When will you start prenatal care?

[Boobiemama]

I am only 4 weeks, so I know it is silly to go in so early. I am not sure how long to wait though.

When are you going to start going?

[Mama to Owen]

I'm 5 weeks and have a new midwife who I'm meeting with on Saturday. I feel like it's a little early, but I've had miscarriages, so they told me to come in. Also, because she's new to me, I wanted to establish the relationship early.

Okay, enough with the rationalizing. The truth is that I'm so excited to be pregnant that I just wanted to do "pregnant things." There. I said it!

[mraven721]

I was TTC and seeing an OB regularly with DS, so now I'm not sure. When is it normal to have your first appointment?

[savannah smiles]

I saw my ob last week to take a test there to have my pg "official." I go in on Monday for my first u/s. She suggested we do one early so I could see the heartbeat just to put my mind at ease since I had a m/c a couple of months ago.

[mama2gracie]

Originally Posted by Mama to Owen

Okay, enough with the rationalizing. The truth is that I'm so excited to be pregnant that I just wanted to do "pregnant things." There. I said it!

:LOL nothing wrong with that!! i am going to check out a birth center that is like 1 1/2 hours away and my dh can't go with me for a couple weeks because he's too busy at work. once i do that i will make a decision about where i am going and then make an appointment.

[mraven721]

I'm still debating the whole u/s thing, but I don't think I will do any.

[mraven721]

Moms of toddlers, what do you do with kiddos while at appointments?

[Boobiemama]

I know! I want to do the pregnant thing too!! LOL I am totally excited and wanted to make an appt right away, but I figured there really wasnt a point to do it so early.
I saw my dr last pregnancy at 7 weeks, he did an u/s and we saw the heartbeat and that was SO reassuring! So I will probly plan it at least then, if not a bit later. And I love my dr so much, i cant wait to go see him! LOL This is the first dr I actually want to go back to! He was just awesome. He delivers in a freestanding birth center here, and it was so cool to find a dr who would get on his knees to catch my baby in a waterbirth tub!

well i need a pregnancy verification for insurance, so i guess i'll do that tomorrow, that will be a bit of excitement!

[Boobiemama]

Last preg, I took my daughter with me. She was 16 months when I got preggo, and the dr and nurses were great about me holding hre while getting my pap, etc! lol she was really shy, so i had to hold her!

[My Three Boys]

Already started. Went in at 3 1/2 weeks to get bloodwork done (I'm five weeks now). I go in again next Friday for an U/S to check for a heartbeat just to put my mind at ease (after three m/c). After that, I'll wait until 9 or 10 weeks to go back.

Jennifer

[johnsmom04]

My OB does not see pregnant patients until 8 weeks. So I am going in at the end of June. I kinda like this hands-off approach for now. They will probably send me for an ultrasound at 10 weeks to date the pregnancy. Luckily I am still taking my prenatals since I am still nursing DS.

[EllasMama]

I've interviewed 3 sets of midwives, 2 of them before I was pregnant (I used the other with my first birth). All the midwives in my area will meet with you free of charge in a "getting to know you" session. They understand the need to "click" and feel comfortable before making your final choice, and the ones I've talked to were more than happy to answer any and all questions or just to chat.

I think I might use the midwife from my first birth and a new partner (the other midwife from my birth is taking a sabbatical so is not available), for various reasons. I met with her on Friday and she is having me come back for my first official prenatal at 9 or 10 weeks.

Prenatals with direct-entry midwives are so much fun, I really look forward to them! Plus my daughter will go to some with me and I can just see her taking over the measuring and trying to hear the baby's heartbeat with the fetoscope. Fun!

Carol

[Noah's mommy]

Here's my question...

I made an appt with an ob practice in two weeks. I also have been in touch with a midwife about the possibility of a homebirth. My son was induced and obviously born in a hospital setting but I feel like I want something different. Yet the idea of doing it at home seems scary-yet thrilling too. I think I'm worried I can't do it. I'm going to try to meet with the midwife soon. Can anyone offer any encouragement? This may be my last pregnancy and I really want to do it they I want-whatever that is.

[Dreaming]

.

[mama2gracie]

Originally Posted by Noah's mommy

I made an appt with an ob practice in two weeks. I also have been in touch with a midwife about the possibility of a homebirth. My son was induced and obviously born in a hospital setting but I feel like I want something different. Yet the idea of doing it at home seems scary-yet thrilling too. I think I'm worried I can't do it. I'm going to try to meet with the midwife soon. Can anyone offer any encouragement? This may be my last pregnancy and I really want to do it they I want-whatever that is.

i would meet with the midwife and address all of your concerns with her. she will be able to offer you encouragement, etc. but also, if you don't feel comfortable at home, then labor will be harder for you, so be sure you feel comfortable with whatever setting in which you decide to bith. have you thought of a free standing birth center? sometimes that is more middle of the road and a great choice for mamas not comfortable with homebirth. there are lots of mamas here who birth at home, so i'm sure they can answer questions too!

but like i said, i would be sure you talk with the midwife and ask her all of your questions - you need to feel comfortable with your attendant - no matter where you give birth. good luck!!!

[danav]

I'm 5w 2d and I went to see an OB this morning, to confirm the pregnancy (we have a surprise post-vasectomy baby!). He wants to do an ultrasound in 2 1/2 weeks to be sure of the dates, partly because he thought my uterus felt bigger than he expected for 5 weeks when he examined me. So I'm going on June 23 for that. I've never had an US so early before...I'm kind of excited about seeing the heart beat, I must admit!

I really liked this OB (he was very respectful of my opinions and is supportive of natural birth). But for my other pregnancies/births I used midwives at a free standing birth center and I LOVED it. I'm now living nearly 2 hrs away from them, though, and have a history of fast labors, so I'm looking for midwives in my area and considering home birth. I'd love to have a water birth (which this OB I saw this morning said he had never done but would maybe consider...).

When I was pg the second time, I took my toddler with me to all of my appointments and things were fine. This time, I think it will be harder if I have to take both of my kids with me...we'll see how that works out. Of course if I find a homebirth midwife who will come to me, all the better!

[Amys1st]

Well I am not officially preg yet- (find out on Wed or thurs when I would be due) but I know these signs since I can recognize them on my own this time.
Also DH sees things that have not happened since I was last prg.

I only hope the prgncy Gods have some humor this time and not make me sick and exhuasted for 12 weeks and leave the contractions until at least 37 weeks- I don't know how to fit in bedrest this time around

[EllasMama]

Noah's Mommy, I believe you can do it. I am a big, big pain wimp, but for some reason I believed in childbirth and my body enough to try a natural childbirth in a freestanding birth center with my first. My mom kept telling me I could never do it without drugs, and that it wasn't safe, but I did, and it was. In fact, there were several issues (including rupture of membranes with labor not starting for 14 hours afterward) that would have automatically made me "need" interventions had I been at a hospital. I didn't "need" pitocin...I just needed more time for labor to begin and move along at its own pace. Because I was with midwives an arbitrary 12-hour time limit was non-existent - most direct-entry midwives give you way more time (like 2 or 3 days instead of 12 hours).

Being loved and supported by midwives in a comfortable environment compared to the anonymity and sterility of the hospital environment is just night and day, so I really think it's worth thinking about and seeing if you can come to a place of comfort with it. For me I had to do research about the safety of out-of-hospital birth and natural childbirth before I could fully commit to the idea. It's good to ask yourself, "what am I really afraid of?" and then seek the answers to those questions. Also to ask the midwives you interview, "what emergency equipment do you bring to births? what will you do if_______" and so on. In addition to speaking with midwives, there are so many books that you could read to gather information. Some suggestions are:

Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
A Good Birth, A Safe Birth by Roberta Scaer and Diana Korte
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin (has great birth stories at the beginning of the book)
Birthing From Within by Pam England and Rob Horowitz

There are many other great titles, but you should be able to find some of these at your library or bookstore. I have to say, the most inspiring thing for me was the childbirth classes at my birth center - every class after we'd done our activities, moms who'd recently given birth would come and tell their birth stories. They weren't all picture-perfect, but most of the moms had natural childbirths with few if any complications. They were everywhere from 18 to 45, 100 pounds to 250, dark, light, PhDs to high school graduates and in-between. It gave me a very strong feeling that "if all these different kinds of women can do it, I can do it!" Hope that helps!

Warmly,
Carol

[fiandaca]

I will officially start my prenatal care next week (when I will be 5 weeks real/7 weeks obstetric). I have a hopsital HMO with a midwife there. I don't plan to stick with her, though. She's great, but I want to do a homebirth. I'm not sure why I'm starting with her . . . maybe because it's covered by my insurance and I don't have to shell out any extra money to start the process.

I went in earlier last time I was pregnant 'cause I figured they had some important info to give me. There wasn't much I didn't already know from my obsessive reading. Since that was just a few months ago, I am feeling pretty relaxed right now. I am really excited though and hoping to get an "everything's okay" summary from the hospital midwife so I can then start interviewing homebirth midwives.

Noah'sMommy, I, too, think you can pull off a homebirth. I've never given any kind of birth so I can't speak from experience, but I echo what others say about needing to believe in oneself and feel comfortable with one's choice. I first heard about modern homebirth from the friend/colleague of my partner who was planning one with her first preg. She began telling me about it and I immediately found myself fascinated and supportive. Over the next year or so I read a lot of books, including most of those mentioned by Ella'sMama. I'd also recommend Peggy Vincent's Chronicles of a Modern Midwife. I found it helped me to read stories of homebirths and see the commonalities in them and also the differences. It's given me a tremendous amount of confidence in myself.

This might be a weird thing to think/feel and to write, but another thing that has given me confidence in my ability to birth at home is the fact that I miscarried at home. My midwife says there are a lot of commonalities between laboring and miscarrying (but she also emphasized that it was not the same). While my experience only lasted about 2 hours and I'm sure wasn't nearly as painful or draining as labor, it did give me practice in surrendering to my body, dealing with contractions, etc., etc. I did it without painkillers, on my toilet and in my bathtub, with the supportive help of my partner. Well, I hope that wasn't TMI.