Another good appointment, I'd had some swelling (ankles/feet) off & on over the past week or so, nothing major, just enough to make me paranoid about blood pressure issues (since that was such an issue last time, and I feel contributed to them coming early), so I was kind of nervous about that today, especially since I've been trying to spend some time each day with my feet up, but that hadn't happened today with the meeting with Dr. F this morning, and then a couple stops (there are much better health food stores near Dr. F's office, than I've found in this area, I was finally able to get the homeopathics that I wanted to have on hand for the birth, though I'm kicking myself because I had a list of EOs & such too that I completely forgot about (SHOULD have checked Frontier, prior to going, and then taken a list alone for anything I couldn't get from Frontier). Anyway . . . so was nervous about what my bp would be at this appointment, but it was right in line w/ what it's been this whole pregnancy, whew! I'm still measuring 3 weeks ahead (measuring 37 weeks right now), but the mw said that's within normal, so no worries there. Can I just say, this midwife is AWESOME with the girls! She includes them in the appointments (they alternate who does what, but they're the ones who put the doppler on my belly & turn it on), and never seems annoyed when she answers their questions. Today also took a few extra minutes & drew the baby on my belly. After feeling to figure out how the baby was positioned right then, she had a "stencil" (for lack of a better word) w/ movable arms & legs, so she could position it & then trace it onto my belly. Then she helped the girls feel the baby's butt, back, and feet, they were so excited :)
Next appointment (in 2 weeks) they test for Group B strep, and she said they'll also do a quick cervix check, mainly to confirm baby is head down, but obviously that will also let us know if I've started dilating or not. And then from then on out we'll be on weekly appointments.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Meeting with the Pediatrician
Oh wait, as I'm reminded every time I say pediatrician (in ANY context, as in "the pediatrician we had in MD . . .") to any of the office staff, she's NOT a pediatrician, or an ob/gyn, she's a family practitioner who treats women & children LOL (apparently this is significant to some insurance companies, so they are vigilant about making sure this is clear).
ANYWAY . . . I needed her to sign a letter for the midwives (giving the birth center's nurse permission to do the newborn infant procedures at the homebirth), so, since I hadn't met her, we went for a consult, that she ended up billing as an appointment for me, since she DID give me advice on supplementation & drew my blood to check my Vit D (and I'm not sure what else, but they took 2 vials of blood) levels.
I can't begin to tell you how refreshing it is to sit down w/ a doctor & have her start in immediately asking about my overall nutrition, suggesting supplements for ME ("we don't want the baby to have anything but your milk, so we need to make sure your milk has everything the baby needs!" what a NOVEL IDEA!!). After we'd talked about Vitamin D supplements (for me, and while we're at it, the girls & dh, but NOT the baby, thankyouverymuch!), omega3s, etc. She explained that she tries to focus on preventative measures so that we don't have to worry about the actual sicknesses. Also talked about the importance of me being exposed to everything baby is exposed to, so that my body produces and passes on the necessary antibodies (which I knew, but I've had enough people look totally lost when I mention it (when the girls were babies) that this is obviously information that needs to be made more widely known). They don't even recommend any vaccines until age 2, a nice change from the "norm" :)
The girls decided it wasn't fair because THEY didn't get to talk enough (LOL) but other then that, it was a very good, and informative visit. She actually used the same practice I'm using (though I think some, if not all, of hte midwives have changed in the last few years) for a homebirth for her last child, and she used to do homebirths (I think at the practice she was at prior to this one). She was aware of the letter, and so signed it with no problem. She said she'll actually be on vacation right around my EDD, but then laughed & said "which is probably as good a time as any to be gone, babies rarely come ON their due date" but said if she's not available the other doctor in the practice who covers for her when she's gone is on the same page wrt everything we'd talked about, so no biggie.
Anyway, it was wonderful! I left being all the more sure that it is well worth the drive to go to this practice, woo-hoo!!
And now, to round out our too busy day, I'm off to a midwife appointment LOL.
ANYWAY . . . I needed her to sign a letter for the midwives (giving the birth center's nurse permission to do the newborn infant procedures at the homebirth), so, since I hadn't met her, we went for a consult, that she ended up billing as an appointment for me, since she DID give me advice on supplementation & drew my blood to check my Vit D (and I'm not sure what else, but they took 2 vials of blood) levels.
I can't begin to tell you how refreshing it is to sit down w/ a doctor & have her start in immediately asking about my overall nutrition, suggesting supplements for ME ("we don't want the baby to have anything but your milk, so we need to make sure your milk has everything the baby needs!" what a NOVEL IDEA!!). After we'd talked about Vitamin D supplements (for me, and while we're at it, the girls & dh, but NOT the baby, thankyouverymuch!), omega3s, etc. She explained that she tries to focus on preventative measures so that we don't have to worry about the actual sicknesses. Also talked about the importance of me being exposed to everything baby is exposed to, so that my body produces and passes on the necessary antibodies (which I knew, but I've had enough people look totally lost when I mention it (when the girls were babies) that this is obviously information that needs to be made more widely known). They don't even recommend any vaccines until age 2, a nice change from the "norm" :)
The girls decided it wasn't fair because THEY didn't get to talk enough (LOL) but other then that, it was a very good, and informative visit. She actually used the same practice I'm using (though I think some, if not all, of hte midwives have changed in the last few years) for a homebirth for her last child, and she used to do homebirths (I think at the practice she was at prior to this one). She was aware of the letter, and so signed it with no problem. She said she'll actually be on vacation right around my EDD, but then laughed & said "which is probably as good a time as any to be gone, babies rarely come ON their due date" but said if she's not available the other doctor in the practice who covers for her when she's gone is on the same page wrt everything we'd talked about, so no biggie.
Anyway, it was wonderful! I left being all the more sure that it is well worth the drive to go to this practice, woo-hoo!!
And now, to round out our too busy day, I'm off to a midwife appointment LOL.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Today's Appointment
My32 week appointment was scheduled for yesterday afternoon, but as I got ready to go out to the car I realized my keys were nowhere to be found, as I tried to trace back & figure out where in the world they could be, I remembered that Rodney had come into the house & then gone back out to get something out of my car that day when he was home for lunch. But of course, he wasn't in his office so I couldn't ASK him if he had my keys. So I had to call & reschedule for this morning. The receptionist was nice about it. And yes, Rodney DID have my keys.
Nothing too exciting to report at the appointment, there was a midwifery student there so I got to be a guinea pig while the midwife helped her figure out how to measure my fundal height & such. The midwife also showed her how to use a fetoscope (however it's spelled), the (very odd looking) stethescope type thing they used to use to hear fetal heartbeat before the doppler was invented. It was pretty cool to see, and the student was funny, she was SOO excited when she actually heard it using the fetoscope. So that was fun.
I officially didn't gain any weight in the last 2 weeks, though I'm wondering if I was wearing heavier clothes (denim skirt instead of knit skirt, long-sleeves or sweatshirt instead of t-shirt), also last appointment was in the afternoon so that may have been part of it too. Midwife wasn't concerned, so no biggie.
I continue to measure abit ahead (35 weeks today at 32 wks), nowhere NEAR as huge as I was w/ twins, so no concerns in that regard, midwife said as long as I'm measuring big, not small, they don't worry about it, that I may just have extra amniotic fluid or whatever.
Blood pressure continues to be borderline, but was abit lower this time than last, and I don't have any swelling (whereas I had TONS last time) so hopefully we can keep hovering on that borderline & not have concerns of high blood pressure to contend with.
They also gave me the supply list I need for the homebirth & some other paperwork stuff. And the midwife asked me to bring directions to my house to the next appointment . . . so lots of stuff to remind me that we're getting close to the end :)
Nothing too exciting to report at the appointment, there was a midwifery student there so I got to be a guinea pig while the midwife helped her figure out how to measure my fundal height & such. The midwife also showed her how to use a fetoscope (however it's spelled), the (very odd looking) stethescope type thing they used to use to hear fetal heartbeat before the doppler was invented. It was pretty cool to see, and the student was funny, she was SOO excited when she actually heard it using the fetoscope. So that was fun.
I officially didn't gain any weight in the last 2 weeks, though I'm wondering if I was wearing heavier clothes (denim skirt instead of knit skirt, long-sleeves or sweatshirt instead of t-shirt), also last appointment was in the afternoon so that may have been part of it too. Midwife wasn't concerned, so no biggie.
I continue to measure abit ahead (35 weeks today at 32 wks), nowhere NEAR as huge as I was w/ twins, so no concerns in that regard, midwife said as long as I'm measuring big, not small, they don't worry about it, that I may just have extra amniotic fluid or whatever.
Blood pressure continues to be borderline, but was abit lower this time than last, and I don't have any swelling (whereas I had TONS last time) so hopefully we can keep hovering on that borderline & not have concerns of high blood pressure to contend with.
They also gave me the supply list I need for the homebirth & some other paperwork stuff. And the midwife asked me to bring directions to my house to the next appointment . . . so lots of stuff to remind me that we're getting close to the end :)
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Last Week's Appointment
I just realized I never updated from last week's appointment. Not that there was much to report. Got the results from my glucose screening (it was fine) & they also checked for anemia at the same time (I knew the nurse took 2 vials of blood, she told me (in medical terms I didn't understand) what the 2nd one was for, but . . . I didn't know what that meant LOL) and it was also fine (I'd have been pretty surprised if it wasn't, since we regularly cook in cast iron & spinach is one of the few vegetables that dh & both girls will eat, so we eat it pretty often too.
Heart rate continues to be in the 150 bpm range.
The midwife again let the girls find the heartbeat , which they love. She also took time to show them a doll she has that's the size of a term baby (give or take, since obviously some term babies are 6 lbs & some are 10+ lbs) and has an umbilical cord & amniotic sac (to which A said, "I thought that bag was full of WATER?" silly kid), and such. So that was cool. I keep forgetting to get the name and phone number of the person who does the sibling classes, they classes are typically on Sat. which doesn't work for us, but the midwife said if I ask she might be willing to do it a different day. If not, I can at least find out from her what all she goes over. I would guess since the girls are older than your typical first time sibling, it's not totally vital that they take the class, but still, I at least want to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.
Starting next week I hope to start a human anatomy unit with the girls as part of school, which should also help them better understand what all is going to happen.
Guess that's about it. Baby is super, super, super wiggly! The pelvic pain (did I mention that before? In a nutshell, the pelvic bones shift, which means it hurts if I have to lift one leg (stairs, getting in the bathtub, car, bed . . . turning over in bed is excrutiating . . . ), great fun, sigh.) anyway, it comes & goes, some days it seems better, other days worse. Interestingly our parking area is on a slight slope which makes the passenger side door of the minivan slightly higher than the drivers side. I'd never have thought that slight incline would make such a difference but I can get into the drivers door w/ very little pain, but it really hurts to get in on the passenger side.
I've been really tired/no stamina lately, not sure if I'm still recovering from the stomach bug (or bugs? had two nights of diarrhea & throwing up, almost a week apart, not sure if they were part of some wierd, long-lived bug, or 2 separate things) or if it's just 3rd trimester tiredness. Doesn't help that the insomnia from 1st trimester is back, which means I generally fall into a sound sleep around 2am & most nights lately A has been coming to our bed somewhere in the 3-5am range. She generally goes back to sleep, but only after much wiggling. Anyway . . . it all adds up to me not getting anywhere near enough sleep, which obviously also adds to being tired during the day. At least the girls are old enough that when I'm completely exhausted I can put a tv show on, tell them to please not disturb me unless it's an EMERGENCY and then at least doze for a half hour or so.
I've given up on changing the girls' sheets. Climbing up on their loft bed is just too painful. I did it a few weeks ago & my parents are planning to come visit in a couple weeks, so I'll have mom change them while she's here (she & dad sleep up on the loft w/ the girls anyway).
When I was at my parents a couple weeks ago, I found 5 more boxes of baby stuff in their garage, so brought that all home & got it sorted through. Still have the boxes that need to go up to storage sitting in the living room (dh has been working crazy hours w/ year end), but otherwise stuff is mostly organized. I'd really like to wait for some warm enough weather to hang stuff outside before I wash baby clothes & diapers, but we shall see . . .
Heart rate continues to be in the 150 bpm range.
The midwife again let the girls find the heartbeat , which they love. She also took time to show them a doll she has that's the size of a term baby (give or take, since obviously some term babies are 6 lbs & some are 10+ lbs) and has an umbilical cord & amniotic sac (to which A said, "I thought that bag was full of WATER?" silly kid), and such. So that was cool. I keep forgetting to get the name and phone number of the person who does the sibling classes, they classes are typically on Sat. which doesn't work for us, but the midwife said if I ask she might be willing to do it a different day. If not, I can at least find out from her what all she goes over. I would guess since the girls are older than your typical first time sibling, it's not totally vital that they take the class, but still, I at least want to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.
Starting next week I hope to start a human anatomy unit with the girls as part of school, which should also help them better understand what all is going to happen.
Guess that's about it. Baby is super, super, super wiggly! The pelvic pain (did I mention that before? In a nutshell, the pelvic bones shift, which means it hurts if I have to lift one leg (stairs, getting in the bathtub, car, bed . . . turning over in bed is excrutiating . . . ), great fun, sigh.) anyway, it comes & goes, some days it seems better, other days worse. Interestingly our parking area is on a slight slope which makes the passenger side door of the minivan slightly higher than the drivers side. I'd never have thought that slight incline would make such a difference but I can get into the drivers door w/ very little pain, but it really hurts to get in on the passenger side.
I've been really tired/no stamina lately, not sure if I'm still recovering from the stomach bug (or bugs? had two nights of diarrhea & throwing up, almost a week apart, not sure if they were part of some wierd, long-lived bug, or 2 separate things) or if it's just 3rd trimester tiredness. Doesn't help that the insomnia from 1st trimester is back, which means I generally fall into a sound sleep around 2am & most nights lately A has been coming to our bed somewhere in the 3-5am range. She generally goes back to sleep, but only after much wiggling. Anyway . . . it all adds up to me not getting anywhere near enough sleep, which obviously also adds to being tired during the day. At least the girls are old enough that when I'm completely exhausted I can put a tv show on, tell them to please not disturb me unless it's an EMERGENCY and then at least doze for a half hour or so.
I've given up on changing the girls' sheets. Climbing up on their loft bed is just too painful. I did it a few weeks ago & my parents are planning to come visit in a couple weeks, so I'll have mom change them while she's here (she & dad sleep up on the loft w/ the girls anyway).
When I was at my parents a couple weeks ago, I found 5 more boxes of baby stuff in their garage, so brought that all home & got it sorted through. Still have the boxes that need to go up to storage sitting in the living room (dh has been working crazy hours w/ year end), but otherwise stuff is mostly organized. I'd really like to wait for some warm enough weather to hang stuff outside before I wash baby clothes & diapers, but we shall see . . .
Monday, January 12, 2009
Appointment Update
This morning was our midwife appointment. All is well, the mw let the girls hold & operate the doppler (one moved the microphone thingy around & the other one held the speaker part) and they found the heartbeat right away (150 bpm for those keeping track). I'm measuring 29 cm (s0 1 week ahead, no biggie since my EDD is based on LMP so is far from an exact date anyway), as a point of reference LAST time at 28 weeks I was measuring 38 cm (that happens to be the one measurement that I remember because I remember thinking "if I only had 2-4 weeks left, I'd be feeling GREAT, but how am I going to handle another10+ weeks?!?!").
I also went over the birth plan with her. She assurred me that they check with me before doing anything & most of the things that would apply to a homebirth, the way I want it is what they typically do (delay cutting the cord, etc). She also concurred that it's important to have things well-spelled out if we do have to transfer/have a c-section. She also emphasized making sure dh has read, understands the birth plan and can advocate for me in the case of a transfer. So, overall I'm feeling good about it all. She put the birth plan in my file so, while I'll be sure to have one printed out to take with ME as well if we transfer, that one should be on file.
I also got the rest of my appointments from now through 4/21 scheduled. We go to every 2 weeks from now on and then down to every week starting in March. It seems like a bigger change since it's been every 6 wks up until now LOL.
Blood pressure was slightly elevated when the nurse first took it, but when the mw took it again after we'd heard the heartbeat & talked about the birth plan it was back down so who knows.
Today was also the glucose screening, and the nurse had the girls be her "helpers" when she drew blood (holding the gauze & bandaid for her till she needed them). They declared the blood "really gross" LOL. I assume we'll get the results of the screening at the next appointment (or sooner if there's a problem).
The waiting room was really crowded pretty much the whole time we were there today, and I think this is the first time there've been other kids there. The girls did well with that overall but for the last while there was a girl there (3 or 4) who literally took away every toy they picked up. The girls handled it well, just coming and pouting in my lap when they couldn't handle it, I thanked them for being grown up enough to not throw a fit about it and let them know I understood how frustrating it was. They wanted to know why the mommy didn't tell her to stop & I admitted I didn't know, but said that different mommies do things differently. Anyway, I was proud (and thankful) of the girls for handling it so well, especially since we'd had a rough morning at home before the appointment.
I also went over the birth plan with her. She assurred me that they check with me before doing anything & most of the things that would apply to a homebirth, the way I want it is what they typically do (delay cutting the cord, etc). She also concurred that it's important to have things well-spelled out if we do have to transfer/have a c-section. She also emphasized making sure dh has read, understands the birth plan and can advocate for me in the case of a transfer. So, overall I'm feeling good about it all. She put the birth plan in my file so, while I'll be sure to have one printed out to take with ME as well if we transfer, that one should be on file.
I also got the rest of my appointments from now through 4/21 scheduled. We go to every 2 weeks from now on and then down to every week starting in March. It seems like a bigger change since it's been every 6 wks up until now LOL.
Blood pressure was slightly elevated when the nurse first took it, but when the mw took it again after we'd heard the heartbeat & talked about the birth plan it was back down so who knows.
Today was also the glucose screening, and the nurse had the girls be her "helpers" when she drew blood (holding the gauze & bandaid for her till she needed them). They declared the blood "really gross" LOL. I assume we'll get the results of the screening at the next appointment (or sooner if there's a problem).
The waiting room was really crowded pretty much the whole time we were there today, and I think this is the first time there've been other kids there. The girls did well with that overall but for the last while there was a girl there (3 or 4) who literally took away every toy they picked up. The girls handled it well, just coming and pouting in my lap when they couldn't handle it, I thanked them for being grown up enough to not throw a fit about it and let them know I understood how frustrating it was. They wanted to know why the mommy didn't tell her to stop & I admitted I didn't know, but said that different mommies do things differently. Anyway, I was proud (and thankful) of the girls for handling it so well, especially since we'd had a rough morning at home before the appointment.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wiggle Worm
Nothing too earth shattering to report (next appointment, not that I expect it to be earth shattering either LOL, is Monday) but I keep meaning to post & mention that baby is a total wiggle worm!! To the point that dh could see my belly moving from across the room. The girls thought that was pretty funny when I pointed it out to them, and got to feel more wiggles as well. It seems like baby just keep getting more & more active. I always suspected that I missed alot of the girls' movement because it was directed toward each other (so I couldn't feel it) and this is kind of reinforcing that idea, because I'm pretty sure I'm feeling alot more movement this time around.
The week-by-week update from the site that my ticker comes from says that baby could be turned head down (to stay) by now, and I've been feeling most of the wiggles up high, and having to pee every time I stand up, which both seem to support the head down theory (head pushing on bladder = no bladder capacity, and kicks are up high, so will be interested to see if the mw can tell for sure how baby is positioned. Obviously doesn't mean much at this stage (A was still turning somersaults the week she was born), but still will be interesting to know.
Monday's appointment also includes the glucose tollerance screening. I was happy to hear they do it in office here, instead of having to go to a lab like I did last time around. The girls enjoy the waldorf toys in the waiting room so that should make hanging out there for an hour + abit easier to swallow. Though I need to warn dh that if they start causing problems I'm going to need him to come take them home (or to sit in the car or SOMETHING) for that time. I don't anticipate it being a problem though, they enjoy the toys, it's not like I'll be DOING anything, just sitting there feeling sick from all the sugar gunk, so I can read them stories or something if need to be to keep them entertained.
And I REALLY need to take some belly pictures this time around, never think about it when dh is around & I know where a camera is, sigh.
The week-by-week update from the site that my ticker comes from says that baby could be turned head down (to stay) by now, and I've been feeling most of the wiggles up high, and having to pee every time I stand up, which both seem to support the head down theory (head pushing on bladder = no bladder capacity, and kicks are up high, so will be interested to see if the mw can tell for sure how baby is positioned. Obviously doesn't mean much at this stage (A was still turning somersaults the week she was born), but still will be interesting to know.
Monday's appointment also includes the glucose tollerance screening. I was happy to hear they do it in office here, instead of having to go to a lab like I did last time around. The girls enjoy the waldorf toys in the waiting room so that should make hanging out there for an hour + abit easier to swallow. Though I need to warn dh that if they start causing problems I'm going to need him to come take them home (or to sit in the car or SOMETHING) for that time. I don't anticipate it being a problem though, they enjoy the toys, it's not like I'll be DOING anything, just sitting there feeling sick from all the sugar gunk, so I can read them stories or something if need to be to keep them entertained.
And I REALLY need to take some belly pictures this time around, never think about it when dh is around & I know where a camera is, sigh.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Hee hee
A couple days ago A was needing a hat for her "baby". Now her current favorite baby is that doll that was MY first doll. It's a "bathtub" doll, all hard plastic and apparently has a slightly larger than normal (for a doll) head because doll hats tend to be a tad small and combine that w/ no actual hair to hold it on, just slippery plastic, and it was NOT working. So I dug through the drawer of newborn clothes to find her a real baby hat that would be big enough. When I sorted through the baby clothes a few weeks ago I put all the newborn clothes in a drawer in our room but since it includes all the girly stuff AND all the gender neutral stuff (if baby's a girl, I'll weed out the gender neutral stuff, if baby's a boy, obviously, I'll weed out all the girly stuff) the drawer's kinda full. There's this rather odd wire hanging about an inch out from the wall near the ceiling in our room (best we can tell, it was part of some "headboard" type set-up the previous tenants had) and I'd figured out awhile ago that any "hanging clothes" for the baby could hang on that wire. So, while I was digging through the drawer looking for a hat, I pulled out some of the "outfits" and hung them on the wire to make more room in the drawer.
When dh got home that night, he took one look at the baby clothes & said "that's got to go" when I asked him why he said "it makes it all seem too real" LOL. I figure he better start figuring out it's real pretty soon! Only 3 1/2 months (give or take) to go!
When dh got home that night, he took one look at the baby clothes & said "that's got to go" when I asked him why he said "it makes it all seem too real" LOL. I figure he better start figuring out it's real pretty soon! Only 3 1/2 months (give or take) to go!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
