Heartbeats, obstetricians, pictures and panic management

[ailbhe]

My lovely midwife came yesterday and was lovely. She listened to the tadpole's heart, which was doing a nice 140bpm just like the book says it ought, and took three little bottles of blood the nice new way which minimises needles and pain, and check that I'm not obviously diabetic, and talked nicely to me about my appointment tomorrow, and said that if I get worried again, I can call her and she'll just come over and listen to the heartbeat for me, and I'm not to sit around worried for weeks again.

She had a cup of tea and a biscuit too.

This morning we all three trooped over to the hospital on a number 18 bus. This is splendid, because it goes practically all the way there, cutting out a ten minute walk, which I usually spend trying very hard not to turn around and go home. Then we waited for two hours to see the midwife (you have to see the midwife for standard checks before you see the obstetrician, the administrators get very confused otherwise) and the obstetrician.

I saw the same consultant who runs the traumatic birth clinic, and it was fine. She gives people loads of time with her, which is why she's always running late :) and she let me talk about everything that worried me.

Scheduling the section for 37 weeks will be fine. And if at 37 weeks I feel that I'm not about to go into labour, I can reschedule for a week later. She will not be around to do the operation herself, but I will meet the obstetrician who is doing it before the event. It will absolutely not be the man who attended Linnea's birth. I don't get to meet or choose an anaesthetist, though - but that's much less of a problem.

I can have serious painkillers afterwards, to make absolutely sure I don't experience terrible pain. I will only have one hand restrained during the birth, and the baby will not be taken out of my sight after being born (assuming no need to go to special care etc). I can have the baby in the morning and have my mother and Linnea come to see us in the afternoon.

The obstetrician has asked me to write up a birth plan and give a copy to everyone involved, making sure one is enclosed with my hospital notes, so that everyone knows what's supposed to happen. This greatly increases my confidence that any birth plan will be attended to. I think the last time I didn't have a sufficiently detailed plan, since I honestly thought that what I wanted at individual stages would count for something, and so the few things I did make specific plans about were ignored.

Overall, it was good. The panic management techniques my therapist taught me helped a bit, too. So did knowing that That Man wasn't on duty today - his name wasn't on the board.

And to end the appointment, the obstetrician did a little scan and printed us three photos, without us even asking her to. She went all mushy when the tadpole waved at us :)

Comments

[tiggsybabes.livejournal.com]

Kate & Holly were both proclaimed to be girls & taken to be weighed / cleaned up & then shown to me. Andy help Kate right next to me the whole time & I could admire her, my arms didn't work so I couldn't touch her. I forget now who was holding Holly as I was very exhausted & oh so thirsty as had been nil by mouth all day. The best thing in my c-section with Holly was that someone held my hand throughout & talked to me about what was happening & just general things. That helped take my mind off it. The anaesthetist stroked my face & whispered encouraging nonsense throughout. She had to take a phone call in when I was being sewn up & was asked to go to another emergency c-section. She told them that I needed her & she'd either go when I was finished or they could buzz someone else. I could have cried.

[arky72.livejournal.com]

I am so glad today turned out to be such a positive experience for you. Your midwife sounds lovely.

I remember one midwife apoointment I had, lying on the couch while Andy mended the midwife's mobile phone!

[kightp.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you've got good people looking out for you and the tadpole.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

Restrained? Is that normal MO for your hospital, or because of potential panic?

Frankincense. Aromatherapy for labour and birth is practised at the JR, and frankincense is offered to all c-sections - you put it in your palms and inhale, it helps you focus. I found it extremely useful, despite having previously been sceptical!

[ailbhe]

Normal MO is to have one arm restrained, and full of IVs and monitors and things, and the other arm free except for the blood pressure cuff. Special MO For Traumatising Ailbhe was to restrain both arms and stick legs in stirrups and speak as though to a stupid and uncooperative child.

[ailbhe]

I utterly adored the anaesthetist who did me for Linnea's birth. He gave me gas and air while they wheeled me between rooms, talked to me as though I was an intelligent adult in a difficult situation, told me EXACTLY what was going on whenever he could (obviously he couldn't see what the obstetrician was doing all the time), and distracted me from some scary stuff with reasonable small talk about where I come from and where he comes from and socio-political issues. Afterwards, he took the photo in this icon while they were still removing the placenta and before they'd started stitching me up. He was the one who reminded Rob to bring a camera from the labour room to the operating theatre, too. He was *fantastic* and I'd have married him in an instant if only he didn't do shiftwork. Shiftwork is very hard to live with.

[tiggsybabes.livejournal.com]

He sounds like the wonderful woman who was my anaesthetist with Holly :) Fabulous people :) The one who put in my epidural with Holly was great too. He flirted with me, the midwife & Pam (but not Andy!) He cracked jokes & had everyone, apart from me, in stitches. Really, I couldn't have cared less though as just wanted the pain to go away.

My dad does shifts, but just day ones, so it's not so bad. I never know when he' sworking though, so just take pot luck if I want to ring him. He works any time between 5am & 9.30 pm in 2 different shifts.

[hfnuala.livejournal.com]

the waving bit is lovely. And well done for getting through all that.

[helenprev.livejournal.com]

That sounds lovely and positive.

*Big hugs*

[firecat]

Thanks for sharing the good news!

[barakta]

I'm glad everything is ok.

[sam-t.livejournal.com]

Awww, waving!

Glad things are going well.

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Glad both visits went well.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

This is all sounding very positive indeed!

I'll always remember my anaesthetist, not least because his name was David Bowie. :)

He was also very calm and sensible and knew I was afraid of needles and reassured me by showing me the needles he was going to use, and why he'd chosen those ones instead of other ones, and talked to me a _lot_ while he was putting the cannula and spinal in, and it was all lovely.

He kept talking to me while the Weegirl was born, and was the one who said "and you have a beautiful baby _girl_!" as if it was the happiest thing he'd seen all week.

(He also told me afterwards that I'd reacted much better than some people who _didn't_ say they were afraid of needles.) I love him to bits.