Meeting the Midwife

PPPHHHHHEEEEWWWWWWwwwwwww!

A big sigh of relief, a weight off my shoulders.  Finding a new midwife was something that was getting a little unsettling. Our past three midwives are no longer midwives :-(  In a state where it is illegal for a woman to become a midwife (unless under the direct supervision of a doctor, AND you are a nurse midwife), it makes it pretty hard to find one!  Thankfully a friend of mine told me that a mutual friend of ours used a midwife that I hadn't heard about yet.  So I called her.  And had to wait.  And wait.  Turns out she was on a 3 week vacation!  I was starting to wonder if God was trying to tell me something.  After our last birth, I am trying to listen!  Ha!

The new midwife came for a visit the other day.  And to our joy, she fits right into our views on pretty much everything.  She has lots of experience, as she's been a midwife for over 35 years. And she happened to be the one who trained each of our last three midwives!  We really liked her view point on what she sees her role being, and what our role is.  I was quite relieved to hear that come labor time, if I *FEEL* she needs to be here, then she will be here...unlike our very unfortunate experience with our last midwife.  She has the same equipment as the others do (did), though she said she no longer uses a doppler (but has one on hand in case it were to really be needed) due to the new research she has read on the safety (or lack there of) of dopplers/sonograms. 

It was a great visit.  She did a quick prenatal check up.  I was a bit bummed to not get to know the heart rate of the baby (she said at this stage of the pregnancy the placenta sounds are louder than the baby's heart tones). Though she heard the heart beating (and, really, I wasn't concerned as I've already been feeling the baby moving and kicking).  But, I do like to use that number for our little guessing game :-)  So far, the old wives tale of a high heart rate (160) being a girl, and a lower one (140) being a boy, has rung true.  That's a 7 out of 7 record!  But, eventually we will get to know.

I still plan on getting an ultrasound done, hopefully soon.  I know it isn't the best to do, but it really gives me some peace of mind (especially what happened with Jed) to know that the baby is healthy and growing fine.  But there is no peaking to see if it is a girl or boy!