Thursday, September 3, 2009

I’m Blaming Pregnancy Brain

I goofed. The doula open house I had planned to attend was 2 weeks ago. This group has 2 open houses per month. One at an uptown location and one downtown. When I spoke to the group’s director, she said the uptown one usually had more doulas attending. As I said, I’m blaming my hormone addled brain for not putting the date in my calendar. Also, the date 2 weeks ago was the week after I got back from my little vacation, the day after I attended a 2 day computer workshop, and in the midst of a heat wave. So, all in all, not thinking in top form. Thus, I was uptown and the doulas were downtown. The next one is September 16th. That should be fine, unless I’m scheduled for foot surgery that day.

Had a consult this past Monday with an obstetric anesthesiologist who thinks now is the right time to take care of my feet. He suggested no IV sedation, just a single spinal injection. Of course, to complicate matters, he preferred to convey this to my OB and have her convey it to the orthopedic surgeon, and the OB is on vacation this week. Her secretary said she would leave her a message and that she would be checking in, but I doubt that anything is getting done this week. Oh, and the surgeon only operates on Wednesdays. My feet REALLY hurt!!!

Thanks for all the comments. I appreciate it. I know that the doula should respect my wishes, but it’s hard not to feel they would be inclined towards no medication when you read this kind of thing in doula’s bios: “Xxxx gave birth once by Cesarean section and three subsequent times, un-medicated, with midwives.” I’m just anxious to find one who’s a good fit before she gets booked up. I have a couple of referrals from my OB’s office, but was waiting to call them until after the open house. I’m not sure what questions to ask, etc., and thought the open house would be helpful in this regard. Any suggestions would be most welcome

In other pregnancy related news, I saw my belly move the other night. Weird and wonderful!!

8 comments:

decemberbaby said...

Hmm... call the doulas NOW, set up an appointment with them for just after the open house. That way you'll be on their radar, just in case their caseload is already filling up.

AnotherDreamer said...

Hehe, yes, blaming the pregnancy brain.

And, how neat to see your belly move! I think that is one of the most amazing things, truly.

Michelle said...

My sis had one and she used medication. Everything was fine so I am sure you will find the right one for you! Good Luck!

battynurse said...

Sounds like a good reason to me. And wow on seeing your belly move. How totally cool is that!

Anonymous said...

Foot pain is the worst, I know from experience. I hope you can get it taken care of very soon!

And I think decemberbaby's suggestion was very good re: the doulas.

Good luck, and just take care of yourself.

Kristin said...

Definitely blame pregnancy brain! Hope you can get your feet taken care of soon. Being in pain sucks.

Shinejil said...

Oh, if I had a buck for all the appointments I'd flubbed recently, I'd have a nicely padded savings account.

Your doula is there specifically to respect your wishes. Using pain meds can lead some docs to do a lot of other (not always necessary) interventions and can sometimes interfere with breastfeeding a tiny bit (if that's your plan), and a doula is just the person to help you through that and do everything to ensure your birth unfolds in a way that makes you feel comfortable and cared for. A lot of older, more experienced doulas are better equipped, I imagine, to understand your perspective. I'm sure you'll find some non-doctrinaire labor support.

Billy said...

oops about missing the meeting

Hope you get relief for your foot soon!

And belly moving :-)