Trying to be Normal

Yesterday I had my first appointment at my OB/Midwives office. It was my first step in transitioning from IVF patient to regular pregnant person, and I was more than a bit disoriented by the whole thing. I realized how accustomed I had become to my RE's posh office with leather furniture, expensive artwork, great magazines, a cappuccino bar, and free samples everywhere. I guess because their patients are all paying thousands of dollars out of pocket they feel like they have to present a luxurious day-spa like environment. Often I would get so comfortable in the waiting room with my feet up in a reclining chair that I would forget I was about to have metal objects stuck in my nether regions, feeling instead that it was about time for my facial and seaweed wrap. So by comparison my new OB's practice looks extremely ghetto. Where were the sugar cookies on the table? Why didn't the receptionists and nurses all know me by name? Did they really expect me to wait on an ugly orange tweed chair that had probably been there since 1968?

Once I met the midwife, Karen, I felt better. She was extremely nice and seemed almost as excited about my pregnancy as I am. The more I learn about this practice the more I like it. There are 5 doctors and 8 certified nurse midwives. It's a collaborative practice so I'll see each doctor and each midwife at some point during this pregnancy. When I go into labor there will be a doctor and a midwife at the hospital. The midwives deliver, or as they say, "catch" 75% of the babies born in the practice; the doctor is there the whole time, but he only assists in the labor if there is a complication. The midwife is there with you the whole time you are in labor, as opposed to nurses popping in and out to check on you every once in a while and a doctor coming in at the very end to deliver. I feel good about having the support of a midwife, but also having the extra comfort of having doctors involved because of my Factor V Leiden (a gene that contributes to excessive blood clotting and miscarriage). The doctors will also be consulting with a perinatologist to make sure I'm being treated correctly during pregnancy, labor and delivery.

At this first appointment they checked all the basic things, urine, cervical cultures, breast exam, and fundal height. I didn't need to have bloodwork done because I had so much done at the RE. The thing that freaks me out is that my next appointment isn't for four weeks. I'm accustomed to going in at least once a week. What am I going to do with all this extra time?