.
Fourth, this hospital PRIDES itself on breastfeeding support. It's everywhere on the walls, the literature, you name it. But guess what-- their support is lousy. I had to request help multiple times. It got to the point where I had to beg the head nurse to ask a lactation consultant to sit with me and make sure he was latching. Breastfeeding is hard regardless- but at a "baby friendly" hospital where they tell you about their fabulous lactation support, and I did literally everything in my power to flag that there was a problem and I was struggling, they failed me. I saw at least four different lactation consultants. There was a lot of happy talk, but very little practical help. When it wasn't working, they couldn't help me, and I left the hospital basically hopeless. I had to hire a lactation consultant to come to my house the next day and by that point my baby was a big fan of formula.
Fifth- As it turns out, part of the reason breastfeeding didn't work for me was b/c I had severe postpartum preeclampsia that went undiagnosed while in recovery, even though we spent extra days at the hospital because my son had jaundice. My body was busy trying to keep me from stroking out rather than producing milk. Thank God I was told by a midwife to make an appt within 48 hours of discharge to have my blood pressure checked. I might very well have died in my sleep otherwise.
Sixth, I had the worst experience with a nurse of my life there. One particular nurse insisted on drawing blood from my days old son in the most painful way possible while he screamed as I've never heard a baby scream before. She was ignorant, ill-trained, and thinking of her to this day makes me furious. Other blood draws were a breeze compared to this because they were done properly and he never screamed again. She clearly had no idea what she was doing.
Seventh, My baby had jaundice and they did a terrible job of giving you any option but to have a giant, drafty, old school light machine wheeled into your room so that you- in a hospital with trained staff and having had no sleep in days- have to make sure that a tiny baby who cannot have a blanket doesn't take off the thin fabric that protects his eyesight, etc. It was awful.
Eighth, there is not really a nursery here. They make this clear on the tour, but you might want a hospital with a decent nursery. What they have is makeshift, drafty, and not appropriate for proper care.
Ninth, they literally never let you sleep. I'm not talking about the baby keeping you up. They come to check vitals constantly at all times of the day even when there's a do not disturb sign up. We went home having not slept in basically five nights, which led to a nightmare scenario for a brand new family of three. Despite all of this checking, they still didn't catch that my body was shutting down. Maybe that wasn't possible to do-- but it is notable that I kept alerting nurses to classic preeclampsia symptoms and I was repeatedly told that those were normal after having been pumped with fluids during labor.
Tenth, I left never wanting to come back to this place ever again. It was a miserable experience despite the fact that there were some staff who were helpful and tried their best. Unfortunately, I had to go back to their ER two days later because they had all of my recent birth records and health history on file. Here's where they actually saved my life, and I had a generally good experience with excellent staff- save for the lactation consultant who was horrible, insulting, and should be fired.
Just jumping in to say that despite their advertisements, don't count on Inova Alexandria having nitrous. I gave birth there in Jan 2020, and despite the fact that it was in my birth plan and I'd discussed nitrous with literally everyone at Physicians/Midwives and in the hospital during my induction, no one thought to tell me that they didn't have it available until I was in full on labor. Maybe think about another hospital.
Has anyone had any luck with local hospitals providing the preservative-free version of the Vitamin K shot for newborns? I checked with Inova Fairfax and Alexandria and neither carries it. Wondering how hard it is to get elsewhere. Not make or break either way- mostly just curious. Thanks.