I'm sure everyone knows how hard it is to find a really good doctor--or in this case, a midwife--and we are so appreciative when we do find one. Today, I had my first appointment with the University of Colorado Nurse Midwivery practice. Yes, I have been getting continous care since finding out about Baby #2 in early February.
Anyway, I digress...I decided to make a switch from a Family Practioner to a midwife. I've been seeing my family practioner since the beginning and love her to death but, the hospital that she practices at is a little bit too sterile and tradional for my liking. Some of you might remember my birth experience with Caitlin--almost totally natural except for some mild IV drugs towards the end. I spent most of my transition labor in a jacuzzi tub, which saved my life. So, I was seeking this type of atmosphere for Cara's birth as well.
I did some investigating, took a couple of tours and decided that University Hospital best matched my needs. Oh my god, the birthing center is incredible! The rooms are huge and so comforting. You hardly feel that you're at a hospital. Plus, since this campus of the hospital is brand new, you get that bonus. Here, see for yourself--the online tour. Ben & I were drooling when we toured the center.
Okay, so we fell in love with the hospital, so the next step was to find a midwife. I set up a consultation with the Center for Midwivery and was equally impressed. All of my questions got answered and I was pleased with what I heard. I booked an appointment and anxiously awaited the day.
My appointment was at 10:20 this morning and by 10:30, I was in with one of the nurses doing medical history and such. Then, one of midwives comes in. Her name is Jessica and she was just wonderful. She had such of a sunny disposition that it was contagious. She let Caitlin "help" measure me and listen to the baby. No doctor I've ever had has been that involved with Caitlin. She kept looking at me with the biggest smile on her face--priceless. The best things that I heard today...not having to have an IV at all, no pee tests every single visit and the option to have a water birth (I think it would totally freak Ben out) or give birth in any position I choose
I left there feeling so at home and comfortable with the practice and cannot wait to meet the other 3 midwives. Now that I'm 30 weeks, I will be going every 2 weeks until I deliever, so I'm sure to develop friendships with all of them.
I don't know how it is with regular OBs, but I've been lucky to have wonderful experiences with midwives to date. I guess that's the whole philosophy...a more well rounded experience or "beyond the ordinary" as is the moto of this practice.
Oh, I'm so glad I decided to find something that suited my wants and needs, I couldn't be happier about my decision!
Friday, May 26, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Bad Mommy Moment
I know that all moms lose their cool, yell sometimes, give ice cream for dinner (What's that you say?! You've never done that?) and minor things like that but trust me, this one ranks up there.
A week ago tomorrow, Caitlin & I were at Target to pick up a few things. She asked me if she could walk thru the store versus having sit in the cart (a new big girl thing) and I reluctantly agreed, as long as she held my hand and stayed with me.
Everything was peachy keen until I took a detour thru the food section (this is a Super Target) to get to the pharmacy. Caitlin spotted something that she had to have down an aisle. I asked her to come back to me but she turned a deaf ear and kept on walking. I followed, telling her that I was sure we didn't need what she was clamoring after. Still, she proceeded to pick up the item off of the shelf and whine, "Mommy, we need this, please!" I put my foot down, not about to buy another thing that we didn't need, and started to drag her away from the item (by the armpit hold). Caitlin's putting on quite a show that has gathered a few on-lookers like an accident on the freeway, making me look like I just won the "Worst & Stingy Mom of the Year Award". Still, I held my ground as she went boneless and screamed.
The next thing I know, big alligator tears (enough to start a flash flood in our bone dry state) started rolling down Caitlin's cheeks and she said, "OW Mommy, my arm hurts!" Immediately, I let go and scoop her up. Thinking that she's exaggerating, I go put her in a cart, hug her and continue on with my shopping list. Minutes later, Cait is still complaining and I start to panic. "Oh no, what have I done to my baby?!" So, speed dial #3 it is to trusty nurse Grandma. The advice, try to get Caitlin to use the arm and give her some Tylenol. Caitlin refused to move her arm no matter how much pleading I did and was still crying.
Finally, I made a decision, I was going to take her to urgent care and prepare for the worse. Having had 3 broken arms in my lifetime, that is what I was fearing...my precious 2 1/2 year old with her arm in a bright pink (Disney Princess if it could be managed) cast.
With my heart racing, we drove the few short miles to the urgent care center where I tried to fill out paperwork while consoling a screaming preschooler. It wasn't 10 minutes after our arrival that we were called into an examining room. Mind you, this is no average room, it is kid hospital heaven. The Children's Hospital of Denver claims the territory of this peds urgent care and has gone all out to make kids comfortable. There are colorful murals on the walls, coloring books & crayons and, the best thing, a TV with a VCR. After triage, we are ushered into one of these rooms and the nurse immediately puts Bambi on the TV, which calms the screaming to whimpers.
We wait about 10 more minutes before a doctor comes in. She is young and very nice. Caitlin likes her off of the bat and engages her in a conversation about how she hurt her arm and how her mommy is mean. Yes, my daughter said that! The doctor touches her arm in a couple of places, diagnosing the problem and then calls me out into the hall.
Okay folks, this is where I totally start to freak out. "Oh gosh", I'm thinking, "is she going to call the cops on me for child abuse?" Actually, all she wanted to do was tell me that Caitlin had Nursemaid's Elbow, a common accident with children up to 3 years old, and show me how she was going to reset the elbow and ligament. I could've blown a house down with my sigh of relief, honestly! So, back into the room we go where the doctor grabs Cait's arm does a push & pull move and viola, everyting is back to normal. She wants us to stick around for a few just to be sure that Cait will use the arm. She asks Cait what color of popsicle she'd like and disappears. A few minutes later, when she returns, Cait is her old self, moving her arm and chatting up a storm. We walk out with an orange twin popsicle, a Chicken Little sticker and the promise of a bill. Before we leave though, the doctor is nice enough to assure me that this is a rite of passage for preschoolers and she is willing to bet that I might have to do it again, when Caitlin runs out into traffic. Oh, heaven help me!
A week ago tomorrow, Caitlin & I were at Target to pick up a few things. She asked me if she could walk thru the store versus having sit in the cart (a new big girl thing) and I reluctantly agreed, as long as she held my hand and stayed with me.
Everything was peachy keen until I took a detour thru the food section (this is a Super Target) to get to the pharmacy. Caitlin spotted something that she had to have down an aisle. I asked her to come back to me but she turned a deaf ear and kept on walking. I followed, telling her that I was sure we didn't need what she was clamoring after. Still, she proceeded to pick up the item off of the shelf and whine, "Mommy, we need this, please!" I put my foot down, not about to buy another thing that we didn't need, and started to drag her away from the item (by the armpit hold). Caitlin's putting on quite a show that has gathered a few on-lookers like an accident on the freeway, making me look like I just won the "Worst & Stingy Mom of the Year Award". Still, I held my ground as she went boneless and screamed.
The next thing I know, big alligator tears (enough to start a flash flood in our bone dry state) started rolling down Caitlin's cheeks and she said, "OW Mommy, my arm hurts!" Immediately, I let go and scoop her up. Thinking that she's exaggerating, I go put her in a cart, hug her and continue on with my shopping list. Minutes later, Cait is still complaining and I start to panic. "Oh no, what have I done to my baby?!" So, speed dial #3 it is to trusty nurse Grandma. The advice, try to get Caitlin to use the arm and give her some Tylenol. Caitlin refused to move her arm no matter how much pleading I did and was still crying.
Finally, I made a decision, I was going to take her to urgent care and prepare for the worse. Having had 3 broken arms in my lifetime, that is what I was fearing...my precious 2 1/2 year old with her arm in a bright pink (Disney Princess if it could be managed) cast.
With my heart racing, we drove the few short miles to the urgent care center where I tried to fill out paperwork while consoling a screaming preschooler. It wasn't 10 minutes after our arrival that we were called into an examining room. Mind you, this is no average room, it is kid hospital heaven. The Children's Hospital of Denver claims the territory of this peds urgent care and has gone all out to make kids comfortable. There are colorful murals on the walls, coloring books & crayons and, the best thing, a TV with a VCR. After triage, we are ushered into one of these rooms and the nurse immediately puts Bambi on the TV, which calms the screaming to whimpers.
We wait about 10 more minutes before a doctor comes in. She is young and very nice. Caitlin likes her off of the bat and engages her in a conversation about how she hurt her arm and how her mommy is mean. Yes, my daughter said that! The doctor touches her arm in a couple of places, diagnosing the problem and then calls me out into the hall.
Okay folks, this is where I totally start to freak out. "Oh gosh", I'm thinking, "is she going to call the cops on me for child abuse?" Actually, all she wanted to do was tell me that Caitlin had Nursemaid's Elbow, a common accident with children up to 3 years old, and show me how she was going to reset the elbow and ligament. I could've blown a house down with my sigh of relief, honestly! So, back into the room we go where the doctor grabs Cait's arm does a push & pull move and viola, everyting is back to normal. She wants us to stick around for a few just to be sure that Cait will use the arm. She asks Cait what color of popsicle she'd like and disappears. A few minutes later, when she returns, Cait is her old self, moving her arm and chatting up a storm. We walk out with an orange twin popsicle, a Chicken Little sticker and the promise of a bill. Before we leave though, the doctor is nice enough to assure me that this is a rite of passage for preschoolers and she is willing to bet that I might have to do it again, when Caitlin runs out into traffic. Oh, heaven help me!
Friday, May 12, 2006
New inhabitants
It looks like a new family has taken up residence on our balcony. A pidgeon family has made a nest out of pine needles (we have a ton of pine needles in the complex, so collecting was pretty easy) between our A/C unit and the exterior wall of our apartment.
It seems like everyone (or everything) is pregnant this spring, humans and birds alike.
I know that Caitlin & I will have fun watching the eggs and waiting for them to hatch. I just hope that she doesn't think that her baby sister with hatch out of an egg too...
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Camera Status
Okay, this post is in answer to those of you who have been asking (aka bugging) me about new pictures of Caitlin. It's not that I've been slacking--okay, maybe a little bit--but that in our move to Aurora, we misplaced the battery charger for our digital camera. Therefore, with the battery being dead, I cannot take or upload any pictures. I know, I could just get a disposable, develop the pictures and then scan them but umm...that's just too much work! *wink*
Monday, May 08, 2006
Start of a new era
Caitlin has crossed over another threshold today, leaving the toddler world behind. Today marked her first day of junior preschool! She goes to a wonderful learning center called Three Bears and her group's name is the Pooh Bears--how cute is that?
She has been all excited for weeks about going to "her new school" and practically jumped out of her carseat this morning when she recognized where we were.
She ran right into her classroom and started to play as I was busy talking with her teacher and labeling her diapers. I thought it was smooth sailing from there on out. However, she did cry a little bit when I went to leave but her teacher assured me that it lasted only a minute or so before she had forgotten all about my departure and was engrossed in playing babies with the other children. I'm so proud of her, she's totally adapted to the "day care" scene and knows that she'll be okay and that Mommy will be back to get her "pretty soon".
Here's what her teacher had to say about her first day (from the "What I Did Today" info sheet): "Caitlin had a good day. She really enjoyed playing with the other children. She is a very bright little girl".
When I came to pick her up, she was totally oblivious to my presence in the room and was sitting on a big pillow deeply involved in a book. I had to call her name to get her attention, then she came running to me and began, at once, to tell me all about her day.
Where did the time go? Next thing I know, we'll be putting her on the bus to Kindergarten. I'm sure she'll be just as ready and excited to go as she is now.
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