I Am So Unprepared ...

Everyday, as this pregnancy progresses, I am realizing how unprepared I am for the actual arrival of a baby. You'd think, considering how long this has been in coming, we'd be ready by now (and, truth be told, I think Evelin has a much better idea of what's going on and yet to come than I do).

Yesterday afternoon was our first appointment at the birthing center. Evelin wants to do natural childbirth with as little medicalization of the process as possible, and we're lucky that there is a birthing center in Bethesda, fully staffed by certified nurse midwives with MD back up and admittance rights at a nearby hospital, just in case something goes wrong.

I thought we were going for a tour and sort of overview of what they offer/what's special about their facility, but it turned out this was our first appointment and it looks like it's where our child will be born (assuming everything continues to progress normally).

We spent about 90 minutes with the midwife, who went over family history, a bit about our expectations and what the birthing center would and wouldn't do, Evelin's diet, and so forth. Evelin also got a check up (the baby's heartbeat was in the 150 bmp range and sounded as strong as ever).

I thought the midwife was a bit on the crunchy-granola side (particularly when we were going over our history at the fertility clinic; she kept making little tsk noises like she disapproved of the way the doctors handled our problems/case), but Evelin pointed out -- and rightly so -- the whole birthing center/midwife route was going to be pretty far on the crunchy scale.

Talking about it all on the ride home, Evelin said she liked that the midwife was concerned about her diet (the midwife said Evelin was eating too much sugar, pointing out the apples and snap peas, as well as the ice cream, as things to cut back on) and that she was totally comfortable with the place. I do have to admit the midwife did take as long as it took to go through everything with us, and the care did seem more holistic than at the OB's, so I'm sure this is going to work out well.

We go back in two weeks to meet the next midwife in the rotation ...