Hitting 12 weeks
Posted by Amanda Aaronson at 9:39 AM
Well, I now have access to the blog, watch out!
My main purpose in wanting to post here was to keep track of my pregnancy, as it's my last, to be able to jot down thoughts and experiences, maybe even some comparisons to my last ones.
This time around I'm doing things differently, I'm approaching the pregnancy with the same mentality as I've approached my births - that it's a normal natural process that doesn't require medicine to "fix" it. I'm not sick, therefore (unlike the last times) I've opted out of being in the care of an MD. I've been seeing a midwife by the name of Donna Driscoll who was recommended to me by the L&D nurse who delivered Piper. I have really appreciated that the midwifery model of care is to take time, and to treat us as people, and to learn more about how things are going and how we are changing, both physically and mentally, over this time. The appointments are an hour long, and the physical check (i.e. heartbeat, fundal height) is towards the end of the check. She offers all routine tests, but makes sure that we, the consumers, are well educated about them, the true risk of things coming back abnormal, and the alternatives to such testing. I've opted to decline all tests except the routine 20 week ultrasound. That includes the glucose test for gestational diabetes, unless I show risk factors, the AFP, routine urine testing (again, unless I show risk factors), and the like.
I feel like this pregnancy is mine - not something to be conquered, but something to be embraced. Something with which to live in perfect symbiosis, and to respect, but not to fear.
Throughout my last pregnancy, while I had a natural outlook myself, I was constantly battling my fears from my first pregnancy/labour, and the medical model. I left an OB in the last trimester in preference for one who was less intervention-happy. I fought against a medical induction prior to it's necessity - only to be told that if I DID refuse one, it was going to be AMA (Against Medical Advice - i.e. insurance might not cover some of my care). I'll qualify that the last statement was made by the OB that I LEFT, but it still was stress when stress wasn't due.
I'm finding this pregnancy to be flying by. I'm 12+ weeks already! Part of that, certainly, is the two darling girls I'm chasing, but I'm confident that some of that is the mental/emotional comfort that I've taken in my paradigm, and therefore care provider shift. I find myself looking forward to the next visits, knowing that I'm going to be visiting with someone I'm enjoying, who actually is providing care, and who DOES care. I'm not just part of the cattle calls of the day.
Finally, I'll add my countdown ticker, just cause it's fun.
"Bounce" edd 7/30/05
My main purpose in wanting to post here was to keep track of my pregnancy, as it's my last, to be able to jot down thoughts and experiences, maybe even some comparisons to my last ones.
This time around I'm doing things differently, I'm approaching the pregnancy with the same mentality as I've approached my births - that it's a normal natural process that doesn't require medicine to "fix" it. I'm not sick, therefore (unlike the last times) I've opted out of being in the care of an MD. I've been seeing a midwife by the name of Donna Driscoll who was recommended to me by the L&D nurse who delivered Piper. I have really appreciated that the midwifery model of care is to take time, and to treat us as people, and to learn more about how things are going and how we are changing, both physically and mentally, over this time. The appointments are an hour long, and the physical check (i.e. heartbeat, fundal height) is towards the end of the check. She offers all routine tests, but makes sure that we, the consumers, are well educated about them, the true risk of things coming back abnormal, and the alternatives to such testing. I've opted to decline all tests except the routine 20 week ultrasound. That includes the glucose test for gestational diabetes, unless I show risk factors, the AFP, routine urine testing (again, unless I show risk factors), and the like.
I feel like this pregnancy is mine - not something to be conquered, but something to be embraced. Something with which to live in perfect symbiosis, and to respect, but not to fear.
Throughout my last pregnancy, while I had a natural outlook myself, I was constantly battling my fears from my first pregnancy/labour, and the medical model. I left an OB in the last trimester in preference for one who was less intervention-happy. I fought against a medical induction prior to it's necessity - only to be told that if I DID refuse one, it was going to be AMA (Against Medical Advice - i.e. insurance might not cover some of my care). I'll qualify that the last statement was made by the OB that I LEFT, but it still was stress when stress wasn't due.
I'm finding this pregnancy to be flying by. I'm 12+ weeks already! Part of that, certainly, is the two darling girls I'm chasing, but I'm confident that some of that is the mental/emotional comfort that I've taken in my paradigm, and therefore care provider shift. I find myself looking forward to the next visits, knowing that I'm going to be visiting with someone I'm enjoying, who actually is providing care, and who DOES care. I'm not just part of the cattle calls of the day.
Finally, I'll add my countdown ticker, just cause it's fun.
"Bounce" edd 7/30/05
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