On November 21st I had a number of appointments scheduled in Syracuse: a level II ultrasound, a fetal echocardiogram, genetic counseling, and a meeting with MFM about delivery options at Crouse Hospital. We had already planned to head to Pittsburgh the next day for a Thanksgiving trip and it seemed silly to drive to Syracuse and back on Monday, only to drive that same 2-1/2 hour stretch the next day. The plan of taking all the kids in order to then spend the night in a hotel with a swimming pool was hatched and, boy, was it even better than we had anticipated.
We had so much fun!
The big indoor pool was the highlight (and we took advantage of it twice), but the giant atrium with lots of little paths to explore, the roomy suite, the hot [free!] breakfast the next morning, and the hours of family time were pretty awesome, too!
We had the whole pool area to ourselves both that first evening and the next morning
Sticking our feet in the hot tub
The kids were rather excited about not only having cable television but also WATCHING TV IN BED!!
For those curious, the five hours of appointments did go well. This baby, unlike Claire, was not in a great position for ruling out all the heart abnormalities they like to rule out, but they feel confident that there are at least no major problems.
I had a long chat with a doctor who was absolutely enthusiastic about my VBAC'ing there and even said, "That's great!" when I told him that I would want midwife care with OB back-up. We've not settled entirely on where the delivery will take place, but we're definitely leaning more and more strongly toward an out-of-the-area birth. Though the drawbacks to that are plentiful, the drawbacks locally are at least as plentiful and-- right now, anyway-- much more daunting and exhausting to me.
Also for those curious, we did not find out what we're having! Daniel and I both prefer the surprise and neither of us felt a compelling reason to find out ahead of time. We're in this for the long-haul and loving every minute of Who Knows?! I lean toward boy myself, for what it's worth.
(Not much, I realize, since I'm generally wrong! Still, it is what I think!)
We have decided that in this stage of life/season with little ones where anything else seems impractical and even overwhelming the random motel/hotel "vacation" with a pool is all it takes! We love it! Great idea! And definitely the long haul with not finding out but now that I'm down to the wire, I'm always SO glad I we now have this to look forward to as well.
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