Doctor's appointment this morning
Nov. 28th, 2007 03:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Despite feeling icky, I had an appointment with the OB this morning. I warned them that I had a cold, but they didn't seem particularly concerned.
I've gained one pound since my last visit a month ago, and while they don't seem concerned about that, I was told that I should have gained ten pounds by now. I'm still down ten from where I started, so I may finish just about even. I'm not intentionally restricting what I eat; I eat when I'm hungry and eat until I'm satisfied. I'm just not packing it on like most people do. As long as Boo is growing like he should be, it's not a problem. But I don't particularly feel like I'm eating for two, either. I remember reading somewhere that you really only need to increase your calorie intake by about 350 calories a day, which isn't a lot. And heh, the holidays may take care of this for me anyway. :-P
I have to do the glucose test at my next appointment in January. Blech. They gave me the little bottle of orange goo to keep in my fridge until then. Not looking forward to that, mostly because I really despise sweet things these days. I have a weird aversion to sugar lately, and I know drinking that isn't going to be fun. At least it's a pretty small bottle...
I had a great conversation with the CNM (who oversaw my appointment) about the birthing philosophy of the practice. As luck would have it, they are one of the only practices in town that is committed to supporting natural childbirth. The lead doctor in the practice is a big proponent of Hypnobirthing, something I don't know much about. I've read about the Bradley method (which emphasizes relaxation and understanding what's happening in your body) and liked it, but I'll look into Hypnobirthing too.
My biggest fear, I think, has been that I'll be talked into having an unnecessary c-section. This practice has a pretty low c-section rate for the US (about 18%), and about 20% of their patients give birth naturally. They do episiotomies very rarely, and generally strive to make the birth experience the most positive one possible. That's such a relief to hear after all the horror stories you read about many women's experiences.
I've also been really concerned about the "big baby" excuse for c-sections that you see so much of these days, in which the assumption seems to be that women are incapable of giving birth to a baby larger than 8 pounds. That is utterly ridiculous, and happily the practice I'm at thinks so as well. I was told that they don't that sort of c-section, and regularly deliver large babies with no difficulties. If the baby looks like it will be over ten pounds, they will suggest induction, but they seem to agree with a lot of the research that the risk of shoulder dystocia is widely overblown in this country.
So I feel like I'm in good hands here. I'm so relieved! :-P
On a related topic, I've been reading as many birth stories as I can find.Here's a new one that totally made me cry! Oops, that one is locked. Sorry!
I've gained one pound since my last visit a month ago, and while they don't seem concerned about that, I was told that I should have gained ten pounds by now. I'm still down ten from where I started, so I may finish just about even. I'm not intentionally restricting what I eat; I eat when I'm hungry and eat until I'm satisfied. I'm just not packing it on like most people do. As long as Boo is growing like he should be, it's not a problem. But I don't particularly feel like I'm eating for two, either. I remember reading somewhere that you really only need to increase your calorie intake by about 350 calories a day, which isn't a lot. And heh, the holidays may take care of this for me anyway. :-P
I have to do the glucose test at my next appointment in January. Blech. They gave me the little bottle of orange goo to keep in my fridge until then. Not looking forward to that, mostly because I really despise sweet things these days. I have a weird aversion to sugar lately, and I know drinking that isn't going to be fun. At least it's a pretty small bottle...
I had a great conversation with the CNM (who oversaw my appointment) about the birthing philosophy of the practice. As luck would have it, they are one of the only practices in town that is committed to supporting natural childbirth. The lead doctor in the practice is a big proponent of Hypnobirthing, something I don't know much about. I've read about the Bradley method (which emphasizes relaxation and understanding what's happening in your body) and liked it, but I'll look into Hypnobirthing too.
My biggest fear, I think, has been that I'll be talked into having an unnecessary c-section. This practice has a pretty low c-section rate for the US (about 18%), and about 20% of their patients give birth naturally. They do episiotomies very rarely, and generally strive to make the birth experience the most positive one possible. That's such a relief to hear after all the horror stories you read about many women's experiences.
I've also been really concerned about the "big baby" excuse for c-sections that you see so much of these days, in which the assumption seems to be that women are incapable of giving birth to a baby larger than 8 pounds. That is utterly ridiculous, and happily the practice I'm at thinks so as well. I was told that they don't that sort of c-section, and regularly deliver large babies with no difficulties. If the baby looks like it will be over ten pounds, they will suggest induction, but they seem to agree with a lot of the research that the risk of shoulder dystocia is widely overblown in this country.
So I feel like I'm in good hands here. I'm so relieved! :-P
On a related topic, I've been reading as many birth stories as I can find.