Living in NYC, such a progressive city, I thought that finding a midwife would be much easier than it was. Even though the actual geographical area is quite small there seem to be clear lines marking how far some midwives will travel if you are doing a home birth. It was actually quite hard to find a generous selection of midwives to chose from. Most listings all consisted of the same 10-12 people/practices. Out of those 10-12 some were already booked up during my September delivery date, others would not travel to my area (Bronx, NY) and others I just didn't feel a connection with. The one's I spoke to were nice but just didn't have that open/warmness I was looking for. (somewhat consistent with the same lack of connection I have found with the majority of New Yorkers I have encountered since I moved here 4.5 years ago...still I was surprised). There seemed to be a air of what I can only describe as pretentiousness or superiority that just really turned me off. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure this is not the case for the majority of midwives out there. Unfortunately, it's just what I encountered in my process of searching.
Finally...I met Linda. Yesterday Tony and I traveled to her home office in NJ (about an hour drive in traffic and snow from our Bronx apartment). The moment she opened the door I felt like we already knew one another! She welcomed us in with a big smile and a huge hug. Yeayyyyy what a relief...she was so welcoming, warm and open that (even if she couldn't tell) I was beaming on the inside. She took her time with us and was willing to talk through any and all subjects and questions that we had. It was great and I knew immediately that our search was over. Here is a link for her website in case you are ever looking for a great midwife in NY: http://www.completewomanmidwifery.com/
Our first appointment is next Friday March 4th and we are really looking forward to it. Finding out that you are pregnant as early as we did (4 weeks) really makes this first trimester seem like forever and I've gotten a little anxious wanting to make sure that we are on track and to get some questions finally answered. I've been really great at reading books and researching on the Internet but there is nothing like speaking directly with a professional who you know is looking out for your best interests.
Side note...I know it's been a few weeks since I last wrote. I did experience a few weeks of lovely nauseousness and extreme exhaustion. I just couldn't bring my self to write about anything unless it was to complain about how crappy I felt! Now that I'm almost 13 weeks I do think I'm starting to feel better and get my energy back. I did notice over the last couple of days I did get slammed with pretty nasty headache, which I never used to get. It wasn't until I got my weekly pregnancy update email for 12 weeks did I learn that that's exactly when those "pregnancy headaches" can start to set it. It was funny to realize that at least I am on track with that!
How was your experience finding a midwife?
