23 Weeks

At 23 weeks, I have dull hair, carpal tunnel syndrome along with swelling in my hands and feet, occasional bleeding noses, and the attention span of a fruit fly. Overall, I feel fine and can't complain too much; I did sign up for this after all.
The other day, I was reading a synopsis of what is happening when you're 23 weeks here. Yes, I am starting to feel better about my body - looking pregnant is preferable to looking fat. No, I'm not having back pain or sciatica. Good news! Apparently, baby is about a foot long (30cm) and weighs about 1 lb (just 440g) which gets me wondering how I've gained so much but that's another train of thought all together. Over the next few weeks, baby is working on developing her lungs, practicing breathing (sucking in amniotic fluid), and gaining fat. The article recommends cherishing your sleep ins - I'm so there - and looking for options for baby's sleeping arrangements (done and dusted).
So here I am continuing to plod along. I've managed to pick up some more day to day clothing and find some things in my wardrobe I'd forgotten about. I even purchased a new wool jacket for the winter - a wonderful fit in the shoulders and arms and plenty of room to grow in it (it's a swing style jacket from the label Bahaus which is sold in Jet stores in New Zealand). I might start using some sort of shine enhancing product in my hair and go see the physio for wrist braces to wear at night to help with the carpal tunnel. Next midwife appointment at the end of the month to ensure things are going as well as they seem and hopefully a couple dates with hubby over the next few weeks also.

Busy Week

I read a few blogs and most of them are updated daily on weekdays, and sometimes even on the weekend. A couple of the bloggers I follow don't have regular day jobs and devote much of their time to writing their blogs, running their household, and other creative endeavors. How I would love to do just that... Unfortunately, I have a full time day job, a husband whom I love to please, a young child 3 days a week, and other various, albeit small, commitments. I thought doing a daily blog would be an easy thing to do but I'm finding out how much effort all of those wonderful bloggers put into each post solely for the entertainment of others (and perhaps for their own creative outlet, etc).
This week has been rather demanding for me. Several vaccination clinics at different sites daily plus working on immigration papers, trying to sort out a matter with a foreign organization, a midwife appointment, and arranging other upcoming appointments.
The midwife appointment was good and the woman we saw very thorough. She answered most of the questions on my list before I even had to remember them. She will be our LMC and we will meet her back up person in time. It's relieved a bit of stress to have this taken care of and the next appointment with her as well as the next ultrasound scan booked.
Now onto the next thing, dinner with hubs.

Finally, a Midwife...I hope.

I am now 16 weeks pregnant and a bit anxious about maternity care. I have been to the GP twice and have had my first ultrasound, but I don't have a lead maternity carer (LMC). In New Zealand, midwives are the most common LMCs as they are free and if you want to be followed for the duration of your pregancy by an obstetrician, it will cost several thousand dollars. I suppose one of the reasons I've been anxious about this is because a coworker who is also pregnant shared her frustrations about all the midwives in her area being "booked up" or "full" early on.
Today I finally managed to get a real person on the phone and chat about meeting for a first appointment, which is actually tomorrow. Working full time hours has made it hard for me to call when there might be someone in their office to speak to and I've not got any replies to voice messages I've left. The hours I work also makes it difficult to find a time that will work, so I was lucky to set up a meeting tomorrow so I can get it out of the way.
At the first appointment, it's about getting to know the LMC and asking any questions you may have about their style, beliefs, back up person, etc. I've not thought too much about this, but managed to find an excellent list of possible questions that the GP gave me which is put out by the Ministry of Health here in NZ. Some of the questions I may ask are:
-How long have you been attending births?
-How many other patients of yours are due about the same time as me?
-Will you provide all of my care or will others be involved?
-Who will provide back up care if you're not able to be there and will I be able to meet them?
-What birthing options do you offer?
-Which hospitals do you have access to?
-How many antenatal visits can I expect to have?
-What happens if I need specialist care during my pregnancy or labour?
-What will your role be if specialist care (including caesarean section) is needed?
-How many post natal visits can I expect?
-Will post natal visits be in the hospital or at home?
-What is the best way to contact you if I have any questions or concerns at any time?

Hopefully with the help of those questions, I will be able to decide if this midwife is right for me. This is someone who I will be seeing relatively often for the next several months and who will be taking a big role in my health at a very important time in my life. Fingers crossed that this one is nice and I won't have to go around making heaps of visits before I find someone I like.