38w4d

This afternoon we had one last prenatal visit before my scheduled C-section on Thursday. Everything with my BP & urine were good, and I gained another two pounds during the week, bringing my total weight gain to a whopping 40 lbs. Our appointment was with one of our favorite nurse midwives, Darlanna. Before meeting with her, the nurse asked me if I had signed any pre-op consent forms and I said no. She asked if I wouldn't mind sticking around after the exam to go over them with the doctor who was scheduled to perform the Cesarean, since she was currently over at the hospital. That was fine with us. I began to wonder though, why Dr. Yerram didn't have me sign anything last time.

When Darlanna entered the exam room, she asked if I thought Bubba had turned. I told her I was pretty sure he hadn't. She mentioned Dr. Yerram had written in my chart that the baby was head first. Gregg and I looked at each other like, what??? We said that Dr. Y. never even checked the baby's position during our visit. All she did was check the heartbeat and give a very brief rundown of how the C-section was going to go. Darlanna felt around my belly and determined that Bubba is still buttocks first. Just to be doubly sure, she brought in the ultrasound machine and confirmed that yep, he's breech alright. Then she went over in detail the entire operation, from start to finish, and had me sign the consent form. She was also more than happy to answer any questions we had.

When she was finished, we met with one of the surgical schedulers who went over some more paperwork and gave me a packet of information outlining how to prepare for the C-section & what to expect at the hospital. I learned I not only have to have blood work done, but a phone interview as well with one of the registration staff from the hospital before Thursday. This is all so they know ahead of time how I might react to the anesthesia. None of this was told to me last week. Before we left the office last Tuesday, there was confusion on the doctor's part about whether I should come in again before the surgery. Then she originally suggested I come in the day before, but there were no appointments available Wednesday so the front desk scheduled me for today.

On the way home as Gregg & I talked about it, I started to feel more and more uncomfortable with having this doctor perform the Cesarean. I already didn't care for her lack of bedside manner, and the fact that she's new to this particular practice and seemed confused about the procedures didn't help. Then there's the obvious detail that she wrote the baby was head down. That's a pretty big mistake to make. I mean, that's the whole reason I'm having a planned C-section!!!

Gregg suggested that if I was this concerned, I should just ask that another doctor perform the operation. I was close to tears, thinking that this would now certainly delay the birth and it would be a big hassle to change docs at the last minute. I was also not looking forward to explaining why I felt uncomfortable with Dr. Y. and imagined trying to be talked out of my decision to switch.

When we got home, I called the office and left a message for the scheduling department. I received a call back within ten minutes and was told they would take care of scheduling me with another doctor for the very same day. No questions asked, no problems. I was so relieved.

I'm glad I followed my gut instinct. I wouldn't have been in the best place emotionally or mentally arriving at the hospital this Thursday. I would probably be worrying about this doctor's competency the entire procedure. I want to be able to completely trust the person into whose hands I'm essentially putting my life and my baby's.

Only two more full days before Bubba arrives!! We finally settled on his name last week. Sorry, but I won't be giving it away until the birth announcement post on the 14th. All I can say is that it begins and ends with a consonant, and contains two vowels, both of which are the same. :)