Piecey - Funny you should mention it, as I was unaware that was the policy of my OB till I was about 32 weeks and I freaked out! I was not pleased as we had only seen the one OB (whom I love, he was the chair of the dept, great guy) and the thought that any random person could deliver my child was sorta scary. We didn't start seeing any of the others though, which I know seems stupid, but turns out it didn't matter cause she was born when my OB was on call anyway. With my son, it was a different dr, but also one I completely trusted, he ran the OB dept in the med school so my husband knew him, etc. This time I was supposed to see that guy (who delivered my son), but now my appt is with another OB instead, but it's a woman who delivered my friend's son so I'm okay with it. After this appt, I'll be back to my regular OB who delivered my daughter and saw me through both pregnancies and after, but he broke his hip this winter and just recently came back to work so I didn't feel like waiting to get an appt with him at the time.
Oh, and the big reason we chose that OB group/hospital is that we lived 2 blocks from there (I actually walked to the hospital when I went into labor) and my husband was in medical school there, so he knew a decent amount of the staff so we felt pretty good about it. And the hospital was brand new (opened August 28, 2002 and my daughter was born 2/26/04) with a great NICU, huge L&D rooms, and all private recovery rooms. There's actually another hospital in DC that is sort of the "baby hospital", but it's really old, you have to share rooms, etc. Plus it was further away. And with this kid, my husband is now on staff at the hospital so I'm hoping I really get some good treatment!
We registered for stuff pretty late, probably about 30 weeks. We knew we were having a girl at 16 weeks, but I was in grad school at the time and trying to get as much done before the baby as possible so registering went on the back burner. We did buy some stuff on our own before then, and my shower wasn't till I was 36 weeks so it was fine for us, but probably not normal.
Kristen - Regarding having a feeling of girl or boy, I was wrong with both of my kids so I guess my answer is no. I never had a huge feeling either way really, but I wanted a boy the 1st time around and wanted a girl the 2nd and got the opposite. This time I really want another girl, but I have a feeling it's a boy.
In case that sounds bad, a boy would be fine too, as I love my son and would love another boy too, but since my son will always be that dreaded 'middle child', I think it would be somewhat better for him if he's the only boy, if that makes sense. My daughter's always got that "first born" slot, this one will always be the baby, and then there's my son who loses his baby role, but can't take on the biggest kid role cause my daughter will be sure and remind him that she's older, etc. So I think having him be the only boy sorta makes his role stand out. But I guess he'll adapt either way. Luckily for me, he LOVES babies, so I'm hoping it's a slightly easier transition that it was for my daughter.
Harleyquinn - Glad your internal exam went well! It really marks the beginning of the end, so exciting! And yes, I have definitely learned my lesson about WDW when 8 weeks. We really had no intention of going there right now, we were just planning on the beach, but we're going on a
Disney cruise in August with some friends and the friend and I are going to Florida early to spend a few days at WDW with the kids. I think my husband got jealous and decided to split our trip between the beach and WDW so he got some park days in too. It was probably better than just staying at the beach in that the walking around all morning was a good distractor, but I just felt so crappy, didn't want to ride anything, didn't enjoy the pool in the afternoons, etc. Ugh, and then we ate at Flying Fish one night, the sheer thought had me nearly vomiting. I ordered a steak which actually made me feel slightly better, but just the word fish had me sick. And the ridiculous heat was so not welcome either. We usually finished parks by 1pm, then went to the pool, dinner, bed, but the last night I suggested going to MK after dinner, just cause we had done so little there and I felt guilty for my kids. It was about 10000 degrees and it was 9pm and dark! Ugh, and so humid. Then we got trapped in Spectromagic, man, did I regret that decision later on!
The peach iced tea I just drank has me feeling a little weird, so I guess it's time to lay down and rest before I get my son from camp. Luckily for me, he falls asleep on the way home and naps till it's time to get his sister, so I really am kid-free from 9-3 everyday.