Doctors, Specialists, Midwives-I've Seen Them All

I'm not sure I anticipated just how many different doctors I would see throughout this process of making a baby. I guess in a perfect world you have one doctor that you see once that plus sign shows itself on the stick and you finish with that same doctor catching the baby. Well, I have had an entire team in multiple offices and various cities across the state. Now we are weeks away from meeting our little turkey and we wouldn't be here without every single one of them. 

We started with a recommendation to go to an IVF specialist. I had several friends who had been to the same doctor so we made an appointment and we were all in. She was fabulous and always full of positivity, which was refreshing and kept me in a good place that this would work. When we actually got to the testing phase, egg retrieval and implantation, our designated doctor was never working those days. Normally it would make me nervous to see unfamiliar faces, but this practice was beyond incredible and every person instantly became my BFF. The experience couldn't have been more positive and I would recommend every single one of them!

Once we received our positive blood test, we remained with the IVF clinic for a few more weeks just until we saw a heartbeat and they were ready to release us to an OB/GYN. Around week 8-10 we finally went to see my midwife, who is a part of the OB office. That's when we began testing the baby and looking for any abnormalities through blood work and ultrasound. This part is terrifying because the last thing you want to hear is that something is wrong with your very tiny baby that you have worked so hard to create. Our genetic testing came back normal, but on the ultrasound they found a tiny cyst. My heart sank to my stomach and we were off to see a fetal specialist a couple of days later. This doctor performed another ultrasound to see if they could determine what this oh so tiny cyst was. Well, the baby was so tiny that they really couldn't tell what it was, but this doctor proceeded to give me the worst case scenario telling me we may have to terminate. Why in the world would you tell an expectant mother those words when you have no idea what this is because it's way too early to tell??? I was heartbroken and furious all at the same time. Basically we just had to wait and see as the baby grew. We ended up switching to a different fetal specialist after this visit because I needed someone who was a bit more sugar coated in their delivery. Thank goodness I did because our new specialist was honest, but didn't jump to any unnecessary conclusions. We went every 2 weeks for an ultrasound for the first 6-7 months then we were able to go every 4 weeks because it was becoming less of a concern. Finally this week we were cleared because the cyst is gone!!! So much worrying all for nothing, but I am happy that we had the right people in place to make sure everything was okay. 

Now, we are focusing on our classes with our midwife and just preparing for labor. Many people have asked if I am delivering at home because we are with a midwife. No, midwives also deliver in hospitals and that's where we will be. I decided to choose a midwife because I like the care that she provides. She will be by my side from the time we enter the hospital until little turkey arrives. She will also give us all the options when it comes to pain management and birth positions, instead of choosing for us. I want to feel in control of this process as much as I can and I believe my midwife will do her best to allow that to happen. There are doctors there in the event that something happens or if I end up needing a C-section. I am going into this with an open mind because you never know what will happen. This is an unknown for me so I am just going to take it one step at a time and choose the best option based on what's happening with my body. It's terrifying because of all the unknowns, but I am sure that I will be surrounded by the best who will only have the best interest for me and baby in mind. 

I would love to hear about your experiences so please feel free to share below!!