1/26/05 - Changes

My belly is starting to get more pronounced and in my way. My weekly BabyCenter e-mail update says my uterus is now about the size of a soccer ball. It's getting more difficult to get out of the car or shave my legs. When I eat large meals I feel uncomfortably full, get heartburn and find it harder to draw a full breath. Guess things are getting more crowded in there than I expected this early in the pregnancy. I feel bloated already, so it’s weird to think I have at least three more months of getting bigger. The other day I soaked in the bath to relax my lower back. It felt great until I let the water out of the tub and felt instantly heavier. Makes me wish the hospital offered jacuzzi tubs for labor. My energy is starting to wane these days, which makes me all the more eager to finish the baby's room as soon as possible. This weekend was the first chance we had to move the office upstairs finally and paint the baby's room. Xavier and 7-year old Michayla painted the room with Dave while I visited with Amber, and then Jessica and Mark dropped by with 8-month old Jonathan. We made enchiladas and had a fun impromptu get-together. I'm so grateful for all the support we're getting from our friends.

Doula Dawn

After interviewing several doulas over the phone and two in person, I finally found her! Dawn immediately put Dave and I at ease with her bubbly sense of humor, and she's very levelheaded and knowledgeable. She e-mailed us alot of great information even before we met, and has a store of funny and tender stories of births that she's attended. She says that the majority of her clients who truly want a natural, unmedicated birth are able to reach their goals with the comfort measures she uses. Part of her job is to "coach the coach", helping Dave know what to do to help me, so it was important that we both feel completely comfortable with her. She was so happy to discover that we were Christians (many of her clients are not) and shared her testimony of how God called her into being a labor coach and postpartum doula as her ministry. She charges a $500 flat rate, which includes at least two visits beforehand to go over our birth plan and get to know us, labor support at home and at the hospital, and at least one postpartum visit to help with breastfeeding and newborn care. She also offers additional postpartum services like staying at your house a few nights to help you get some sleep while she cares for the baby, and light cooking and housekeeping. Must be nice! I don't know if we'll hire her for the postpartum stuff, but I'm definitely having her for my labor! My ultimate goal is to try to avoid the domino effect of medical interventions and drugs during labor, and I think, with her help, we can do it.

1/20/05 - Choices, Choices

Here's my five month photo. Dave says my belly button looks flatter. I'm definitely starting to round out, though I'm the least pregnant in our childbirth class. Everyone there is pretty big, and one girl has only four weeks to go (though there's six weeks of classes left). We took a tour of the maternity ward at TriCity Medical Center on Monday. When asked whether you could opt out of procedures like an automatic I.V., continuous electronic fetal monitoring, or using the stirrups for delivery, they told us that was between you and your doctor. But friends of mine who have gone there said these and other procedures are standard policies at the hospital. This week's Bradley class was very informative. We had a midwife come and speak to us about the options available in childbirth, and the difference between the philosophies of doctors and midwives, hospitals and homebirths. How midwives view labor as a natural and normal process, while doctors tend to see it as a potential emergency that many women need to be "rescued" from. Most of it matched what I've been reading for months, but alot of it was new for Dave. Since I've been boring him with my research for a long time, it was nice to feel like we were getting to be on the same page.

Labor Concerns

Since this is my first birth, I still feel a hospital is probably best, in case of anything unexpected. However, my biggest concern is that the hospital staff will undermine my confidence to do this naturally, pressure me to accept interventions I don't want, and interfere where it's not medically necessary. I have no problem with accepting treatment if a problem arises, but otherwise I want to be left alone with no artificial time limits. I know that once they start any medications, your alternative options evaporate. I fear that more than the pain of labor. I've learned that all our local hospitals use pitocin to induce or speed up labor with 50-60% of their patients,and have a cesarean rate of at least 25%. I can't possibly believe that half of all women are unable to begin and continue labor on their own, and one quarter can't deliver their babies without major surgery. They seem too eager to jump in and take over, and it worries me. We'll be interviewing a couple doulas in person next week to get a better idea of our options. I want someone who is familiar with the local hospitals and their policies. I'm glad that I'm only five months along and still have time to consider my options.

1/12/05 - Little Acrobat

Little Eva is very active now, especially in the late evening and early morning. My theory is that she's more active then because she can hear her Daddy's voice. Sometimes David can feel her movements when he puts his hand on my belly, but alot of the time I'm the only one who can tell. It never felt like the "butterfly" sensation I was told about, or as one friend described it, a "goldfish swimming around". With me, it feels more like I swallowed a jumpy little frog. I'm definitely showing now when I wear my normal sweaters and clothes, but just look heavy in my maternity tops because they're baggy on me. My belly is starting to get in my way when I try to tie my shoes or pick something up off the floor.

Childbirth Education

Dave and I started a Bradley Method class this week. I've read and heard from friends that it's very effective if you want to go all natural. I was very impressed by our instructor, who also teaches prenatal yoga. I was expecting her to be a kind of New Age weirdo, but she seems very practical and down to earth, thank God! We're also considering taking a Lamaze course to get both perspectives, though everyone I know who used it (including Mom) says it only worked "up to a certain point". I'm using a medical group with five obstetricians, and the doctor I met with after the ultrasound told me she disliked Bradley because it made patients more questioning of their doctor's practices. It bugged me that she seemed less concerned about which method was more effective than she was about which supposedly encouraged you to be a more compliant patient. I hope she's not the one on call when I go into labor. I’m going to be asking all the doctors a lot more questions now to determine if they would support me trying to have a natural birth.

1/4/05 - It's A Girl!!!

At least, that's what the ultrasound technician thinks. When I asked how sure she was, she said they're not allowed to say 100%, but she hadn't been wrong yet (wink, wink). You can see her waving her little hand in the picture. It was so cute because every time the technician pressed down on my belly to get a better image, the baby would kick back as if to say, "don't crowd me"! It's a new sensation I've only been able to recognize this past week. We had alot of fun calling friends and family to tell them. Everyone was so excited. Our friend Amber was so anxious to find out that she called me while we were still at the doctor's and then showed up at my work with a cute little girl outfit she had bought. This will be the first granddaughter on David's side, so we'll be hard pressed to keep her from being spoiled by the aunts and uncles!

The Name Game & Space Case

My favorite girl's name was Reaghan (which Dave didn't care for), and Dave's was Taylor (which I think is too common). The only one we seem to agree on so far is Evangelina, with Eva for short. That's one point for my best friend, whose name is Eva. We still have time to decide, since I’ve just passed the 20 week mark, which is half-way, or five months. I’ve become quite a klutz these past few weeks, knocking things over, dropping stuff, and being very forgetful. The other day I tripped over an electrical cord on the floor and couldn’t get my legs back under me. I fell directly on my right hip, but it was so funny I had to laugh in spite of the pain. My center of gravity has changed without my noticing, and has me off-balance. A couple nights ago I turned on the kitchen faucet and then forgot all about it, leaving it running. I was so excited about finding out the baby was a girl today that I forgot to change and showed up for work in my jeans. I had to run out quickly to J.C. Penney and buy a pair of black maternity slacks. LOL!