23 Weeks

Dave and I finally switched doctors. We met with a midwife at St. Mary's Hospital and we fell completely in love with her and the whole midwife practice. There are four midwives and they deliver at a birthing center within the hospital. We have wanted to switch since we found out we were pregnant but didn't know where to go because we weren't entirely sure of our birth plan yet. But now we know that we want to deliver in a hospital so that I will be less scared but we did not want to deliver with a doctor unless there was an actual need for it. Our problem is that we felt we couldn't trust that our original OB would only push Pitocin and/or Cesarian if it became medically necessary rather than simply more convenient. I also really want a water birth and though the hospital offered that, my doctor refused. She made it clear to us that she was not much interested in what we wanted and she simply did not hear me when I tried to explain to her what was important to us. The midwives can and want to give us everything we want. They offer both water labor and delivery, the rooms are enormous and I can have as many or as few people in the room as I wish, they can turn the lights down for me and put on any music I want, they offer birthing balls - they will not step in unless I want them to or they need to, and Padma will stay in my room until we leave the hospital - she won't have to be sent to sent to the nursery. I feel so much better about everything now. I recognize that I cannot pin my hopes on my birth plan working out - I know that things happen - but it is nice that I can trust the midwives to adhere to my plan unless it is medically necessary to do otherwise.

My internet is being nuisance and so pictures will have to wait until next time...