Where in the World is C & H?

We're here and still chugging along! It's been ages (okay, so not really ages, but over two weeks) since we've posted. Things have been crazy here in the Northwest! Here's a snapshot of what we've been up to:

• About two weeks ago we had our first appointment with our HMO's women's health care facility. Let me start out by saying that this was a HUGE disappointment. First off, they sent us a packet in the mail with the usual "1st visit questionnaire" included for us to fill out and bring to the appointment. They eluded to the fact that this appointment was an "orientation" and mandatory. But, they did not tell us that they were going to herd us and every other pregnant female in Seattle through the same orientation like cattle. We had to sit through an 1.5 hour class going over pregnancy 101. H and I felt like it was a complete waste of time. Did we really have to sit in a room full of other pregnant women to determine our approximate due date? Seriously! What's even more shocking is that these people didn't know how to calculate this information on their own. I was shocked! Then we had to listen to the groups "symptoms", or a.k.a complaints. There was one women who was just four weeks pregnant that complained about EVERYTHING! Her back hurt, she was nauseous, she was constipated, she had itchy skin, she was dizzy, and it went on and on and on. Come on, people...do we really have to rely on our health care system to take care of our basic of basic needs? Is it really that difficult to take charge of your own health or even want to?


• I should also mention that it was rather uncomfortable being the ONLY same-sex couple in the room. We got the usual "you'll be condemned to hell" look from the "christian" couple that had been trying to get pregnant for forever and were really excited that God provided them such a wonderful gift. That same couple felt the need to ask the group "we are so excited about that we are pregnant. When do you think we should tell my mother?" Really? It's not like the nurse practitioner "teaching" the class is a therapist.


• Oh, and I can't forget the best part! H and I had to stay after class because H is 35. It was like the nurse was doing us a favor. "I didn't want to embarrass you, but since you are considered a high risk pregnancy because you are 35, there are some screening tests that we can order for you. They are completely optional, but I thought we would go over your options separately." Are you kidding me?


• After that horrifying nightmare, we decided that we needed to shop around and lay out all of our options. We may have to adhere to all of the HMO's rules, but you better believe we are going to suck as much OUTSTANDING care out of them as we can! We have an appointment next week to see a midwife (also a lesbian) at this clinic. We had a consultation early on in the TTC process and were impressed. It turns out that they are a contracted partner with our HMO, which is fabulous! However, they handle all of their hospital transitions through the same clinic that labeled us with a number and herded us through that horrible class. We also made an appointment at the clinic on the Eastside to meet the midwives that are available at that facility. Hopefully within the next few weeks we'll have settled on a midwife and care facility.


• After all of that, we took a week off of work to just settle down from all the craziness that our life has become over the last year. We decided that we were NOT going to travel anywhere special and would just hunker down in the area and try to really relax, and that's exactly what we did. In the early morning hours, I spent most of my time practicing Hot Yoga while H went to the gym and tinkered. We picked up a heart rate monitor for her to wear while she is on the elliptical or treadmill so she knows exactly how much energy she is exerting. H was pretty content with catching up on Harr.y Po.tter and exercising at the gym, and I was content sweating out every last toxic pollutant I had built up over the last month of bad eating and over-the-top stress at work.


• About mid-week we met up with my ex-sister-in-law to can pickles, peaches and jam. Canning runs in the family and has been passed down from generation to generation. If you were old enough to wear diapers, you were old enough to help clean cucumbers or stuff jars. So, we spent a day getting our hands dirty and canning about 6 dozen pickles, 8 dozen jars of peach/blackberry jam, and 6 dozen jars of peaches. I think she is still used to canning for a family of 12! I know we certainly don't need that many pickles, but now we have a pantry full. I'm not complaining...the family recipe for pickles is sought after and loved by many!


• We also took a day trip to Ed.monds, Port Gamb.le and a few other island towns around the area. We had such a wonderful time window shopping, enjoying a cup or two of coffee (although H thinks that coffee is gross now, which is pretty amazing given that before she was pregnant you could have tattooed 'Star.bucks' on her body and she would have loved it), and read books on the beach. We even stopped in a local bookstore no bigger than our living room and sat down in the children's book aisle and read as many children's books as we could. I think the owner thought were were crazy!

So there you have it...we've been up to allot of things and nothing at the same time. We're officially 9 weeks pregnant as of Monday and go in for our first actual doctor appointment tomorrow. This appointment is with H's OB-GYN and at the same clinic we don't care for, but since we've had it scheduled for awhile we figure we'll keep it and see how it goes. Hopefully this one will be better! Oh, and I'm secretly hoping we can get scheduled for our first scan.