Day 186: Sweet News

The test results came back today. Anat does not have Gestational Diabetes. So she’s got that goin’ for her, which is nice.

Week 26 Photo

Day 180: Musical Doctors

When I was a kid I made a huge deal about how my birthday was on the 100th day of the year (not including leap years of course), which was awesome. Well, 100 days from today it will be my child’s birthday, literally, which will be even awesomer, yes awesomer. Thing is, I don’t have a doctor to deliver said baby–not so awesome. That’s right; a week or so shy of the third trimester and the doctor drama continues.

As many of you know, Aaron and I like to do research. And when it came down to the doctor that was going to deliver our baby, we did A LOT of research. We finally found a doctor that was well reviewed, was close to home, blah blah blah. Well it took me a few months, but I soon realized that I didn’t really like this doctor. He’s curt, has given me lots of tests, and has overall made me feel a little uncomfortable. I can’t actually say that he did anything wrong, but something just didn’t feel right.

After the recent insurance switch (see Aaron’s post) we just decided to stay with him. We figured that he’s a ‘respected’ doctor; the rest we could tolerate. Case closed, or so we thought. On Monday we started our birthing class. We are taking a class on the Bradley method, which is the new Lamaze. This class teaches the basics of labor and delivery, breastfeeding, and techniques that should make labor less painful. So we’re in class, introducing ourselves, and the instructor asked us to say why we were taking the class. So it was my turn and I said that I was there to learn when it’s necessary to have interventions such as C-sections and episiotomies, and when it really isn’t. At that point the instructor looked me dead in the eye and told me that my doctor “does not like spontaneous deliveries” and that I will definitely have an episiotomy! I think both Aaron and I were in shock. My worst nightmare had just played out, what do you mean he does not like spontaneous deliveries?!?!? What other kind is there?

Well, thankfully it’s not too late to change doctors. The instructor was kind enough to suggest two or three doctors who were open to natural deliveries. Tomorrow we have an interview with one of them to see if she’ll take us as patients! We’re a bit nervous about the interview but appreciate that she’s looking to make sure that we’re all compatible. Wish us luck!

UPDATE: We met the doctor yesterday and she was awesome! She was personable, nice, understanding, and everything I would ever want in a doctor. I am totally stoked. We still have to deal with telling the other doctor that we are leaving, but I could not be happier with this decision.

Oh – and I failed my glucose test so on Tuesday I have this intense 4 hour test where they take my blood four times, sounds fun! Thanks for all the support!

Week 25 Photo

Week 24 Photo

Day 162: Insurance – A Drama in Three Acts

Okay — So far this pregnancy has been pretty easy. Some nausea here, a cramp or two there, some bonehead comments (not from me which has surprised all of us, I’m sure), and a bit of extra hormones. No biggie. Truth is, the only struggles we’ve encountered have been medical or insurance-related in nature. Here’s the latest:

Act 1: The Letter

About a week ago, our protagonist received a letter from UCLA informing her that her insurance carrier has switched from Blue Cross to some company we’ve never heard of, United Health Care. Wouldn’t you guess, our doctor isn’t an ‘in-network’ provider in UHC’s system. OK, we weren’t 100% thrilled with our doctor so we saw it as a sign. Still, Anat makes a bunch of calls to both insurance companies, the doctor’s billing department, and UCLA’s insurance office to see if she could stay with the doc. The answer is yes, but at a price 2- to 5-times more than what it would cost before the switch. Drama ensues.

Act: 2: The Searching

Realizing fairly quickly that our doc isn’t worth another 1 to 4 grand, we start looking for other options. The first few don’t take UHC; our play seems rather comedic. The next doctor does take UHC, but not past January. The next one takes UHC but doesn’t actually deliver babies anymore. The following office takes UHC but isn’t accepting new patients; our play develops signs of tragedy. This goes on for a while. Each inquiry also brings with it a healthy amount of internet sleuthing to look for doctor reviews. Frustration builds. Finally after a few hours of looking, Anat finds a doctor that fits her criteria, takes UHC, and is accepting new patients. Drama averted.

Interlude:

Happy we’ve neutralized the situation Anat makes an appointment with the new doc (ND), cancels our appointment with the old doc (OD), and requests that the OD’s office send us Anat’s file and medical results.

Act 3: Redemption

Yesterday I get a call from the OD’s office manager, inquiring why we’re leaving their practice and if there is anything that she can do to make us stay. Resound with our decision to leave, I tell her it’s not you, it’s me (sorry, I never thought I’d actually use a Seinfeld quote in writing) and explain the insurance situation. After some talking she basically says that she has the power to override whether they are ‘in-network’ or ‘out-of-network’ and that she’s willing to honor our in-network rates. So we chat a bit more, some more niceties are exchanged, pregnant wife consulted with, ND’s appointment canceled, new appointment with OD rescheduled yadda yadda, and we’re back where started a week ago. Exeunt parents-to-be.

THE END

Yosemite National Park

For Anat’s last camping experience before the baby gets here, we decided to go out with a bang. Every year since we’ve moved to California, we’ve gone to the Sierras in the Fall. The tradition in some ways has its origins in a disdain for Valentine’s Day and a compromise we made in the nascent stages of our relationship coupled with our love for the outdoors. Plus, we find the parks to be much more pleasant when the crowds have all stopped coming. The past 4 years we’ve gone to Sequoia National Park but this time around we chose to explore the more Northern Sierra park.

Week 23 Photo

 

Week 23 in Yosemite NP

Day 157: Change

From interactions with other people, to sleeping, eating, and breathing; everything changes when you are pregnant. At first, it’s not as obvious how much your life is going to change, but as you start “showing” it only becomes more and more different than normal life.

There are the obvious changes, clothes don’t fit, legs cramp, emotions run high. But what I didn’t realize for a long time is that everything else changes as well. There are not many people that pass me that don’t instantly think, “oh, that woman is pregnant.” It is an instant stigma attached to you at all times. Now there are definite perks to this, people tend to be more polite around you, and smile lots. But it is weird to have almost every person you pass stare at your stomach. Though, the problem is not the stare, it’s what comes with that stare: a random (sometimes insensitive) comment, a generic question, unwarranted advice. Now, to be fair it’s not always easy to say something “right” to a pregnant woman, you don’t know what mood she is in and well, maybe you’ve never really dealt with pregnancy before, so it’s ok. I don’t mind the stuttering because it usually comes from a good place. What I do mind are the questions about twins, guessing what month I am in (and always over estimating), and of course, changing your mind about what sex the baby is based on how I look in my clothes that day. Let’s be honest no one really has any clue what sex the baby is going to be, and the best way to give someone a complex is to constantly tell them that they look like they are carrying a girl! (random yoga man that Lisa met is exempt from that statement — he really did know she was having a girl).

As for the sex of the baby. Yes, we have the answer written down at home and we have not looked. Why? Because we don’t care. Honestly that is the only reason. We really do not care if we are having a boy or a girl. We care that we have a healthy child and that we provide it with a loving home. Will we look at some point? Maybe, it is always possible that our curiosity will prevail and we will know, but for the time being there is a child inside of me that is kicking me all night and the only thing Aaron and I want is to meet this beautiful child and give him/her a big hug.