Gearing Up

I had a doctor's appointment last week and I am quite happy with the outcome. The doc I saw this time (I still haven't seen the same doc twice which is one of the downsides to going to a practice) was totally understanding of my situation and is on the same page as me regarding the aggressive monitoring of the previa. I now have another ultrasound appointment for March 18th. We also talked about my complete lack of support here and my parents being on the other side of the country and she offered an scheduled c-section if that was what I chose and wanted to do, but said I still had lots of time to think about it. I didn't even know that was an option. So, I have been researching, researching and reading up on everything I can find.

My personal opinion here, so no flames...  I find that there is an awful lot of preaching and judgment (opinions are a$$holes; everyone has one) on women who choose to have an elective c-section. Much like there is regarding breastfeeding. I have been inundated with the "are you going to breastfeed? It's best for the baby you know" question lately and it's annoying. My thoughts are this: I would like to breastfeed while I'm off of work. It's free, it's always there and I agree that the health benefits for the baby are the best. However, if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out and I'm not going to let it stress me out or let anyone else tell me what to do, what I should do or make me feel like a failure and a bad mom for it if it doesn't happen.

Everyone's situation and medical history is different and with today's medical advances, no one has the right to pass judgement on me or tell me what to do or how to live my life. My personal opinion about those who birth without medical help is that they are completely insane. You wouldn't go to the dentist and say "gee doc, I want to be Super!Patient, so please do my root canal without any anesthesia or pain relief." At the end of the day, there's no award ceremony and no one places in a top 10 birthers list. It's not a competition. Everyone (hopefully) goes home with a baby no matter how that baby was brought into the world. And when someone brags that they did it completely natural, I don't sit there in awe and amazement, I think they're crazy, ridiculous and weird. It's 2011 you know, medical advances are awesome.

As for the c-section; My list of pros is far longer than the list of cons and if the insurance company continues to say that they'll cover it (this is a huge worry) then I'm leaning towards wanting to do it. Besides, there is a good chance that I may end up needing to have one anyway with my super-narrow hips (I'm still in a size 0 and have gained a whopping 8lbs) and the previa so I'd rather just have that be the plan all along. The LAST thing I want to do is go through hours and hours of labor (and stress on the baby) and end up having one anyway.

Now for the fun stuff. I finally chose a crib, dresser, stroller system (the lightest I could find, Graco Spree travel system in Barcelona Bluegrass, 10% off your first order for new customers at diapers dot com) and pack n' play. I ordered the dresser, stroller and a diaper bag already and my mom is going to order and ship me the crib and pack n' play. The rest of the necessities are on my registry and I'll (try to) hold off buying anything else until closer to baby's arrival.