Pregnancy in Brazil-Part 4

Does the baby at the top of the blog really say I have only 23 days left? Oh boy, we're getting close! I had my first Dr. appt in more than a month yesterday. My Dr. was on vacation, and she said she wasn't worried about me at all, so we could go the month without any Dr. seeing me. And she was right, all was well. :) From now on though, we'll have an appointment every week. Camden will be spending a lot of time with his grandparents in the next few weeks...which he loves, because remember the previous post....yeah, they have the pool! We've tried to take him with us to the appointments, but here in Brazil, I'm not quite sure how they schedule, but it's not done very efficiently. I have a feeling they put about 5 people all down at the same time, then whoever just shows up 1st, and 2nd, and so forth get put in order. So if you're #5....you usually have at least an hour wait. We've shown up early or on time for every appointment, and we usually finally get to see the Dr. about an hour after our scheduled appointment. Not very appropriate entertainment for a 2 yr. old. :)

Anyway, my appointment went well. Sad to say though, I'm not dilated at all yet. I am praying that Dawson waits until after Camden's b-day party next Sunday, then he can come whenever he wants. It would be kinda fun for him to be born on the 17th, Camden's b-day, but that's up to him! We also had an ultrasound on Monday. Dawson looks very healthy and is head down, so that's good. After we got home I was doing some calculations to convert all the metric measurements to inches and lbs so I can understand them. From the measurements they took they think he's about 6 lbs already. I'm just praying he has a smaller head then Camden did!

Yesterday we also got to take a quick tour of the hospital.....which they don't do normally here at all, but my Dr. gave us a tour to help me feel a bit more at ease I think. Here's where there's a difference in deliveries. I labor in my room until either I, a) want an epidural or b) am ready to deliver. Then they move me down to surgery. So if I get an epidural soon in the process I could be sitting in surgery for a LONG time....not fun. I'd really like to have a medication free delivery, but that all depends on a hundred different things, so we'll see. After delivery they take the baby to the nursery, and me back to my room. Now here's the weird part.....THEY KEEP THE BABY IN THE NURSERY FOR 4 HOURS. What? My Dr. said it was to get the baby acclimated to being on the "outside". I asked her about when I could breastfeed, because it's very important to feed the baby ASAP after he's born. She said after the 4 hours.......I'm not a very big fan of that, at all. But she said I could ask, and that it's up to the pediatrician on-call. So pray we have favor with the staff and that I can feed little Dawson before they take him away from me for 4 hours.

Also, at the beginning of your pregnancy here, they give you a little pamphlet that you carry around with you for the whole pregnancy with information in it, and the Dr. updates it at every appointment. Now in this little pamphlet they have some info for new mommies....about 4 paragraphs. That's it. That's all you get. (Not like the binder full of info you get in the states!) AND the best part, is they give you a list of things you need for the hospital, for you and the baby. Again, here is a big difference.....this is the list I need for the hospital:

For me:
~PJ's
~Underwear
~Pads
~Bath Towel and Washcloth
~Soap
~Toothpaste, Toothbrush
~Comb
~Flip flops

Yes, I have to bring my own towel and pads. My Dr. said they have everything I need "medically", but I have to bring anything that would be "personal". I'm so glad I had a baby before and know how to take care of everything and that I know what I need. While I was in the US I bought some "extra's" I'm sure they won't have for me, like the Dermoplast spray, and the Tuck's pads....and I'm sure I'll have to bring my own ice packs too. I told Renato I'm going to need a whole suitcase. :)

For Baby:
~PJ's
~Onsies
~Blankets
~Towel
~Washcloth
~Wipes
~DIAPERS
~Aspirator
~Burp Cloths

Yep, that's right.....they don't even provide diapers for the baby!!!......or a Blanket......or a t-shirt! Oh my.....yep, definitely going to need a suitcase.

So, as of yesterday, I'm trying to pack my bag (suitcase) with all that we need for our 2 day hospital stay. Whew, glad I'm getting it ready now, it's definitely not a "throw some things in a bag and let's go" type of list. 23 days and counting.....