A little one is on the way!

Well Janelle suggested I start a blog, so here is my first attempt at blogging. Let me get everyone up to date. I am pregnant. I got my first positive test on 10/8/07 and took two more after that. On the 15th of October I went to my general doctor to have blood work done. After a few days it was reported back that my blood work looked good. I have a pregnancy journal that I have been writing in so I'll share some of the thing in there. One section says:

"How I felt when I found out: I was in disbelief. I did not think I was pregnant at all. The previous two cycles I was absolutely convinced I was pregnant. Funny how things work out. How my partner (the journals' wording) felt: Yea! It's about time. Glad to know my plumbing is working."

I don't know what he is complaining about we were only trying for 4 months. He is excited about "his plumbing working" because he had a vasectomy reversal in June of 2006. Another portion of the journal suggests to write my symptoms. Initially I was just very tired, my lower back hurt and had sore boobs. Now I'm in full morning (and noon and night) sickness mode. Before getting pregnant I had read all these books about what to eat and how to eat healthy. Now I'm only concerned about what will stay down and what I can tolerate. Morning is the worst, followed by evening and then lunch. I will say that I am not quite as tired as I was initially. Everyday when I go to work I pack a whole slew of snacks because I never know what is going to sound good when.

Chad and I have been touring hospitals to try to first find out which hospital we want to give birth at so we can then find a good OB/GYN that delivers there. Here are our thoughts on each.

Good Sam: We didn't expect to like Good Sam at all. It was the first place we toured. I felt pretty silly touring with a bunch of women that seemed to be 7 or 8 months pregnant. Anyways, they have really nice facilities. I seemed like my family could be comfortable when visiting. They have a little snack bar that Chad could go get jello and drinks. The rooms seemed nice as well. They do have a security system which consists of ankle bracelets (like Martha Stewarts') to prevent people from taking off with babies. Their neo-natal unit is level 2 so if something should go wrong the baby would have to be taken to Tacoma General Hospital. They seem open to unconventional childbirths. Does not allow pictures or videotape during birth (the nurse at the tour said they got sued too much). Chad and I both thought, "Well don't do anything that will get you sued".

St. Joseph's: This was the second hospital we toured. After this tour we started to like Good Sam a little more. The facilities we definitely not as nice as Good Sam's. They had a cot for dad, but if you lay that cot out there is no space for anything else in the room. They did not have a snack bar or fridge's in the recovery rooms. The atmosphere was very hospital-like. St. Joseph's has a level 2 1/2 neo-natal unit, but they are a lot closer to Tacoma General. St. Joseph's also seems open to unconventional childbirths. Here too you cannot take pictures or videotape during the birth. They also did not have a security system other than "we keep the doors locked" but I'm not too concerned about our baby being kidnapped.

Tacoma General: We loved the tour at Tacoma General mostly because of the lady that facilitated the tour. She is a doula trainer and childbirth educator not affiliated with the hospital. Tacoma General does allow pictures and videotape during the birth. It wasn't just here is room one and here is room two. She walked you through the entire process. We told her we are interested hypnobirthing and are touring hospitals to be sure we find the right one. She mentioned that Tacoma General may not be the place because the doctor's there are used to high risk births (their neo-natal unit is level 3, the highest). She mentioned that St. Joseph's might be our best bet. She mentioned that the staff at Good Sam's seems uneducated (which sadly, this is not the first time I have heard this). We did not ask about Valley Medical which will be our next stop.

Here is what I have going on this upcoming week. Monday Chad and I (and my potential doula) are attending an "Intro to Hypnobirth class". For those who are not familiar with hypnobirthing (which I imagine is most) here is a website to learn a little more about it. http://www.hypnobirthing.com/stories.htmI'll let you know how the class goes. Sunday the 11th we will be touring Valley Medical. I am thinking this is where we will end up and here is why. They have a level 3 neo-natal unit. The rooms look nice with a daybed type thing for dad to sleep on (similar to Good Sam's). They seem open to non-conventional childbirth (they have midwives that deliver there). All in all I think it will be the right combination, but I'll let you know after we have toured it. My first doctor's appointment with an OB/GYN is November 14. I can't wait. I don't plan on seeing this doctor throughout the pregnancy but this will at least get us started.

Wow Janelle, I wrote a book! I'll update this blog next weekend and try to start including some pics :)