I'm Renee: October 2013

Obstetric care the second time around

10:43

If you used to read my old blog, you may know that while pregnant with E, I saw a wonderful Obstetrician privately for my pregnancy care but birthed at the local public hospital. This option worked well because initially I didn't have the time to wait around for appointments at the public clinic, I loved having the personal care given it was my first pregnancy and then as my pre-eclampsia took hold, it became reassuring to have focus and attention of one of the Queensland's leading Obstetricians.

To recap, in my first pregnancy, I saw an Ob and my GP (as he keeps Sat/Sun hours) in addition to undertaking Calmbirth classes with a practising hospital MW, accupuncture with another practising hospital MW and many monitoring appointments with MWs.

This time around, I am much more aware of what is going on with my body and what to expect so don't necessarily crave the care of an Obstetrician and to be quite honest, would prefer to avoid the expense if at all possible. I am once again having bub at the Gold Coast Hospital after a wonderful experience there last time but I am lucky in that our world class University hospital has opened so I will deliver there instead of the old Southport facility. The new hospital is pretty spectacular and comes complete with private rooms for maternity and state of the art birthing suites complete with pools in each - FYI I'm not planning a water birth.

Unfortunately due to the pre-eclampsia, induction, post partum hemorrhage and my LETZ procedure for cervical cancer (at 12 weeks pp) last time around, this pregnancy is classed as high risk whether I like it or not. I have an excellent and very attentive GP who also watched over my first pregnancy and who I am still seeing but recognise that I do need a more specific care this time around given the heightened risks. I will obviously need to see the hospital Obs but that then means lengthy wait times etc. With this in mind, I figured I'd just see my Ob once again and the hospital ones minimally but I wanted to investigate one other option I had recently heard of.

On the Gold Coast, there have been several midwifery practices open in recent years and I became aware of this at a Children's Health & Wellbeing expo I attended earlier in the year. I have been interested in investigating this further so a couple of weeks ago I googled and found Midwifery Services Gold Coast - http://www.midwiferyservices.com.au/. One name and face stood out as familiar - I was sure the lead midwife was the same MW who induced me, monitored my labour and all but delivered Ethan (things went pear shaped towards the end and we had a few Obs & Paeds etc with us at delivery so one of them ended up catching him). She supported us throughout a long and distressing 12 hours and even stayed past her shift till the very end and as a result, I have wonderful memories of her and how her support helped us. I called my mum as she was in delivery with us to ask her if she recalled the midwife and she confirmed my suspicions so I called the practice.

'My' MW actually answered the phone and after I introduced myself, gave some background and explained my reason for calling, she was able to remember me. She still works one day a week at the GC Hospital it turns out. We discussed the care and services offered by the practice including that I was still eligible despite my high risk category and the options available to me. There is a Shared Care option that is eligible for Medicare and provides care up until baby is 6 weeks old. This option will reduce your wait times for appointments (as you will not have to attend public clinics as often) and provide plenty of experienced support for the entire pregnancy and labour experience.

The second option is Continuity of Care Complete Birth Experience. You will have individual hands on care by one named MW and access 7 days a week 24 hours a day and for 6 weeks after birth. Your lead named MW will be on call for your birth and will support you through labour and birth at the hospital with the hospital team. This option I was pleased to discover is covered by my private health insurance and means that I will be able to have the same MW who supported me through Ethan's birth once again there to do the same with this baby.

I am open to seeing my previous Obstetrician also if it is warranted as I have been advised my cervix will need monitoring this time after the LETZ procedure but I am confident in my share care choices should everything be relatively fuss free this time. I am excited to take advantage of MW care this time as truly, the experiences I had with MWs throughout my first pregnancy shaped my views on birth, labour and gave me the strength to have the birth I hoped for.

I have my appointment with Midwifery Services Gold Coast later today and am very much looking forward to it. I will continue to update about my share care choices and how they are working out as the pregnancy progresses.

Andy Warhol

Second time around shopping list

10:50

So there's not much I need to buy this time around (S is very pleased about this) ... mostly because a) we aren't finding out the sex b) we can use most of the items we bought for E and c) I don't have the time to pore over lists and do endless research on a million bits we don't need but I want anyway.

These are a few items we will definitely be buying (or may have already bought) this time around however:

The Bugaboo Donkey duo
We have loved our Cameleon since day 1 even if Ethan hasn't so it makes sense that we upgrade to the double version. Ethan doesn't love the pram at the best of times however he will be 22 months or thereabouts when B2 is born and as a friend with 2 and the Donkey summed up for me, 'it's a long time before kids are able to walk longer distances at a reasonable speed and safely.' I love that the Donkey gives me the option of mono mode, taking it out for short trips with E walking, B2 in pram and carrier in the basket so when E gets tired, B2 goes in the carrier and E in the pram. Obviously there is duo mode for longer days, walking/exercise, shopping etc and sitting side by side, they will be able to interact and amuse each other - E goes well in my mum's double stroller with his cousin. I will also be able to sell our Cammie for a good price to go towards the expense of a new pram and it helps I negotiated a fantastic price at Baby Bunting - even the staff were in shock - so even S was pleased with the purchase in the end.

The new limited release Andy Warhol Happy Bugs canopy
I desperately wanted the Cammie Missoni hood but was a bit late on the release plus worried for too long that it was a bit girly for E. I procrastinated so long of course prices skyrocketed and I gave up. I have liked some of the Bugaboo partnerships but not enough to race out and buy so I was very pleased when I heard about the latest Andy Warhol collaboration. I love both the Happy Bugs and the Starry Night but as the Starry Night is only for the Cameleon, I will settle for just the Bugs and I'm very happy to say I have my set on pre-order!

Big boy bed for Ethan
Ethan hates his cot and pretty much has since day one whether for day or night sleeps ... although he happily plays in there after bath time ??? I think the longest sleeping stretch in there has been 5 hours max if that. It makes sense in this case to buy him a big boy bed rather than convert it to the toddler bed option and buy another cot. I'm thinking a low single or king single with a safety rail would suit well - any advice or recommendations here?

Boon grass/lawn drying rack
I'm a recent convert to the Boon feeding range, having discovered it a few months ago. We love their plate, bowl, sippy and cutlery but I sadly had no need of the lawn till now. I never liked mixing Ethan's pacifiers/feeding pieces up with our dishes or having them sit in the rack or steriliser or putting them away damp so this negates the need for any of that and better yet, it looks great on the bench top too. Win!

Summer Infant Swaddle Pods, Ergo Pouches, Love to Dream, Woombies
We are starting with these zip pouches from the beginning ... just like I wanted to last time but was derailed by S until E was 4 months old. I am a hopeless swaddler - babies always escape for me - so I plan to rely on these zip suits from day dot. I may have already bought 2 newborn ones (Swaddle Pods on sale 50% off at Toys R us for $15) to add to my 2 from E and the 2 or so my sis has to lend me. These really helped E settle for naps and were a great sleep association when we finally did start using them so I'm hoping B2 will be a fan.

Gro clock for Ethan
The Gro-Clock uses images of the stars and sun to communicate when to go back to sleep and when it's time to get up. It helps to encourage children to stay in bed longer so is a great sleep training and learning clock. We have night-weaned Ethan and finally transitioned him from co-sleeping to a single mattress in our room. The plan is to move him back into his own room early in the new year (sooner if he is showing signs he is ready) and into his single bed. With this in mind, we will start using the Gro Clock then to add to his bed time routine and to try and keep him in bed a little longer in the mornings.

Sling/Hugabub wrap/Carriers
I only used a Baby Bjorn with E as it was a baby shower gift so I didn't research any other options. I had no problems with the BB and we used it from around 6 weeks till E was 13 months or so. My only complaints would be that he grew out of it too fast in comparison to other carriers like the Ergo and it didn't provide a lot of support for the wearer so couldn't be used all day. My sister used a sling in the early days with my niece and I will definitely borrow it this time around rather than use the BB so early but from there, I think we might be best to invest in another carrier that provides better support than the BB. A few suggestions have been the Plikko, Manducca, Hugabub wrap and the Beco Gemini so I'm looking into each of these and will have to drag S around and test them out with E.

What else do I need for B2? I might have to look up some of those nursery essentials lists at some stage.

baby