So today I had my second level 2 u/s for Bear. Our new perinatology office would not accept the ultrasound from the first perinatology practice. Of course the first practice refused to let me schedule a perinatologist consult without a referral from my regular OB (who sent the paperwork twice and called three times). Ugh. So today first thing in the morning off to have an ultrasound, immediately followed by a consult with a MFM specialist.
For some reason I found this ultrasound harder. I was crying almost the entire time. Bear of course is perfect, no cardiac abnormalities, measuring a few days ahead of predicted, weighing in at 2 lbs. As an added bonus we also got some 3-D images, which I was completely not expecting. We have pictures of her crossing her ankles and some face pictures. Her face pictures look like she is laughing and smiling. Our happy baby! She looks a little like Grace, but mostly like herself. I think she may have Mark's nose.. we were both hoping she would have mine!
The consult was difficult. The MFM was compassionate, but some of his analogies were pretty awful. "A cord accident is like someone on the gallows, everything is perfect until the floor drops and the noose tighten"s... Wow I don't think I needed that image. Luckily he says that I am going great and so is Bear, he recommended once weekly NSTs starting at 31 weeks, and another ultrasound at 34 weeks, and basically that means we never really need to see him again. He advised against induction prior to 39 weeks and when Mark asked about waiting for natural labor, he felt that was a great idea, as long as we can psychologically handle it and I don't go longer than 41 weeks.
We also started private childbirth classes this week. It was really hard for Mark, but I did pretty well. I would rather be prepared and act like this is going to happen just as planned. I am also thinking again about hiring a Doula. At first I was completely set on one, then I thought I would rather it just be Mark and me and now I am not so sure again. Our childbirth educator is also a Doula so if we like her she would be a natural choice since she knows us and our history. She seemed pretty amazed that we had Grace without an epidural despite being induced and all the emotional trauma. I guess I am tougher than I thought.
Having had a doula for 3 out of my 4 births I highly recommend getting one!
ReplyDeleteChiming in for doula support here also. I've found ours to be great for the extra pregnancy support, and am looking forward to having that familiar face during the birth. Part of her role is making sure the midwives and other staff know we've had a stillbirth before, to save me from having to repeat it. DH really appreciates knowing that support will be there for him also.
ReplyDeleteI also didn't have an epidural for Jack's birth, just a little bit of gas which I think made me emotionally worse actually. People are always amazed that after we found out Jack had died we didn't go for c-section, never mind epidural! I think that birth process, feeling every part of it, was necessary for my grief and healing. You are tough. We are tough. We know at least that our bodies are perfectly capable of birthing, and that's a good thing to take into our forthcoming labours.