Booking in (10 weeks)

Yesterday was our booking in appointment.  The lady who saw us seems nice - which is what you'd expect from a community midwife :D She explained that whilst there were two midwives based at the health centre, she would hopefully be taking most of our appointments for continuity of care.
We went through the questionnaire on lifestyle, health and family history that I had been given at the time of booking and discussed how to proceed with regards to my family's strong predisposition to kidney disorders (6 incidents in 3 generations but doctors still insist it isn't genetic.) We agreed to review where we stood after the mid-term anomaly scan.
She scored some big points with us when she actually listened to what I was saying about my concerns regarding group B strep in our family.  Rather than giving me the party line about drugs given during labour to protect the baby, she acknowledged the worry I carry as a result of my baby sister's extreme prematurity and subsequent death.  I admit, I did feel a little better once it was clear she had heard what I was trying to say.

My height and weight were taken (I've apparently shrunk since the doctor last measured me, lolz) and blood pressure, all of which were fine.  Unfortunately, when the midwife (W) tried to draw blood for the basic screening tests we had agreed to, the vein she was trying to take it from collapsed.  I've always had good veins and this has never happened to me before.  It actually felt quite embarrassing, though I've no idea why (chalk it up to hormones.)
And speaking of hormones: the leaflets that went into the pregnancy information pack we were given included a breast feeding guide.  W asked us if we were thinking to breast feed and I answered that we planned to for as long as we were able.  I got quite teary at this and we had some giggles at my expense before we concluded by making our 15 week appointment (Yay!) and arranging for me to visit vampire nurse for the screenings (Boo!)

After that, we spent a very pleasant afternoon in town with a leisurely lunch at a restaurant we rarely allow ourselves and time shopping for little necessities.  And whilst it may be a little early in the game, I finally conceded to buying a maternity bra. Yes, I may need to invest again later but I have an active job and the girls need better support than they've been getting.  I only wish I had opened the pregnancy information pack whilst we were still in town, where we could have claimed our mum-to-be bounty pack.

Early days

According to most net-based calculators, we are currently six weeks and two days pregnant; so, into our seventh week. Baby is the size of a blueberry, has a twin chambered heart that is already beating and little buds that will one day be arms and legs - already segmenting into the beginnings of tiny fingers and toes!

My earlier symptoms have started to ease up; my back and breasts are no longer quite so sore.  I was a bit concerned by this and have re-tested a couple more times since we first found out, just for reassurance that s/he was still there.  On one occasion, after a particularly vivid dream where I'd started bleeding, I called A at work in tears - and she not only calmed me down but stayed on the line whilst I tested again. Have I mentioned recently how much I love my partner?  Thankfully (and I say this with some irony), there is one daily reminder that baby is still with us.  Due to an increasingly sensitive tummy, I've had to adapt my breakfast habits.  Where once I would get up and sit to a large bowl of cereal, followed by a cup of peppermint or chamomile, now I have to start my day with a cup of black tea with milk (slowly) and then maybe half a bowl of cereal, and if my stomach has calmed down after a couple hours I'll try some toast or digestive biscuits (reduced salt, of course)

There were no appointments available at the health centre when we called but I was able to get a phone consultation and from that a recommendation to proceed straight to booking in with a midwife.

That same day, I headed down to the centre and filled out the paperwork with the understanding that the midwife would get back to me to schedule our first appointment.  There were a couple things that concerned me about the paperwork that I didn't get a chance to clarify with the receptionist, as she was particularly busy; mainly, the choice of birth centre.  It sates on the form that the choice must be made before the first appointment with the midwife.  Feeling flustered, I may have misinterpreted this to mean 'indicate now.'  Of the four listed centres, I only recognised two and one was on the other side of the city. I circled the other, still wondering how we would make it - twenty minutes away - in an emergency scenario when neither of us can drive. 

Getting home and reading the literature provided (including a booklet on the facilities in our city) we figured out that one of the locations I hadn't been able to identify was actually quite close to us.  From the centre's description, it seems almost perfect: a home from home environment, with four birth rooms - all of which have pools for labour and birthing, and en-suite facilities - and partners are able to stay following the birth.
We haven't heard back from the midwife yet but when we do we hope that this mistake can be rectified.