Well, I had another appointment yesterday and everything looks good--blood pressure was phenomenal and Elizabeth's heartbeat was as strong as ever. My feet were extremely swollen, but given my low blood pressure and everything else it wasn't a real concern. I was checked for dilation and......*drumroll* there hasn't been any *cymbals crash to floor*. My cervix hasn't started softening, either (sorry if this is TMI, but this is a pregnancy blog), though it is in a low position. If inquiring minds would like to know, the doctor warned that the exam might be painful, and maybe if I'd been dilated it would have been, I don't know--but it wasn't. So, gentle readers, if there are any among you who will have to undergo a similar check soon, don't fear it.
After my visit was finished, we dashed over to the Women and Children's Center for a prenatal tour of the place where I'll be doing this whole laboring and delivering business. Given that I've never been in the hospital for anything (for myself--I was in the hospital with Michael for a week) and I've never even had so much as an IV, I thought it would be a good thing to see the place where the magic would happen and to ask questions.
The place seems very nice--there are several different types of rooms, and I hope that one of the Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum (LDRP) rooms is available when I check in, because you get to do everything there and don't have to be moved, etc.. I'm low-risk enough to qualify the room, but there are lots and lots of pregnant people around so I might have to get another type of room. They have birthing balls, and in a lot of the rooms they have rocking chairs, both of which are said to help with weathering contractions. In most of the rooms (and certainly in the rooms I'll most likely be in) they have birthing beds, which allow you to sit up better and have a bit more flexibility in position. I was concerned about that, because I've seen a lot of YouTube births with the woman flat on her back when pushing (for all I know it will be best to be in that position, but I want the option of sitting up if that feels better). All rooms have showers in the bathrooms, but some even have whirlpool tubs.
There's a fridge in each wing and I can bring popsicles to store in the freezer for eating while laboring, if I like. The woman giving the tour said that I really should consider doing that, because the plain ice chips weren't the tastiest--this struck me as pretty funny, given that I eat plain shaved ice just about every night (but I'm a weirdo). I will heed her advice though--maybe their ice tastes funny? They also store snacks in the fridge so that if I deliver in between a mealtime and miss an opportunity for a food tray, I won't starve while waiting for the next mealtime. All in all, my impression of the place is that it is a very positive and encouraging environment geared toward making women and any of the people they want in their rooms as comfortable and relaxed as possible. Michael and I were both glad that we were able to take the tour.
It's all becoming a little more real now.
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