Zantac is my hero

My OB said I could take Zantac to help with the insane hunger issue, so last night I popped one before bed, and let me tell you, I feel like a new woman. I wasn't ravenous in the middle of the night (not even during the 1.5 hours I stared at the ceiling with insomnia), and here we are at 1:15 in the afternoon and I STILL haven't had that gnawing pain yet. Not that I haven't been hungry--I've just been normal. Blessedly normally hungry. WOOHOO!

Yesterday was my first appointment with my OB, who I absolutely adore. Few women can say they actually look forward to their annual exam every year, but I honestly can say that I do. I wish I could figure out what exactly it is about Dr. Robinson that is so wonderful, but it's hard to put my finger on. She's somewhat soft-spoken, and her voice is very calm and warm. She's very gentle and always lets you know what she's about to do, so you're not caught off-guard by cold fingers in intimate places. She's the most thorough explainer I've ever met; ask her a question and you get the same answer about four times, in different words, along with some ancillary information and possibly even other doctors' opinions on the subject that may differ from hers. Makes the appointments rather long sometimes, but I never mind.

She freaked me out, though, by launching into the appointment with the sentence, "So the pendulum is swinging in the other direction when it comes to doing VBACs." (VBAC, for the acronymally-challenged, is "vaginal birth after c-section.") Those of you who were with me during the first pregnancy know how much planning and work I put into having a natural birth, and how crushed I was when I ended up with an emergency c-section. Dr. Robinson was sure to do the kind of incision that allows you to do a VBAC, and all along that has been the plan for Baby #2. However, the hospitals in the area are changing their policy and now require a doctor to be ON the hospital campus the ENTIRE time a VBAC woman is in labor there. So, for example, rather than coming and checking on me and then going back to her office to see patients and get some work done, Dr. Robinson will have to get there as soon as it's determined I am in active labor, and will not be able to leave until the baby is delivered, be it 3 or 6 or 12 hours later. Think what this does to her office! All those patients have to be rescheduled. Or if it's in the middle of the night, she can't nip off to home for a quick nap. Apparently a lot of the doctors are just saying "No more VBACs!" But my doctor is the bomb and understands that a woman should have that choice, so long as it is likely she can deliver, and given the circumstances of Abby's birth, she doesn't think the same thing will happen again and believes I will be a successful VBACer. 'Course it took about 15 minutes for her to get to the point where she made it clear that I would still be able to try for a VBAC, and for that whole time she was talking I was trying to decide if I should look for another doctor or what. Because as much as I love and adore her, I don't want another c/s. Thankfully I won't have to make that choice. Whew!

Well, Abby's sleeping and I'm getting peckish (Ha! Peckish! Not voraciously hungry and about to eat my arm off! I love it!) so I'm off to forage in the kitchen. Got some more YUMMY hummus at the farmer's market yesterday, and some more yummy giant carrots to dip in it, so I'm thinking that's my next dish. Though the snack packs of sugary cereal I splurged on at Target yesterday are calling awfully loud...