I got a midwife!

[sanguine_speed]

Around here, getting a midwife is not a guarantee because midwives are covered by provincial health insurance (i.e. everyone who is a permanent resident or citizen is covered and has no copay or out-of-pocket expense upon receiving care). There is more demand than there are available midwives. Anyway, I got a call from the group I was hoping to hear from, and I got a great midwife! She co-authored the British Medical Journal study on homebirth that was recently published, and a good friend of mine works for her now. I'm just very excited. We have our first appointment next week.

[flapjack]

:)

[stacyg]

Awesome!!!

[kJad29]

Just crashing to say Congratulations on finding a midwife!!!!

[pianojazzgirl]

That's great! When I was pg with dd I put my name on the list for a midwife when I was 6wks pg and never got called back!

[cbmr777]

:clap Congrats! I bet your mind is put at ease!!

[go4it]

How great? Are you in Ontario...?
(I am)

[Brisen]

That's great, and a relief I'm sure.

I got in no prob with my second (didn't know there *were* mws w/my first :o ) but by the time I had my third, I was making sure to call as soon as I got a positive test, even though we were out of town, because I had heard about how scarce they can be. (I'm in Ontario.)

[mrsfatty]

awesome--congrats!!!

[HeatherB]

Yay! Definitley great news! Congrats!

[sanguine_speed]

How great? Are you in Ontario...?
(I am)

Yes, Ottawa. You?

[go4it]

Toronto. Dh's family is in Ottawa.
It is crazy here, too, getting a mw. I guess I will have to bite the bullet and make an appt SOON. I just have sad memories of having to cancel... TWICE...

[Broccolilover]

hey canuks

i'm in toronto too! and i just got a midwife!
go4it you really should call because i almost didn't get one and i know someone who didn't get a midwife untill she 6 months pg (wait list).
sanguine_speed congrats!

[takebirthback]

thats fantastic!

[Cujobunny]

Crashing your DDC....

I'm in Toronto too but I had no problem getting a midwife... I didn't even know that people had problems finding one.

[go4it]

Hey, Amanda and Broc! Whereabouts are you? Which practices are your mw's in?

I just called my old midwives, Kensington Midwives downtown (College & Spadina). They came when dd2 was born. Anyway, my first appt is in 2 weeks - I can't believe it!

Hope baby sticks around to see the mw this time... it'll be the first time seeing her since my 6wpp visit. I'll be bringing along dd2 to meet her also: now a walking, talking almost-2yo!!!

[Jennifer3141]

Congrats on finding a great midwife!

[MichelleW]

i've got one too!
I'm in British Columbia, but same situation as in Ontario -- they go super fast and not much 'choice' (cause you are apparently 'lucky' to just have one), so you hope that you don't have a MEDwife. But yeah, I am with a group that sounds very good & I have my intake appt later today!!!

Congrats to those who are successful in getting the kind of provider they want!

[sanguine_speed]

so you hope that you don't have a MEDwife.

I had one of those last time.


Fortunately, I know people who have had babies with the support of this particular midwife and I feel that i've really lucked out. Actually, just last night one of those friends said she is the the last midwife in town who would ever be called a MEDwife.
I meet her tomorrow!!!!

[go4it]

All the ones here that I've met with are super, not just in "our" practice. I did an article on mwifery last year and I think most are terrific. Anyone who gives you a 45-minute to 1-hour appt just to sit and chat is okay in my book...
We need a lot MORE - that's the only problem with mw's here...
If I still have my health left when my children are up & out :lol , I hope to go back to school to become a mw. What a privilege!

[Broccolilover]

Hey, Amanda and Broc! Whereabouts are you? Which practices are your mw's in?

I just called my old midwives, Kensington Midwives downtown (College & Spadina). They came when dd2 was born. Anyway, my first appt is in 2 weeks - I can't believe it!


kensington midwives is where i'm going too! my first appointment is feb 5th.
it is not the closest practice to me, but it sounds like a great excuse to go to the market once a month.:lol

[go4it]

Hey! They're all good! Did they tell you who you're meeting with on the 5th? Mine's the 6th with Pam, but I met some of the others in my last pregnancy. Like every practice, all the mw's are crazy-busy, and so are the support people, but everyone is SO helpful...!

[Broccolilover]

i think her name is elaine.
are you going to use a doula? if so do you have one?
last time my midwife was really tired and ended up being totally useless and i ended up with c section :(
so this time i want a doula

[go4it]

I think Elaine is Pam's partner now, but maybe not.

I suspect there is a lot of burnout in mwifery, maybe not just here, but maybe here bc there is SO much pressure and it's so hard to get anyone to deliver a baby.

One of our mw's kind of "dropped out" of the practice without notice the week before I had my baby. She was kind of bizarre anyway - dh didn't like her as much, so it worked out okay. It meant we got all our care with a single mw, which doesn't always happen.

I don't think we're doing doula, mostly bc of money. I believe in them very strongly (see my posts to the doula thread here), though, and think they can be a lot of good.

Were you trying for a hb last time? I wanted a hospital but dd2 preferred to arrive safe & sound at home!!! :-)))
So if I make it that far along, we will probably need a plan in place for hb "just in case".

Anyway, enjoy your visit - less than two weeks to wait!

[Broccolilover]

the burnt out midwife thing is such a shame. my last midwife gave me amazing pre and post natal care, it was so disappointing when she pooped out for the birth.
i was planing planing a home water birth. dh was filling the tub when meconium(sp?) showed up, so to the hospital we went.
this time we live so close to st. joe's that last minute decisions will be ok, since we won't have to worry about traffic.

[unityco]

It's nice to see there are so many Ontario moms with MW care here! We managed to get one again too (we're with Riverdale Midwives - as we were with our first.) Congrats to all on winning the midwife lottery!

[go4it]

this time we live so close to st. joe's that last minute decisions will be ok, since we won't have to worry about traffic.

We were SOooo far from St Joe's last time, and not much closer now! BUT we were only a few blocks from our mw's house - that was VERY reassuring and in fact ended up being handy bc she'd stop by to check the baby on her way home from work instead of me having to hike downtown.

Anyway, dd2 was a winter baby so I made dh test-drive the route a couple of times just for practice... didn't end up needing it. :-)))

[Broccolilover]

unityco congrats on the midwife!

go4it you are so lucky for your labour to have gone so quick. are going to plan a homebirth the time or just hope thing happen the same way?

[Baby Makes 4]

Congratulations!

I am in BC where there is a similar situation. We are currently TTC and I have my old midwives' phone nu,ber waiting by the phone. I'll call as soon as I get my BFP.

[go4it]

go4it you are so lucky for your labour to have gone so quick. are going to plan a homebirth the time or just hope thing happen the same way?

I think hb will be the "backup" plan but we will see... I keep thinking I am too chicken for a hb, but then I remember I survived last time. Again, we will see.

BUT I came to post this, an email I just got out of the blue from my mw. I am practically crying...
Hi Jennifer,

Really looking forward to seeing you and catching up over the next 10 months….
:crying
Like I said, I am almost in tears and praying this baby sticks around, if only so I can work with this wonderful lady again... :-)

BM4: The only reason I didn't call the second I got my bfp is bc I did that the first two times I got a bfp... and then lost the baby and had to cancel. Oy was that hard. :-(((

[Akkan]

:(

[go4it]

Welcome, Sara! I guess you're not in TO or don't want to say... ?

Hey, BrocLover :broc: - if you're still reading this thread - enjoy your appointment on Monday!

I have been having bad premonitions about this pregnancy :-( ...but still hoping to hang in there until my appt on Tues.

[Broccolilover]

hello ladies
just writing to let you know my appointment went great!
i was just a introduction to see if we click and i think we did.
my next appointment is in three weeks, hopefully we will hear the heart beat.

go4it i hope your appointment went well, i think we will be share the same team. i saw elaine and i think you said that you were seeing pam. i can't wait to hear about.

[go4it]

Heya! I actually started a whole new thread asking how your appt went...! Scroll down to see how pathetically unanswered it is... :-)))

Anyway, I met Pam yesterday, had my u/s today. Whoo-hoo! Right on track! I was SOooo worried. Anyway, I meet with Elaine next time for my basic preggo physical.

They moved offices! I think they were on the same floor but in a smaller space; this one is WAY nicer, although I mucked up the nice floor with dd's stroller wheels... :-)

Let us be considerate to our wonderful team of mw's and not give birth at the exact same moment... :-)))

[Broccolilover]

Let us be considerate to our wonderful team of mw's and not give birth at the exact same moment... :-)))

i think that is great idea.:wink
we will have to keep in touch and make sure there is at least 48 hours between our birth.:lol
when is you next appointment? mine is on the 26th.

[go4it]

I think the 19th, to meet Elaine. You'll meet Pam next time?
I'm surprised they wanted me back so soon bc I'm used to basically once a month until the last trimester...

[sanguine_speed]

My first appt was at 9 1/2 weeks, and I'm not going back until 16 or 17 weeks.

[Broccolilover]

well the first appointment was just a meet and great. my next appointment is physical and hopefully we will hear the heart beat. i will be 9 weeks, and i believe it will be with elaine again.

[Brisen]

Am I the only one going with Community Midwives of Toronto?

(I'm due in early Oct, but have always gone early, so I'm betting I'll have a Sept babe... nice excuse to hang out in two DDC! :lol )

[go4it]

Brisen: So far, you're the only one!...Maybe that's a good sign; you'll have them all to yourselves, not have to cross your legs to slow down labour like Broc (do you have a real name? I feel stupid calling a grown woman Broccoli!) & I will when it starts at the very same moment!

[sanguine_speed]

well the first appointment was just a meet and great. my next appointment is physical and hopefully we will hear the heart beat. i will be 9 weeks, and i believe it will be with elaine again.

My first was a meet and greet too.
What kind of physical would they do at an early midwife visit?

[Broccolilover]

i think it is mostly blood work and swabs, ruling std's.
also a weigh in, blood pressure and hopefully get a listen :heartbeat .
and my name is deborah :)

[sanguine_speed]

i think it is mostly blood work and swabs, ruling std's.
also a weigh in, blood pressure and hopefully get a listen :heartbeat .
and my name is deborah :)

I guess things go differently here! The bloodwork is done at a lab, no swabs (of what?) and we don't get weighed. Blood pressure will be done at 16-18 week visit.

Interesting!

[go4it]

Yeah, actually my bloodwork was done offsite. I think it's a basic obstetric history, complications in previous pregnancies, deliveries, etc.

If you've never had a mw before, they may explain the rules for transfer of care, which seem pretty strict. Like, they cannot attempt breech delivery, and certain other conditions during pregnancy may require xfer to an Ob.

They explain how the practice works, set you up with pager #'s, tell you when to call if you're concerned.

I dunno what else. I guess they find out what prenatal screens you're interested in, and start talking about options & support system for the birth.

Oh - I think weighing-in is optional... I don't think they ever asked me my weight and I said I wasn't interested in weighing in regularly.

I remember most of my mw visits as being distinctly NON-medical in nature. We mostly chatted the whole time. Nice!

[Broccolilover]

i guess every mw clinic is different.
my last one they took the blood on site (which was nice not having to make an extra stop) and they were pretty paranoid about std's, there was no reasoning for it they said they were like that with everyone. :shrug

[Brisen]

Brisen: So far, you're the only one!...Maybe that's a good sign; you'll have them all to yourselves, not have to cross your legs to slow down labour like Broc (do you have a real name? I feel stupid calling a grown woman Broccoli!) & I will when it starts at the very same moment!

:lol

For bloodwork -- I think it just depends on how their office is set up. At my fam doc, they have a blood lab place next door, so she would write up an order and send me over. The first MW group I was with (Womancare, in London) did the blood work there. The next (Thames Valley Midwives, also in London) was in a small medical building which had a blood lab on site, so I went to that room for the blood draws. I'm hoping that Community Midwives does it on site.

And ugh, I just realized that we want to move soon. On the one hand, it might be better to move after the baby is born, as dh will be taking parental leave and he'll be able to do the packing and such, but all of the places we've looked at are out of the catchment area for Community Midwives. I don't want to lose my care halfway through my pg.

[sanguine_speed]

:lol

And ugh, I just realized that we want to move soon. On the one hand, it might be better to move after the baby is born, as dh will be taking parental leave and he'll be able to do the packing and such, but all of the places we've looked at are out of the catchment area for Community Midwives. I don't want to lose my care halfway through my pg.


We're thinking of moving this summer. It's this summer, or not for another year because I can't imagine moving with a newborn and 2 other youngsters.

[Brisen]

Yeah, I figure it will be hard moving with a newborn and the other kids underfoot... but, dh can take up to 9 months of parental leave, and I think that, in the end, it would be easier for us to move when he is at home all the time to do the packing and stuff, than for me to do all of the packing while he's at work and I'm pg and tired. With M, he took off 6 months -- we were living in a townhouse and he tore out the kitchen and downstairs bathroom a week before M was born, and spent most of the rest of his time off renovating. I had no idea he was starting this; he did the tearing out while I was visiting my parents with the kids. We found out when we opened the door and our house looked like a war zone. Luckily the fridge was still plugged in, but we had no stove, just the microwave in the basement, and the laundry tub for water and a place to wash dishes. When M was born, the washer was unhooked, the dryer hadn't been working for months anyway, and the microwave decided to die when the midwives tried to heat up water for the herbal bath. :lol So, I don't think moving with dh around to do the work will be too bad.