Midwife appt...blah

I had a midwife appt today...I know it's very silly, but I get really excited about them. Sometimes I feel like I haven't paid poor Timmy the attention I lavished on Connor from conception day on, and this really focuses me on him for awhile.

But they're busy...very busy. Alaska Family Health and Birth Center is really the only game in town if you want an out of hospital birth so they are overloaded. They had two births going on in the building when I showed up. That's wonderful and nice, but it makes for much more rushed and less personal appts than I got in Las Vegas. I got so spoiled having a midwife who gave every client at least an hour once a month and would reschedule for births coming during appt times, that it's disconcerting to be in a more clinical model.

I can see how the setting would be very reassuring to some ladies...it feels homey, but a little like a doctor's office too -- answering service, receptionist, billing procedures and exam tables. A nice easy transition from hospital to a less traditional setting. But for me (and maybe other homebirth moms?) it feels a little clinical. With my midwife in Las Vegas, she had a bed that she spread with protective covers, there were candles everywhere, and you really felt like you were a friend invited in for a pleasant chat. Not only that but she was fantastic at making you feel like the healthiest best mama in the world by the time you left. My midwife friend in Vegas had mass group appts on Tues night, so it was like a big preggo party every week. The ladies at the Birth Center are lovely...but there's no friendish vibe either. I guess I just miss that special womanly comradely feeling.

The appt went fine...pee test was fine, blood pressure was fine, uterus measurement fine...I'm essentially very healthy with a strong healthy baby boy. So really no complaints. But I would have liked more than seven minutes of "you're fine", especially after chasing Connor out the door immediately after waking up and a forty minute drive downtown. And I'm worried that the birth is going to be handled in a more clinical manner than I would like. Something to talk about next time I guess...if I get more time.