Currently Craving: Nothing, I just ate lunch.
On Friday we had our first appointment with our midwife, Nancy. Nancy is like goddess-superstar midwife in richmond and i'd like to think my mom started it all when Nancy delivered my brother Jacob at home in a snowstorm back in 1982. but mom probably can't take all the credit for Nancy's success. more about Nancy in a different post.
To have our appointment with nancy we drove to her house, walked right in the living room and had a seat to wait for her to finish the previous appointment. we were greeted by three beautiful himalayan cats who obviously had no trouble with visitors because they continued lounging and didn't bother to check us out. while we waited we checked out the Anne Geddes baby names book. (those babies are CREEPY)
after she finished up we went into her 'exam' room and learned the rules. every appointment i first go to the loo for a sample and weigh myself then we get down to business. the exam room is essentially a spare bedroom. in one corner is a double bed and in the middle is a rocking chair. in the back is a bathroom. the rest of the room is entirely covered in baby and birth stuff. books stacked everywhere files for every patient and for information. then the walls are covered with posters and drawings and poems about birth. then all around those are photos of actual mothers holding their babies or in the midst of giving birth. max said at first that part was too much for him but he got over it and felt better by the end of the appointment. to me it felt very safe and kind of like walking into a womb where lots of people have prepared for birth over the years. MUCH different than walking into a stark white exam room in a doctor's office with a cold bed and stainless sink. ugh. just walking into a doctor's office creates anxiety. walking in here was completely comfortable.
So after completing my tasks i sat on the bed with Nancy and max sat in the rocking chair. since this was our first meeting we went over a lot of the business of the whole thing. she asked about history our backgrounds and got general information. max did not know is blood type or birth weight. and i actually didn't either. she had my blood type from the bloodwork at the first appointment and i totally told her the wrong birth weight. i thought i was in the 8s but i was 7lbs 12 oz. She told us about options on some prenatal testing that we should think about before our next appointment. and pretty much she just answered our questions and helped us both feel more comfortable. we were given the informed consent/contract to take home and read and return. she said with pregnant foggy brains it usually takes a while for people to bring them back. (i SO want to be the exception to the rule)
i guess the highlight was that we did get to hear the baby's heartbeat. it was good at about 150 bpm while mine was more slow and steady at around 120 (that was cool because we listened to the placenta, didn't know we could do that) and she said it sounded good. sounded happy in there. max said it sounded like a train. and she didn't hear more than one which is a good thing. at this point the books and emails say the baby is moving it's little limbs and body around kind of a lot since it has plenty of space now. that will change soon though and i'll start feeling it as he/she gets more restricted.
All told she spent about an hour with us (how many OB/GYNs do that?) and when we left max said he went in feeling cautious and came out feeling confident. i felt completely safe and like this is EXACTLY what i want and who i want to be cared for by. now our tasks are to read and sign the contract for return to her. we'll also probably attend the richmond home birth group circle to hear some birth stories and connect with other folks like us. and we'll eventually netflix the movie "the business of birth" (the ricki lake produced documentary about home and hospital birth) so we can really get an idea what it's all about.
all in all a good first meeting with Nancy, and two more confident parents-to-be.
3 comments:
Just a random, semi-ignorant question, but since you are seeing a midwife, will you have the option of an ultrasound with her?? I know most folks are not as impatient as I am, but I cannot imagine being able to wait until the end to know the gender!! Kudos to you if you are such a patient person!!
it's a good question, i had it too at first. We have two options for ultrasound actually. First we can go to the OB/GYN office where i had the first appointment. there they can sex the baby and also look for any birth defects. so we'll do that around 18-20 weeks. our other option (just for fun) is that we're good friends with a vet and she said she's 100% so far for sexing babies at 16 weeks. so it's funny but it's also a free way to get in and check it out. we'll of course go to the baby ultrasound person to make sure everything's ok. but our vet friend will be fun too.
That sounds so much like my appointments with my midwife! I go to her house and hang out on a couch and we talk baby stuff and serious stuff and it's SO not like a doctor's appointment! Except in the fact that she's so thorough and in the know. For my ultrasound, she had a tech that she recommended who was fabulous, so we went to a doctor's office for that. I'm excited to hear more about everything!! I'm def seeing The Business of Being Born soon. If I weren't a prude, I'd send you a video of our birth if we decide to tape it. I'm still debating! But I'll def write my birth story and share it with you, k?
Post a Comment