first OB appt

 There were pros and cons but i'll start with the cons since there were fewer of them

-the office was a little tricky to find

-it was pouring rain, i had to pay for street parking with those dumb machines. i put in an hour, my appt was at 9am. i got till 10am in parking time. i come into the office and my hoodie is soaked and so am i. and its freezing in there. not a good start.

-they kept me waiting for 40 min

-one of the girls in scrubs took my blood. the weird thing is, no blood came out. thats never happened to me before. she tried both arms. it was painful. i hate giving blood. i felt like a pin cushion. she said its because i hadn't had any liquids (i just rolled out of bed and came to my appt) so i was probably dehydrated. whew knew that could happen? next time i know to be hydrated. they ended up *****ing me a 3rd time right before i left and that one worked. but sheesh.

-i had to leave after i gave blood to put more money in the meter since i had only put an hours woth and it was almost 10:30

-i ended up getting out of my 9am appt at 11am. i feel sorry for whoever had a 9:30 appt.

-the paperwork i signed at the begining stated in bold letters that they do not believe in hypnobirthing and that they will not in any cir****tances deal with a doula or birth coach. WOW. really? that was a real turn off for me. this to me screams, you're gonna end up with a c-section.

all in all except for the last one none of these cons were really that big of a deal or an inconvinience. 

Pros:

-the office is nice and big and comfortable. 
-the staff are nice
- i liked that they were so attentive. they ran tests, took my weight, blood pressure, dr. asked me questions about my past (including pcos, wls, etc). they even gave me a bag of goodies (diaper samples, cord blood pamphlet, etc) which was nice

-the dr. spoke with me in his office, asked questions. i was hesitant bc i've never had a male gyno and i'm more comfortable with females but i guess having a male RE prepared me. he was really nice. older jewish man. he seemed to really listen to my answers which was so refreshing. we talked about WLS and he asked which i got, i said the sleeve and he said how the sleeve was the best one. he was very positive about it. 

-another thing he said that made me feel good was, if you gain 20lbs then you haven't gained any fat because the baby, amniotic fluid, placenta, and swelling in your breasts is about 24lbs. and you'll lose that about 2 weeks after giving birth. i was just like...wow..what a change. it was so positive. instead of making me feel bad for already gaining like 8lbs in 11 weeks he made me feel like its ok. its nice to have a cushion. i'll try to stay under 20lbs. he just said, you know get some exercise (which i'll be honest, i haven't. i've been so lazy and just wanna lay down) and eat high protein low salt, low sugar. he didn't ask me what i've been eating so i don't feel like i have to confess anything. but just a general guide, like, you know try to eat well. which i appreciated.

-we didn't just talk. i thought it was gonna be that kind of appt. but it wasn't. he gave me a papsmear, checked my breasts. it was an all inclusive appt which i REALLY appreciate. its what i wanted. i wanted to get the ball rolling on this thing. 

so here's where i am right now. i really like this doctor. i definitely feel comfortable with him.  i'm going in to a diagnostic center next week to get screened for down syndrome. and best of all i get to see my baby again!! woohoo!!! this sonogram pic is the one i'm gonna print out to give to the new grandparents when i reveal my pregnancy on my bday june 2nd!!! ahhh!! so exciting!! i'm very happy with the level of care i get here. its what i was looking for.

but....i still want to check out he birthing center. was supposed to go today but our car battery died. so that will have to wait. i wish i could just get all my care with the OB and just have my delivery at the birthing center. is that possible? sigh....why do things have to be all one way or the other??

i don't go back to the OB's office till 16weeks when i find out the sex of the baby. so exciting!! i'm so relieved to have found someone i like. whew! i was getting worried.


side note: grr they keep changing my due date! first it was 12/10 which meant every monday started a new week of pregnancy. which was great. then when i went in for an ultrasound at the RE they made it wednesdays. and my due date was 12/12. now the OB goes back to the paperwork from the RE (i guess the older papers) and says i'm 12/10 again. this is so confusing. i know its not exact but i like knowing when i'm starting a new week. its an exciting milestone to me.

aww glad you like him. I just went to my first appt (but I was only 5 weeks) and met with the nurse to do background screening...so I wont know if I really even like my doctor until the 20th when I get an ultrasound and have my first real appt. I am currently almost 7 weeks along and cannot wait to see my bean =)

 is this your first pregnancy?

no, it will be my second. My little boy will be 5 in August. What about you?

 oh ok so you kind of know what to expect. this is my first :) the other day i was explaining how amazing it is to see your baby in an ultrasound to a mom who already had kids. lol. i felt like a dumbass. lol thats why i asked. still that doesn't make it any less exciting!!

-the paperwork i signed at the begining stated in bold letters that they do not believe in hypnobirthing and that they will not in any cir****tances deal with a doula or birth coach. WOW. really? that was a real turn off for me. this to me screams, you're gonna end up with a c-section.

Honey, don't fret - it's not a sentence for a c-section! I didn't have a doula or birth coach, just had a regular OB/GYN, and I delivered vaginally just fine. I think you've mentioned you want a waterbirth, though, and THAT you will actually have to check with the hospital. The one I delivered at did not have tubs, but I know another nearby does (but my OB only delivered at the one I went to). I didn't want a waterbirth because I knew I wanted an epidural, so it wasn't a factor for me, but it's something you need to find out about the hospital your OB delivers at.

I think you might be better of going with one or the other - the OB or the birthing center. The reason most people don't use multiple providers is that they don't all share information; you need someone who knows ALL of your details with the pregnancy. Otherwise, every time you have a test done by one or the other, you're going to need to get copies of all the results to bring to the other provider so they both know everything that's been done so they don't order duplicate tests for the same things.

Did you talk to this doctor about how you want your birthing experience to be? How did he react? My OB would have let me go completely natural if that's what I wanted. You need to feel him out for how he typically handles the actual deliveries.

And yes, always make sure you're hydrated when you need to have blood drawn  :)  My OB also always made me pee in a cup when I went in, so I always made sure to drink a bottle of water in the car on my way to my appointments.

 from everything i read they made it pretty clear that they're not into anything new agey. the paperwork stated, we'll try to do it natural but if the doctor feels like you need a csection, thats whats gonna happen. 

which just gives me a bad feeling. i just feel like with these guys it will go too quickly from vaginal birth to unecessary interventions resulting in a c-section. and i just really don't want to have one. other than that, i really like this place and this doctor. i'm gonna talk to him at my 16 wk appt and stress how important it is to me to go vaginal and see what he says. i'll feel him out. if he seems to understand and wants to help me as much as possible thats good. IF he's like look, if you need a c-section you need a c-section, then its a warning sign to me and i may  have to go elsewhere.

I would ask how many of his patients that want a vaginal or natural birth end up with a c-section. And ask about inductions (since being induced can increase the potential for needing a c-section) - how late past due date will he allow you to go? What does he use to determine the "need" for a c-section - length of time spent in labor? lack of progress in labor? fetal heartbeat? What other things might they try before going with the c-section?

Also, remember that, when the time comes, regardless of who your doctor is, they can't perform surgery on you (c-section) without your consent. Make sure whoever is with you in the labor room (be it a doula, your husband, mother, whoever) knows what you want and under what cir****tances you're willing to bend (for example, I absolutely didn't WANT a c-section, but if my baby became distressed, and labor was too long or stressful for him, I would have gone for the c-section to limit risks to my baby).

I hope your labor goes as easily and smoothly as mine so none of this even becomes an issue!

 Thank you!!!!!!!! i never would have thought of those things. i'm writing it all down now. thanks!! and of course if it was necessary, really necessary, i would do the c-section. but you know how it is. sometimes they just wanna get the baby out and move on. but i didn't know you could say no. i guess in that situation they mind **** you into saying yes. and of course anyone would in that position. 

thanks so much for the questions and the info. i really pray for a smooth delivery. the OB said i have a small pelvis but there's not medical reason i couldn't have the baby vaginally. but i guess it depends on how big the baby gets. i will ask him these questions. i hope he gives me the answers i want bc i really do like him.

I'd ask what is percentage of C-section v. vag. birth rate is.  Then compare that to the general percentages at the hospitals in the area.  This will give you an idea.  To be frank, many (certainly not all) docs prefer to do sections.  The complications for which they can be sued are lower, they're planned and the doc can plan them around his/her schedule and therefore bill for them.  They also much better reimbursed from the insurance companies.  The percentage of sections is ridiculously and frightenly high.  But, this is the way of things...

I think it's a little odd that he refuses Doulas and birth coaches...  that would raise a red flag for me.  Most moms to be choose to use these because they so strongly want a vag. birth and the research shows, when giving birth along with a Doula or birth couch, medical intervention (epidurals, inductions, ect.) and cesarian deliveries are significantly fewer.  I'd just ask him point blank why this is his feeling.  Could also be he's had a bad experience.  Sometimes Doulas can be a little 'out there' trying to talk moms out of pain meds and other interventions when the mom really feels she needs them.  If it was me, i'd ask his percentage of sections and why his feelings are so negative about the use of Doulas.

It does sound like he was really really thorough and that's great!  Either way, I'm glad things are going in the right direction for you!!