Prenatal Visits #1-2

So far, I've met with my midwife twice. For the the first appointment, my husband, 22 month old son and I went to the midwives business to discuss home birth. I was about 9 weeks pregnant. We were pretty sure we wanted to go this route, but still wanted to ask a bunch of questions to make sure. The room looked like a cozy living room with couches, coffee tables with reading material, a tea station and lots of artwork on the walls. The midwife was so warm and inviting.We asked questions like: What kind of exams do you do? Do we come to your place for check ups or do you come to our house? What is your college degree in? How many babies have you delivered? What happens if there's complications during the birth at home? What is the cost and what does it include? And many more. 

After much discussion, we were convinced Midwifery care and a home birth was right for us. The midwife asked us if we'd heard our babies heartbeat yet. We responded no and she asked if we wanted to hear it. I was thrilled because I wasn't expecting to hear it at this appointment. She had me lay down on her comfy couch and got out her monitor. She found the heart beat and it was music to my ears! I laid there soaking in the beautiful sound of life inside of me. I cried, of course, because any mama to be can tell you that it's such a relief to finally know that there's actually a baby inside of you and that everything is OK. We walked away from the appointment with our heads held high. We felt so much peace and excitement with our decision.

The next appointment was 1 week later; I was 10 weeks pregnant. At this appointment, I went by myself. I sat down on her couch and we discussed how I was feeling and what exams would look like for the next few months. Her exam was very similar to my doctor's for my 1st pregnancy. She drew some blood for testing, I peed in a cup, she checked my heart beat and lungs, felt the glands in my neck, felt my baby belly and checked the heart beat. Once again, I walked away feeling great and well taken care of.