Tomorrow (Wednesday) we have our second appointment at the obstetrician. Sadly, Dr. Mama is on vacation, so even though he wanted to "keep us to himself" (you eventually have to rotate through every doctor in the practice) for a while, we are forced to see someone else for this appointment.
While most of the doctors in the practice are wonderful (one hopes) I'm a tad worried that we might see Dr. Asshole, the guy who was so negative the day I got discharged from the hospital after losing the boys (you can read about that here). If you remember, he told me that we should not try again because we had a 30-50% chance of preeclampsia occurring again. He told me this the same day that I had the horrible post-partum hormonal crash; I was crying when he came in and cried the whole time he was there. So I wasn't exactly feeling receptive to his viewpoint at the moment, naturally.
Besides, he got so carried away trying to scare me, he forgot to mention some important things that I needed to know for my discharge; oh, like the fact I WOULD START FUCKING LACTATING. Imagine my surprise the day after I got home when my boobs turned into leaky rocks (thanks to a couple of brilliant blog readers, I wasn't completely unprepared, and knew to run out and buy cabbage).
So, naturally, I've been considering what I should say to this doctor when I see him, since even though I may not see him tomorrow, I will be seeing him at some point if he is still a member of the practice.
Lots of versions of speeches have run through my head; I'm attempting to focus on the ones that involve little in any profanity. First of all, according to two perinatologists and an obstetrician more experienced than he (he's rather young, probably early thirties), and all the research available at the Preeclampsia Foundation's site, his numbers are not correct. If you have mild preeclampsia, your chances of having it in a second pregnancy are about 5%. If you have severe preclampsia (like I did), it's closer to 25%. However, less than 1% of second pregnancies with preeclampsia result in the death of the fetus (a brief write up about all of this is here).
Throw in the fact that I had a twin pregnancy last time (twin pregnancies are much more prone to preeclampsia), my chances of preeclampsia happening again are even lower. I'm also lucky that my preeclampsia didn't develop into full eclampsia or HELLP syndrome.
So overall, my risk picture according to Dr. Mama is less than 10%.
All of that aside, even if this doctor DID feel it absolutely necessary to tell me this, he should have waited for my follow-up appointment. I was due back in the OB office in two weeks; it would have still been hard to hear, but it might have been a better time than, you know, when I was CRYING.
And the fact that he didn't discuss something as critical as the lactating is unforgivable.
So don't worry; he'll get an earful from me (did you have any doubts?).
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Things I've learned being home for ten days with nothing much to do:
Law & Order, in some version or other, is on nearly 24 hours a day.
There are a shitload of movies that SUCK that Encore believes need to be run on several channels at once.
Old movies like "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "Inherit the Wind" are unbelievably current and relevant.
I become increasingly anti-social the more television I watch.
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MOVIES!
Quickie reviews of all the movies I've seen lately, in desending order of viewing:
Casanova: Very sweet and funny. A fluff movie that is well-written and entertaining. And even though critics say Sienna Miller can't act, they are wrong--she's quite delightful. Even if she has no fashion sense.
Brokeback Mountain: This is a beautiful, well-acted, brilliantly written movie. However, I will confess to not understanding why movies that are full of silences seem to make the critics cream their jeans. Don't get it. Also, if gay sex makes you uncomfortable, DON'T FUCKING GO. Nothing is more annoying than people walking out while you are trying to see the movie. Don't these people read about the movie before they go?
The Family Stone: I have come to adore Sarah Jessica Parker (mostly thanks to Sex & The City), and she does not disappoint in this movie. Carrie Bradshaw, however, she is not. And it's important to know that THIS IS NOT A COMEDY. Why on earth they packaged it like it was, I can't imagine. Some scenes are actually so uncomfortable I was squirming in my seat. Good flick, though.
Memoirs of A Geisha: Beautiful, and that's about the nicest thing I can say. If you read the book, you got a full understanding of how fucking brutal this girl's life was; the movie manages to gloss over so much of it and make it all very romantic. Plus, so many cool details got lost (like how long the obi--the waistband they wear--is, and why a geisha can't dress herself). I was disappointed. I mean, this is a story about a woman who is sold into slavery by her father and then beaten and forced to dress up like a human doll for a living. So NOT romantic. I say stick to the book.
King Kong: WOW. Just WOW. I was blown away. Yes, the movie was too long, and yes, several scenes were really silly. But I loved it. Naomi Watts was brilliant; really! And Kong! WOW! I wept at the end. Seriously. Go see it on the big screen--don't wait for the DVD.
