Here's info about the big project:
http://www.geocities.com/smack103/support_knitwork.html
I can't wait to get started!
Friday, March 21, 2008
It's a boy!
Yes, another boy! I should have known. :-)
Everything looks great. The placenta is anterior which isn't the best news ever in terms of positioning, but it's away from the scar and the cervix, so that's good. The little guy slept through the whole thing and couldn't be bothered to be woken up. Hey, maybe he'll be a better sleeper than my first little guy ( a mom can hope!). He's measuring about a week ahead, which is not surprising to us at all. He'll probably be a tall guy like his brother.
The other news is I got my PO box yesterday so I'm all ready to tell you about my project. I'll post about it this afternoon, including what you can do to help.
Everything looks great. The placenta is anterior which isn't the best news ever in terms of positioning, but it's away from the scar and the cervix, so that's good. The little guy slept through the whole thing and couldn't be bothered to be woken up. Hey, maybe he'll be a better sleeper than my first little guy ( a mom can hope!). He's measuring about a week ahead, which is not surprising to us at all. He'll probably be a tall guy like his brother.
The other news is I got my PO box yesterday so I'm all ready to tell you about my project. I'll post about it this afternoon, including what you can do to help.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Hey, found a belly picture
I did find a belly picture. It's from two weeks ago, but you get the idea. Ignore the ratty hair, 'kay?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bad Preggo!
I'm eating a pizza with bleu cheese, onions, and pears on it. I have a salad with gorgonzola waiting for me in the fridge. Sorry, can't really help it.
Oh, and my prenatal went fine on Sunday. It's too early to hear the baby with the fetoscope so we just did the normal clinical tests (everything's great) and I'm measuring right on.
I have my sonogram Friday morning. I'm adding a poll -- vote on the gender, if you like. :-)
Oh, and my prenatal went fine on Sunday. It's too early to hear the baby with the fetoscope so we just did the normal clinical tests (everything's great) and I'm measuring right on.
I have my sonogram Friday morning. I'm adding a poll -- vote on the gender, if you like. :-)
Monday, March 3, 2008
A MUCH Beter Prenatal Visit :-)
Yesterday we had our first "official" visit with the midwife and her apprentice. We'd already met with them twice before for a few hours each time, but this was the first real visit. Everything is great. The baby is happy and my uterus is measuring just right. My urine didn't have anything in it that it shouldn't have, heh.
The baby was a lot more cooperative with the doppler than at the hospital practice and we got a good listen to the heart. The heart rate was in the 160's and sounding good. We probably won't listen again until a bit past 20 weeks when we can use the fetoscope. The midwife prefers the fetoscope and, quite frankly, so do we. It just seems better to not be shooting too many high-energy waves at a developing fetus.
Amazingly, my blood pressure was actually really good (120/78). I think this is the first time in over a decade I didn't have white-coat hypertension. My blood pressure is almost always 135/80 when measured by a medical person, but not this time. I'm taking this as a very good sign!
It was a very midwife-y day yesterday. Meredith, our midwife for our last pregnancy, was here visiting from Israel and we got to spend a little time with her at the park yesterday. It was lovely to see her. It really was an exhaustingly fun day. I even tutored my husband's boss's daughter in the evening.
I still have this awful cold and am hoping it gets better SOON. I'm tired of feeling sick, and even more tired of whining about it.
It looks like Aloe has won as the color for my project. I'm happy about that. It was my secret favorite. Thanks to everyone who voted. As soon as I finish a baby hat for my cousin's baby, I'm going to get going on my project. Stay tuned!
The baby was a lot more cooperative with the doppler than at the hospital practice and we got a good listen to the heart. The heart rate was in the 160's and sounding good. We probably won't listen again until a bit past 20 weeks when we can use the fetoscope. The midwife prefers the fetoscope and, quite frankly, so do we. It just seems better to not be shooting too many high-energy waves at a developing fetus.
Amazingly, my blood pressure was actually really good (120/78). I think this is the first time in over a decade I didn't have white-coat hypertension. My blood pressure is almost always 135/80 when measured by a medical person, but not this time. I'm taking this as a very good sign!
It was a very midwife-y day yesterday. Meredith, our midwife for our last pregnancy, was here visiting from Israel and we got to spend a little time with her at the park yesterday. It was lovely to see her. It really was an exhaustingly fun day. I even tutored my husband's boss's daughter in the evening.
I still have this awful cold and am hoping it gets better SOON. I'm tired of feeling sick, and even more tired of whining about it.
It looks like Aloe has won as the color for my project. I'm happy about that. It was my secret favorite. Thanks to everyone who voted. As soon as I finish a baby hat for my cousin's baby, I'm going to get going on my project. Stay tuned!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Pants on Fire
Last night I had my first "shadow care" appointment. Shadow care is when you seek additional prenatal care from more "traditional" sources so that your insurance company will pay for things like lab work and testing. We didn't have to do it last time because our PPO would pay for whatever the midwife ordered. We have an HMO now, and we're doubly concerned that, should we transfer to the hospital again, the insurance won't pay unless we've established care with an approved provider. *sigh* So, off to a hospital practice I went.
I chose a group of midwives that "deliver" (pet peeve, right there -- MOM delivers, duh) at the major university hospital where I had my son. This would be the most likely place for transfer again since that hospital is Baby Friendly and the least hostile to homebirth transfers.
It took over an hour for me to see the midwife. AN HOUR. I've never even waited a minute for a homebirth midwife. The nurse told me to strip down and put on a hospital gown. I told her that I would like to meet the midwife with my clothes on, thank you very much. I didn't need a pap and wasn't having any bleeding or pain, so there was no reason for anyone to be sticking their hands up anywhere. By this point, is it any wonder my white-coat hypertension set in?
The midwife herself was really great. She was encouraging and supportive. She definitely believes in VBAC and was very excited about my prospects. Except for not having a vaginal birth before, I met all the criteria for an ideal shot at a VBAC.
Here's the problem: the hospital. The hospital "allows" VBAC's, but only with some pretty severe restrictions. Mom has to be on the monitors the entire time and there are no telemetry units (those are the monitors that are wireless and allow some degree of freedom of movement). I'd have to have an IV the whole time -- no heplock (that's a "port" they put in your hand so they can get an IV in you quickly if needed, but doesn't have you tied to a pole the whole time). She said the IV was going to be necessary anyway since I wouldn't be allowed anything by mouth when I arrived, not even water.
I asked if I would be free to walk around, and was told I would be. But with the monitors, my range of motion would basically be as far as the wires from the belts to the machines. So that would leave me pacing back and forth in front of the machine. Fun! This also means no water -- not even a hot shower to help with the contractions, let alone a warm bath.
Labor has to progress rather briskly, a period of two hours without cervical changes is "arrest" -- and that means either augmentation with pitocin (which I would refuse because it greatly increases rupture risk) or surgery. Lovely.
Basically, the midwife is not happy with these restrictions and suggested I get a monotrice (a doula who's also a midwife) and labor at home until the absolute last moment. She would want me to come to the hospital pushing, basically. Doesn't THAT sound like a lovely car ride?
So, in all, I think there are more than enough reasons why I am NOT switching to hospital care. The differences between the birth environments are like night and day. In the hospital I'd be tied to a machine, hungry, thirsty, watching the clock, pacing back and forth in a range of about five feet, and only occasionally getting support from the staff (whether or not I get a VBAC-supportive nurse is entirely the luck of the draw). At home I will be free to move about, take a shower, get in the tub, eat when I'm hungry, drink when I'm thirsty, will have constant support from a team of women I know very well and who have been chosen for both their expertise and confidence in VBAC, and will be a very short drive to several hospitals in the small chance we need OB care.
Does anyone really think that's a hard choice?
The upside is I have my orders for my blood and urine tests, as well as the sonogram. I'll get these done and then tell the midwife we are going to transfer care to a homebirth midwife. I really don't think she'll be surprised after the discussion we had last night.
But yeah, I'm a big fat liar. Oh well. :-P
(We have a prenatal with the "REAL" midwife on Sunday and I can't wait!)
I chose a group of midwives that "deliver" (pet peeve, right there -- MOM delivers, duh) at the major university hospital where I had my son. This would be the most likely place for transfer again since that hospital is Baby Friendly and the least hostile to homebirth transfers.
It took over an hour for me to see the midwife. AN HOUR. I've never even waited a minute for a homebirth midwife. The nurse told me to strip down and put on a hospital gown. I told her that I would like to meet the midwife with my clothes on, thank you very much. I didn't need a pap and wasn't having any bleeding or pain, so there was no reason for anyone to be sticking their hands up anywhere. By this point, is it any wonder my white-coat hypertension set in?
The midwife herself was really great. She was encouraging and supportive. She definitely believes in VBAC and was very excited about my prospects. Except for not having a vaginal birth before, I met all the criteria for an ideal shot at a VBAC.
Here's the problem: the hospital. The hospital "allows" VBAC's, but only with some pretty severe restrictions. Mom has to be on the monitors the entire time and there are no telemetry units (those are the monitors that are wireless and allow some degree of freedom of movement). I'd have to have an IV the whole time -- no heplock (that's a "port" they put in your hand so they can get an IV in you quickly if needed, but doesn't have you tied to a pole the whole time). She said the IV was going to be necessary anyway since I wouldn't be allowed anything by mouth when I arrived, not even water.
I asked if I would be free to walk around, and was told I would be. But with the monitors, my range of motion would basically be as far as the wires from the belts to the machines. So that would leave me pacing back and forth in front of the machine. Fun! This also means no water -- not even a hot shower to help with the contractions, let alone a warm bath.
Labor has to progress rather briskly, a period of two hours without cervical changes is "arrest" -- and that means either augmentation with pitocin (which I would refuse because it greatly increases rupture risk) or surgery. Lovely.
Basically, the midwife is not happy with these restrictions and suggested I get a monotrice (a doula who's also a midwife) and labor at home until the absolute last moment. She would want me to come to the hospital pushing, basically. Doesn't THAT sound like a lovely car ride?
So, in all, I think there are more than enough reasons why I am NOT switching to hospital care. The differences between the birth environments are like night and day. In the hospital I'd be tied to a machine, hungry, thirsty, watching the clock, pacing back and forth in a range of about five feet, and only occasionally getting support from the staff (whether or not I get a VBAC-supportive nurse is entirely the luck of the draw). At home I will be free to move about, take a shower, get in the tub, eat when I'm hungry, drink when I'm thirsty, will have constant support from a team of women I know very well and who have been chosen for both their expertise and confidence in VBAC, and will be a very short drive to several hospitals in the small chance we need OB care.
Does anyone really think that's a hard choice?
The upside is I have my orders for my blood and urine tests, as well as the sonogram. I'll get these done and then tell the midwife we are going to transfer care to a homebirth midwife. I really don't think she'll be surprised after the discussion we had last night.
But yeah, I'm a big fat liar. Oh well. :-P
(We have a prenatal with the "REAL" midwife on Sunday and I can't wait!)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The Cat's Out of the Bag!
Ack! We're telling people IRL today. TODAY! It's 13 weeks today and we're leaving the first trimester behind so it's time to tell.
It seems like a long time to wait, but in a lot of ways we'd like to wait longer (can't really, not when people see my little belly!). I think most of our family will be happy and supportive, but I know the VBAC (HBAC) issue will come up. We have one family member who made some extremely hurtful comments when we were planning my son's birth. I still get a little tug of sadness when I think of the things she said. I am dreading what she's going to say this time.
I have another family member who has already basically told my mom that I'm going to rip apart at the seams if I am silly enough not to plan another c-section. I wasn't even pregnant at the time and it took a while to peel my poor mom off the ceiling.
The rest of the family is a crap shoot. I really don't know what they'll say. Hopefully they'll realize that my husband and I would NEVER do anything to put our baby's life in danger -- or increase the risk that my babies will grow up without a mother. Hopefully they'll know us well enough to understand that we make the choices we do because we believe they are the safest and sanest around. Hopefully.
So, if you can, think of me and my husband over the next few days as we start collecting reactions. We've practiced our responses and have our strategies, but it SUCKS that we're feeling so apprehensive and, well, sad about telling our family such wonderful news.
Oh, and pray none of them have read that stupid ACOG statement! Jeez!
It seems like a long time to wait, but in a lot of ways we'd like to wait longer (can't really, not when people see my little belly!). I think most of our family will be happy and supportive, but I know the VBAC (HBAC) issue will come up. We have one family member who made some extremely hurtful comments when we were planning my son's birth. I still get a little tug of sadness when I think of the things she said. I am dreading what she's going to say this time.
I have another family member who has already basically told my mom that I'm going to rip apart at the seams if I am silly enough not to plan another c-section. I wasn't even pregnant at the time and it took a while to peel my poor mom off the ceiling.
The rest of the family is a crap shoot. I really don't know what they'll say. Hopefully they'll realize that my husband and I would NEVER do anything to put our baby's life in danger -- or increase the risk that my babies will grow up without a mother. Hopefully they'll know us well enough to understand that we make the choices we do because we believe they are the safest and sanest around. Hopefully.
So, if you can, think of me and my husband over the next few days as we start collecting reactions. We've practiced our responses and have our strategies, but it SUCKS that we're feeling so apprehensive and, well, sad about telling our family such wonderful news.
Oh, and pray none of them have read that stupid ACOG statement! Jeez!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Stages of Recovery from Birth Trauma
http://observantmidwife.blogspot.com/2008/02/gray-grey-messenger-recovery.html
(Possibly NSFW pic in header -- lots of boobies)
Navelgazing Midwife has a beautiful post on her blog about the stages of recovery from a difficult/traumatic birth. It's really a beautiful post, and I highly recommend it for any of you out there who have been through a birth that tore at your heart.
This midwife is a local midwife and is very active with our local ICAN chapter. I remember calling her out of the blue one day about a year ago when I was deep in the middle of my "Sadness for Experience" stage. She reached out to the blubbering strange woman on the phone and gave me some really powerful words. Those words settled into my heart and nourished it, pushing me along to reframing and accepting my son's birth.
I like to think I'm in the "Preparation" stage now. I guess this blog is part of that. I want to help other mothers, but I realize that everyone has their own path to walk. If they want my help, they will reach for it. I'm also gathering a cocoon of support for my next birth, something I don't think I've ever done in my entire life.
So, go read the post. Tell me what you think.
(Possibly NSFW pic in header -- lots of boobies)
Navelgazing Midwife has a beautiful post on her blog about the stages of recovery from a difficult/traumatic birth. It's really a beautiful post, and I highly recommend it for any of you out there who have been through a birth that tore at your heart.
This midwife is a local midwife and is very active with our local ICAN chapter. I remember calling her out of the blue one day about a year ago when I was deep in the middle of my "Sadness for Experience" stage. She reached out to the blubbering strange woman on the phone and gave me some really powerful words. Those words settled into my heart and nourished it, pushing me along to reframing and accepting my son's birth.
I like to think I'm in the "Preparation" stage now. I guess this blog is part of that. I want to help other mothers, but I realize that everyone has their own path to walk. If they want my help, they will reach for it. I'm also gathering a cocoon of support for my next birth, something I don't think I've ever done in my entire life.
So, go read the post. Tell me what you think.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Picking Colors
I'm getting closer to telling my big plan for my support project, but I still have some details to iron out. Let me just say that it's going to be a blanket/shawl similar to the blanket I made for the midwife for my son's birth. You can read about it here on my other, infinitely more irreverent (are rarely updated) blog. I'm not going to do the improvised ribbing, nor am I going to have the yarn doubled. I want something that will be a bit more "auto-pilot" because knitting with a 2 1/2 year old running around is different from knitting with a 1 1/2 year old. I'm sure you parents know what I mean.
Right now I'm trying to decide on a color. Obviously we don't know yet if the baby is a boy or a girl, but this is for me, not for the baby. I've picked a few colors and am going to have a poll in the margin for voting.
The yarn I have chosen is this: Swish Superwash by Knit Picks. The colors I am considering are: Ballerina, Fired Brick, Wisteria, Deep Ocean, and Aloe.
Go, take a look, and vote. :-)
Right now I'm trying to decide on a color. Obviously we don't know yet if the baby is a boy or a girl, but this is for me, not for the baby. I've picked a few colors and am going to have a poll in the margin for voting.
The yarn I have chosen is this: Swish Superwash by Knit Picks. The colors I am considering are: Ballerina, Fired Brick, Wisteria, Deep Ocean, and Aloe.
Go, take a look, and vote. :-)
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Midwife Questions
We've been working to find our perfect midwife. In fact, we believe we have found her! Yay! I'll let you guys know who it is after we get everything settled (she's reviewing the records from my son's pregnancy and birth and we're going to have one more meeting before getting it set in stone). I thought it might be interesting to share with you the list of questions I prepared for our interviews this time.
I started with questions I found online, and then added more (and removed a few). I didn't ask about licensing and experience this time, since I found that information on everyone's website. Last time we figured out pretty quickly that the answers to these questions below told us what we needed to know about the midwives' experience and general "plan of action." There are some questions that relate specifically to my situation with my son's birth, and other questions I ask as "screeners" to get a clearer picture of what the midwife believes about birth and pregnancy.
If this this is your first foray into homebirth, you'll probably want to ask more questions about safety and how the midwife deals with issues during pregnancy and birth. We asked tons last time to the six midwives we interviewed, but didn't feel the need to this time. Having been through the wonderful homebirth midwife prenatal care and birth support, as well as transport to the hospital, we feel pretty comfortable with how the process generally works.
How many births have you attended as primary midwife?
What is your basic philosophy about birth?
What do you think about unassisted birth? What do you feel a midwife adds that a mother cannot provide on her own?
Who attends births with you? Do they also come to the prenatal appointments? Do I have a choice in who assists you at my birth?
Do you have a relationship with a physician should we need to transfer care or arrange a consult?
What are your feelings about parallel/shadow care?
What kind of childbirth education programs do you recommend?
Are you familiar with the Pink Kit?
What are the things that will risk out a mother from homebirth?
What is your fee?How are payments made?
What are your feelings on waterbirth? Do you have a tub that clients can use?
What do prenatal visits consist of?
Where do these visits take place? How often?
Do you require any internal exams during pregnancy or labor? Do you strip membranes?
What are your thoughts on VBAC? VBA2C?
What, if anything, is different when caring for a VBAC mom? Is the fee the same?
Do you have an opinion on single vs. double-layer stitching?
How do you feel about fathers catching the baby?
What is your protocol if a client goes past her due date?
When do you come to the home during labor? At what point do you decide to stay?
What sort of monitoring of the baby do you use during labor? Are you comfortable using a fetoscope during pregnancy?
How often do you listen to baby during labor?
What happens if you have two clients in labor at once?
What are your expectations of clients during pregnancy and birth?
What complications require a transport to the hospital? What is your role during a transport and once we're at the hospital? Have you ever met any resistance from hospital staff?
Do you have a preference for transport hospital?
What is your transport rate? Cesarean rate?
What experience do you have with resolving malpositions? Any experience with deep transverse arrest (as either the midwife for the malpositioned baby or as the midwife for the next baby)?
What tests do you require prenatally? What tests on the baby after the birth?
How do you assist a woman through the pushing stage? Do you do directed pushing?
When do you like to cut the cord? Are you comfortable with waiting until the placenta has been delivered?
Do you have a limit on the number of clients you accept a month?
How do you feel about siblings at birth?
What do you provide as far as postpartum services (breastfeeding support, newborn care, etc.)?
What are your thoughts on jaundice in the breastfed baby?
How do you feel about having a doula at a homebirth? What role, if any, do you think a doula plays at a homebirth?
Are there any books you strongly recommend we read (or DON'T read)?
Do you have any experience dealing with moms with white coat hypertension?
I started with questions I found online, and then added more (and removed a few). I didn't ask about licensing and experience this time, since I found that information on everyone's website. Last time we figured out pretty quickly that the answers to these questions below told us what we needed to know about the midwives' experience and general "plan of action." There are some questions that relate specifically to my situation with my son's birth, and other questions I ask as "screeners" to get a clearer picture of what the midwife believes about birth and pregnancy.
If this this is your first foray into homebirth, you'll probably want to ask more questions about safety and how the midwife deals with issues during pregnancy and birth. We asked tons last time to the six midwives we interviewed, but didn't feel the need to this time. Having been through the wonderful homebirth midwife prenatal care and birth support, as well as transport to the hospital, we feel pretty comfortable with how the process generally works.
How many births have you attended as primary midwife?
What is your basic philosophy about birth?
What do you think about unassisted birth? What do you feel a midwife adds that a mother cannot provide on her own?
Who attends births with you? Do they also come to the prenatal appointments? Do I have a choice in who assists you at my birth?
Do you have a relationship with a physician should we need to transfer care or arrange a consult?
What are your feelings about parallel/shadow care?
What kind of childbirth education programs do you recommend?
Are you familiar with the Pink Kit?
What are the things that will risk out a mother from homebirth?
What is your fee?How are payments made?
What are your feelings on waterbirth? Do you have a tub that clients can use?
What do prenatal visits consist of?
Where do these visits take place? How often?
Do you require any internal exams during pregnancy or labor? Do you strip membranes?
What are your thoughts on VBAC? VBA2C?
What, if anything, is different when caring for a VBAC mom? Is the fee the same?
Do you have an opinion on single vs. double-layer stitching?
How do you feel about fathers catching the baby?
What is your protocol if a client goes past her due date?
When do you come to the home during labor? At what point do you decide to stay?
What sort of monitoring of the baby do you use during labor? Are you comfortable using a fetoscope during pregnancy?
How often do you listen to baby during labor?
What happens if you have two clients in labor at once?
What are your expectations of clients during pregnancy and birth?
What complications require a transport to the hospital? What is your role during a transport and once we're at the hospital? Have you ever met any resistance from hospital staff?
Do you have a preference for transport hospital?
What is your transport rate? Cesarean rate?
What experience do you have with resolving malpositions? Any experience with deep transverse arrest (as either the midwife for the malpositioned baby or as the midwife for the next baby)?
What tests do you require prenatally? What tests on the baby after the birth?
How do you assist a woman through the pushing stage? Do you do directed pushing?
When do you like to cut the cord? Are you comfortable with waiting until the placenta has been delivered?
Do you have a limit on the number of clients you accept a month?
How do you feel about siblings at birth?
What do you provide as far as postpartum services (breastfeeding support, newborn care, etc.)?
What are your thoughts on jaundice in the breastfed baby?
How do you feel about having a doula at a homebirth? What role, if any, do you think a doula plays at a homebirth?
Are there any books you strongly recommend we read (or DON'T read)?
Do you have any experience dealing with moms with white coat hypertension?
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