The Business of Being Born

Chris and I watched "The Business of Being Born" last night. It was a very enlightening and depiction of what giving birth has become in the United States. Basically, women are told that they cannot handle the pain of childbirth and most believe it. They are pumped full of drugs and the release of these drugs keep the natural release of hormones from happening and can damage the initial mother-baby bonding.

I know that in my first two deliveries (both fully medicated) I remember feeling like I was "sick." I was in the hospital, hooked to tons of beeping machines and being pumped full of God-knows-what... but I wasn't sick. I was doing the very thing that God created me to do. With Gabriel, they pumped me full of so much stuff that I spent the last thirty minutes or so of my labor throwing up. If you think labor isn't fun, trust me, throwing up during labor makes it much less enjoyable.

I switched doctors this time because I knew someone that used my new doctor for a natural birth. The same doctor allowed another friend to "catch" her own baby. That's kinda neat.

I'm spending the next seven months learning everything I can. We are going to sign up for Bradley Method classes and I've already purchased the book. The movie last night was a good start too. We probably watched five or six un-medicated births (all at home). It's really not as bad to watch as we are led to believe.

We are still planning on delivering at the hospital with a doctor. Although this morning I did check to see if my insurance covered mid-wives. They do, but the closest one that they cover is in Charleston. We are going to have a doula present and we plan on staying at home for as long as possible before driving to the hospital. It is only about 10 minutes away, so we should be able to stay home for a while.

Gabriel's Escape

The kids' daycare has a huge play yard. The play yard is separated by chain-link fence into areas for each age group of children. This way, the after school kids and the toddlers are not in the same area. Cadence plays with the after school kids in the afternoon and Gabriel stays with his two year old class. Or at least he is supposed to stay with his two year old class. Lately they have found him with his sister and the after school kids. Two out of the first three times the gate between the area was closed so they had no idea how he was getting over there. Then someone snapped this photo as evidence of Gabriel's method of escape.

Week 7 - Third Ultrasound

We had our third ultrasound yesterday and were able to see our little "pistachio" and hear his/her heartbeat. Everything looks perfectly healthy and normal. After the experience that we've gone through with the other two ultrasounds and the hCG level testing, I don't think I like the idea of doing that sort of testing early in pregnancy. It seems to cause more worry than good.

Everything is on track and we do not need to go back to the doctor until May 5th. By that point, I will be 12 weeks preggers and the doctor should be able to hear the baby's heartbeat using a doppler on my tummy.

Now that we've seen the baby and heard the heartbeat it is definitely feeling more real. I am looking forward to finishing Gabriel's "big boy" room and preparing the house for baby number three.... THREE!!! That still scares me if I think about it long enough. Now Chris and I will be out-numbered by the dogs AND the kids!

Results from this weekend's test

On Thursday I went to see my doctor because I had some mild cramping. He did an ultrasound and saw "the beginning of someone" and said that he didn't see anything that should cause cramping. As a precautionary measure, he also checked my hCG level (this is the pregnancy hormone - the same thing that makes the pee stick change colors). My hCG level was 13,000 at 3pm. Ideally it should double within 48 hours. I had a second test done on Saturday at 10am and it was only 19,000. My doctor called to tell me today. I was originally supposed to have another ultrasound tomorrow but the doctor would like to wait until next week. He says that the levels are rising, which is good, but they aren't where he wants them to be. Please say a prayer for our little Pistachio. We should know more next week.

Pistachio's Second Ultrasound

I went to the doctor today and had another ultrasound. The gestational sack is about 10 times the size it was last Wednesday and there is definitely a little Pistachio in it. :)

The picture isn't too great. It was bigger on the screen, but when he took the picture I think he zoomed out a bit. According to the notes on the side (most of which are cut off) the curser is pointing at the head.

Week 5

I am now 5 weeks and 2 days into my pregnancy. It seems like it should be further along because I found out so early. When I was pregnant with Cadence, I found out in my 5th week. With this baby, I found out at 3 weeks and 3 days.

Because I am the type of person that over-analyzes everything I have been worried that I haven't had any morning sickness yet. In my mind, morning sickness is a good thing to have because it means that everything is as it should be. Therefore, not having morning sickness is a bad thing. This is not a fair analysis because 1) morning sickness can start anytime from week 5 to week 7 and 2) although I had a bit of of a queezy feeling with Cadence and Gabriel, I never got full-blown morning sickness.

I think I got my wish this morning. Just as with Cadence and Gabriel, I have had a queezy feeling all day. Not too bad, but definitely there.

Pistachio's First Prenatal Appointment

We went to our first prenatal appointment with my new doctor. I figured that it would be like the first appointment that I had with Cadence and Gabriel. They take a bunch of blood, ask a ton of questions, make you pee in a cup and then they send you on your way.

When we got there, they made me pee in the cup and I put it in the "mystery door." Then they took my blood pressure (120/70ish... which is a tad high for me) and my weight (undisclosed number that of course had to be wrong). Then they took us into an "office." I use that term very loosely as the room was probably 4' x 8'... maybe. The nurse asked tons of questions about our family histories and about my pregnancies with Cadence and Gabriel. After that the doctor came in to talk to us. After we talked for a minute, he said that I was going to have "full physical" and then an ultrasound. The emotions "Ugh" and "Yay!" entered my mind at exactly the same time.

The "physical" was not too bad. Chris was in the room and the doctor had asked him where he worked. When Chris told him that he worked at Toyota they struck up a conversation about the doctor's daughter's new Prius and the hype over the recalls.

Onto the ultrasound. Since, by my calculation, I am 4 weeks and 5 days into my pregnancy this means that the baby is really only 2 weeks and 5 days old. I was very surprised that the doctor would do an ultrasound that early... but he did. I was not surprised that he couldn't find a whole lot. In fact I was surprised that he found anything at all. But he was able to locate this little jellybean looking bubble. This, he says, is our Pistachio. (A side note: I have a history of naming my unborn children after snack nuts. Cadence was "Peanut" and Gabriel was "Cashew." We toyed with the idea of calling this one "Chick Pea" but my sister Dianne was quick to point out that a chick pea is a pea and not a nut and therefore an unacceptable name to fit the predetermined pattern.)



We have another appointment on 3/30/10 for a follow-up ultrasound. God willing, by then I will be 6 weeks and 4 days pregnant and Pistachio should be 4 weeks and 4 days old. He should look more like a shrimp than a bubble at that point.