Posts Tagged ‘GP’
Doctors and baby stuff
The new doctor is fantastic. He was patient, he listened to our questions, he understood our situation and actually listened to what we wanted to do. I feel so much better. It is amazing how something like finding a nice, helpful doctor can change the situation. Before the visit I was very scared. I had no idea what we were going to do and a lot of our choices were based on what we wanted with no idea of whether they were actually able to be done or not. Now I feel much more at ease.
After the appointment we went and looked at baby stuff. I was very happy and excited after the good appointment that I wanted to do something fun. I’ve been looking at baby stuff ever since I found out I was pregnant but had never been with Ben before. It was very eye-opening.
Ben and I have very different ideas about what babies do and don’t need. I have had sisters and brothers who have had babies and to be honest I have based a lot of my ideas on what babies need from watching and learning from them, but then even they have stuff I don’t think babies need.
A couple of things we have decided we don’t need include a baby bath and a pram. We don’t need a baby bath because Ben has a very large sink which can be used to bathe the baby in and once the baby grows out of that he has a regular bath too. I never had a baby bath and I know a few of my sisters never had one for their kids, and the way I figure it, it is just a big bucket anyway.
The pram though is a different story. I don’t like the idea of those massive prams which are as big as a cot. Ben and I figure the baby is that little that it would probably be easier just to carry the little tacker than deal with carrying a pram everywhere. What I do want a pram for though is when I want to take the baby for a walk. I know that walks are more for my benefit, to get fit again, but I would like a small foldable pram for the baby that I can just push him or her round the park in. Once it’s big enough to walk though, it’s walking. I detest the way some children are pushed around until they are six years old, it’s ridiculous. My niece is four and she is more than capable of walking the 1.5km to the shops and back without doing any permanant damage.
Just checking in to report that the new GP we visited today was infinitely more likeable and patient with us than the previous one. So we have switched! It’s a really big deal for Emma, because she feels more comfortable with the new GP, and I am really glad that she will be able to relax and enjoy future visits. There was even a blood test that didn’t cause tears (Emma doesn’t like needles much).
I’m really glad we were able to find another GP quickly. I didn’t think it would be a real issue, but having done it now I do actually feel some tension lifting.
To celebrate, we went to browse through baby paraphernalia at the shopping centre and WOW; did I learn a lot!
Yippie!!!
All the confusion I had with the first doctor has now been sorted out after two very simple phone calls. We had decided a couple of weeks ago that we wanted to go to a public hospital and after a lot of advice from sisters, friends and research we decided on Osborne Park Hospital. The question was “What do we do now?”
I rang the hospital, after looking on their website and found I had three options. Either the hospital could do everything, I could have shared care with a GP and the hospital, or The GP could look after everything. Seeing as I had no GP I figure letting the hospital take care of everything would be the easiest option. The very helpful lady I spoke to at the hospital said all I would need was a referral from a GP and the hospital would be able to take over my care from 16 weeks. Until then I would need a GP for a monthly check-up.
Yippie!!!
That was where Ben came in. He rang the surgery where I had the last appointment and played up the dumb male angle to which the receptionist seemed to warm to. She made me an appointment with a antenatal care specialist doctor, which will hopefully be more successful than the last appointment.
I feel much better and very relieved, almost like things are starting to go in the right direction. I’m no where near as confused as I was before and feel a lot less stressed out.
Yippie!!!
I am tired all the time. I wake up first thing in the morning after having slept for anywhere between 7 and 13 hours. No matter how little or how much sleep I get I am still tired when I wake up. I have breakfast and sit on the couch for half an hour reading a book or watching a TV show and I am still tired. I go to work and am exhausted and ready for a nap by lunchtime. I come home from work and lie on the couch until I end up going to sleep at about 9pm.
What the hell is going on?
I read in the baby book that this is normal but really? This tired. I sometimes think I would feel better if I was at least looking pregnant but there is simply nothing there to warrant this kind of exhaustion. Ben thinks it may have just as much to do with stress and my mind coming to terms with what is going on as it does to do with baby building. Either way I am sick of it.
I’m sick of being tired!
I also got my blood tests back today and (as far as I can tell) everything looks good. I’m also glad I have them now because it gives me an excuse to make an appointment with a new GP. Talking to Ben about it, I was serious when I said I would just walk into GP surgeries and “interview” GP’s.
I know that sounds really strange or even a little elitest but this is my body and my baby. I think I should have a GP who I can trust and who I know I am going to actually want to see, not dread seeing.
Okay so the last few days have been very confusing. I went to the doctors first of all to confirm the pregnancy. It seemed a little silly really. As far as I can tell they did the exact same test I did at home, pee in a cup and wait for the result. The worst part about the whole doctor visit was my usual GP has cut back her hours and now only works one day a week. I found a really nice doctor who looked after me when I had swine flu earlier in the year but he has now moved to Geralton. So I took a chance on a new doctor and I don’t like him at all and I don’t want to be stuck with him for nine months. If I’m going to have a GP I want it to be someone I can trust, talk to and understand.
There was a lot of confusion with the doctor I went to. He handed me a whole bunch of forms but didn’t explain any of them to me. It wasn’t until later in the day when I called my sister that she informed me I should have had a blood test. I looked through all the paperwork and there it was, a form for blood tests to be done. I was so confused. I never remembered the doctor saying anything about blood tests. Had he forgotten? Had he assumed I knew what was going on? I also found a perscription for some tablets that he had given me as I was paying my account. Not once did he explain what these tablets were for or why I was getting a perscription for them. Later Ben looked them up on the internet to find they are just a multi vitamin for pregnant women.
I was so confused and really unhappy with the way he had handled the first appointment. Now I’m faced with finding a new doctor. Exactly how do you interview doctors for the priveledge of being YOUR GP?
I also was given the sound advice by my sister to buy the book “What to expect when you are expecting” I looked at the cover in the bookstore and wasn’t impressed. It honestly looks like a 1970′s book cover and is completely aimed at the middle aged mum. Which I found really strange, wouldn’t you market your book to younger first time mums seeing as they are the most likely to buy the book?
Anyway the book was amazing. I read the two sections on ‘confirming preganancy’ and ‘so you are pregnant’ in one night (I was so tired when I went to bed though). It answered so many of my questions and raised a few too but all in a good way.
I’m starting to get really excited about this whole experience.
