Steph- That is odd... My guess is that his practice is full and he can't take on new patients that will be extremely time consuming.
We use a family practice doc. that I love. He is really really wonderful. I feel like we kinda tricked him though. He took me on when I was pg w/ ds1 just as my backup dr. with the idea that he would take ds when he was born. I asked if he would take dh as well and he was a little hesitant as his practice was full and he didn't want anyone too high maintenance... told him we were all healthy and rarely went in, etc. Well it has been 10 yrs and dh has developed a rare but severe form of arthritis (psoriatic arthritis) and has to be monitored closely w/ lots of referrals, dh also has been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, etc. etc. etc. we have 4 kids soon to be 5 and 3 of which have sensory processing disorder and all 3 need OT, 2 need PT which comes with regular referral forms, etc. Anyways he is wonderful and has been great for our family but I can see why a dr. might not want to take on too much:).
Sue- That would freak me out!! I would NOT be ok with dh being gone and unreachable when I was that close BUT I know that I personally would not go into labor if I knew he could not be reached. That has happened with my mw on several ocassions (I just wait till she is back in town like literally plane hitting the tarmac kind of thing:)). I hope it works out for you guys and that you don't stress too much about it. I am glad you have a doula though. Hopefully that will ease your mind a little.
Karli- Yeah for signing on the house!!! Boo for the sellers being butt heads.
Leiahs- glad your daughter is doing well. Sound like quite the bruiser (I have one of those:), tough as a nails).
Glad you are getting organized. Sounds like the type of nesting i am doing. I cleaned out both of the kids bedrooms and ours as well (only 1/2 of our closet though bcs I ran out of time and haven't gotten back too it). That will at least give some space to put baby stuff when I am ready, it is all part of the process i guess.
Kids at the birth- I have had my kids at the birth and am a firm believer of it. It is a really really wonderful introduction to natural peaceful childbirth and a great way to introduce the baby to the family. I was a nanny for 12 yrs to 2 wonderful girls. We chose not to have them at my first birth as they were 3 and 6 and I had no idea what birth was like myself. It worked out well as I ended up transfering and that would have been hard. After that I knew how I labored and they have been at all of my live births since.
Birth of ds 2 the kids were 8, 5, and not quite 2. The birth was fast and the kids weren't there long before ds2 was born. No issues with boredom or them getting in the way. The oldest mentioned to someone that she was at the birth and they said weren't you scared. She looked very blankly at them and said at what? It was great.
Birth of ds 3 the kids were 10, 7, 4, 2. the birth was a little longer and kids started getting restless. They each had a turn in the birthing tub with me (1 at a time) and my brother took them in the other room and entertained them for a while. They were all around the tub when he was born. His cord ruptured right at birth the kids were asked to back up they all did (no one knew anything was wrong although the oldest wondered why the mw was kissing the baby).
Birth of dd1 the kids were 12, 9, 6, 4,2,. Pretty much same scenario. they are free to come and go as they wish. This was through the night though so my 6 and 4 yr old slept right till we woke them. the 2 yr old was up but hung out with me in the tub and didn't bother me at all and then watched a movie for a bit.
The kids don't bother me while I am in labor. I am comforted by their presence. Actually the mw had them leave at one point (I think it was with ds3, not sure) and my labor vertually stopped, she called the kids back in and boom full blown back in action:). I also find that they know that mommy is busy, they just don't demand anything from me. (I am definately in my zone).
Things I have done (at least variations) for the births to prepare are:
the kids help me to prepare birth kits. They each have their own bags and in the bags are a variety of things such as waterproof camera, disposable camera (get one w/out a flash as the flash gets a bit annoying), swim suits, bathrobes, towels, etc. Birthing shirts (last time the girls got m/w in training shirts and the boys got big brother of a homebirthed baby shirts). One of the births the kids made candles that they got to light during the labor. Oh, notebooks and pencils for documenting the birth, coloring, etc. An activity bag might be good too if you are having someone watch them that is not familiar with your home. It is very important that you have a designated kiddie wrangler so that you dh and the mw can do your thing.
That is just what has worked for us and I am looking forward to it again.
The kids were really dissapointed that they couldn't be there last time. In reality it would have been just fine but I didn't know how it was going to go or what the baby would look like at 17 wks (or less). So we are all looking forward to welcoming the baby in this way.
Yellowdart- baby blankets, uggggg. We have way too many. People always give babies blankets and it really isn't that cold here. I find that 1 or 2 nice fleece type ones and a handful of receiving blankets are all we need. BUT people still keep giving us blankets. You will most likely end up with plenty.
Lifeguard- glad the trek is going well. Pool time is always fun. Hope you have a great visit with your friends.
AFM- I have been sooooooooo tired. I am napping every day. I just am wiped out. Also, I have thrush again and it is really bad this time so the nursing is killing me and I am so swampy, etc. in my crotch, it is really uncomfortable. I have absolute no sex drive at all (poor dh) I am just so swolen down there and so exhausted.
The last few days I started having uterine tightening again (hoping it is bh but this is exactly how it started a few months abo when I got diagnosed w/ bv and was put on antibiotics and bed rest) hoping I don't have to go in again and that things mellow out soon. This is not normal for me so totally sucks and makes me really really worried.
My big kids have been in school a few weeks. I handled the sanitizer issue by just not buying it and sending my kids in w/ their own personal one that I prefer they use. I really don't want them using alcohol based sanitizer as they both really can't keep their hands out of their mouths. They are hardly ever sick so I figure what we do works, and I just want to stick with that. Also, I talked with the principle and we didn't provide supplies like copy paper, etc and just got the supplies that my kids would use in the classroom. If they run out mid yr then I can come up with the $$ then but it was just too much.
Ds3 started prek today and he loved it. I don't know how impressed I am with it but we will see. He gets to take the bus tomorrow and is really excited.
I am starting to come up with a baby to do list in my head so that is a start. I know we need our halloween costumes soon so I need to get a move on that first. We do a family theme every year and this yr it is scooby doo. Got to find a sub sandwich costume for the baby:)
I can't believe things are moving right along. Only about 8 wks left for me. I am really hopeful although nervous but I really am excited to meet my lo.
)
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