Baby Update

It's been a wild two weeks in the baby business. We have opted for an assisted midwife/birth center birth for Leo, but our family practice docs, who approved my referral to the birth center, have been a pain to work with.

In order to deliver at the birth center our family practice doctor needs to sign a form agreeing to see Leo within 72 hours of birth. Seemed pretty reasonable to me, but they have refused to sign that form, as they cannot guarantee they can see him within 72 hours. No problem. The birth center had another form that requests the family doc to see the baby within 72 hours but does not expect a guarantee. Our doctors' office legal team will not allow them to sign that form either. Apparently they are a bit freaked the baby will not be seen by a pediatrician within 24 hours of birth, but then they are unwilling to say they will see the baby in that time frame. Yesterday they told me I should just deliver in the hospital. I spent the rest of the day near tears. How did lawyers figure into our birth plan?

Thankfully, the midwives at the birth center have agreed to deliver me at the center without the signed form. They seemed a bit miffed by my docs, as they are a licensed practice and take every precaution to ensure both mother and baby are cared for in every way. They are also equiped with enough expertise and experience to properly evaluate a newborn for release. The form just ensures our family is registered with a medical practice that will see our newest family addition.

So, with just under 4 weeks to go, all is taken care of, and a plan I'm happy with is in place. You'd think I could just relax, right? Wrong. Apparently, Leo has decided he's already had enough of the head down position (he's been head down since 28 weeks) and has reoriented himself in an oblique breach position. Argh! I'm currently taking pulsatilla (a homeopathic used for such occasions) and doing special exercises in attempt to get the little guy to rectify his position. I head back to the midwifery on Tuesday for a check and if the lil guy is uncooperative I will need to head to the hospital for a breech-external cephalic aversion. Sounds like fun! This needs to be done before we reach 37 weeks, so time is of the essence. After all these pregnancies, I finally get to choose to give birth my way, only to have an uncooperative #7, who may result in a c-section and an extended hospital stay. Ironic? Obviously, we could really use some prayers.