Update and 37 week appt

Well, Monday evening I get a call from the office manager of my OB's office. She listened to my tale of woe and then apologized profusely. She agreed that I had a valid gripe about being rescheduled so many times and admitted that while reschedules are par for the course in obstetrics the amount that I had received in a row was excessive and wrong. She told me that my doctor would be calling me back later in the evening to confirm my c-section date. I felt better after the phone call because at least then I knew that it had been brought to her attention by someone in the office and hopefully that meant that no one else would have to go into hysterics to get treated fairly.
My doctor called a couple of hours later and had already spoken to the office manager. She, also, apologized and explained that the lady who was at fault in all the scheduling mistakes had been taken off of that position indefinitely until she can retrain and have a much needed attitude adjustment. She gave me three tentative dates for my c-section and said she would have the hospital liaison call me back to confirm a time the next day. She also tentatively made an appt with me for Weds (today) at 10:30am for my 37 week appt. She told me that she was supposed to scrub in at 9am for a c-section but that she was just assisting with that operation and that I should call around 9am the morning of the appointment to see if the she started on time. That way, if she were running late I would know and be able to leave my home accordingly. All in all, she said that they were using my situation as an example for their next staff meeting of their piss poor customer service and promised that things would be better.
As promised, the scheduler called the next day with the date and time of my c-section (April 14th, 7:30am).
I made plans with a friend to watch A because I knew they would be giving me my GBS test today and I didn't want him in the room distracting the doctor while she was sticking her finger up my butt and a swab in my vagina. Also, I wanted to make sure that if she were late I wouldn't have to worry about keeping A entertained.
As directed, I called the office this morning at about 9:15, just as I was leaving the house to drop Angus off. The receptionist said, "Well, I have no idea whether or not Dr. F started surgery on time. She didn't call to say she was running late so just assume that no news is good news and go ahead and come on in as scheduled." I drop Angus off and am on my merry way. My cell phone rings as I am about 80% of the way to the office. "Hi, this is the Receptionist from Dr. F's office. Her surgery has been pushed back an hour and a half so we are going to have to.... (wait for it)....reschedule you for another time next week."
At this point I just start hysterically laughing. What else is there to do? Really, I just can't win for losing at this point. I am actually quite calm about the whole thing because I don't have A with me so making a 1.5 hour round trip for nothing isn't as big a deal.
I say, "Well, I can't come back in this afternoon and since this is my second rescheduled appt this WEEK I am going to have to pass on coming back at all. It is a waste of gas and a waste of my time. Since I am already almost there, is there any way that I can just come in and have my blood pressure and urine tested and leave?" She puts me on hold to see what she can do. My doctor's assistant comes on the phone and starts apologizing profusely and mentioning bad luck and Murphy's law over and over again. She states that another doctor (Dr. Boogernose) will be able to see me when I arrive. I am fine with that. Honestly, I just want to get this appointment over with.
I get to the office and the receptionist doesn't even have to ask for my name, which is a first. When I come out of the bathroom from giving my sample there is a lady standing in the hallway waiting for me. She introduces herself as the office manager and shakes my hand. Then she tells me that Dr. F is 15 minutes out and will be here to see me. Imagine my surprise!
After months of never seeing my doctor and being rescheduled over and over I finally get to see her. She is just as warm and kind as I remember her. She looks a little flustered and told me that she drove like a bat out of hell to get to the office for my appointment but she is here and here just for me.
She checks my dilation (nothing) and tells me the baby is face up which is the worst position for vaginal delivery in terms of pain. I am measuring right on track and the baby's heartbeat was 136. I have gained 36 pounds (ugh). Then she pokes her finger in my butt, and swabs my vagina. Talk about anticlimactic.
Now the waiting game commences. Will I make it to April 14th as planned? I am seriously doubting it. Although Angus was a day past his due date, he came 3 days before my scheduled c-section date. I just have an intuition that Dippe will be making her grand appearance sooner than that. But what the hell do I know? It may just be wishful thinking on my part.
My next appointment is a week from today. 19 days to go before Dippe makes her scheduled appearance. Now that I don't have my doctor's office to focus my stress on I am going to have to freak out about something else now. I am sure I will find something.

You won't believe it

Went in for my OB appointment today and guess what? The doctor wasn't even there...she was at the hospital delivering another woman's baby.
I am beyond upset. I made another 45 minute trip only to be rescheduled...again. I was so upset I couldn't even speak and then I burst into tears. I had to call my husband on the phone to calm myself down. Why didn't they call to tell me she wasn't even there? AGAIN? My poor son spends 1.5 hours in the car for absolutely nothing.
After all the guarantees that I would see my doctor today I have been let down again. S suggested that I have her call me today to schedule the c-section and air out my grievances. He also suggested asking her for a referral to another doctor if she can't see me this week.
Pregnancy shouldn't be like this. I am regretting not changing doctors sooner.

36 weeks and more OB Woes

So, I get a call this morning an hour and a half before my scheduled appt time. The appt desk was calling to let me know that the doctor I was supposed to see is out sick and they need to reschedule me. Again. In case you are counting this is the 5th fucking time I have been rescheduled. So I went completely apeshit on the woman (I didn't yell, just told her what I thought of the fact that I have been rescheduled so many times). She ends up telling me that it is not her fault the doctor is sick (true) and that I need to "work with her." I tell her that I am tired of working with this office and that I am about ready to take my business elsewhere. She asks me to come in at my regular appointment time to day and I can see Dr. Boogernose who happens to have a spot at almost my same time (10 mins earlier). I agree, double checking that this is not the doctor on call today because if I am on my way to the office and get rescheduled again I will probably go on a fucking rampage and blow some shit up.
I arrive 10 minutes early with A. in tow. We sign in. We wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. For an hour. A FUCKING HOUR IN THE WAITING ROOM WITH A TWO YEAR OLD. I finally get up and go to the window. The receptionist, seeing my face probably red with fury, assures me that I am going to get called back right now. We go back to the room and the medical assistant takes my blood pressure, 130/90. She looks surprised and asks if I have ever had high blood pressure before. I say, "Well, my blood pressure is probably high because I have been waiting in the waiting room for an hour trying to entertain my two year old after having my appointment rescheduled for the 5th time today." She looks at me, surprised and says, "Sorry. Well, Dr. Oncall will be in very soon." Wait a minute. Not Dr. Boogernose?
The reception desk has fucked me once again. And lied to me. If I had known that the doctor I was seeing was going to be the on call doctor I would've just skipped this appointment all together. Being seen tomorrow wasn't an option as I already had commitments made that I had to attend to. I explained this all to the woman on the phone and it didn't matter. I still got screwed.
Dr. Oncall (who was the Dr. I mentioned previously that wore the "fuck me" stiletto boots at another appt) comes in and we have our typical appt. She asks me if I had any questions and I ask her if I am ever going to have an appointment with MY doctor, since I have three weeks left. Because I would like to schedule my c-section (more on this in a minute). She tells me she will give the reception desk a note giving me permission to see my doctor early next week so we can schedule it as soon as possible. Then she tells me they have to recheck my blood pressure but not to worry they will get the arm cuff "For bigger arms." I swear, if my head could've popped off right then it would've. Now I am being told I have "big arms."
My blood pressure was fine by then and they let me go. I scheduled my appt with my doctor for this Monday. And I swear to god if this appointment gets rescheduled I am going to change doctors and take my insurance money for my big, fat c-section elsewhere.
I have decided to just pass on the VBAC. I was reading the blog of a woman whose child ended up with cerebral palsy due to complications during labor. I know that this is a small concern for the average woman. But for the pelvically challenged like me the risk of something happening (cord compression, shoulder dystocia, etc) is greater. Honestly, it isn't that important to me to take the risk at this point. Yes, recovery is going to suck. And yes, there are risks to major surgery. However, I am just not willing to try anything else at this point.
The doctor told me today that Dippe feels like a big baby. I am measuring a week ahead. On Monday I will know my baby's birthdate. Or I will be finding a new doctor.

35 Weeks

Please let these next few weeks go by fast. I am feeling gigantic and stretched very, very thin. This gigantic baby within me feels like she wants to punch her way out and do some break dancing. I am sure she is very cramped in there and yet she still makes these gigantic movements every now and then that are very painful. Seriously it feels like my belly is going to split in two when she does this. She is getting more and more hiccups lately too, which allows me to truly see that she is head down. The hiccups are usually on my left side and down so I guess she hasn't engaged in my pelvis yet.
I forgot to post a new symptom...leaking breasts. Fun, and fashionable. They are leaking a bit later this time than with A. I hope my milk comes in more quickly than it did with A. Those couple of days with just colostrum were tough for the both of us. Luckily the nurses gave us one of those SNS things that let me supplement with a little formula to stop the constant crying but allow me to get the nip*ple stimulation I needed.
In addition to leaking breasts I have terrible indigestion right now too, which I didn't get with A at all. T*ums have become my after dinner mint of choice.
I figure I should probably go out and buy all the stuff I will need for my hospital bag this next week. And fish the car seat out the garage to wash all the fabric parts on it. I can't believe that within a month's time (hopefully) this baby will be here.
So, if you see a gigantically pregnant woman at Target this weekend downing T*ums with two wet patches on her shirt purchasing tiny travel sized bottles of shampoo, mattress sized maxi pads, and breast pads just look the other way.

OB DOA?

I haven't seen MY actual OB in 4 months because I am in a rotating practice and there are 6 doctors in it. 2 appts ago I was supposed to see her because she was up next on my rotation. The morning of the appointment I get to the office and find out she was on call that day and someone was having a baby so she was at the hospital. Luckily they had another doctor squeeze me in so it wasn't a wasted trip (I drive 45 minutes one way to get to this office. The length of time is so long because of terrible traffic). When I talked to the lady at the appointment desk I told her it would've been nice to know that I wasn't seeing my doctor that day. She flips me an attitude and says, "Well, I DID call your house at 8:30 to tell you." My appointment was at 9:00 am. I tried to explain to her that I have to leave at least 1 hour ahead of time to make sure I get to my appointments, especially during rush hour traffic. So, calling me 30 minutes before the appointment is supposed to start doesn't do anything for me. So they schedule my next appointment with my OB. 3 days after I schedule the appt they call me to tell me that my OB won't be in the office that day, so I need to see another doctor. I guess my doctor decided to be out of the office for a week, so it isn't possible to see her. Now, I am getting pissed. That is 2 reschedules in a row and it has been months since I have seen my actual OB. Finally, they just skip her on the rotation and schedule my appointment for today with another doctor. I figure it is annoying but once I reach 36 weeks I will see her only every week so I decide not to say anything about it. I get to the appointment desk and schedule my appt for 2 weeks from now with my OB (finally). I am on my way to the park today with Angus and my cell phone rings. It is MY F*&KING OB'S OFFICE CALLING TO RESCHEDULE MY APPOINTMENT!!!!!! Apparently the front office staff messed up and my doctor has JURY DUTY the week of my appointment. My 36 week appointment! Where they will be doing my Group B Strep test and also possibly scheduling my c-section. I was waiting to talk to MY doctor to really discuss in depth the VBAC and now I won't be seeing her until I am 37 weeks (if I make it that long. Hey, you never know) unless they reschedule me, of course. I was so pissed off that I asked the appointment scheduler if I should just change doctors right now because I am wasting my time driving 45 minutes one way to an office that I have only stayed with because I love my OB so much (when I see her). Luckily the scheduler was nice and let me pick my next favorite doctor to see and any time or day I wanted (which probably means somebody else got bumped but at this point I don't care). The hospital that she has privileges at is also 30-45 minutes away and there are two hospitals that are a 20 minute drive away. There are many things that would be more convenient about finding a doctor closer. I don't know how impossible it would be to find an OB this late in the game but after today I am considering it. It just seems like it would be more of a hassle than its worth right now and to be honest I am scared of picking a new doctor right now when I might be having a repeat c-section. I don't like the idea of a doctor I have only known for 5 appointments doing major surgery on me. If you have made it this far please tell me what would you do? Would you change doctors? Would you mention any of this to your regular OB? What exactly would you say? Am I just being hormonal or does 3 rescheduled appointments seem like a lot? Oh, and my appointment today went well. Dippe is healthy, I am a cranky whale...its all good.

I'm a whale

I saw a picture of myself taken in profile and I have to say I am a whale. Or the prow of a ship. And I am getting stretch marks in places I didn't get them with my son, which is a bummer. I seem to be carrying all out in front instead of all around like I did with A. Oh well, that is the price you pay for being pregnant and eating like a pig.
I have an appointment on Wednesday...my 2nd to last appt before I go to weekly appts. Hard to believe that I am only 4 weeks away from being full term. This last month went by so quickly! I would never want to endanger the life of the baby, but I wouldn't be sad if she came a little early instead of waiting the whole 40 weeks like her big brother did.
I am still vacillating between doing a VBAC and just scheduling a c-section and getting it over with. I do feel weird picking out the birthday of the baby, although with A. he came 3 days before his scheduled section any way. I have a feeling as I get closer to 40 weeks I will be more desirous just to get things over with in the quickest way possible for my own selfish reasons.
I waited in line for 2 hours on Saturday morning to register A for preschool. He didn't get in to the 3 day a week program because it was already full (WTF? We were first in line) but he will be attending the 2 day a week program which is exciting for the both of us. I think the time I get to spend alone with Dippe 2 days a week will be beneficial to all three of us. Plus, I think A will be excited to have all the stimulation that comes with being in preschool. I know he gets bored some days with just me trying to interact with him. The transition will be rough because he doesn't do too well in new situations. But I think he will be okay after going a couple of times.
That weird pain in my back from last week came back this morning and stayed around until close to 3pm. It didn't get as bad as it did then, but maybe that is because I took some tylenol preemptively as soon as I felt the discomfort. I have no idea what Dippe is pressing on in there to make that pain but I wish she would knock it off.
I am going on a Mom's retreat next weekend and I am thrilled. My patience with my husband and my son has been not so great lately, so a weekend away is going to be a much needed break for all of us. I went apeshit on S today for moving my purse in the car because I thought my sunglasses had fallen out when he moved it...only to discover my glasses were still in my purse, just at the bottom where I couldn't see them. S just looked at me with a smirk and didn't say anything, but I felt like a real horse's ass for flying off the handle so quickly. I am sure S and A are probably just as ready for this pregnancy to be over as I am.