Change Is Good... Right?

Don't forget to scroll down and see some pretty awesome pics

of my little man.

(If I do say so myself.)

*warning this is going to get long, you might want to grab a cup of coffee or a Diet Pepsi*

These last few weeks have been so crazy. While Baby Boy has been cooking and growing, I've been a wreck trying to figure out what to do about my OB. I had purposefully chosen this OB/GYN prior to getting pregnant knowing that I should be established with an OB should I need one. Well you know how that turned out... I needed one. Unfortunately, I needed to wait until the better insurance kicked in so even though that meant no prenatal care until I was nearly out of my first trimester, I was ok with that. Well the busybody receptionist at my OB's office didn't see it that way and I had to fight my way in to get an appointment. That certainly did not start out well.

Unfortunately things continued to get worse. I was shuffled from office to office despite expressing a preference for using the office closest to me. I was told one thing and then called the night before an appointment that I would need to change locations or some nonsense. I tried to be understanding as I was often told by different nurses on different occassions that "we are going through some staff changes", "we're upgrading some software that everyone has to learn". Fine. It's a learning curve for everybody (including me). I get that.

I was willing to deal with a few logistical mishaps as long as I continued to like the OB. Well, I can't tell you if that came true or not because not once... I repeat, not once in the 3 months that I have been going to that office did I see my OB. I was always seen by the Physician Assistant. Nothing against PA's, I happened to like this one, but seriously I can't see the doctor?! Even when I questioned this, I was given excuses. "Oh I don't know why they didn't schedule you with the doctor." Oh ok, are we back to the front office staff again? Great.

The final straw was last Thursday when I was scheduled to have my gestational diabetes test. I intentionally scheduled it super early so that I could get it over with, leave Phillip and Preston at home and still get them both to work and classes, respectively. This way I could go, drink the ten times worse than Kool-aid drink, sit an hour and not have to entertain a four year old, give my blood and be home by 8:30 am, 9 at the latest. Well the night before I get a call once again asking me to come to the less convenient location simply because they wanted to make sure there was a "provider" (aka PA) there and somehow that would make things easier for them and making sure my blood was taken right at that "hour" mark (that's important for this kind of test). So even though I wasn't scheduled with a doctor (or PA) only with a nurse - I checked when this appointment was scheduled because remember I wanted to see my OB - I complied.

I show up, the receptionist gives me her usual blank look and has no clue as to why I am there. She keeps telling me I'm there for a routine OB. No, I insist I'm just here for my diabetes screening. They send me back where I'm seen by a different PA (where did she come from?!) and by now I'm seething. This PA insists that I'm here for both routine check and screening. Fine whatever, this way I don't have to come back in two weeks for the routine check I'm already scheduled for. Oh no! I have to come back then too. Why? Nobody could tell me.

Ok, just give me the drink I've still got that hour to kill and I need to get home. I drink. I sit, sit, sit... read, read, read... watch a little 'I Love Lucy'. ('Lucy' was really funny... must have been the sugar.) Ok, time's up, let's give a little blood.

Oh no here's trouble. I've got deep, rolling veins. I've been through this before. The nurse is panicing because she can't find a vein. She pokes once. Nope. Twice. Nope. She calls another nurse. I tell her, you know this happened last time and there is only one nurse that was able to get me on the first try. Oh gee, guess which office she is at. That's right... the other office that I was originally scheduled for! So nurse #2 takes a stab... literally a stab that sends a shooting pain up my arm. I'm in tears. I'm coming down off this sugar high and I'm supposed to be on my way home now. Nurse #2 tells me that no one has ever cried on her and she can't deal with me and leaves. Good riddance, I say! Nurse #1 comes back with the PA and they both poke, dig, prod and finally get a vein in my hand. Were you keeping count? Let me help you out. That's five times that I was poked before actually getting some blood out of me.

I'm now seriously late getting back home. Preston misses his first class, Phillip is late to work as well. And did I mention that I'm coming down off a sugar high? Did I mention I'm a hormonal pregnant lady? Ok then, so you won't judge me when I tell you that I was an emotional wreck.

I spend the rest of the afternoon trying to decide what to do. Do I stay? (By the way, I had many more issues with this OB office that I just won't get into here.) Do I take a chance to try to find another doctor that will take me at nearly 7 months pregnant? After much consideration, I called a good friend who is also pregnant and insisted she give me the name of her OB that she's been raving about. I called them up and not only were they more than happy to see me at nearly 7 months pregnant (remember my first OB didn't want to see me at 3 months along) I could get in almost immediately.

So today was my first appointment with my new OB, Dr. F. I was really nervous about having to kind of start all over (my first OB was either unable or unwilling to release my records, but that seems to have been resolved now), but I really like my new OB. He took his time with me and answered all my questions and was sympathetic to my previous unpleasant experience. Even though we weren't able to really get down to the nitty gritty as my records were MIA, he made a point to make sure I felt comfortable with him and that we had the same philosophy when it came to the birth of my baby. The staff was nice - that's an improvement. The nurses staff was as well, although it is yet to be seen if they can get blood out of me.

So lots of changes. New OB. New hospital. Bring on the new baby.