the hospital decision

so, i am about 10 weeks pregnant and everything is going just fine. overall, i am very tired most of the time and moody. i feel like i am a different person, not necessarily in a good way. i havent been motivated to do much. but, i am thankful for no morning sickness.

we are having the baby here in costa rica. it is a great and easy way to get residency, which is what we want. so, i have been looking into options for having a baby here even before i was pregnant. here are the options:

1. go to a private clinic in san jose (3.5 hours away) plus, you are reccommended to go 3 weeks prior and rent a place to stay (expensive)

2. get a midwive in san jose, still rent a place. go to san jose for montly check ups with the midwife

3. get a midwife and have the baby in a private hospital in san jose.

4. have the baby here at the public hospital in quepos

5. go to san isidro to a birthing clinic (about 1.5 hours away)

i have talked to a couple midwives, and they were great. the only con is going to san jose and they cannot come here to do the birth.

when you talk to people here, there are usually mixed reviews about the hospital in quepos. however, the majority of the ticos have their babies here, and they say it is a good hospital. i think it's all about perspective.

so with all this talk, i wanted to go and check out a doctor here in quepos and the hospital for myself. for moral and spanish support, laura went with me to the dr. appointment and to check out the hospital. we went to teh doctor just to ask him questions about how things work here, etc. my 1st impression was not good of him. for some reason, i just didnt click with him. during our whole hour conversation, mostly based upon his experiences in the states and cuba, he never asked how i was doing, etc. maybe that's selfish, but it just didnt sit right with me.

today, we went to the hospital, and i was pleasantly surprised. teh building is pretty nice, open, and seemed organized. laura has spent quite a bit of time in the hospital so she showed me around. we had an appointment to meet with an OBGYN in the maternity ward for a tour. it ended up being a long conversation about labor details, etc. which was very helpful. he explained a lot of things, and even asked about me, gave me some advice, etc. during this time, i was feeling a bit light headed talking about labor. i usually get that way when people talk a lot about things happening in the body. not sure why.

so, then we went on a tour. basically, there are 2 maternity ward rooms for teh women to be in before and after labor. oh, by the way, i just learned today that to be in labor, doesnt necessarily mean you are lying on the bed pushing for that entire time. i thougth when people said they were in labor for 24 hours, they were pushing for that long! now, i know you can be walking during labor. :) so, i saw about 5 women in one ward...2 with brand new babies, 1 who had a c-section, and the other who was in labor. the other room had one woman with her new baby and her husband was there too.

the labor area is in a different part with air conditioning-wow~! the other rooms do not have it, and you have to bring your own fan if you want something more than the one ceiling fan. we didnt go inside a delivery room, but there is capacity for 5 labors at once. by this time, i was very light headed and ready to go. the last thing we needed to do was to check out the price for having a baby there. the thing with the public hospitals is, it is all based on social security insurance, which all working ticos have. so the hospital services are free for them. well, i dont have that, so i thought i would have to pay something.

so, we went to the lady to ask her how much, and she said i wouldnt have to pay anything! nothing! she said it may change, but for now, free! so, we went to make an appointment to see a doctor there for my 1st appt. tomorrow. i am going with my tica friend vanessa. it should be interesting.

so as of now, i am thinking to have the baby here in quepos. i have talked to 2 other moms here and they said they would have their next babies at the hospital here. laura also recomends this as well. another thing we want to take into consideration is doing what is culturally "normal." yes, ticos go to san jose, but mostly only those with lots of money. at a private hospital, a birth without insurance would cost around 1,500 dollars. so, here, we would fit in more, and gain a little more respect from ticos.

so, please pray for this decision. i know i still have 7 more months, but....please pray.

p.s. we are not finding out the gender beforehand.

also, we are registered at target.com and babiesrus.com :)