32 weeks today!

The past two weeks have been an emotional roller-coaster. My hormones are in full swing and I'm just doing my best to not fully turn into a raging *****! Though this is normal at this point in pregnancy, it is no fun for Derek and Madisyn.

I had an appointment with my Midwife La Shel today and things went really well. I have only gained one pound in the past two weeks and my blood pressure was 98/63. I seem to be keeping my blood sugar as level as possible but I am considered Hypoglycemic (very low blood sugar) and I have to be very careful. I now have a little permission to eat some sweets at times which I'm not complaining about. :)

The past two weeks baby has been breech (head up under ribs) and I have been trying things to get him/her head down. A proven trick is to place something cold (frozen bag of peas, or cold bottle of water) on top of the fundus (upper uterus) and then shine a flashlight directly on the skin just above the pubic bone. Babies gravitate toward light and they dislike cold temps. After doing this the baby moved head down and was quite content to kick my ribs for awhile in payment. The baby is still not 100% head down and is laying more with its head on my left hip. I'm currently doing exercises to help change that. The diagram below shows different positioned babies. Ours would follow position labeled LOA. My Midwife is reassuring me that we don't have anything to worry about right now because second babies can wait till 40 weeks to flip into birthing position. I hope this baby decides 37 weeks is a nice time.

We are looking forward to the baby shower (next Saturday) as there are going to be quite a few family and friends we haven't seen in ages coming. That really makes us happy that they are coming out of their way to celebrate this with us.

All in all.....I'm feeling great and I love taking spin class everyday. I'm still amazed that I have no swelling or major pain and I have the energy to get out and about. This pregnancy has been such a blessing and I'm kinda sad it's almost over. I really hope the birth is just as amazing.

31 week pictures

The best kind of hug!

Making room for baby!

We finally got to painting the kids room. Derek and I had lots of fun with this project and though we had a few snafus.....everything turned out amazing and I look forward to sharing many more home improvement jobs with him!

BEFORE








AFTER!


WHAT DO YOU THINK FOR FIRST-TIMERS? :)

29 weeks

I had an appointment today with my new back-up OB (just switched insurances) and the first thing she said was, "Oh! So you had a c-section!?" and I swore I saw dollar signs in her eyes. The vibe from there went down-hill and of course we all know what her next statement was, "So you know you’re going to have another c-section right?" I said that I will actually be going for a VBAC and she proceeded to tell me that she doesn't do them and that the hospital she works at has a "No VBAC policy." I decided it would be wise to keep it to myself that I will actually be having a home birth with two very qualified, experienced Midwives and that I was planning to only use her for back-up care for lab work, etc. Then the OB thought it necessary to tell me that if I try for a VBAC at another hospital that I would have to stay in bed hooked up to the monitors and have someone at my bedside the entire time and if my uterus ruptured then it would be a major problem because other hospitals only have on-call doctors and HER hospital has 24 hour in house doctors. Then she wanted to know why I had a c-section and I explained that I reviewed my records and I felt it was an unnecessary, preventable c-section. I gave her the reasons why and she tells me it WAS necessary and doctors will not do them unnecessarily. My reply, “That’s a shame your hospital doesn’t allow for VBAC’s considering it is proven to be safer on both mother and baby. I guess we are done here.” She did insist on checking the baby’s HB and measuring my stomach and I’m sure the reasons were monetary because when I left they mentioned they would bill my insurance. To top it off, the very loud front desk girls obviously had no training in patient confidentiality because they proceeded to talk about why I was no longer going to be seeing the OB in front of a very busy waiting room. I left in tears mainly because that appointment made me feel like nothing more than a baby transporter. I also cried for my unborn baby because I knew it more than I knew it yesterday…..this baby will be born in the safety of his/her home free from harsh hands and interventions. I cried because I felt guilty I didn’t know what I do now to protect our 5 year old daughter from those horrible first days of life. I called one of my Midwives (Jamin) after the appointment and felt immediate relief and sense of calm. Jamin told me it isn’t necessary to have a back up OB especially if it was causing me grief. They have faith in my ability to do this and they are there for me.

It’s so true, “A Midwife is worth her weight in gold.”

I have an appointment with Jamin on Monday. I will post how that goes. Currently my blood pressure is at 120/68 and my weight is at 137 (a 27 pound weight gain)

Please send any good vibes and prayers our way for a safe and healthy delivery.