Today Mom, Dad, Evelyn and I took my Grammy to lunch for her 78th birthday. It was so fun. We went back to the Danvers Port Yacht Club where I got married and had lunch in their amazing dining room! It was such an incredible trip down memory lane. I always love seeing the harbor all iced over and the ships in the condom shrink wrap :) tehehe.
Finally I got to share our surprise with someone outside of the internet and boy was she excited!! It was really a breath of fresh air to get such a warm welcoming reaction from someone in person. I didn't get a lot of that with Evelyn so it is really refreshing to have people genuinely happy for us! It's funny how something as simple as just saying "congratulations" could make me so excited!
It has still not truly hit me yet. I don't think it will until our ultrasound on Feb. 16th. I'll have moments of elation where I look at my tummy and get all gitty "there's another baby in there!" :) I've started knitting again, working on a bunting now. It feels really good to be productive again. I just finished painting some wooden letters for Evelyn's room and started on her cross stitch picture. I really enjoy having something productive to do when Evie's sleeping.
On a good note they removed me from all insulin. They diagnosed me as "having a period of hyperglycemia" and not diabetic!! This means I would be able to deliver at a birth center and not a hospital! The concern is that since I was on insulin before I could develop "gestational diabetes" so we'll see. I'm kind of disappointed because after I left 2 messages (one with a machine and one with a receptionist) explaining that I am no longer insulin dependent they still have not returned my calls. I think they still do not want to take me on, which sucks because I really like the Birth Cottage. I am hoping that this changes after my consult/ultrasound on Feb 16th.
We have a tour scheduled with the Beverly Birth Center Tuesday night. It's the center that I was born at and I thought if anything it would be fun for my mom to take a trip down memory lane with me. It's a good hour drive so I'm not so sure how comfortable I feel having all my care done so far away, but we'll see.
I just kind of feel like I'm in a rut right now. I'm waiting for my doctor to write a formal letter stating that I am no longer insulin dependent and hopefully that combined with the ultra/consult with Dr. Kauffman (my favorite doc of all time) then we'll have made some progress and I can start my prenatal appointments!!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Birth Center Blues
Today I went to The Birth Cottage in Milford NH. First off the sky was pouring swimming pools of rain and I had to take Evelyn with me. After trucking out the 40 minute drive to Milford and getting soaked doing so we arrived at the most incredible birthing center I have ever been to. It was like walking into someone's home.
The reception is totally kid friendly, there is even a fully stocked changing table in the reception area for "visiting babies." There are tons of toys for the kids to play with and they have baby proofed the entire are to encourage children to roam and explore! This is a big plus since my last prenatal office had a strict NO children policy.
Their exam rooms are straight out of a Better homes and Gardens magazine. It looks like walking into an 80 yr old woman's bedroom lol. The carpets are clean and fresh, instead of an exam table you lay on a twin bed with a floral bedspread complete with a lace canopy! Instead of a table they have an antique desk where the midwife has all of her instruments and paperwork.
There are 3 different sitting rooms, one looks like a modern day living room complete with flat screen T.V., another is a bright sun room complete with live plants and wicker furniture, and the last is a 'guest bedroom' that families staying can take a nap. They encourage family to be part of the event (again another huge difference because St. Joseph's had no waiting room at all)
The best part were the birthing rooms. One was a 'yellow room' with sunny yellow walls, off white and yellow flowered curtains, and bright cheery artwork. My favorite was the "lavender room" it had pastel lavender walls, long white sheer curtains, and very subdue calm artwork, the room just spilled relaxation. Both birthing rooms were complete with King size beds, and GIGANTIC birthing tubs. They offer laboring in the tub as well as waterbirths, and an attached private bathroom and shower!
There are only 2 nurse midwifes and 4 senior apprentices so you will always see the same people. They will even follow you regardless of your delivery, i.e. induction, c-section etc. It was like a breath of fresh air, till I sat down with the director.
Unfortunately they do not know if they will be able to accept me as a patient because of my "diabetes." As midwives they see no problem with it especially since my endocrinologist agrees with my decision to use a nurse midwife, however, their laws prohibit any insulin dependency. So we're trying 2 different things,
1) since I have been on such a practically non-existent insulin regiment I am being re-evaluated to see if they can change or at least re-word my diagnosis. Originally I was diagnosed with "hyperglycemia" but for insurance/referral/dr purposes they had to specify it as "diabetes."So I'm going to see my endocrinologist tomorrow to run a bunch of tests to see if they can find some better answers.
2) the midwife is writing a letter after I provide all the documentation and results/referrals from my physicians appealing to the Midwifery counsel to allow them to treat me as a special case. I am completely comfortable with all of this, I haven't needed insulin in so long, and if it were to get worse it would have done so during my first pregnancy with Evie, also, my delivery with Evelyn required NO insulin monitoring, infact it was my sister who took my sugars for me and they actually removed me from all medication for a while. Lastly, evelyn had no issues with blood sugars at all which is nearly unheard of with true diabetic mothers.
I am just hoping and praying that something can come out of all of this because I SERIOUSLY do NOT want to go back to a hospital again. It was such a horrific experience and unnecessarily so torturing that I do not want to go back The best they could offer would be an assisted at home birth, but I really do not feel comfortable laboring and delivering here.
I don't know. I have some time. I have an appointment with my OBGYN next week that I am keeping so I can get my RH- shots and at least my prenatals started. I figure I can always transfer later. The big bummer was that they still can not give me an accurate due date. Since my LMP was Dec 16 but the beta on Jan 18 was neg, and I didn't receive a positive test till Thrus the 21st. (confirmed the next day by another blood test) they just can't accurately estimate the due date. So the plan is to have an ultrasound on Feb 16th and another 4 weeks later if they both measure comparably then they will give me an estimated due date.
So for now they are just going by my LMP by default. Humph. Who knows... I am really looking forward to that ultrasound I think that will be the big kicker to make this all very real!
The reception is totally kid friendly, there is even a fully stocked changing table in the reception area for "visiting babies." There are tons of toys for the kids to play with and they have baby proofed the entire are to encourage children to roam and explore! This is a big plus since my last prenatal office had a strict NO children policy.
Their exam rooms are straight out of a Better homes and Gardens magazine. It looks like walking into an 80 yr old woman's bedroom lol. The carpets are clean and fresh, instead of an exam table you lay on a twin bed with a floral bedspread complete with a lace canopy! Instead of a table they have an antique desk where the midwife has all of her instruments and paperwork.
There are 3 different sitting rooms, one looks like a modern day living room complete with flat screen T.V., another is a bright sun room complete with live plants and wicker furniture, and the last is a 'guest bedroom' that families staying can take a nap. They encourage family to be part of the event (again another huge difference because St. Joseph's had no waiting room at all)
The best part were the birthing rooms. One was a 'yellow room' with sunny yellow walls, off white and yellow flowered curtains, and bright cheery artwork. My favorite was the "lavender room" it had pastel lavender walls, long white sheer curtains, and very subdue calm artwork, the room just spilled relaxation. Both birthing rooms were complete with King size beds, and GIGANTIC birthing tubs. They offer laboring in the tub as well as waterbirths, and an attached private bathroom and shower!
There are only 2 nurse midwifes and 4 senior apprentices so you will always see the same people. They will even follow you regardless of your delivery, i.e. induction, c-section etc. It was like a breath of fresh air, till I sat down with the director.
Unfortunately they do not know if they will be able to accept me as a patient because of my "diabetes." As midwives they see no problem with it especially since my endocrinologist agrees with my decision to use a nurse midwife, however, their laws prohibit any insulin dependency. So we're trying 2 different things,
1) since I have been on such a practically non-existent insulin regiment I am being re-evaluated to see if they can change or at least re-word my diagnosis. Originally I was diagnosed with "hyperglycemia" but for insurance/referral/dr purposes they had to specify it as "diabetes."So I'm going to see my endocrinologist tomorrow to run a bunch of tests to see if they can find some better answers.
2) the midwife is writing a letter after I provide all the documentation and results/referrals from my physicians appealing to the Midwifery counsel to allow them to treat me as a special case. I am completely comfortable with all of this, I haven't needed insulin in so long, and if it were to get worse it would have done so during my first pregnancy with Evie, also, my delivery with Evelyn required NO insulin monitoring, infact it was my sister who took my sugars for me and they actually removed me from all medication for a while. Lastly, evelyn had no issues with blood sugars at all which is nearly unheard of with true diabetic mothers.
I am just hoping and praying that something can come out of all of this because I SERIOUSLY do NOT want to go back to a hospital again. It was such a horrific experience and unnecessarily so torturing that I do not want to go back The best they could offer would be an assisted at home birth, but I really do not feel comfortable laboring and delivering here.
I don't know. I have some time. I have an appointment with my OBGYN next week that I am keeping so I can get my RH- shots and at least my prenatals started. I figure I can always transfer later. The big bummer was that they still can not give me an accurate due date. Since my LMP was Dec 16 but the beta on Jan 18 was neg, and I didn't receive a positive test till Thrus the 21st. (confirmed the next day by another blood test) they just can't accurately estimate the due date. So the plan is to have an ultrasound on Feb 16th and another 4 weeks later if they both measure comparably then they will give me an estimated due date.
So for now they are just going by my LMP by default. Humph. Who knows... I am really looking forward to that ultrasound I think that will be the big kicker to make this all very real!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
So long for now...
Yesterday we took a trip to CT to say goodbye to a dear friend. Josh's best friend from Childhood, and Evelyn's Godfather Chad is moving to South Carolina this week. It was a semi sweet goodbye. Although we only see Chad a handful of times a year it's still very hard for Josh knowing that he wont be able to just jump in the car and drive an hour to see him.
Thankfully Josh has a week of vacation time he needs to use before June so we decided to take that week and go to South Carolina to see him. I explained that we could make a nice road trip out of it and stop at various locations along the way. It will take about 15 hours to get there but I feel it will be worth it for him, a concrete time frame to look forward to.
We had a wonderful lunch with Chad and his girlfriend Christine at the AMAZING Stafford House of Pizza. oh man, best pizza ever! We spent the afternoon walking around the mall and eating ice cream. It was a wonderful day. We left at around 5 and both Evie and I crashed on the car ride home.
Exhaustion seems to be my only big pregnancy symptom so far. Thankfully Evie has been napping really well so I have been able to get the rest my body craves. We shared with Chad and Christine our new exciting baby news and they were very happy for us. We have been trying to keep the pregnancy a secret for the most part. We are only sharing the news with people we can absolutely trust until the 2nd trimester. I am so excited that the people we have told are genuinely excited and happy for us, a much different experience than my pregnancy with Evie. My mom was the worst and it has been mind blowing what a complete 180 she has taken with this pregnancy. Her immense support and excitement threw me completely off guard and it is such a huge gigantic relief. I really feel like this will be a pregnancy that I can sit back and enjoy! I am truly thankful for the amazing friends I have and my incredibly supportive family.
Now I'm off to get the waking beauty from her nap :)
Thankfully Josh has a week of vacation time he needs to use before June so we decided to take that week and go to South Carolina to see him. I explained that we could make a nice road trip out of it and stop at various locations along the way. It will take about 15 hours to get there but I feel it will be worth it for him, a concrete time frame to look forward to.
We had a wonderful lunch with Chad and his girlfriend Christine at the AMAZING Stafford House of Pizza. oh man, best pizza ever! We spent the afternoon walking around the mall and eating ice cream. It was a wonderful day. We left at around 5 and both Evie and I crashed on the car ride home.
Exhaustion seems to be my only big pregnancy symptom so far. Thankfully Evie has been napping really well so I have been able to get the rest my body craves. We shared with Chad and Christine our new exciting baby news and they were very happy for us. We have been trying to keep the pregnancy a secret for the most part. We are only sharing the news with people we can absolutely trust until the 2nd trimester. I am so excited that the people we have told are genuinely excited and happy for us, a much different experience than my pregnancy with Evie. My mom was the worst and it has been mind blowing what a complete 180 she has taken with this pregnancy. Her immense support and excitement threw me completely off guard and it is such a huge gigantic relief. I really feel like this will be a pregnancy that I can sit back and enjoy! I am truly thankful for the amazing friends I have and my incredibly supportive family.
Now I'm off to get the waking beauty from her nap :)
Friday, January 22, 2010
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Welcome to my adventure! Yesterday, Thursday, January 21st, 2010 darling husband Joshua, darling daughter Evelyn and I found out we are expecting a new baby! I am still on cloud 9 and can not believe it!
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