and the fact that another one is on her way excites me to no end. FIVE girls. Ah, sweet bliss.I've been trying to envision what a picture of all five of my girls will look like... which leads me into thinking about the delivery. being that I have to actually birth her before I can take said picture of her.
Logic is my forte. in case you weren't aware. ;)
So that said, I've praying over the upcoming labor/delivery here and there. all while trying to come to terms with how to get through the holidays without getting sick (H1N1 being pretty prevalent and pregnant woman being at a high risk for complications)...
Enter today's OB appointment.
The one that I thought I'd have a chance to discuss with Anne (a different midwife from the last one) about my weight gain and whether or not SHE had any concerns.
But that conversation, though had, was rather backburner in our time together. because she brought up something rather unexpected. and large. and just generally shocking, to say the least.
Midwife: Our hospital has recently implemented restrictions on visitations due to H1N1 outbreaks. and their attempts to keep them at bay.
Okay, I said. I appreciated their precautions. After all, who wants sick people having free roam in the hospital...near my newborn? Not me.
Midwife: Well. No children, under 18, are allowed in the hospital. Period.
Huh. Okay. Well...I can understand that.
Actually, I've been thinking in that direction anyway. For no particular reason other than feeling like it might be best to not bring all four girls into the hospital with all the illness going around. that it might be best to have them all meet Baby Girl in the peaceful quiet of our home. after I'm discharged from the hospital.
So on that front, I feel like the Holy Spirit had been prepping me.
Unfortunately, there was more.
Midwife: And if your husband is sick, he won't be allowed to be in the delivery room with you either.
*insert crickets chirping* I had no words.
Midwife: And if you're sick, then the baby will have to be kept in the nursery for the majority of the time.
At this point, I think I was just doing a whole lot of big-eyed, head nodding.
While I totally understand the policy, and support it, trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I was just told "You will have to have someone on standby to replace your husband if he's sick" just wasn't coming easy.
I'm sorry, but...uh... how do you find an adequate replacement for your HUSBAND during birth? Words escape me.
So here we are, trying to come to terms with what that means. trying to align our minds with the fact that Jesus is bigger and is our divine health. trying to come to terms with the fact that our plans for the holidays may not be what we thought.
As in, if anyone in the extended family is showing obviously signs of sickness, we'd have to remain at home. While we played with this thought before, it was on the realm of "by our choice".
but with the hospital's new policies, we feel like choice has been taken out of our control. At least if we want to avoid the Idiot Parenting Method.
and we do.
I go back and forth between the emotional extremes. From "Are you kidding me?! I could be delivering our child alone?! Or quarantined from my baby?" to "Okay, this isn't a biggie. We'll all be fine."
I'm not sure it's really sunk in as the reality of our upcoming hospital experience. *shaking my head*
In general, I have peace. though it's a bit of a slippery one at this point, as I'm having a hard time maintaining a grasp on it. But a peace, all the same.
Oh, and a determination to really start praying. hard.
