34w3d

I stayed home from work today to deal with the insurance problem and avoid the bus. After far too many phone calls and an hour and 45 minutes on hold with the RMV (seriously?? An hour and 45 minutes??), the situation was resolved, and someone else had paid whatever costs were to be associated with fixing it. And I felt like a huge weight was lifted. But I got very little done work-wise, and I have a lot to do, which added a new weight.

We then had our meet the doctors session, followed by the hospital tour. No doctor rubbed me the wrong way, so I suppose I'll survive no matter who is on call when we go in, but I'd really prefer to have my own and I'd really prefer not to have the guy who performed the D&E last September, no matter how many times my MIL tells me that he's a great doctor and that in the moment I'll be happier with a great doctor capable of making great decisions than a less good one with whom I don't have bad associations (she knows all these people and was trying to be reassuring since she knows there's a chance we could end up with him). The structure was basically a Q&A, which wasn't that helpful since I knew the answers to most of the questions already (have these other people done NO research into labor generally or into the hospital's practices or into how this practice is structured???), but it was good to get to see the other docs and know that none made me totally uncomfortable.

The tour was okay. Nothing really noteworthy. Even though the L&D unit was redone within the last few years, it still has a totally 80s feel to it. It's not the most upscale hospital in the area, but it's fine and not hard to get to (unless I got into active labor during a Sox game -- and the Sox are playing at home 12 of the 17 days leading up to my due date) and is where my MIL worked so we know some of the docs and nurses. The labor and post-partum rooms are all private. And they have birthing balls, bars, and showers available, though you have to request the first two and the latter are on the end of the hall, none of which I was thrilled with but can understand.

By the time the tour ended and we got back to the car, it was 8:45 and we hadn't had dinner and I was so hungry my belly ached. We picked up Thai food, but didn't end up eating until 9:30, which has left me feeling ill, though I'm not sure if it is the hour or the cuisine. My abdomen is making some seriously strange sounds. There are long, hollow groans from deep within. And there are weird puffs of air -- like the sound of gas escaping, but the sound is on the inside. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's freaking me out a bit. I hope everything is okay in there. Note to self: next time, bring snacks.