Hired Doula and Fired Doctor!!! lol

Paul and I hired our Doula last night. We absolutely love her!!!! Paul is really happy we decided to hire her as well. I am so happy we decided to go with a Doula. This is going to be an amazing experience and I'm going to love experiencing it. She gave me a list of natural birth books I can read. I'm going to the library tomorrow to check some of them out.

The Doula gave me a list of questions to ask my doctor (Since we are planning to go all natural with NO interventions) to make sure she was on the same page as we are... and the doctor's NOT!!! Man is she not... I was so disappointed when i walked out of the doctors office Thursday. I'll post the questions the doula gave me (stars are questions I did ask) for ladies who want to ask their doctors. And I'll post my doctors answers...


If I write a birth plan, will it be honored? *
What is your cesarean rate? The hospitals cesarean rate? **
Does he/she require an IV? *
Does he/she require continuous fetal monitoring? *
Does he/she do rountine episiotomy? What is your episiotomy rate? **
What is his/her policy on using pitocin? What is your rate? **
What is his/her practice on stripping the membranes? *
How often and under what circumstances is forceps/vacuum delivery done?
Am I allowed to eat and drink in labor? *
Am I allowed to labor in the shower and/or tub? Have a water delivery? *
Is my partner and Doula allowed with me at all times? Including epidural placement and c-section? **
Is my parnter allowed to catch the baby? Cut the cord?
Does he/she perform Breech vaginal deliveries?
How does he/she handle long labor?
Does he/she support natural child birth? *
Is he/she open to mom's choices of position when it is time to push? *
Is it possible to wait awhile after birth before routine procedures are performed? *
can we wait for the cord to stop pulsating before we cut it?
Will I be able to breastfeed immediately? *
What is his/her view on circumcision?

Now here's my doctors answers to the questions I did ask her.

1.) If I write a birth plan will it be honored? She kinda hesitated at first and said "As much as possible".

2.) What is your C-Section rate? 25%

3.) Is an IV required? YES... she didn't even hesitate on this. I don't agree with this at all. When I asked why she said because if something goes wrong they don't want to be fumbling around to put in an IV...

4.) Do you require continuous fetal monitoring? As long as my water hasn't broken I won't need fetal monitoring and am free to walk around. But once my water breaks it is required.

5.) Episiotomy rate - 50% - 60% of first time moms (WHAAAAT?)

6.) Pitocin - As soon as I mentioned the word her eyes lit up and she was like "Yea I don't hesitate to use it if you're not progressing"... I got the feeling that she was pretty much saying "I'm ready to go home so give her some pitocin and get that kid out"... Wasn't happy.. I think she said about 85% to 90% of the time she uses pitocin!!!! No thank you!

6.) Stripping membranes - If I want it.

7.) I am not allowed to eat or drink anything other then water during labor.

8.) If the nurse says it's okay (and my water hasn't broken) I can labor in the tub or shower. But once my water breaks I can't.

9.) Doula and husband is allowed at all times except for C Sections. I would have to choose.

10.) Supporting natural child birth - As much as possible.

11.) Open to mothers choice of postions while pushing- Yes, unless one position isn't working after a while then she will move me to another position.

12.) Holding off on routine procedures for skin to skin contact and immediate breast feeding - She kinda danced around this one and ended up saying it was up to the pediatrician and if there weren't any complications. I don't think she was understand what I was asking though cause she made a comment on the nurses cleaning the baby. I tried to elaborate and she danced around and went back to pediatrician and nurses decision.

13.) Breastfeeding immediately - She danced around it, but in the end her answer was after the nurses do what they need to do then the nurse will hand me the baby.

I was not happy with ANY of her answers. Which is a shame because I really liked her personally. Plus she pretty much refused to another ultrasound until 32 weeks. And she said her partner has the same views and opinions as she does. So Paul called the insurance company to find out if mid wives are covered. AND THEY ARE!!! So we are going to start our search for a natural birth mid wife on Monday...

Wow this was such a downer!! Back to square one with finding a doctor. But that's fine, I have plenty of time!!

xoxoxo

Amanda!!

We registered on Oct. 20

On October 20 we registered at Babies R Us. It was so much fun!!! It took us like 2.5 hours but I had a blast, and Paul didn't seem to mind either. lol. He just followed me around and picked up things off the low shelves for me too look at (since I can't bend over).

I can't believe the amount of things we registered for. I think we had around 300 items and the lady that worked there said it was a small registry!

We bought a travel system!!! We got the Chicco Cortina Discovery. My one complaint that I'm going to have on it is the 5 point harness on the stroller... It's not an easy one. But I think I'll get used to it after a while, and it'll prolly "break in" as well. It took us about 10 minutes to get it out of the box and about 20 minutes to put it together... Instructions were pretty simple to see and read. Over all I LOOOOVEE it!!! Really easy to fold the stroller down and up one handed, easy to get the seat out of base and stroller and back in... It's great!! With tax it was around $300... lwhich is what you would spend buying a car seat and then a stroller...

We were going to go with Wendy Bellissimo's Honey Bee theme for the nursery (since we are going neutral cause SOMEONE wouldn't open their legs lol). But Paul saw a neutral one in the store that he really like and actually started getting excitd about it!!! When Paul gets excited about something I jump!! lol It's called Patchwork Pooh I think. I've always been a HUGE pooh fan, so this is perfect... but I was a lil sad to give up my honey bees!! But really like the pooh LOL... Oh the choices... See I had this all planned out when we thought we were going to know the sex!!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2546925

Oh, and we decided on furniture... And it's not Wendy Bellissimo like we originally thought, but we really like what we picked out. It's called the Ginger Ashford Collection by Simmons Juvenile Furniture. I just looked it up online and they dont have it... :(

Hmm let's see... what else... Oh we also registered for a Chicco Capri Stroller (umbrella stroller). Paul wanted a smaller stroller to keep in his car. It's bright red... But I figure if Paul's going to be seen with it in public okay!!! lol... I have mine and he has his! LOL..

Oh man, when they hand you that gun at the store to register... you feel this power surge go thro you!! lol.. It's great! lol

Well, I've come to terms with having a surprise... Actually Paul freaked a lil on me last weekend about not knowing the sex... I was kinda shocked!! lol.. It was cute, but I managed to calm him down!

I've got more to post but I'll do it in seperate posts cause it's so much. My next post is all about our Doula and my doctor.

Woo hoo!!! I'm 20 weeks today!! HALF WAY THERE!!!

Ultrasound 18 wks 6 days

Soooooooo we had would anatomy ultrasound yesterday mornin!!!

We went in so excited to find out the sex of the baby and after about 10 minutes of her looking she said that we would have to buy yellow because the babies ankles were crossed and she couldn't see anything.

She went on to do some of her measurements and then looked again. She still couldnt tell, so she told me to get up, walk around, pee and come back in. So I did. And this time the baby was sitting Indian Style and she still couldn't see!!!

Not only could she not see the gender, but the baby is positioned REALLLY low!!! To the point where babies head is behind my pelvic bone and hip bone... So she had a really hard time getting hear measurments and had to press really hard ON MY BONE to get her pictures and stuff... I am so sore today from all the pressure, and it was so painful...

So then I asked her "Should I stand on my head?!?!" lol... I was joking but she answered "I'm thinking about it"... Apparently the table I was on tilted, so she tilted it back to where I was almost standing on my head!!! lol.. That didn't work so she tilted the table the other way to where I was almost standing... Still didn't work. The baby wouldnt move out of my pelvis and wouldn't open its legs either!!! :(

When she looked to see the sex for the last time it's legs were completely closed at the knees!!! :(

I told Paul "If you ever had any doubts this kids yours, they were just shattered... This kid is so stubborn like you are and it's probably in there laughing at me, just like you are now" LOL!!!

I also told him "We're gonna have problems with this one" LOL
And the lady said "Well, I'm just glad it's living at your house and not mine" lol...

Paul says "What if it's a girl, and she's really pissed because we've been calling her a boy and Cooper for a while, so she decided to just keep her legs closed!!" (again that would be Paul - vengeful) lol

So now we are having a surprise!! lol...

We are thinking about going with the Wendy Belissimo Bumble Bee collection for the nursery.

http://www.wendybellissimo.com/products/product_detail.php?id=65

It's cute and pretty neutral... I like it...

We're thinking as far as clothes go, we'll get just the necessities to last us a week or two. And after the baby is born go on one helluva shopping spree!! lol.. Plus people will give us clothes for the baby as well.

The only way I could get another ultrasound (and insurance pay for it) is if there is a medical reason - the doctor thinks something is wrong. Or we could pay $300 for another ultrasound. Not going to do that!!! What if we pay the money and the kid still doesn't open it's legs?!!? I don't think so!! lol...

So my plan is to go into my doctors office next Friday crying, begging, pleading for another ultrasound... I've heard stories of the doctor saying "Okay we'll do another now, let's go" and the doctor looking really quickly to find out the sex... Hopefully that will be my doctor!!!

I have some questions for the doctor... Right now I'm worried about the baby being so low... I really want it to move up into my tummy for me. Cause it will get really painful with it's head in my pelvis...That's bones, they dont stretch!!! lol..

So I better get off here... I think that's everything that happened yesterday!!!

Let me do ups and downs real quick...

Downs -

1.) Not finding out the sex.... Stubborn ass baby... Gets that from his daddy (maybe a lil from me, but just a lil lol)

2.) Peeing - Becuase the baby is so low and still resting on my bladder, I'm still peeing every 45 minutes!!! Totally sucks!!

Ups -

1.) Feeling the baby move - I love the way that feels!!! Amazing!

2.) Food - I get to eat all the time!! lol and it's really yummy foods too!! lol...

Okay I'm off like a prom dress!!! More later!!!

Misters sore...

We found out on Saturday that Mister's "sore" turned out to be a tumor... Nothing serious from what I understand, but it would have kept growing if we hadn't removed it... Good thing we removed it!!!

Yay Mister!

18 weeks 1 day

I have the "big" ultrasound on Thursday!! Paul and I are so excited about this, and I've been having talks with the baby about opening it's legs so we can get a good look at what's in there!! lol...

Today I bought my first "baby thing" (other then wipes). I went into Childrens Place and bought these adorable newborn shoes... They are soooo cute!!!

I'm soooo excited... I think we found a Doula!! We have our interview set up next Tuesday... as far as I'm concerned it's just to sign the contract... In my opinion she already has the job. We talked on the phone for about 45 minutes today and I absolutely fell in love with her!!! YAY!!! It just makes it seem real... as if the growing bell and constipation weren't proof enough... This is the first time we've (DH and I) actually talked about the birth... It's soooo neat!! And so exciting!!

I started thinking about a Doula last week and thought it would be a great idea to have someone there who can support me and Paul... I know Paul will freak out a little and he really doesn't know what to do to help me so a Doula is a great way to help him as well...

Here's some Doula facts -


~Numerous clinical studies have found that a Doula's presence at a birth:

*Tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications
*Reduces negative feelings about one's childbirth experience
*Reduces the need for pitocin (a labor inducing drug), forceps/vacuum extraction, and cesareans
*Reduces the mothers request for pain medication and/or epidurals

~Research shows parents who receive support can:

*Feel more secure and cared for
*Are more successful in adapting to new family dynamics
*Have greater success with breastfeeding
*Have greater self-confidence
*Have less postpartum depression
*Have a lower incidence of abuse

I searched online today for over 3 hours, and made numerous phone calls trying to find a Doula. Jenny called me back about an hour after I called her. I immediately felt comfortable with her... and get this, she loves to talk just as much as I do!!! I had a hard time getting a word in edgewise... But I didn't mind... it wasn't annoying or anything... Shes very nice, personable, knowledgable, etc... So far I'm really happy with her, and all I've done is talk to her on the phone...

Right now the babies in there movin all around and kickin and stuff... It's such a neat thing...

Well, that's all I can think of for now... So I will write more when I think of it!!!

bye bye!!!

Poor Kitty :(

Our poor kitty has had a rough month....

It all started on a Sunday night when I noticed he had a sore on his belly about the size of a dime. I kinda forgot about the sore until Tuesday and then looked at it again. This time is was red, oozing, and very irritated. So first thing Wednesday morning I called the vet and they got him in that day (Sept 5th)

So the vet said it looked like a sore that he had licked and just rubbed raw. So they gave him a round of antibiotics and sent us home. That Friday the vet called to see how he was doing and I said he was still licking his sore. So they told me to bring him and they would put an E Collar on him. So I did. He had the collar on for a week. On Thursday night I took the collar off to see how he was doing (because the sore looked great) and of course he just opened it back up.

So on Friday back to the vet (Sept 21). At this point I noticed the sore almost 2 weeks ago. So the vet said that since he chewed it back open they would leave the collar on for 10 more days and do another check up (Oct 1st).

So on Oct 1st we took him back in. I thought the sore looked really good and was healing fine. The vet however disagreed and decided that they needed to cut the sore out. So Monday we left Mister at the vet and on Tuesday the 2nd the cut our his sore, nipple, and mammary gland (just to play it safe). They were originally going to just take the sore, but decided that if it was some kind of cancer it would go to the mammary gland and might as well take that too so they don't have to do another surgery if that's what it is.

Yesterday afternoon we got to pick the kitty up from the vet. I was so happy to see him and have him home. We've been keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't chew open his cut which is about 2.5 inches long. But so far he hasn't messed with it. They didn't put the collar on him because they don't thinkk he'll mess with it. But they gave me a collar just in case. So atleast I have something to put on him if necessary.

We're keeping an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't chew it open and so far so good. I'll take pictures and post them at another time.

Paul is on his way home... He's taking half a day today so he can work on the lawn some before they lay down the rest of the sod.

It was a nice suprise to know he was coming home early!!! Love him!!!

Poor kitty!!

Mandy

Baby Move 16wk1day

I think I felt the baby move this morning. I'm not sure if that's what it was though. It was like a little flutter on the left bellow my belly button. Felt a couple little (very faint) thumps. I've been laying really still trying to feel it again, and haven't had any luck. I know that it can take a few weeks to feel the baby move regularly. But now that I think I've felt it I don't want it to stop (if it's the baby I felt). I want to feel it all the time!!! lol...

I think I feel it again (every few minutes) but I dont know if that's "wishful thinking". Ya know, me making myself think I'm feeling something lol..

I just want to feel it allll the time!!!

I'm on too much of a baby high right now to do ups and downs... Will do later!!!

YAY!!!