A New Adventure

The time is drawing near for me to make my first doctor's appointment. Joel and I have been wondering if we should see the same doctor I had with Isabel, or if we should try something new and different. After careful consideration, we have decided to see a midwife this time. The hospitals here do not work with midwives, so we will be having our baby at home this time. We are looking forward to a quiet, uninterrupted birth with no crabby nurses coming in at all hours of the night to draw blood for unknown reasons. I have had the privilege to see two of my nephews born at home, and we will be using the same midwife who delivered them. I know, from seeing her at work, that she is capable of doing a very good job. Yesterday, Joel and I met with the midwife to ask some of our questions and she has completely reassured us and made us feel very comfortable and confident in our decision. We were surprised to find out that the midwife will be doing most of the same tests and procedures as the doctor did during my last pregnancy. I will be able to go for an appointment every 3 weeks instead of every 4 weeks as you do when you see an OB. Also, our midwife has an ultrasound machine in her office and will allow us to see our baby whenever we want to. She shouldn’t have told me that, I’ll want to see him/her every time! I’ll try and restrain myself! We will definitely be looking forward to finding out what we are having. The midwife will also provide all pediatric care to the baby for the first 6 weeks or so until we need to start taking him/her to the pediatrician for immunizations. The midwife lives near our home and has offered to do several of my prenatal appointments and some of the postpartum appointments at our house, so I won't even have to go anywhere. Pretty neat!! We will keep you updated on our progress and our new experiences with a home birth and all that that entails.