Grandma Elaine's Response to "Epidurals are for sissies"

HELLO DARLIN--GLAD TO HEAR FM YOU FINALLY---Ci mentioned you go to birth center---do you have ck ups once a mo????still have to watch blood pressure and fluid build up etc--I wasn't hooked up to moniters and could get out obed if i wanted---Dave was a challenge--ole Doc Dressler new he was a breech baby (but never told me) till then--- he waited for him to "turn" but he wouldn't so i took the ole castor oil in orange juice---again no drugs---now if ya want to gag--try that--i couldn't drink OJ for yrs after that--HA---but it started labor---Doc said if I older--woud'v done cecearion--but i young(21) and tuff---a yr and 2 weeks later--(Walt said I was horny))))started natural labor with vic about midnite and she arrived at 2 AM--NOW that was pretty natural---and no stitches---but anyhoo---Nellie had all hers at home and her mom had like 12--all at home--so those midwives knew something those days---Verna , me and Bev were delivred by Gdma Effie Burton--bless her soul---My dad Clarence mom---she hopped in horse and buggy and delivered lots babys--I wonder what they sewed stitches with????never talked to her about her experiences but she not one to discuss old family---your room will have water bath and "balls" what are they for---do you get the old fashioned enema--that we all got---????don't want things to get messy/////don't like the idea you go home in 6 hrs===at least stay over nite---and if little 'fucker" a boy--will he be circomsized?????are ya goin to wait to see what "it" is?????hope so---so are ya 3 mo along yet???as for excruceating pain---its not that bad--and if some say that--they are sissies

Epidurals are for sissies

Aubrey and I have decided to use a birthing center for the delivery of Little Fucker. One difference between a birthing center and a hospital is that an epidural is never an option. (Unless you're having some complications and get shipped off to the hospital and there's time to get one there.) Since epidurals are big conversation in the pregnancy world, it seemed important to share that piece of information. While I've never been anti epidural, I am a bit anti "medicine." The birthing center is for low risk pregnancies only and I hope to be in that category. I know that I'm not going to be able to explain myself well in our decision, but it just feels like the right thing to do. I don't want to be hooked up to a bunch of monitors, confined to a bed, have a bunch of different people coming into my room every 10 minutes to check on me. I don't want to have to hire someone to be my advocate/ally during delivery, I want the staff to be my advocates. I don't want to give a birthing plan to everyone that walks through my door, I want the facility to be my birthing plan. I want a holistic approach to be the first approach to my entire pregnancy and delivery. I like to know my natural options to traditional medicine and this is the place that will always provide that. Aubrey and I went to the orientation at Mountain Midwifery Center on April 8th and loved the place. It was so comfortable to be there. Our bodies respond to external stimuli and that is especially true during delivery. The birthing rooms each have a different decor and each has a bed, a tub for water birth, balls, and birthing stools. They also come equipped with herbal medicines and an IV just in case you're not staying hydrated drinking water. You are completely mobile during labor, encouraged to eat and drink, and if shift changes permit, you will be with the same couple people the whole time. Generally you are released 4-6 hours after delivery and you and the baby have your shit together. Since you have probably each asked what happens if things don't go well, here's your answer: I must pre-register at Swedish Medical Center which is a block from the birthing center. The Birthing Center has about an 11% transfer rate. Some of those transfers occur due to dilation stalling out in which case the husband generally just drives you over to the hospital. If something more severe occurs, then an ambulance will transport you. In either case, the midwife will accompany you to the hospital and make sure that you get checked in and settled in. They don't stay for the delivery. While there are plenty of horror stories about deliveries, there are even more stories of complication free deliveries. About 85% of deliveries are without complications. I'm not necessarily looking forward to the excruciating pain that comes with delivery, but I am looking forward to getting the trophy that gets handed out to those who have natural births. There is a trophy, right?

Quote of the Day

Conversation between my mom and I yesterday.

Me: "I'm tired."
Mom: "You're tired?" (Implying that she has more reason to be tired.)
Me: "You don't have an alien growing inside your belly."
Mom: "Yeah, well I got one on the outside." (Referring to Lucy, who she has been watching since Sunday morning.)

Week 9-ish Profile Pic

Alright, here's the first profile shot at about 9 weeks. I took it Friday morning after doing 45 minutes of yoga. (There will be no mid-afternoon or evening shots. Ever.) I'd put off taking pictures sooner because I kept thinking back on my friend Kellie's perfect abs at 4 weeks shot and I didn't have one of those. (Remember, I gained weight in anticipation of becoming pregnant.) So I kept waiting until I started to "show" before I took a pic, but still not too sure if I'm really "showing" that much. My body is changing quite a bit, but it's not only located in my lower stomach, but my entire stomach/waist line. Phrases such as "Suck it in" and "Think thin" are completely irrelevant at this point. Both are impossible. I can stick my gut out to extraordinary proportions, but sucking it in is no longer an option. If I could go everywhere in sweatpants and baggy t-shirts, I would be a very happy pregnant lady. Jenny McCarthy talks about the first trimester as just looking fat, but not pregnant. I hear that.

What kind of pregnant lady are you?

My s-i-l Rian gave me a link to a pretty freakin' funny website about pregnancy called Let's Panic About Babies. I happened upon a few quizzes and one was titled "What Kind of Pregnant Lady are You?". While it wasn't really a quiz, just more of summaries of different types of people, this is the category that I definitely fit into the most.

Pregnant Lady Who Can’t Handle Being Pregnant
• Wears flannel nightgown and slippers to work
• Screams every time the baby kicks
• Stares longingly at grocery store sushi
• Has a birth plan that includes instructions on how to dial 911

Boy or Girl?

Aubrey got some stellar advice from a coworker last week about finding out if we're going to have a boy or girl. He swears that it was accurate for both his kids and everyone he knows that has tried it. Apparently the Chinese have it all figured out. But after the first two web sites said that we're having a girl, Aubrey kept searching until we were told otherwise. Which is what the next three sites did.

I just tried a bunch of different sites and in the order that I went to each site, this was the outcome:

According to www.babygenderpredictor.com, we're having a girl.
According to www.thelaboroflove.com, we're having a girl.
According to www.obfocus.com, we're having a boy.
According to www.fortunebaby.com, we're having a girl.
According to www.thebump.com, we're having a boy.
And according to www.babygendertool.com, we're having a boy.

Aubrey had even found one site that said at my age, I have a 50-50 chance of having a boy.

Hmmm...so, it's definitely a boy!

Week 9 - Another Squishable Fruit

Little Fucker is now the size of a grape; about an inch long and weighs in at a whole 1/2 ounce. Aubrey has spent the past week and a half or so trying to squish the blueberry and now he'll be trying to squish the grape. Hopefully our little guy becomes something less squishable pretty soon.

So far I'm still feeling pretty good. My stomach feels pretty yucky when I get hungry, so I make sure that I eat directly after waking up in the moring and never let myself stay hungry. Being "hungry" is a bit of an understatement. When I get hungry, I am starving! It hits me quickly and urgently. I don't think that I'm really eating any more than ususal, I just can't wait to eat when I do get hungry. I really want to rock out this first trimester puke free.

Sleep. I've always been someone who requires a fair amount of shut eye to be happy and vibrant throughout the whole day. That was always at about 9 hours of sleep. Now anything less than 10 hours is utterly unacceptable. I NEED 10 hours of sleep or those strong feelings of lethargy hit me hard. I now go to bed when Aubrey goes to bed. In bed around 8:00-8:30 and if I'm awake enough I'll read 'til 9:00. At least now we can spoon before drifting off to sleep.

Other than that, things are pretty uneventful on the pregnancy front. (I may have picked out a "facility" for delivery, but that's a whole other post. I'll write it soon.) Besides feeling tired and hungry, I feel fine.

Quote of the Day

"If you, unlike a certain president, actually inhaled when you smoked, you will feel faint at the prospect that your chromosomes were forever altered and your baby will have twelve toes."

-The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy, by Vicki Iovine

Thanks mom. Hope it was worth it.