Finding a doctor

This doctor stuff has been an ordeal with this pregnancy! Since I've had a normal birth and a C-section only because the baby was breech, I'm a good candidate for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). We attended our first appointment with the doctor I've had for both the boys. I have mixed feelings about their office and when he said he would do a VBAC but acted like it was a huge inconvenience (something I feel is MUCH less important than the health of mom & baby.. and hello, it's your job!), we decided to go to a midwife we'd heard wonderful things about. Went to our appointment there & found out they can't do VBAC's because insurance won't allow them to. She did do them for over 20 years and was very successful, but they were stopped from doing anymore because the insurance companies believed all the bigger hospitals weren't doing them & so they shouldn't be either. (This actually isn't true.. Most hospitals do do them, and there's only one other hospital close to us that I've found that DOESN'T)

Anyway, we still loved the midwife and the rest of the staff there, as well as their breastfeeding and family friendly OB department, so we really couldn't imagine going anywhere else after attending the appointment there. We talked to the midwife and she believed we should continue care there and then transfer care to our old doctor before the last month - She thought he would accept patients from other doctors as long as they weren't past 36 weeks. I'm sure she must've done it before to think this. Anyway, so that was the plan. AND she is more than willing to take us back if we'd end up going somewhere else & then have to have a C-section for whatever reason.

So that's how we proceeded and once I got to 30 weeks, I was getting nervous about where I'd be delivering. So far, baby's transverse, so I may very well end up having to have a C-section, but I'm trying everything I can to get baby to turn head down- and Westen was also transverse all the way up until 37 weeks, at which point they weren't sure if he was head down or not, and then by 38 weeks he was & my water broke that same night. So anyway, I'm trying not to get discouraged. I will have to be fine with a C-section if it's needed for some reason, but I'm not going to choose one just because. There is the scary risk of the uterus rupturing with a VBAC, but it is SO low, there are many more risks with C-sections (particularly repeat), and we just have to put our trust in the doctors and medical staff to take care of us if that should happen. I hope and pray it won't, but we've discussed it and discussed it and discussed it & that's what we feel is safest and best for all of us.

So anyway, our midwife scheduled a sonogram right around 33 weeks to see if baby's head down and to check other things, like if there's enough fluid for baby to turn easily, etc if she's not. She said to go ahead and call our old doctor since it can take a couple of weeks to get into him. I did so as soon as we got home, and they said they'd have to talk to the office manager before scheduling an appointment. I hadn't heard anything by the next day, so I called again, and this lady was quite rude and said there is a note in to the doctor to make sure but their policy is typically not to accept patients back who have left their practice.

I was a pretty big mess after that. I was envisioning myself with no doctor when it's time to give birth and not sure what I would do. I'm incredibly thankful for facebook pages, because I'm a member of several VBAC groups on there and have found out a lot since. Apparently, you can refuse to have a C-section, and if you're in labor, the hospital you go to has to take care of you until you've delivered. I really do not want to be in that position, and I don't want to cause any issues, but it's good to know too.

Like I said, there are lots of other hospitals around that do allow VBAC's. I was worried that I would have difficulty getting into other hospitals, though, being over 30 weeks pregnant. They're also not the most convenient since the closest is 45 minutes away. I really wasn't wanting that either, because it will make it more difficult for Eric to get back and forth to work, the boys and other family to visit, and you never know what the weather's going to be like. I guess we just won't be able to have everything perfect, though!

I ended up talking to a doctor's office whom we'd heard very good things about yesterday, and they seemed to have no issue at all with me coming there. She just said they'd want to see me as soon as possible instead of waiting until after the sono/last appointment with my midwife. So, we have an appointment there on Monday, and I'm anxious to see what the doctor says. Hopefully he's as wonderful as everyone has made him out to be!

I still haven't heard back from the old doctor, and honestly I'm not expecting to, nor am I sure we'd even want to go there after how we've been treated. We'll see if I would happen to hear they would take me back, but I really believe that won't be the case! Sometimes it stinks living in a small, rural town & not having many options!

So that's where we are right now. Hopefully I'll have time soon to update about my recent appointments and our Christmas!