First, I am going to assume everyone can find AMC in general. If not, go to this link and you can get personalized directions from your own starting point (http://www.amc.edu/Patient/locations/index.html). In general, this entrance is where you will end up going into the hospital:
If you come to AMC on Holland Avenue this will be in front of you with the parking garage/Hilton Garden Inn on your right. If you come from New Scotland via Madison or through Washington Park this entrance will be on your right (note: this entrance is actually past the turn for the parking garage which is on your left so if you see it you went too far). If you come from the other direction on New Scotland this entrance will be on your left. So now that you know where the hospital/parking garage is, let's talk about getting into the parking garage or other places to park...If it is a weekday, you can enter the parking garage from Holland or New Scotland Avenues. The entrances are clearly marked. You grab a ticket at the booth and make your way in. You can park anywhere except the spots that have signs indicating they are for a specific physican or administrator, but you are likely to need to go up quite a few levels during the day. On the weekends, you can only enter the parking garage from Holland Avenue. If you come to the hospital on New Scotland, just turn onto Holland at the light in front of the pillars entrance and you'll be able to enter the parking garage on your left. Parking is expensive in my opinion ($3.75 for an hour), so another option is the metered parking along New Scotland and Holland Avenues. During the week you get 12 minutes for .25 cents and can put in enough quarters for a max of 2 hours. On weekends these meters are inactive and you can park for free if you find a spot.
Ok, now that you are parked, let's get you into the hospital! If you are in the parking garage you'll see signs directing you to the elevators. Take the elevator to the 1st floor for the walkway that takes you over New Scotland Ave into the hospital. When you get out of the elevator there is a security booth to the right, the walkway straight in front of you, and the entrance to the hotel on the left. Follow the walkway (it curves to the left - employees might go through a door into a back hallway, don't follow them!) and you'll end up inside the main pillar entrance, also called the Fleet lobby. If you parked along the road, you'll go in through the doors at the pillars entrance and end up at this same point.
Now, to the sixth floor! Go through the lobby (information desk on your left if for some reason these directions still aren't enough!) and take a right into the main corridor. If you need a food/coffee stop, Choices Cafe will be on your left (overhead signs will direct you) before you hit the elevators. You will then come to your first set of 4 elevators on your left. I am not sure if they are marked as C or D building elevators, but I would recommend using the next set as they will get you closer to your final destination even though they are slower. So, walk past these elevators and you'll come up to the next set of two elevators on your right (there are more elevators on the left, but they are service elevators). Take these elevators up to the 6th floor. When you get out you are actually in the C building. You need to bear to your right towards the big windows that look out over Albany. You'll then see a set of heavy double doors to your left next to the windows. This is the entrance to the Birth Place so breath a sign of relief, you're almost there!
Once you pass through the double doors you just need to walk straight towards the desk in front of you. The receptionists there should be able to direct you to where Matt and I are. Most likely, we should be in the maternity ward to the left. All of the rooms are marked with their number up above the door. The nursery is on the left as you walk down the corridor in the E building, but it is very unlikely the baby would be in there. The only time I plan on sending the baby to the nursery is for the doctors and nurses to examine him/her and they are supposed to pull the blinds during that time.
And that's it! It might sound complicated, but it's very easy. You should be able to get from the parking garage to the maternity ward in less than five minutes, much less time than it took me to type out the directions!
