Monday, March 22, 2010

Week 24 appointment

I JUST NOTICED MY LAYOUT WAS GONE! Next time let a girl know! :-)

Not too much to update other than Nicholas is looking great! His heartrate was 163 and he was VERY active (which we already know)! They had to chase him down to get his HR. I am measuring right on target and I've only gained 12 pounds (not bad considering I thought I had gained a LOT more than that!). My blood pressure was 112/64 and my urine looked great. That made me happy because yesterday I was a hormonal mess late in the day and had a nasty headache. With that headache came some visual things and nausea/vomiting, which scared me into thinking it was a BP issue. Well, all checked out clear today and he wasn't worried since my headache had gone away. Considering I cried over a dead plant and not knowing where a pair of socks were, we are chalking it up to a hormonal shift of some kind.

My glucose test will be next time at 28 weeks. My doctor doesn't like to do them quite this early, so it will be April 19. After that I start going in every other week! AHHHH!!!!! Time is flying by and it will be July before I know it!

I received a comment, a couple of twitter questions, and an email in the past few days about why I am delivering at my hospital rather than a women's hospital or another local hospital (which is actually where I was one of the first 100 babies born). I am 100% comfortable in my choice and I will tell you why. Other than the fact that I am considered high risk due to my clotting disorder, I have three main reasons. Number one, it is where the highest level NICU is within 200 miles and all the pediatric surgeons (which work out of my office and I know all four personally) work out of the children's hospital which is attached. Secondly, it is where my OB's office is. If I am ready to push and he is seeing patients, he can be there in five minutes versus 20 at the other two. Also, I have seen many patients that have had complications at the other two hospitals and had to be flown or rushed over to our hospital for care from a trauma/critical care surgeon. I would just rather be at the level 1 trauma center from the very beginning just in case Nicholas or I need to be there. Don't get me wrong, I have NOTHING at all against the other two (although the women's hospital was my last choice, too many scary things have happened there that I have seen first hand) and I think everyone should go where they are most comfortable, which is why I chose to deliver downtown, which is only 20-25 minutes from my house depending on traffic.

6 comments:

Todd and Courtney said...

I think Erlanger is totally fine. The nurses were so sweet to me when I was there thinking I was in labor. We just went to Parkridge East because I liked the location better. Craaaazy people kinda question your choice, weird!

I want to see you soon! Our parking lot chat wasn't enough :)

And congrats on a great 24 week visit. I wrote down the date of your shower. I CAN NOT wait!

Guy and Julie said...

I'm cracking up at you crying over a dead plant. I can relate--that sounds just like something I would do!

Christi said...

Yay for a great appointment.

You're absolutely right...you have to feel comfortable where you're delivering. And lucky for you..you have options as to where your ob will deliver. Some patients are limited by that fact alone.

I didn't deliver at the biggest local hospital which was taboo to many...though my ob doesn't deliver there. Not to mention the place scares me with it's size. I delivered at two different hospitals with my three kids.

I will mention that even the lower special care nurseries are good at handling sticky situations but you can't get much better than trauma 1. Hopefully it's not too far from your house.

Janelle said...

I found your blog a while ago and have loved reading about your pregnancy. I have to say that I too chose the hospital with the highest level of NICU in my area. Many people questioned my decision, especially since it was not the one closest to my OB's office. My baby has a cyst on his heart, and even though an echo before he was born showed that his heart was still working fine, I did not want to risk being away from the best hospital (we have one in our town that has one of he top heart institutes in the US). During labor we lost my son's heart rate, and had I been anywhere else I would have been sick thinking about how I should have chosen the hospital with the heart doctors and high level NICU. Everything ended up fine, but I was still so glad I chose the hospital I did.
Every person will have a different opinion on childbirth. I started to feel guilty after my son was born, because of the things people said about having a hospital birth and getting an epidural. In the end I realized that God gave me a son, and all I have done all along is what I felt was best for him. That will look different to everyone, but in my mind a mother knows what is best for a child. And a faithful woman will be led by God to do what is right for her and her baby.

Danielle Taylor said...

Yeah for a great appt! It is kind of weird that people actually question people on where they deliver at! Next time girl tell them it is none of their business! Lol!

Laurie said...

So glad things are going well!!! It is crazy the things people will say about situations & decisions that have nothing to do with them. But regardless, you have made the right decision for you & Nicholas so that's all that matters.
I am in complete agreement with you!!! We live about 20 minutes from world class hospitals & people don't understand why I use doctors & hospitals in Little Rock instead of our smaller town...same reasons! Why would I pass up the opportunity to be where all my children's needs can & most likely will be met with excellence?!?!
Shawn & Anna Kate both spent time in the NICU for respiratory issues so that is very important to me!!! Shawn for a week & AK only about 30 minutes, but if I had been at our local hospital it wouldn't have happened b/c they don't have a NICU!
It's all individual & what's right for one is different for another, but you know you've made the right decision so no regrets or anxieties over that!!! Hope you continue to
feel good!!! I love reading about baby Nicholas!!! It's so exciting!