The Borg Mother Ship

(I couldn't resist...discovered at VBAC Facts website.)

I think most of the drama is over here, but it was an interesting week. On Tues I had an appointment with my Dr. at the Borg Mother Ship (Resistance is Futile....Compliance is Inevitable.)

That morning I sent a 3-page letter with 4 attachments, including an official "refusal of consent to an elective repeat cesarean" letter to the OBs and my family practice doctor. I was glad Jack was with me because when the Dr. walked in he had this look in his eye and said, "I got your letter." He then proceeded to sit down and “talk” to us for an hour. He started by saying; “Everyone who has any decision making authority anywhere in this hospital is involved in your case now. I had no idea what a can of worms I was opening up last time you were in here!” Basically, they were freaked out because they finally figured out they should have stopped giving me prenatal care in March - but I kept making the appts and they kept giving them to me so I never said anything. The first thing he did was give me a new VBAC ban policy that was just written in June. It looks more professional than the piece of crap that looked like someone just typed it up out of their ass that they gave me in March. I don’t think they really had one then, but when I said I needed a copy of it they just got someone to whip one up real quick.

End result: I had to sign some paperwork saying that I have been counselled on the "risks" of VBACs and have been told that the "safest course of action is to have an ERCS at the Navy Hospital." They also threw something is about how if my pelvis is too small I won't be able to deliver any baby. (They love that, don't they? They can see my hips - I don't think there will be a problem with the baby being too big! Plus, where did it come from? That had nothing to do with my first one.)

So, even though it was annoying and when I asked them again about the risks of repeat cesarean they said, "It's different. With a VBAC you could DIE!!!!! Not from a cesarean." (I beg to differ.)

At one point I mentioned something about not being able to imagine signing up for a cesarean on purpose with a toddler at home to take care of, that I couldn’t imagine that recovering from a normal birth was anywhere near as bad as recovering from a c-section. So, then the Dr. told me that his wife had a cesarean for a breech birth with 2 toddlers at home when he was in Iraq - and she survived. Good for her.

End of story: they aren't happy about my decision to have a "dangerous, high-risk homebirth VBAC" and now for my last appts I have to see the OB instead of family practice. But, as we are only a month away I guess I can live with that. I only have one more appt at 36 weeks for the GBS screen then I won’t have to see them until after the baby (we pray….)

Enough of that….in other news:

Wednesday I played my last game of golf until after the baby. My body has finally conspired against me to make any further games ridiculous! Jack said, “Your arms are doing the right thing, but your body won’t let you do it.” The compensations I had to make were nuts, and I kept instinctively doing what I normally do so it just wasn’t working. *sigh* Jack was all, “Don’t worry, you’ll be out again after the baby.” I pointed out that, no, I probably wouldn’t be playing again until we are back home in Canada next year. “Remember, when they are little they eat like every hour! And by the time he is old enough for me to leave him a couple hours we will be doing inventory and getting ready to pack out of here. I just don’t see it happening.” Oh, well. At least I got to use my new pink golf sandals a few times. (They were awesome!!)