Can't get the last ultrasound out of my mind. Can't wait to meet my baby, kiss that adorable little belleh, play with those tiny feets. :)
A part of me can't believe we made it here. A part of me is pretty smug. A part of me, though, is terrified something is about to happen -- always.
Lots has changed in the last three weeks since the previous update. For one, I'm in another country. This was *not* a part of the plan. I'll be giving birth here. That was *not* a part of the plan, either!
The Foxy Stoat has worked very hard to make sure I am as non-stressed as possible about the whole thing, but really, giving up the swish new birthing suite I'd booked for in the US for the hospital over here was not in the plan. Very little can change that.
However, I must say that the prenatal care has been absolutely top notch. If one was to be tallying up whether we were getting value for money out of the NHS in the last three weeks, one would be forced to admit that the NHS is absolutely spot on with prenatal care. In the last three weeks I have had two ultrasounds and been booked in for a consultant's appointment for my thyroid issues, another ultrasound, a midwife appointment (which was yesterday) and an endocrinologist's appointment. I've been put under the care of every type of doctor possible to cover every angle of the pregnancy where there might need to be any monitoring at all and it's been done with pretty much what I would be inclined to call blazing speed.
I've been to a walk-in prenatal clinic where all you have to do is walk in and you can have an ultrasound whenever you like.
I've been to the emergency room (yes, that wasn't fun) and had everyone jumping to take care of me, including a ward sister walking down and hauling a sonographer up bodily to get my scan done.
I've met with a midwife and have just about managed to come to terms with *how* to give birth in the UK, been given my choice of birthing suites (not as nice as Morristown, admittedly!) and given all sorts of options for the birth.
This doesn't count the other things I haven't even had a chance to take advantage of yet, like the tax breaks we get for my being pregnant (those come later), free prescriptions and free dental work for a year after the birth. It also doesn't count the care they're giving the very ill relative we're here to care for or the great optometrist I visited yesterday which cost all of £40 -- and that was for the contacts!
I'm feeling well cared for, which is good because it looks like we'll be here for the foreseeable future due to family obligations.
Now I just have to get past three Foxy Stoat-less weeks, packing up all of our belongings and two more flights, one of which is today. That's the hard part.
