Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Fat, acne, cysts & much more good stuff

So this part of pregnancy – not the most fun. I am in the fat stage so no one can tell I am pregnant although people keep telling me I look it from the side. My dad was nice enough to point out that you can really tell above my belly button. Thanks dad, the baby is way lower, that is just fat. Ugh!! He & I have a long history of him insulting my weight, but that is another blog entirely.

Maternity clothes are still being phased in. I really need to get them in my closet so I will wear them. I have some that I bought online 2.5 yrs ago. They smell horrible from the chemicals so I am hoping that some tricks I found on the internet will help get the smell out. I am wearing some elastic pants today that just aren’t cutting it this afternoon. I can’t wait to go home and put on comfy clothes.

The acne is getting worse as well. I feel like I am in junior high again. It is gross and ugly looking. I can’t believe this is happening now. Nothing the first trimester & now they are all over. I really do feel like a fat teenager again.

I think my biggest pain (literally) right now is a cyst I have on my stomach from the Hep.arin shots. It burns and hurts like nothing else and it is right where my waste band sits. The shots are starting to get worse for sure. I have to stick myself 3-4 times before I find a place the needle will go in. That is what happened with the cyst. I tried to go thru it which just made it feel worse. Hot water bottle seems to have helped last night. Rich is doing the injections in the back of my arm now to give my stomach & thighs a break. I was trying to wait for sure for long sleeve weather, but desperate times called for this measure. Rich said the shots aren’t that bad, not like the huge HC.G shots he had to give me. The shots just burn somewhat in my arm.

But the exciting thing is that I am pretty sure I felt movement today. It was so cool!!! Felt like a few quick thumps I guess. Kind of like a muscle twitch. I am 15.5 wks today. We also have been hearing Cletus’ heartbeat with our “borrowed” Doppler. I really want to get one as it is so cool to be able to hear that whenever we want. The heartbeat has been pretty easy to find & has been consistently in the 150 range. Rich even found it the other night. Last night it was higher on my belly than the nights before. That means Cletus is growing good.

The biggest thing is that I am considering switching doctors. I am just not happy with Dr. T since he did the LEEP surgery & after his stupid comment at my first prenatal visit, I am not sure he is the one for me any longer. I don’t think he will be happy with what I want to do for the birth. I am going to interview 2 other doctors that have been recommended to me & see what they have to say. Then I will talk to Dr. T about the same things & go with who I feel most comfortable with and who is in most agreement with what I would like the birth to be like. Rich told me I am not crazy for switching Dr. He told me I need to feel comfortable & good about the Dr who will deliver Cletus. I shouldn’t dread my prenatal appt or be crabby about going or filling out the paperwork. Evidently I need to decide soon since Dr. T’s office already sent me the pre-birth payment plan for my delivery. My first payment is due this month & has to be paid 90 days in advance. I don’t plan on making any payments until we decide who we are definitely going with. Hopefully this is the right decision as well. If anyone has any advice or suggestions on switching Dr during pregnancy or what to ask, please feel free to comment or e-mail me.

2 comments:

Val said...

Pre-birth payment plan??? Is that common? When I asked everyone I could think of about cost, no one said anything like that.

Also, everyone always says not to worry about the doctor--that the nurse is the one who is with you the most during delivery. This is true. However, if any crisis should pop up or if your birthing plan changes during labor, you want someone you trust and feel comfortable with. If you're already questioning this guy, I'd switch.

Been a long week and I never wrote to thank you for babysitting last week. Adam and I had an awesome time that night and we really really appreciate your help. Can't wait to return the favors!

MrsSpock said...

I would interview several, being sure to ask them what their common practices are. Some docs have 95% episiotomy rates, some meet the WHO guidelines of being less than 10%. Some older docs snip everyone, despite current evidence that shows it to be downright harmful. Some docs are low intervention (not putting in invasive fetal heartrate and contraction monitors unless necessary). I've worked with a couple groups that induce practically everyone, break the waters once you are 2 cm, then have the nurse place a fetal scalp electrode (basically a tiny screw that is screwed into the child's scalp) and an internal contraction monitor. Ask what reasons they would use for inducing you. High blood pressure, a failed non-stress test, pretty good reasons. Because they are going on vacation, or at the mother's request- not so good. Pitocin has risks to you and baby. It increases pain in labor. Benefits should outweigh risk. And inductions fail and can lead to sections.

Ask what their VBAC rates are after a C-section. Folks that are discouraging of VBACs are probably more inclined to make decisions based on fear of being sued, rather than medical evidence. They may not have much patience or faith in women's bodies. Ask how long their typical non-emergency C-section takes. If they say 20-30 minutes, run like hell. If they say 45-60 minutes, they are probably using good technique. When I worked L & D there were a few of the younger docs who were all about speed. They used maybe 5 packs of suture. The other docs would shake their heads and say "that's a uterine rupture waiting to happen". None of us nurses would go see the Speedy Gonzales types. There were two groups of docs the whole unit saw, who were known to be methodical, careful, and used 10 packs of suture.