This morning I was awake before my alarm yet again. Still having issues with sleeping comfortably, though I’m willing to bet part of that is because my favorite positions block my airways. Can’t wait until I completely kick this sinus thing… but it’s definitely on its way. But at least I had to get up early anyways, so it wasn’t a wasted morning. :)

I got there a little early because it was raining (people drive slow, arg) and because my insurance has changed so I wanted to make sure I gave them a little time to get the new info put in. I checked in with registration, they told me to go to the Midwife’s office with the info. So I did. She took the new card and looked at it puzzled. She asked if I have the BC/BS HMO. I said, “Ummm, it’s the federal program…” I have no idea if it’s an HMO or not, I know it’s different than the “normal” one though. She said the card was for prescriptions. o.O That really caught me off-guard. We didn’t get any *other* card in the mail, just these ones. But she took it and did some photocopying and whatever else. When I got home I checked the mail, and the stuff that came with the card clearly states this IS my health insurance card, for everything, that I need to show at doctor’s offices. So I think she was just confused, probably because it is a different BC/BS program than normal.

So anyways, I sat for 5 minutes while she photocopied and got my glucose tolerance test order printed off, then I went down to the lab. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it tasted JUST LIKE orange soda. It was even carbonated a little – NOT something I appreciate, my body does not like carbonation. The hardest part for me was drinking the whole drink in 5 minutes! Soda is really difficult for me to drink, I usually sip it. I didn’t feel any dizziness or queasiness, just bloating and burping, lol. But I got it all down and was on my way back to the waiting room.

I sat and waited 10 minutes before someone called me back. The nurses (the usual nurse seemed to be training a young nurse) took my blood pressure (98/58) and weight (153.2) then sent me into the bathroom for a “sample”. Then sat me in a room. Where I waited. And waited. I waited quite a while and was getting a little anxious, because I had to be back to the lab for the blood draw at a specific time.

Finally the midwife came in and introduced herself. I loved her!! She gave me the same vibe my old midwife gave me… very down to earth and friendly and knew what she was talking about. I just liked her immediately. She asked me if I had any questions or concerns this month. I told her about the hip pain (not much can be done about that, it’s pretty normal), that I’ve weaned myself off the unisom (she was pleased with my weight gain), and that I’m just getting over a cold. She asked if I took anything, I told her I took some Sudafed but it did nothing so I just waited it out. She said, “Oh I’m sorry.” I shrugged – no biggie, my body took care of it. :)

I did ask her about the Celexa/Zoloft issue and how I think it’s best to switch, based on the reading I’ve done. She confirmed that I’ve been on Celexa for a long time (yep)… and she said that there is always concern switching someone who has been long established on a particular drug, as other ones might not work as well. That’s not to say they can’t switch me, but that it may or may not be in my best interest to do so. She said they obviously want to make sure that after the baby’s born, with my hormones going all crazy and the stress and everything, that my medication is stable. So she said she wants to talk it over with the other Midwives and let me know what they think would be best for me and my baby. I’m okay with that. If they honestly think that staying on the Celexa is better for me and Devin than playing around swith a new one, then I’ll trust their judgement on it. My concern is, of course, that it is passed through the breastmilk more with Celexa than with Zoloft. I’ll also have to talk with a lactation consultant and with Devin’s pediatrician (when I choose one). It’s a hard situation, there’s no real clear answer, both options have risks and benefits.

I also asked her what the standard newborn procedures were and what could and couldn’t be refused. She said that ANY procedure can be refused – it’s just a matter of how much resistence you’d get from the nurse at the time. Apparently someone recently declined the Vitamin K injection and there was a bit of a hubub about the hospital about it. Her suggestion was to talk it over with the pediatrician – if the ped is okay with not getting something, then chances of having a problem are lowered. She did say that the eye antibiotics can be declined without much issue, the Hep B vaccination is fully up to us whether or not we want to get it done in the hospital (or at all). She did say that they’ll test me for Group B Strep at 35 weeks, and if I’m positive for that then they will want to hook me up to antibiotics via IV during labor. She also said that in cases where women arrive too late or their labors are too fast to get the “full” dose of antibiotics they tend to want to keep the baby at the hospital for several days for observation and cultures and put them on antibiotics just in case. But again, she said it does depend on the pediatrician, and some peds say if there’s no sign of an issue then they don’t worry about it, but others want to keep the kid for observation for an extended period, etc. So quite obviously the choice of pediatrician is going to be important. (And I just hope I don’t test positive for GBS!)

After all that was discussed I hopped up on the table for a quick listen for the heartbeat. She did a quick feel of my belly before putting the wand down, and immediately there it was. I didn’t get a number, but it was loud and strong. She also measured my belly to be 28cm! Perfect! :)

I did mention to her about that pressure I’ve been feeling now and again, and the hard area across my belly when he apparently moves into that position. She said it’s very possible that I’m feeling is back or whatever. :) Course he wasn’t doing it at the appointment so she has no way to know. LOL

Then she flipped through my charts and mentioned I’d never had a TB test… I guess it’s something where they put a little tiny something under your skin and you watch it for two days to see if a big bump develops. She said I can choose to refuse it if I want. I shrugged and said I don’t really see a point in it – hard to make an informed decision when I’m sitting there. So she just nodded and that was that. Then she asked if they’d given asked me for a a clean catch urine sample or not. Well no. They had me pee into a cup, but no clean catch. So she asked if I could do that for a culture. I said I’d try. Boy was that difficult. I managed to squeeze out a few drops of urine. Yeesh.

I quickly booked my next appointment – for two weeks from now! – and then headed quickly back to the lab. I sat a few minutes then they drew three vials of blood (testing my blood sugar, for syphillis, and for anemia) and I was on my way. I did forget to ask the Midwife if they would call me with the results of the GTT, so at this point I have no idea when I’ll find out if I passed or not. I’m sure if I failed it they’ll call me, but otherwise… I may just have to wait 2 weeks for confirmation.