my first midwife appointment is today!

[Dandy Lion]

I'm so excited and nervous for my midwife to come over today. Hopefully we'll be able to hear a heartbeat today because I'm 10 weeks. I'm not really sure what to expect because I did the ob/hospital thing with my daughter. There was no housecleaning required for those appointments lol!

Also, I'm covered with bites, so I'm hoping she might be able to help me figure out what to do. They feel like mosquito bites, but at this point I haven't gone outside unless absolutely necessary for a week. I keep getting more and more, and I just can't figure out what's going on. I have checked for bed bugs and mites, and I'm not seeing any of the signs.

[Janel47]

How did it go?  My first appointment is tomorrow and I'm excited and nervous at the same time!

[RosieL]

I look forward to hearing how it went. I hope all was well. What was the appointment like?

[Dandy Lion]

Well they weren't able to find a heartbeat, so it was a little discouraging. They weren't worried at all though, and they did say I could go in for an ultrasound if I wanted, but they didn't see a reason to. They think my uterus is just tilted backwards, and they can't hear it through my pelvic bone. This is also why I'm really gassy in the evenings. I'm supposed to spend some good quality time on my elbows and knees and stop by their office next week for another check.

[SageR]

We couldn't find the heartbeat during my first two appointments for my last baby - that would have been 10 weeks and 14 weeks!  

Other than that disappointment did you enjoy the visit?  I hope you like them! I like my surgeon but I loved my midwife.

[Janel47]

I'm only half hoping to hear the heartbeat today.  I have a tilted uterus too and, like SageR, it didn't show up on the doppler until much later for DD2.  It was US confirmed at almost 16 wks because the doppler still couldn't pick it up! 

[Dandy Lion]

Thanks for the reassurance ladies. Intellectually I know that everything is probably okay, but emotionally it was still a huge let down to hear an eerie lack of heartbeat on the Doppler, I think part of the problem is that I've started feeling so much better over the past couple of weeks. Aside from my heartburn and weird itchy spots I'm feeling great. I'm embracing the symptoms I have though.

As far as the appointment, it was really nice. My midwife and the doula who is apprenticing with her to become a midwife came over to my house. We chatted for a while about my itchy spots, and we're thinking they are actually hives and not mosquito bites. My guess is they're from my dog touching her wet nose into my skin. Then we discussed how my symptoms have been. She didn't think I needed to do any blood work yet, especially where we're confident we're both RH-. We also discussed where I would do my labs and ultrasounds so they would be covered by my insurance. My prenatal care is 100% covered, but I have a $3000 deductible for the hospital, so it does work out to be less expensive to go through a midwife as long as everything goes well, and I get my insurance to pay for the extras. My midwife charges $3000 for everything. My midwives gave me some forms to fill out for my history and we discussed prenatal testing a little bit. We agreed that if you're not going to abort, there's really no reason to get yourself worked up waiting for results or possibly having a false positive. The lack of a heartbeat was actually a pretty good example of that. We also discussed my asthma a little bit and how I've been dealing with that. It was kinda weird to pee in a cup in my own bathroom, but at least my house was nice and clean!

My first appointment with my previous Dr. was mostly just gathering family history and doing labs, so this was a nice change. I feel like I got some really good advice about handling symptoms (like a little maneuver to get rid of heartburn, and the position to get rid of gas), and it was nice to not feel guilty about having questions because I'm taking up precious time.

[Janel47]

I'm glad you had a good appointment!  LOL... I cleaned like a maniac this morning too.  :)  I figure I can at least get a good cleaning in every month this way and hope nesting takes care of things when she comes for the birth.  :)  I did not get a heartbeat this morning either.  My midwife says it's really just a 50/50 chance of finding it at 10 wks anyhow.  I hope your hives get better!  Do you mind sharing your heartburn trick? 

[bcblondie]

Glad it went well. Sorry you didn't hear the HB though. I wouldn't worry, position of uterus has  a TON to do with it. I hear it at 8 weeks becuase my uterus sits right crammed up high against my abdomen. If it was way back or deep inside it's really hard to find.

My first midwife appt is tomorrow. Wow 3000 is expensive. Thank goodness everything's covered in canada!

[Dandy Lion]

The heartburn technique is a little hard to explain. You stick your thumbs up under your ribs below your sternum, and then push them towards your stomach. I tried it last night and it helped immediately. I'm sorry you weren't able to find a hb either Janel.

My hospital bills for my daughter's normal birth came to over $10,000 total last time. I was double insured though, so I didn't end up paying any of it. We started saving almost a year ago for this baby. If I need to transfer to the hospital I'll end up paying the $3000 to the midwife, and paying the first $3000 of hospital expenses to meet the deductible + 10% of the hospital expenses after that because my midwife isn't a preferred provider. I feel like we should be prepared financially to cover the out of pocket maximum just in case. Health insurance is ridiculous.

[Kyamo]

Originally Posted by Dandy Lion 

 I feel like I got some really good advice about handling symptoms (like a little maneuver to get rid of heartburn, and the position to get rid of gas), and it was nice to not feel guilty about having questions because I'm taking up precious time.

Could you share the gas trick too?

[Dandy Lion]

I got to hear a heartbeat yesterday. Absolutely the best sound ever!