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Update to nervousness
So my appt went well. I really liked the nurse practitioner and she reassured me that because this is a unique setting for having a baby they tend to get people who have issues like this and have different ways for dealing with it. She stressed that being needle phobic should not prevent me from having a kid. (Alicia, they also had some pamphlets on a doula!)
For example, she said that they can prescribe some kind of gel or something that will numb where they poke you with the needle. In my case, I'm not sure that it will help because it's more the anticipation and stuff and I shake uncontrollably as soon as I open up my arm. But it's nice to know that they have options and stuff.
This place isn't like a hospital at all- the labor rooms look like bedrooms and the doctor's offices are decorated kind of like a house would be (I guess the place used to be a hotel). And so far she seemed nice.
We have another appointment on October 5th to get a tour of the place and that's when I can ask a lot more questions- this was called a pre-conception counseling visit and was covered by insurance as that.
But she said if all things are normal, only the 2 blood draws, and NO IV!!! during labor. Again, if everything is normal. They also have classes on being pregnant and what you can and can't do, I don't know if that's normal. She said you go to the first "class" before your first actual appointment- they wait for the first appt until you're 10-13 weeks so you can hear the heartbeat (again not sure if that's normal?)
Anyway, she was really really nice and I think someone I could be comfortable with. I might try an annual appt first though before getting off the pill and TTC.
Re: Update to nervousness
Sounds like it was a good appt, and that it helped you some too! I'm sure your visit also sparked new questions as well. Write them down before you forget!! Haha
I think it's awesome there's so many different options out there to help everyone and anyone. Good for you for researching them!
Yeah, I should say, if there is anybody on this board who is nervous about this kind of stuff, talk to me! Send a PM and I'll do regular email or something. But it helps to know other people feel similar, and I'm more than willing to help with what I'm finding.
And I forgot to mention, the nurse practitioner gave me some recommendations on a therapist and a hypnotist, so I'm going to call them. Actually, she didn't have the therapist's information but she's going to call me with that and another thing we talked about. (A sedation dentist in the area who is willing to sedate you for surgeries, and I kinda need to have some surgery on my gums. Stupid me for avoiding the dentist for 5 years so I didn't have to have a cavity drilled.)
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I just thought of this and I'm not sure if it would work but have you ever thought of accupuncture?
Those needles are TINY and they say you can't feel them going in so maybe going through a few sessions of that might help ease your fears and relax you for when you actually have to get a blood draw.
Glad you're meeting went well and that you like them!
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Thanks for all the support here. I hope you girls don't mind. This isn't something I can talk about with most people because I want to keep our plans to maybe start a family pretty private... So I hope you don't mind me talking every so often on here.
Marissa, there is absolutely no way I could do acupuncture. I've heard good things about it, but it doesn't matter the size of the needles. I can't handle novicane, and this actually carries into sharp objects. For example, knives. I get really squeamish around them and when I cook I have special knives a friend got me from Germany that are rounded and serrated. I think they're actually sharper but I can use them because they don't have a point.
They drew blood from my toes, so I even refuse to get in a body of water where I can't see the bottom because I'm worried something will bite my toes. And when I am getting blood drawn (or a shot) during the nights leading up to it, I can't sleep without socks on my feet or I have nightmares that snakes are biting my feet. I didn't realize until I went to a therapist in high school that this was my psychological reaction to the blood being drawn from my toes when I was in the hospital. (I repressed all those memories and don't remember anything from being in the hospital. So the only details I know now are from what people told me, and I do remember some other things from that age.)
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Hypnosis might be a fantastic option for you then! GL.