I just wanted to vent a little bit about my midwife this time around. The one I had for my two previous babies shattered her ankle and can't work. This one is relatively new to the job (not that that's such a bad thing) and I just don't click with her at all. She makes me crazy.

At my first appointment, it took her about 15-20 minutes to get over the fact that we didn't have a definite due date. I was breastfeeding, and my cycles were not regular. I had two ultrasounds, which gave two different dates. My guess for a due date was right about in the middle of the two. The dates were about 1 week apart. NOT A BIG DEAL! But to her it really was. She didn't know what to write on the form, and it took forever for her to come to a conclusion. Skip forward to my next appointment, and she's at it again. Still trying to pick a date. She said, "Well, you said you were sure of your last period date, so maybe we should just go with that." Yes, I am sure of my period date, but it is pretty much MEANINGLESS because I was breastfeeding, and my cycles were all over the map! Seriously lady, let's just pick a date, and go with it. It's a matter of a couple days! She said "Well, I don't want to leave the baby in too long." I said, "Well, I've only gone over by 1 day, with two of my babies, and the other two were 1 week and 2 weeks early. I think we'll be fine." And again, the difference in dates is ONE WEEK.

At my first appointment, she asked why I had a hospital birth, when I was planning a homebirth.
I said "Because I was GBS positive, and had to have IV antibiotics. They let me re-swab 1 week after my first test, to give me a second chance at the homebirth, but it was still positive, and I went into labour that afternoon."
She said "Why did they let you re-swab? GBS has a 6 week cycle, so you would still have been positive."
I said "Yes, but I was treating it homeopathically, and besides, you don't know where you are in the 6 week cycle when you do the test. You might be almost at the end anyways."
She said "No, it's 6 weeks from when you take the test."

Next appointment - "So, why did you deliver at the hospital?"
"Because I was GBS positive."
Next appointment - "Why did you deliver at the hospital? Oh right, you had a long pre-labour."
"No, because I was GBS positive."

Discussing the gestational diabetes test at my last visit:
She goes through all the risk factors, and basically, all the way around, I'm low risk. The previous tests have shown virtually no reaction at all to the sugar drink. You wouldn't even know I had it. My body handles it without difficulty. I'm not obese. My babies have all been 7.5 lb or smaller, etc.
So, I said, "I think I'm going to pass on the test this time around."
She said, "Well, I've only had one person who declined the test, and they had a still-birth at 35 weeks. I think she really wished she'd had the test after that."
I said "Well, I believe I'm quite low-risk, and I'm going to pass."
She said "So long as you know the risks - about seizures in newborns, and stuff like that."

I can hardly wait to tell her that I'm considering skipping the GBS test.

I'm still hoping and hoping that my previous midwife will be able to return to work sometime soon! They said I would be put back with her if she was able to return. I feel like I won't even want to call this one when I go into labour. Maybe I'd better get DH to read a few more birthing books.... Just kidding.

Anyways, thanks for listening to my little pout. Our local midwifery practice is overworked currently, so there's no possibility for switching caregivers. I'll just have to suck it up and make the best of it, I think.