I am excited because apparently at 24 weeks the pregnancy is now considered "viable". At this point the baby is supposed to have a slightly higher than 50% chance of surviving if it was born at this point. Obviously I do not want the baby to be born for a few more months but it is still reassuring to know that I have reached this mini milestone!
Last weekend we had our 2nd prenatal class. It was 2 days and 9:30-4:30 each day. I was thinking it was going to be super long but I found the course really interesting and the time went by really fast. It was taught by a Doula and it is offered through http://www.ottawacea.com. We took the prenatal class for "midwifery clients". The class was held at the new birth centre and we got a tour of the birth centre as well.
The class was considered a "prenatal" class and was on topics such as the labour positions, stages of labour, pain management, breastfeeding, and it asked the parents to think about their needs after the baby is born. I found it really informative. I liked learning about what to expect during the different stages of labour, the different coping mechanisms, when to call your midwife, when to go to the birth place (if not a home birth), and what to expect from different pain relief options. I also really like how the course was presented. As I mentioned above, the course was taught by a doula who happened to mention that she had home births but she taught the course in a pretty neutral manner. Discussing hospital births, c-sections, and epidurals. I also felt that she didn't really present the information in a biased way or make you feel bad if you were considering having an epidural or hospital birth.
As I mentioned the class was for midwifery clients so I felt that more time was spent on natural methods such as natural pain relief versus narcotics or epidurals but that was because that is what the students were interested in. The school also offers regular prenatal classes (for those not with a midwife) as well as the Bringing the Baby Home class that we took a couple weeks ago. Overall, I really enjoyed the class and I even found out stuff in regards to where my husband stands on certain topics. I took lots of notes and I really think I will use the information later on during my pregnancy and during labour.
As I mentioned above, we took a tour of the birth centre and it is so nice. I love the rooms. They are like giant hotel rooms with a giant bath, shower, bed, sling hanging from the ceiling that you can use for different labour positions and even a nice living area with a fireplace. You would definitely get the "home" feeling without having a home birth. I also got to meet a couple of the birth attendants. They are there to help the midwives with getting tools and anything else they may need. In order to birth at the birth centre, you must be registered with a midwife and you also must pre-register ahead of time. I discussed it with my husband and we are now considering having the baby at the birth centre but there are a few things I want to discuss with my midwife before we make our final decision. We already pre-registered at the Civic hospital over the weekend so at least that paper work is done. I will talk to my midwife about also registering at the birth centre. Just because we register at the birth centre doesn't mean we are obligated to have the baby there but at least we will have the option.
A couple of months ago we signed up at the honest company for some free samples. In order to get the free samples I needed to sign up for their monthly package. I got the diaper and wipe package as well as a home care package. Anyway, the free samples came as expected but I was unable to cancel the package in time so the package I signed up for in order to get the free samples was sent the next month and of course I was charged for them. The thing is, I totally intended to cancel after the free samples came but of course you can't cancel online and the call centre is only open 9-5pm when people are at work. Stupid. Obviously people can't call when they actually think of it and then get distracted and forget about it. That is why I hate these type of scams. I really need to cancel before next month. I like the products but I find it way too expensive. Plus I plan to cloth diaper so I don't need all these disposables. I wanted a few for the first bit and to use maybe overnight or when we are out but I don't want all of these. Not to mention, when I ordered the free samples didn't know the gender so I got half girl and half boy diapers. Now I have 4 packages of diapers that are very girly.
I called to see if I could exchange them for boy diapers but the shipping fees and the international surcharge I would have been subject to made it way too expensive to exchange them. I have a friend who said that she would buy them off of me for a discounted price so I am happy that I will hopefully get some of my money back. Here are some pics of the diapers and wipes we got down below. The diapers are pretty cute!
I plan to keep the wipes, plain white diapers and the diapers with the orange and blue balloons but the pink diapers with the hearts and the chevron diapers are a bit too girly!
I also finally decided on a glider for the nursery. Originally, I really wanted one from Pottery Barn Kids but that was super pricey. Then I was thinking of one from Babies R'Us but I didn't love it and I couldn't find it in our local stores so I couldn't try it out in person or see the color in person.
Then I tried looking at Kiddytown because a friend found hers there but again the only one I liked was really expensive. Finally, I got an amazing tip from a friend who had a baby last year. She made a rocker out of an Ikea armchair. She got the idea from a blog and she forwarded me the blog post with the instructions. I love the look of the chair. It is super similar to the rocker from Pottery Barn Kids and so much cheaper! She said hers turned out good and it only took about an hour to make. I have a pic of the Ikea chair on my registry along with the matching ottoman which you can check out if you like. I am so excited about this project. I probably won't start it until after my baby shower in August but I will keep you posted on my progress!
So last Thursday I was at work and noticed a bit of spotting and it threw me into a bit of a panic. It happened right before lunch and I was in training that day. Anyway I tried calling my midwife clinic because I didn't have her pager number on me at work. The receptionist must have been on lunch because there was no answer for over an hour. I was talking to Mitch and decided to have him pick me up. He came right away but it is about a 1/2 drive from our house. By this time it was about 1:45pm. He offered to take me to the hospital but I decided to try my midwife again. I finally got through but the receptionist stated that my midwife was in a meeting until 2pm and could call me back later. Mitch decided to drive me over to the clinic. We got there slightly after 2pm and she saw me as soon as she was done with the client she was currently seeing. I was unsure of what she would do but she took the time to explain what could be causing the spotting and the various tests she could do. She checked for various infections, such as a UTI, did a full exam and listened to the babies heart rate on the doppler. Based on her physical exam and the heart rate she thought everything seemed fine. She also gave me a requisition for an ultrasound that she recommended I get this week coming up. I feel a lot better now so I am unsure if I will get the ultrasound...I feel like I have already had a few ultrasounds and I just don't think it is necessary at this point. Plus I know that the placenta is not on top of the cervix since that was confirmed at my 20 week ultrasound and she also confirmed that the cervix hasn't dilated...I will keep you posted on what I decide.
Overall, I was so happy with the level of service I got from my midwife. I was seen so quickly and I was glad I didn't have to wait at the hospital for 12 hours. I honestly feel that if I had an OB she wouldn't have seen me so fast because even if I did go to her directly instead of the hospital, there was supposedly a 1 1/2 hour wait for your usual appointment so I can imagine how long you would wait with NO appointment.
Anyway, again this makes me so thankful that I chose a midwife over an OB. My midwives are so amazing!
No comments:
Post a Comment