We saw the little flicker of a heart beat this morning and we breathed a huge sigh of relief. Husband seemed really pleased and excited. I was excited by still cautious.
My first concern is that we saw a heart beat with the last one and that didn't turn out so well in the end. My second concern is that the little guy only measured at 6w3d (4 days off). On the one hand, the resolution of their machine really sucks and the little guy could have been in the wrong plain of view to get an accurate crown-rump measurement. On the other hand, I seem to remember the first pregnancy to be measuring a few days off as well. The doctor didn't seem concerned at all and saw a beautiful thick placenta building up and a well formed yolk sac. In fact, I have never seen my doctor so optimistic.
In addition, I have been released from my doctor's care and have been encouraged to find an OB to care for me for the remainder of my gestation, however long that lasts (my doctors stopped delivering babies as of last July). So here's where I need some assvice from you all. It looks like we have two primary choices:
1. The first option is to go with the baby mill here in town. For now, we'll refer to them as O.G.A. The good thing is that they see a lot of births, they are in town, they consist of midwives and obstetricians, and all my local buddies have been very happy with them. The bad thing is that they are very large and sometimes referred to as 50-fingers because you see someone different every time you go in and have no idea who you will draw when it comes time to give birth. ( I should also mention that I have had bad experiences on the GYN side of their practice.)
2. The second option is to go with a practice that is 35 minutes away. My current doctor has nothing but good things to say about this doctor and midwife team. And other local women I have spoken to say the same. In the positive, I like the idea of getting to know the doctor and midwife that I will be having in the event of a full term and resulting birth. In the negative, I will have to drive 35 minutes each way for all the visits as well as the birth.
Thoughts?
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After over five years of being heavily medicated for my bipolar illness, I am just crazy enough to go off the meds and try to conceive. With a whole team of professionals monitoring my progress and an amazingly compassionate husband to catch me when I fall, I am ready to start trying to get pregnant. This is my journey through the insane process...
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- Nicole
- Crazyville, New York State, United States
- 30-something, over-educated, and bipolar crazy woman with a bicornuate uterus and a baby...Who'd a thunk it?
27 comments:
yea! i'm so happy to hear this. my ultrasounds have always had the +/- 4 days caveat. might this also apply to you?
i like option two. . . .with the addition of a doula that lives closer to you. i think it's so important to be able to develop relationships with your doc/midwife.
Congratulations! Yayyyy heartbeat!
Well, it depends on how creeped out you are by many different exams, but also on how you feel about having to re-explain your medical history every time you go in.
I hate repeating it all and inevitably you will.
On the other hand, your practice far away is a problem because you might get snowed in again this winter, right? Can you arrange for plowing if needed?
If you can get a plow service that can come in emergencies, and you the Doc 35 minutes away is good and respectful of your medical/mental issues, I vote for that practice.
Happy heartbeat!
And option 2 sounds like what I would choose in your shoes.
i know this won't help...but measuring samll in the beg. is common. But i would worry (likely needlessly) too. ; )
i would go to the fifty fingers place and then switch later on. they are weird about that later on, but my neighbor did that at 20 weeks. People drive all of the state to go to one of ATL's best hospitals.
Still excited for you.
Yay! Yay! Yay!
I say go meet the doctor and midwife team. If you like them and feel comfortable with them, don't worry about the driving part. It'll be worth it.
Yay! Yay! Yay!
And only a little jealous you've gotten to SEE your little alien. I haven't gotten to see mine yet!
I'm so excited for you!!! I'm glad you're keeping us updated!
I think you should go with Option #2, because that is what you REALLY want, correct? You gave a lot of reasons NOT to choose Option #1 (regarding the care), but the care of Option #2 was very positive, it was just the drive.
I drive 25 miles to work everyday...35 miles isn't so bad...
Well, I'm one of the "Option 1 was pretty good" people - but that was years ago, and I think I've seen the OB side of the practice exactly 4 times, none of which impressed me.
With your history, would you be likely to be rated "too high risk for the midwives?" If that's true and you're stuck with the OBs, I'd look around. You've heard my rant about the latest co-tenant they chose for their space, I'm sure.
Even if you could use the midwives throughout, know that they moved offices, and are now probably nearly 35 minutes away from you, anyway. Remember that the hospital that #1 has priveliges at requires hacking into town, down across town, and back up....
On the other hand, it sounds like practice #2 uses a different hospital?
Some of the decision needs to be based on how much importance you base on things like not wanting an IV, not wanting constant monitoring, how much you care about C-section rates, how much you care whether you get induced or not, etc. For all those things, Hospital #1 is almost certainly got a better track record. The Crunchy Site I lurk on affirms they're pretty much the best in the area for accepting birth plans, low C-section rate, having nurses who know which end of a boob goes in a baby's mouth, etc.
Not to sayt aht some of the other hospitals in the area aren't okay with that -- but there are a couple that are *really* set up to give everyone a very mechanized, medicalized, birth.... so I'd look into that as well. Though if your crunchy GPs like this practice, they're probably okay.
Now, if you want some referrals to homebirth midwives, I bet I can get you those ;)
Congratulations on seeing the heartbeat. What a happy occasion! It looks like you're getting lots of good suggestions re your ob care. I am going with a midwives group at the large U in my town. I can rotate through them during the pregnancy, hopefully meet most of them and then one of them will be on call when I deliver. I don't really have any strong feelings one way or the other so am probably not a great source of assvice on this subject
Congratulations and Yay!
I say go visit both and see what fits better and who answers questions better (both in tone and content). For those of us with...complicated?/detailed? medical histories I don't know if it's more important to have a doc who listens well or who really knows my history. I've usually just been so happy to find either.
Yay!
thoughts and prayers
Congrats on the heartbeat. Try not to worry, my measurements were off on ours at the first u/s.
And I would go with option 2. I would rather KNOW the doctor better than have one chosen at random!
wonderful news Nicole. and I vote for option 2, the Dr 35 minutes away, because you'll get continuity of care that you won't get if you see a different Dr every time you step inside the baby-mill.
Yay on the heartbeat.
I am torn on the choice question, and I think a big part of the answer would have to do with the hospital each practice is associated with. So if you are ok with both hospitals, going to see people in both practices before making up your mind might be a good idea.
Woo hoo! (Also, there WAS something else going on last time... so I sincerely hope it'll be fine.)
Depends how crazy the 35 minutes drive will make you. I'd go with option B, but I love midwives.
Ok...I am sorry I am late to find out about your good news! You must be thrilled I know I am for you! What a great thing! I look forward to following your progress! I personally would go for the one 35 mins away. but tha tis me. Hugs
Glad to here that things are going well. I'd say go where you feel comfortable. FYI my new blog is at
http://heretomaternity.wordpress.com/
as someone that works for a physician - always go with their recommendation so I'd do # 2. The other thing the big places - there is always a chance something falls through the crack if you see different people every time you do in
Yay heartbeat!
I'm for option two also w/ a doula. for most of the reasons listed already.
Well first of all I want to say YAAAAAAY!!! Awesome news sweetie, try and think good thoughts now. I think it's quite normal for littlies to measure a few days off to start with and as you say, could just be the machine.
I would go with option 2, i prefer to get to know someone and have faith in them and trust them, just my personal opinion. 35 minutes isn't so bad either...
congrats on the heartbeat.
Congrats, that is wonderful news! Let the obsessing begin :)
I drive 35 minutes to see my OB because I absolutely love, love, love her. I fully recommend going to a practice that has doctors that you like and have the same way of thinking when it comes to their care (hands off or hands on). Because being pregnant for the first time, especially after loss is terrifying sometimes and you want a doctor who isn't going to roll his/her eyes at you for coming in for every twinge, every ache or pain.
So, try them both out and see which one feels right to you.
make the drive weezer! I think it will help you to relax the more comfortable you are with your team and you need to be relaxed for your health and the babies. I probably saw my actual doctor 3 times while I was pregnant, 1 of those times being when I delivered and I feel jipped some how. i saw her more when I was going through fertility treatment then when I was pregnant with twins! The NPs were awesome but I would have felt more confident if I had a relationship with my doctor.
love ya, miss ya, rooting for you!
I say option 1, at least until after the winter. You can switch then. Hopefully things will be uneventful until then, so why switch now? Also, if something does happen, you have someone close by.
Can you make appts, knowing the doctors schedules?? Also, after a point, there aren't so many internal exams until later on.
Option 2...I live 1/2 hour from town so to me 35 min is not far at all, and if I want to go to the far side of town it's another 15 min.
As for the winter & snow it's part of life, arrange for someone that you could call to help out in a hurry. I live in Northern Ontario and to have 40 below and several feet of snow is kinda normal in the winter.
Sounds like option 1 stresses you out and you haven't even decided yet...remember...keep yourself comfortable...
Personally, I'd pick the baby mill, because, frankly, I have zero interest in establishing a relationship with an OB/MW. But it sounds like your heart telling you to go with option 2, so I think you should pick that one.
I have truly been gone way too long. That is so awesome that you are pregnant.
I wouldn't worry too much about the size as sometimes the baby is curled up or in a fetus position and so on.
When I was pregnant with my first child, I was due in July and when I went to the doctor's in June they measured me and said there is no way I was due in July and that I would be due in September because of the size of my belly and the size of the baby.
She was born in July!! And very health at that.
Hang in there!! I am so happy for you :)
Congratulations on seeing the heartbeat. I agree that the measurement is not all that precise so try not to worry. I too would like the option of knowing my ob and nurses well rather than never knowing who you are going to see. I vote for option 2.
i do have a babymill doc. well i wouldn;'t really call them that, but there do have something like 8 or 12 docs and i've seen them all by now. it has gotten a little frustrating at the end now that we have a complicated situation and sometimes i have to explain things over from the beginning, but i wouldn't trade the fact that they're 5 minutes away for anything. and as we've gotten closer to the end, they have me set up to see the same 1 or 2 docs more consistently.
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