Giving Birth in Q8 - The People

We had our first glimpse of what a culture shock we were in for at an appointment about a month before McLovin arrived. As we walked into the hospital, we witnessed a bellhop loading an entire cart of oversized balloon and flower arrangements, a huge set of frilly bedding, luggage and gift bags into a mustang. But where will the baby go, you ask? Certainly not in a car seat! They don't believe in those here (another day, another blog!)

The hospital rooms are designed to be reception areas, so the Kuwaiti's receive their guests, usually starting mid-afternoon and lasting until the wee hours of the morning. Family and friends come to celebrate the birth of the new child, including young children who are ignored and left to run the halls, breaking dishes and keeping others awake! We called security three times one night for a trio of 12 year olds that kept banging on our door. Their parents were visiting someone on another wing and had no clue what was going on! ANYWAY, as Eric observed, the abayas were 3-4 deep in some rooms, drinking tea and chatting away, while the men walked the halls and twirled their prayer beads. The baby was left to rest in the nursery. Granted they could watch the sleeping newborn on their tv, there's a camera for each room that views your child in the nursery. Pretty cool, but we chose to actually hold our kid!

The baby carts simply have the tub and the baby, no blankets, shirts, hats, diapers or wipes that we're used to. They bring in fluffy blankets and outfits themselves (we had to send Dad home to get Bubba some outfits!) The nurses (everyone calls them Sisters) were confused when Eric requested a diaper and some wipes. "We'll clean him up sir and bring him back!" Eric "It's ok, he's the fourth, I've changed a few diapers, I don't mind." "But sir, we'll clean him." This went back and forth until Eric eventually followed them to the nurses station and got what he needed!
The focus is definitely on the mother, not the child, at the hospital. I was given a free massage a few days after the surgery that was wonderful! I could have requested the in-house hair stylist and makeup artist come in prior to the photographer, but we went with our own pictures.
Overall, I'm glad we stayed in Kuwait to have McLovin. I was a little nervous about having surgery in another country, so far from home. But everything turned out well and we got to experience something we'll never forget!