22 weeks 5 days

It's official, I've switched to a "new" (technically I'm a new old patient at this practice) OB practice.  After the finger incident last month I came to realize that I really wasn't happy with the way things were done at the OB office where I had been going.  I wan't particularly thrilled with them when I was pregnant with Katie, but they had four midwives and I'm more comfortable having a midwife for my deliveries than an OB.

So I had my appointment today and of course I hit some crazy traffic on what has to be the most unlikely road to have traffic which made me late for the appointment that was I supposed to get to 15 minutes ahead of my scheduled time.  I really hate being late so that added some anxiety to my day.

I felt much more at ease as soon as I walked into the door of my old OB/GYN office.  I never had any issues with the place and have heard so many people rave about how much they like the practice.  I only left because the midwife I really like left the practice and I followed her.  But, when it comes to having a baby and relatively short labors, it's not feasible to expect to drive from a NJ suburb to Philadelphia to have a baby.  Not happening.

So back to my appointment.  I gave the nurse practitioner I saw at this visit the rundown on why I'm back.  And I asked her hypothetically, what she would do if I came in and said I had just caught my finger in the car door an hour ago and had washed it out and had the skin that came off placed back over the cut.  She cringed as soon as I mentioned the last part and told me she would have wanted to see it and would probably call in an antibiotic to be safe.  Ding, ding, ding!  We have a right answer.  Then I proceeded to tell her about how the midwife I saw on 12/12 wouldn't look at the injury when I asked her and had assured me that I'd be just fine.  No suggestion that I head to my family doctor or the ER or urgent care or anything like that, just a story about someone she knew who broke some fingers in a car door once.  So I certainly feel like I'm using a practice that will take action if I come in with a concern that isn't necessarily pregnancy related.

Since I was a "new" patient they did an ultrasound to confirm that it was a viable pregnancy.  I got to see our little guy who is always face down.  Perhaps he's trying to find a way out.  I would if I were him.

I asked about the fact that I'm of "advanced maternal age" which has never been addressed at the other practice.  So I know now that it's not considered a huge risk factor but it does mean that we'll have another ultrasound at 30-32 weeks to check on the baby's growth and I'll be doing weekly non-stress tests starting at 36 weeks.  I'm also only about four to six weeks away from the fun glucose test but I won't have to fast for it so that makes me happy, or as happy as I can be when it comes to blood work.  I know a lot of people hate that glucose solution but it doesn't bother me one bit.  I'm more put off by the two rounds of blood work than anything else.

I asked about when I should bring in my birth plan and was told if I want to bring it in at my next visit that works and it will then be around for the four OBs who handle the deliveries to review when I cycle through them for visits.  One of my big concerns was whether or not me wanting to labor in my own clothes would be an issue and I was told it wouldn't be.  I can't tell you how much of a relief that is to me.  My last labor was my most comfortable one and I attribute that to me wearing clothes that I felt were comfortable.  I hate trying to manage a hospital gown.  Being in a hospital is bad enough if you ask me, don't ask me to look like I'm actually one of the patients, too.

Right after I left my pre-natal appointment I headed over to my family doctor for the follow up visit for my finger.  He thinks it looks like it's healing up nicely and suspects it will be feeling and looking a lot better in a few more weeks.  The knuckle is still a bit sore and red, but it looks and feels a thousand times better than it did a few weeks ago.

So that's pretty much where I am at this point.  Oh and I even got two more pictures of the baby.  When I had my anatomy u/s the week before Christmas they only gave me one picture of the baby (and it was a really crummy picture) and told me that he wasn't very photogenic.  So this time I got a picture of his face down head and spine and his leg with a foot!  I get excited when I see the baby's feet on the ultrasound after having many ultrasounds with Ellie where we never saw her feet.  Hooray for baby feet!