Monday, September 14, 2009

Second Trimester High

Tonight I had my 16 week appointment with my midwife. Actually, it was more like 15w5d, but who's counting?

Besides me.

Anyway, it was a great visit. I love my midwife SO much. My prenatal care did a complete 180 from when I was pregnant in Miami last year. Then, I was going to an OB in a practice with 5 other doctors. At my first appointment, I showed up all excited for my very first baby-doctor visit, only to be told, quite rudely by the way, that they had lost my appointment and wouldn't be able to see me until the next week. I should have known then to just find another place.

After that, we only had two appointments there before we lost the baby. Both of those times we had to wait at least 45 minutes, if not more, to see our doctor. When we did get in there, we were rushed through blood work, told what we were going to get done (screenings, testing, etc) and handed a pregnancy brochure as we were rushed out the door before we had a chance to ask any of the 500 questions we had.

Weeks later, after the perinatologist at the testing office noticed there was something wrong on the ultrasound we were a wreck while we waited for more testing. At our next regular appointment, we asked our Dr about it and were told, "Yeah, I saw something about that, I'm sure it's nothing, you'll be fine."

A week later, we lost Baby Z. We needed to get genetic testing done on it and the results were sent back to our Doctor's office. We spent almost a month playing phone tag, trying to get someone on the phone who could give us results. When we finally did, I was terrified, mad and beyond frustrated. I vowed, if I ever got pregnant again, I would find someone who treated me like a human being and not just another number on their list of crazy pregnant ladies they have to deal with everyday.

After doing a lot of research, I decided that the midwifery approach was right for me. I knew J would never go for a non-hospital birth and while I greatly admire people who do it, I honestly have no desire to birth in my home. So we made a compromise and found a wonderful midwife who has her own private practice but delivers in a local hospital.

My care with her so far has been amazing. She is compassionate, caring, hilarious and calm. She is also VERY accessible by phone or email. The best is that she is not some totally out there, hippy-dippy midwife, but very down-to-earth and filled with common sense. She is a complete advocate of natural childbirth, but at the same time, knows that sometimes there are things that are out of your control. Therefore, she is completely willing to create a birth plan that includes pain relief if needed without making you feel like some sort of failure to womankind. Midwives aren't for everyone, but for us, it's the perfect balance. We get the medical side if we need it (she works with backup doctors and perinatologists), the advocacy for natural childbirth that I want, and the coddling and reassurance that two terrified, baby-burned parents need from a caregiver.

So, Jeremy is in Amsterdam right now (I know, WITHOUT me! Can you believe it?!?!?) so he had to miss our appointment tonight. He was pretty bummed about not hearing the baby's heartbeat on the doppler (after all we've been through, we live for this moment every couple of weeks). Anyway, he asked me to call him during the appointment so he could hear the heartbeat.

So, here I am, laying on the table. My midwife has the doppler on my stomach and I'm all,

"Hang on, gotta call Amsterdam real quick."

Instead of getting impatient, she was cracking up and playing along. While we had him on speakerphone, she made some comment about it being her "first international consultation."

Love her.

Anyway, everything was great. The heartbeat was fine and if everything goes well, we have our next ultrasound appointment scheduled in a month. I had some more random spotting issues (sorry guys...) a few weeks back that actually lasted two full weeks, but she got us in to hear the heartbeat and said it was to be expected with everything we had been through. It wasn't as scary and gorey as it had been, so I just dealt with it. And after two weeks it stopped. I am happy to say that today it has been one whole week of NO blood!!! Woo-hooo! (Knock on wood). It's been nice to have a somewhat stress-free week for once.

Other that that, I have to say, so far the second tri has been everything people said it would be. My nausea has improved by about 85% and I'm feeling sooooo much better. I still get tired really easily, but compared to how I felt a month ago, I feel like a new woman.

And while I have felt completely bloated for the past 16 weeks, I'm just now actually starting to feel my stomach getting bigger. Normally, if I press on my stomach, it just squishes down. Now, it feels like a small balloon is growing in there. It's very odd. I am proud to say though, that at almost 16 weeks I am still wearing all my normal clothes. However, I know that wont last very long. Getting bigger is a scary thought, but one I am ready for.

That is really the only "complaint" I have right now which I'm not really complaining about. I'll take it any day over the excitement of my first trimester, which included, but was not limited to:

abnormal bleeding
round-the-clock nausea
insatiable need to gag
excessive salivation
constipation
acne
overly sensitive sense to smell (had to change deodorant and laundry detergent to unscented)
food aversions (to everything but Lucky Charms, orange peanut butter crackers, chocolate milk and pickles)
all day dizziness
disgusting taste in my mouth all day and night
total exhaustion
dry skin
gas that had me doubled over in pain

Yes. pregnancy is sexy.

P.S. My pics will be back in about a week. Somehow I exceeded my bandwith. I'm too lazy to repost every picture on here, so I will just wait until my account resets itself.

15 comments:

MCM Mama said...

I had the excessive salivation thing with both boys and pretty much had an altoid in my mouth for nine months with each of them Now I can't stand even the smell of altoids.

Glad the midwife route is working for you. My first birth was a completely medical event with a practice much like the one you described. My second was a homebirth with a midwife. The whole experience from start to finish was a much more pleasant time.

It always makes me smile to see your updates. :o)

CJ said...

Glad things are progressing well!

CJ

Marlene said...

So happy that things are going well, that you're feeling good and baby is healthy!

Sounds like you are getting exactly what you need from your midwife.

N.D. said...

Yay! so glad everything is going well.

Unknown said...

I'm really happy for you that you have a mid-wife you are comfortable with and that things are progressing well. Enjoy. I actually found the 2nd trimester to be quite enjoyable. Not sick and not huge...just happy. :-)

Denise said...

I'm so happy you found someone you're comfortable with and that you're doing so well! Keep us updated!!

Lily on the Road said...

too cute a trans atlantic heartbeat!!

Sounds great, new home, a great and understanding midwife...I'm very happy for all of you!

X-Country2 said...

Happy to hear things are going so well!

joyRuN said...

So glad to hear you're doing well!

I'd thought about doing a midwifery program until I gave birth. I can't imagine putting up with screaming banshees like me on a daily basis ;)

Chic Runner said...

So glad things are going great! I can't wait to see the pictures! :) Glad you heard the heartbeat and it sounds like the person you chose is perfect for your situation.

Julie D said...

That's great news! I can't see Photobucket photos here at work... do you use Picasa?

Jolene said...

Yay, Laurel! Yay! I'm just so glad things are okay...though man, that spotting is so scary to hear about! Also glad the 2nd tri has brought you some relief (a lot of my symptoms decreased then too, though the constipation was a dreaded companion for not just 9 months, but 10!). I also started to feel that hard little bump around the 4th month (and it was right about then that I had to get maternity clothes...though they're pretty cool nowadays). My coworker best described it as like a little football (same size, shape and hardness). Very exciting, eh? So happy you're doing great!!!

Heather said...

So glad things are going well and you found a midwife you love. Having someone -whether it's a doctor or midwife - that you trust and feel comfortable with is a HUGE deal.

Anonymous said...

Just catching up. I am so happy that things are going well. Very cool about the midwife and how cute is J with making sure you call.

Jess said...

Glad you're back! And I'm so excited to hear that you're pregnant again and that everything is going well!

When I was pregnant, I went to a practice that was a mix of 4 doctors and 2 midwives, and my primary was a midwife, and I loved her! She delivered Norah and really advocated on my behalf when the doctor wanted to do a c-section but I wanted to make sure I delivered vaginally. So, I was glad to have her! I like the midwife approach, but I wanted to still be in a hospital with plenty of drugs, so the combo practice was a good fit for me.

I too was sensitive to smell, except for me, it was the opposite: I love the smell of everything! Seriously, I wanted to eat my body wash it smelled so good to me!

 
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