Unused diapers don't go bad, do they?

I was reading on the bed last night and rolled over onto my stomach without thinking, the first time I've done that in weeks, and my abdomen felt exactly like it contained a larger version of that little bubble of water you get in a ripe blister--which, you know, as Eric said, duh, but it was a very strange feeling.

I went to the my new midwife group yesterday for my first appointment with them. It went very well; I liked the people I met and it felt pretty much like any other doctor's office except friendlier, and my old office did transfer over my records like they were supposed to (except for possibly the mandatory gonorrhea check that I certainly remember the nurse telling me she was going to do, way back when--they don't seem to have the results on file anywhere). They gave me a new goody bag (with a diaper sample from 2007) and a bunch of information on preterm labor; at 22 weeks apparently I'm past the word miscarriage.

According to their scale I need to cut back on the chocolate and the peanut butter toast (I don't think the oranges would make me gain quite that much, though I admit there have been an awful lot of them), but according to ours at home I'm doing fine, so it may just be a calibration issue--we'll see how the next weighing goes. I mentioned being a vegetarian, and the nurse said "What kind?" and the midwife said, "Do you know how to make complex proteins?" (she meant complete) and I said yes and that was that. They measured my fundal height (21 cm), which was new, and listened to the heartbeat (145 bpm), and everything continues to be delightfully average and boring.

They called me later that afternoon to say that they'd gone over my ultrasound records and there was a note that the technician hadn't gotten a good view of the spine, which they like to get as part of their anatomy survey. We took home what looked like a perfectly nice picture of the spine, so I don't know what they needed unless the technician just forgot to write down the relevant data or something, but they asked me to go in Friday for a second ultrasound to get it. It'll be interesting to see the three weeks' difference in L.E.O.'s growth--according to pregnancy.org, she was about eight ounces at nineteen weeks and should be close to a pound now, a doubling of her body weight. Suddenly that extra chocolate-induced weight on me doesn't sound so bad.

Flower Hospital visit

We visited Flower Hospital yesterday, and made our final decision in favor of Bay Park. Flower was pretty nice: not as long a drive as I thought it would be (twenty minutes, though that was only to the campus and not to whatever entrance we'd be using to drop me off when the time came, since there was no label for "maternity ward" or "breeders this way" or anything so we didn't know which way to go), and the rooms were spacious and well-kept.

But Eric and I both got an unpleasant vibe from the place. We had to talk it out a bit before I was convinced that we had reasons to reject it other than gut instinct--or rather that the gut instinct was based on something substantial. I think on Eric's part it was partly the big tour group we were in and the tour guide's (necessarily?) talking-down-to-the-poor-ignorant-people tone. I didn't like it either, but I can forgive it in a situation like that. We were both put off by what felt like a very unexpectedly traditional attitude towards labor and delivery: "We will cure you of the disease of pregnancy."

I'd heard that Flower was very progressive and modern and mother-friendly; they certainly do encourage having the babies in the rooms, and have birthing rooms with no separate recovery rooms, and no official visiting hours and such. But we got a handout that stated that every woman is placed on electronic fetal monitoring as soon as they're admitted; we got the strong impression that the hospital's, or at least the nurse's, opinion is that every woman would and should want an epidural ("or you can get other pain medication through your IV" and, in the handout, "we also have alternative things like beanbag chairs and aromatherapy"); the nurse asked who was having a boy and reassured those people that the circumcision would take about ten minutes and "usually they do just great." I wondered whether they would kick up a fuss if we were having a boy and didn't want him circumcised. I also wondered whether they were really progressive other than introducing birthing rooms to the area. The guide asked "Is anyone using a midwife?" and when one women raised her hand, said, "There are also two rooms with tubs, if you're interested in that," sounding very dubious about anyone who would do such a thing; whether she meant working with midwives or laboring in water, I wasn't sure which.

(Apparently they used to have a birthing room for water births, but there was some situation in which a woman in the tub needed a bed and there was none in the room, so they took the tub out. I don't see why they couldn't have just added a bed, since the rooms were certainly big enough.)

So I called the midwife group attached to Bay Park this afternoon and got an appointment. I'm to bring in my records from my current doctor when I go; since the appointment is in a week I'm probably going to go pick them up rather than having them mailed. I have to admit I'm looking forward to leaving my doctor, now that we've made the decision--her administrative staff have continued to drive me crazy. And Eric doesn't need even more crazy on his hands.

Forecast dizzy with a 99% chance of extra work

Ugh. I've been dizzy and light-headed most of the day. It probably didn't help that I had a nice long shower this morning; according to my book, that's likely to make me dizzy because it dilates the vessels near my skin, and my blood pressure is theoretically already decreased because my circulatory system is expanding (though it was fine the last time the doctor checked it...but then, I guess that was almost a month ago). Plus expanded lung capacity means decreased carbon dioxide to the brain which means breathing changes that might make me feel short of breath. In summary, I'm spending most of today sitting down.

Bev sent me a mommy-to-be care package: an oil spray for dry skin, cream and lotion for stretch marks (useful in later months, I'm sure), and a baby name book. It was very cute and cheered me up quite a bit, especially since we've been discussing the doctor/midwife/hospital question and as a result of some things Eric's mom told him about Toledo Hospital, he wants to look into other hospitals instead, which means I'd have to switch doctors. The midwife group he wants me to switch to (Angie's) is as far away from work as I can get without leaving the metropolitan area, which displeases me. However, I guess he can pick the farthest-away hospital if he wants, since he's going to be the one doing all the driving back and forth.

Incidentally, we were talking about "natural" vs. epidural/C-section births a few days ago, and James called. One of the first things he asked was "So, are you going to have a natural birth?" and my first thought was My God, why does he care? followed by What business is it of his anyway? and by that time he was finishing, "...or are you going to schedule it?" Because, of course, if I were going to schedule an induction or C-section, he and Mom and Dad could buy plane tickets early. Unfortunately I want them to be here for the birth but not that badly. Plus I'd almost certainly go into labor early. Maybe I should have them buy tickets, just for that insurance.

Hiring decisions

My first two appointments are finally scheduled with my ob/gyn. I'm less and less sure about staying with them. After the not-calling-me-with-my-test-results thing, I was going to schedule my appointment (one at 7-8 weeks, one at 10 weeks, I was told), but couldn't produce the first-day-of-last-period date, so the woman told me to call back the next day, Tuesday. I did. The person on the phone, a different woman, insisted I give her my insurance information so they could check it before they'd schedule me to come in. Even though I've been going there for more than a year, I'd been there less than a month ago, and they already had it on file.

So I gave it. The woman said she'd put it through and when it was approved (is women's healthcare so downgraded that insurance doesn't reliably cover pregnancy?) she'd call back, possibly that same day.

She didn't call. She didn't call the rest of the week. My sister-in-law Angie gave me the name of the midwife association she goes to. (She used to go to my doctor's group, Maumee OB/GYN. So did Courtney. That's why I started going. Neither of them still go there.) I called back yesterday. "Melissa's the regular scheduler, and she's out," explained a yet different woman I spoke with, this one named Leslie. "I can't find your paperwork. I'll check with the billing department and call you back tomorrow."

I didn't expect a call, but I got one. I like Leslie. "We found your paperwork," she said. "Since Melissa's been sick I just didn't know how she had things organized." Not at all, was my thought, but I said nothing. We scheduled my 7-8 week appointment for next Monday--an hour with the nurse, she said, to get my medical history and give me information--and my approximately 10-week (really 11, if I'm counting right) appointment with the doctor to get a pap (sigh) and hear the heartbeat. That part cheers me up, at least. And I was grateful to actually get some information. I’m fond of Leslie. Still not sure about the office, though.

But I'm not sure whether Angie's association would help; I'm not sure whether I need or want a midwife, or if they supplant or only supplement an obstetrician, or what would happen to the hospital option (I have only one with Maumee OB/GYN, Toledo Hospital, and a 10% chance that my doctor will be on call at the critical time). Also, they're even further from our house than Maumee is, which would be a big pain, especially later on. There are other options, of course, but I don't know which ones are good ones.

Basically I don't know and I don't know what I need to know. Therefore, for the present...as Eric would say...

...to the Internet!