Wow...

...time flies! Our little girl is growing so fast! And I have just had no time to blog - any time that I'm not nursing or holding or helping her sleep I'm cleaning, cooking, or playing with Robby or hanging out with Rob... also now that it's not about infertility or IVF I'm not sure what to post on our family blog or on this blog...

Little Sarah is a way better night sleeper than Robby was! She goes to bed around 8:30 or 9, then I do a "dream feed" at around 11 before I go to sleep, then she wakes up around 5:30 and I nurse her, and then she sleeps til like 8:30... except the last few days since I've moved her to her crib in her room - she wakes up around 5 still but then has a hard time staying asleep until the 8 am eat time.... I don't know if she's just used to my dark closet or what. I know some people use blackout curtains so I've thought about that...

Day sleep is a different story... She only sleeps for 30 or 45 minutes before she wakes up - I can usually get her back to sleep but it generally takes a lot of work. For example, she just slept for 45 minutes and then I went in to try to get her back to sleep and I spent the last hour standing over her crib shushing her or putting her binky back in when it would fall out as she turned her head (and I've tried lots of different binkies!) and she'd cry... anyways! I like to follow the baby whisperer's routine of Eat, Awake, Sleep... so she nurses, I try to keep her awake as long as I can which used to be only an hour and now she can do almost an hour and a half - then I try to get her to sleep til the next Eat and we do this every 3-4 hours. Sometimes it seems by the time the 3 hour mark rolls around she's finally in a deep sleep and will sleep til 4 hours!

Baby whisperer recommends something called Sleep to wake where if they are waking up after 45 minutes instead you wake them up just a little bit at 30 minutes to break that cycle... I haven't had much luck with it yet but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right!

And binkies...  oh dear... Robby didn't take one so I didn't go through this with him... the replugging during naps is ridiculous... :/ They do seem to help her fall asleep quickly though which is good... I think I'd rather she just sucked her thumb - even though I'm sure I'd regret that later... she is definitely sucking on her hands more and more so maybe??

Anyone have any experience with the 45 minute nap deal? I know I shouldn't even complain since she sleeps great at night and maybe she'll just outgrow it but when you're in the moment and you spend all day just trying to get her to sleep... just thought I'd put it out there!

Birth Story...

Hello anyone who is following this blog!!! My sweet little baby girl is 8 weeks old now! Can't believe I've been such a bad blogger. :(

There are things I want to add to my birth story but for now you can read my version on our personal blog.

37 weeks

I'm 37 weeks! Wow! Time is just flying by! Really, where has this month of February gone?? It feels like my birthday (Jan 31) was just the other day!! On my countdown for week 37 was to get my hair done by my awesome cousin! :) So here's my "after" hair pic and my big tummy!

So last Wednesday we had our home visit with Sherri! She came with her helpers, Roxanna who is also a midwife, and Hannah who is an apprentice. So one of the main goals is to make sure they know how to get to my house so we can check that off!! :) We talked about where to put the birth tub (in the living room) and how we'd fill it up (she brings a big garden hose and you get a special attachment for your sink to connect it to that). It was just exciting to have them in our home and feel like this is really gonna happen!

Sherri did my prenatal there at the house and my blood pressure was a little high and my urine analysis showed I was spilling some protein so she said I really needed to watch my nutrition and eat lots and lots of protein! And she said NO SUGAR. Yikes. Can't say I'm doing perfect there but at least her saying NO sugar means I'm sure eating a lot LESS than I probably normally would! That's good, right?

So during the past week I've tired to get 100 grams of protein a day - this may or may not have been accomplished by eating a double quarter pounder or some days one or two McDoubles... may or may not... I've also eaten a lot of eggs, even steak and eggs for breakfast, fish and chicken, cheese sticks, almonds... just lots and lots of protein. Lindsay gave me some protein bars to try that were yummy! Lots of greek yogurt too! Love that stuff!

I've also been trying to drink tons and tons of water.... with all this water drinking and baby's head dropping lower and lower I am going to the bathroom kind of all the time. Super fun!

Ok so something that is kind of hard is the fact that I had Robby at 38 weeks last time I am so much more.... on edge? I don't know if that's the right word... it's just that when Robby came early I was not expecting it AT ALL and I just went into labor and it was the first time I'd ever had contractions, they just came, kept coming closer and closer so I figured it was time and we went to the hospital and had the baby. Great. Now, I keep thinking she COULD come early and I'm having Braxton Hicks ALL THE TIME and now I'm feeling the period like crampy feelings too which is what my contractions with Robby felt like and so it keeps making me stop and wonder.... like this morning laying in bed they kept coming but I laid there wondering and paying attention to them for a while... then I figured I'd get up and just go make breakfast and I guess they went away or now I'm not paying attention to them at least... But it's just hard knowing it COULD happen and have so many little feelings/twinges - I'm just going to try to ignore them until I can't any longer but at the same time I could have ignored my contractions with Robby for a lot longer but then it would have gone too fast... does that make sense? I am concerned that it could go too quick so I don't want to ignore them too long! I want my midwife and my team to be here when she comes!

So there has to be some balance! I'm just trying to be as prepared as I can be, try not to expect it, but just go with the flow. And those who know me know how well I am at going with the flow! ;) I think my hypnobabies scripts help with that though. I feel like I'm still feeling really positive about everything... I got all my birth supply stuff gathered together in the laundry room! See:

 Some of the stuff is just where it goes in the house but here's a good chunk of it... ready and waiting!

At my appointment with Sherri this week everything was looking good - protein levels were good, blood pressure good, baby's heart rate was good. She said I was measuring a little smaller than I usually am (I'm normally measuring ahead like 2 weeks - this time I was 36 cm when I was 37 weeks) but that probably means the baby's dropped some! We talked about how I was feeling pretty good and how I wondered if I'd need to get miserable before the baby comes out - she said maybe not miserable but that I'll probably start noticing more pressure down there. Maybe she said the magic words because after that visit, mostly yesterday and this morning, I am certainly noticing more pressure and like I said a lot more crampy feelings. So that's good!

I just have this church dinner groups thing I'm in charge of tomorrow so I keep saying any time after that she can come! Wouldn't that be fun if she came tonight just to throw that off? I wouldn't really complain...

35 weeks

35 weeks!

As my hypnobabies affirmations cd says, "I love my pregnant body and I accept it every day... more and more every day." :) I just want to remember it! 

Ok so I'm 5 weeks away from my due date - Robby came at 38 weeks so I've got 3 weeks till I feel like I need to be READY but then am still trying hard to not expect her to come early and be ok with going late if I need to. I've got my little "countdown" (things planned for each week through 42) and am trying to keep the days busy along the way as well!

Like this week I have: acupuncture tomorrow and then planning on going swimming, Tuesday clean my house and then a homeschool Valentine's Day party; Wednesday go up to SLC to see my sister and then Sherri comes in the evening for our HOME VISIT!; Thursday probably go to the gym in the morning and then Robby has gymnastics; Friday.... I don't know yet. But we are just trying to stay busy! :)

It's been exciting getting ready for Sherri to come do our home visit. We'll talk about where to put the birth tub and any questions we have... I feel like I should have more questions but I don't really have many! I don't know if it's because I've already done a lot of preparing or if I'm missing something!

The other night I woke up about two hours after having gone to bed and was awake for a few hours with contractions - not just like the braxton hicks I'm having all the time every day (like several just in writing this post) but I could feel them in my lower back... I just laid there trying to go back to sleep... got up and had a cheese stick... some water... took forever but I finally fell back asleep. I was sure I wasn't really in labor because I'm only 35 weeks but my illogical middle of the night self was pretty confused...

Swollen! My feet are so swollen! Well, all of my church shoes are pretty much too small to start off with but they've always worked fine - today I could barely squeeze into one pair, the widest ones I have! And the "chubby" ring I had been wearing as a wedding ring isn't really fitting either... my blood pressure and urine and everything has been normal at my appointments and it's not the kind of swelling where if you push your finger in it it leaves a dent so it's nothing to worry about it's just not very helpful.

Tomorrow I have acupuncture and Dr. Dummar will also do an adjustment and I'm so looking forward to that... my back is kind of killing me.

I feel like there has been more stuff I wanted to share but I can't think of it now! I'll try to take more pictures and blog more often!

Postpartum thoughts...

Wow it's been forever since I posted! I have a lot of different things I want to post about and this is one I started earlier... 

I've been thinking a lot what's going to happen AFTER I have this baby... It will be a big adjustment going from one kid who can get himself out of bed, dressed, and get his own breakfast if he wants to being woken up all hours of the night to a baby who can't do a thing for herself! We have been spoiled - Saturdays Robby gets to watch cartoons while we sleep in, and the last few days he's woken up late and then just played in his room and let me sleep in til 9! Our lives are about to seriously change!

My recovery after I had Robby was pretty difficult... I had the most wonderful birth, had the sweetest new little baby, but I was a crazy person! Crying all the time... it didn't help that I had broken my tail bone in labor so I was in a lot of pain, couldn't get up and down easily, and just in general didn't know what I was doing! Just so emotional!!!!! It should have been the happiest time in my life and instead I was a wreck.

So! When we were at my midwife's forum the other day (she does monthly little classes with all of her clients together) and one of her helpers got up and started talking about placenta encapsulation. I'm just going to start by saying I've heard of people saving their placentas and cooking them up and the thought of it always seemed pretty crazy to me! I've even heard before of people putting it in capsules before but for some reason when Rachel was talking about it it was kind of like a little light went off and I thought, "I am doing that." I looked over at Rob who was probably thinking, "um, ew..." and I informed him we were doing this. :)

Ok, let me explain - when you are pregnant, especially at the end, you have three times the amount of normal hormones (I don't remember exactly which ones or the more techinical explanation) and then after you give birth those levels deplete below normal which is what causes those crazy baby blues and all that emotional-ness. So, when you encapsulate your placenta (or pay someone else to do it which is what we will be doing) you are able to regulate those hormones and give your body back what it was missing. Also do you know we are the only mammals who do not eat their placenta? I'm not ready to cook mine up but if it can be dehydrated and put into little capsules that look just like the herbs I've been taking this whole time then sure!

I'm not doing the process justice - you need to go here and read more about it. A summary of the benefits:
-balance your hormones
-enhance milk supply
-increase your energy
-can help you recover more quickly from birth
-shortens postpartum bleeding
-FYI - Rachel Talley will do it for $150 


All I'm saying is, if there are some natural "happy" pills that can be produced from something my body makes that can help me not be a crazy person after I have a baby then SIGN ME UP. Maybe I'm more open to this after going through this gamete of Chinese herbs, acupuncture, special herbal tea from my midwife... but for whatever reason this just is something that sounds like it could really help me. Some of Sherri's other clients have talked about the amazing difference it's made in their recovery and I am 100% sold.

If you're in Utah and are interested you can email Rachel Talley about it at rachel@livingmom.net or call 801-623-2559.

30 weeks

Ok some more not great belly pics but that's all I've got! :) I can't believe I'm this far along!

So overall I'm doing great and feeling good! I'm grateful for the chance to have worked so hard for this - it sure makes the annoying stuff easier. :)

That weird muscle, possibly hernia thing, I have had felt better before my appointment last week so I didn't make a big deal out of it to Sherri but lately it is KILLING me. It's worse when I'm doing lots of lifting and cleaning or something so I'm trying to be careful but it's hard to slow down when things just have to get done! I have tried some BFNC on it but it didn't seem to do anything... I'm gonna see if she has any other ideas when I go in next week.

Last appointment baby girl was sideways, transverse. This time she seems head down and her bum was to the side. She still has lots of time to wiggle into a good solid head down bum in the middle position. Sherri suggested doing some crawling around on my hands and knees to jostle her around so I've been doing that as well as trying to spend time bouncing around on my birth ball (exercise ball) instead of laying back in bed.

Braxton hicks are here... a lot... my tummy just feels like a bag of rocks sometimes for like an hour straight... such a weird feeling!! These don't feel anything like the actual labor cramps I had with Robby but just like this crazy rock hard tummy feeling.

We have the crib and dresser all set up in our 3rd bedroom - it has been our office so we are trying to combine the two functions which will be interesting! It's been so fun to go through the girl clothes hand me downs from my sister in law and sister! These clothes are all so adorable! I can't believe I'm gonna have a baby girl to put in them!!!! Even Robby has been so excited looking at the little hats he used to wear or baby shoes... "can we do more baby stuff??" he asked me.

My next appointment is next Tuesday! I'll be 32 weeks! So crazy it's going so fast!

28 week appointment

Had a great visit with my wonderful midwife Sherri today!

So I'm almost 28 weeks along and again I'm measuring +3, so a little bigger. I'm not worried about having a big baby though since I was a 10 lb baby. :) Baby was lying transverse (sideways) but there's plenty of time to for her to get her head pointed down. It explains the kicks/movements I feel on both sides of my stomach all the time!

I have this weird sore spot on my left side and higher than my belly button... she said it could be sore from baby kicking/being in one spot but I don't feel like she's sitting in this spot all the time. Another option is it could be a hernia - the muscle and tissue stretching in that spot... I don't really know much about them but sounds like if that's it there's nothing I can do and we'll just see if it goes away after baby is born. Anyone have any experience with this? It just really hurts... I carried Robby inside today from the car (which I NEVER do anymore) and it made it so much worse. Later tonight I tried to lift him up to show him something and I almost fell over it hurt so bad! So, not very fun but it doesn't hurt that bad all the time. Maybe just no heavy lifting??

All my other vitals and stuff were good - perfect blood pressure, no protein in the urine, even perfect pH levels she said! Woo hoo!

I have officially gained 30 lbs so far. Seeing numbers on the scale I've never seen. Ahh... it's probably not going to get much better with Christmas coming up! We have delicious goodies dropped off at our door almost every day! Nice neighbors, huh? :) I need to keep up with stretching and walking - got a bad cold last week and that's made me slack off really bad but I want my body to be as ready as possible for labor!

My appointments will now be every 2 weeks! Makes it feel like it's getting closer!! :) So fun!

27 weeks

 Me and Robby's attempt at some belly pics...

Not great but it's something. :)

This little baby has just gotten huge it feels like! Before kicks and punches were normal but now I'm feeling body rolls and big hard spots, a bum maybe? I don't know how people can tell what body parts are what but it just feels so crazy to feel huge kicks in two places at once - maybe she's jumping?? It's so fun. I love to just sit with my hands on my tummy... feels like she never stops moving!!!

It's hard to imagine my tummy getting bigger - 3 months worth bigger, you know? I know I don't look huge it's just this big tight belly that it's so crazy it can stretch and stretch to fit my growing baby...

I'm trying to keep up with my long everyday to do list of things that would make for the perfect pregnancy but it's so hard! I'm trying to eat as healthy as I can but when there are Christmas treats being dropped off at my door each day it's so hard to resist!! Also, there are days like today that NECESSITATE a diet coke to get through... (started with Robby accidentally slamming my finger in his door.... didn't get better...) It's hard to get enough rest, drink enough water, take all my herbs, drink my midwife's tea, do my kegels, pelvic rocks, yoga, hypnobabies practice, etc.... but I'm trying.

I really do feel pretty dang good though. It's nice having the holidays to make the time fly by. After Christmas I basically just have 2 months until I want to be ready - just be ready for her to come any time in March! I have bought a couple of things but I need to go through my clothes I have for Robby and figure out what I can use for her and am lucky to have a sister in law who said she'd pass down her little girls' clothes so I'm also waiting to see those too! But boy is it hard to not shop when girls clothes are so dang cute!!!! :)

The good and the not so good...

I've had lots of things I've wanted to blog about but never seem to make the time or when I try to start I don't feel like writing all these words that are in my head! But it's a good way to unload and I want to share! Also, really sorry there's not many pictures - I don't know what pictures I'd add to these topics... maybe I'll try to get creative and add something! (so if there are random pics that's why)

First, just in general everything is so great! I feel good, baby seems to be doing great... she is like a little kangaroo jumping around all the time! There is nothing more amazing then feeling your baby kick inside of you. This morning when Robby climbed in bed to snuggle and wake up he put his hands on my tummy and felt a couple of good strong kicks! "I feeled it!" he said. It's neat for him to be able to feel his little sister in there! Last night I went to a movie (Breaking Dawn - woo hoo! it was so fun!!) and baby was more active than ever! It felt like she was doing a can-can line for like 45 minutes!! So crazy!

I'm 23 weeks now and have another midwife apt on Monday. I love my midwife and feel so lucky that I found her! I said this on facebook but at my last appointment after I asked questions and we chatted for about 45 minutes she said, "ok, I'm just going to have someone come in to do some body work and massage on you!" So for 15 minutes she had her massage therapist daughter rub my feet and my back... I was speechless and soooo happy. :)  I just feel like the level of care and attention I get from her is far better than anything I've seen before - at least in my experience with the three doctors I had during my pregnancy with Robby. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Dr. Savage too but she doesn't have an hour to sit and just chat with me as most doctors do not. Also, midwives focus a lot on nutrition and the overall mental health and well being of the mom and spend a lot of time just building a relationship of trust so when my birthing time comes we'll be ready. I just am so happy with her - it's great. :) I want other people to know that this kind of care exists! If you are pregnant - consider a midwife!!! There's still a range among midwives too and I think home birth midwives probably spend the most amount of time with their clients but still it's better than the 5 minutes per apt one of the OBs I saw was giving his pregnant moms.

So some of the wonderful things about pregnancy right now are:
feeling the baby kick!
having a cute round tummy & not just a squishy one :)
appointments with my midwife
thinking/planning/day-dreaming about my birth
looking at adorable baby girl clothes!
talking about baby names (even if we can't totally agree on anything!)
imagining what this little person inside of me will be like, look like (blue eyes like her dad, maybe?)
being pregnant with my best friend so we can talk all we want about it and not get bored
when Robby asks things like, "when the baby is 3 can she watch Kung Fu Panda? So I can watch it with her?" and "when the baby comes can she sleep with me?"

Hopefully that list illustrates I'm ecstatic about being pregnant and life is good!

Pregnancy comes with a few downsides and I just wanted to elaborate on some of these and share some things that I've learned or have been thinking about. Not trying to complain just wanted to get this out there!

Weight gain - yes, it's inevitable, you're having a baby you're going to gain some weight! It's just been frustrating that I'm gaining so much MORE weight than I did with Robby! I know people say sometimes with their second kid they gain more faster... it's been especially hard since I had just done a bunch of work losing weight at the beginning of the year and was probably my skinniest ever just before I got pregnant. Which my awesome sister in law points out that could be part of why I've gained so much! I'm just trying to focus on eating as much healthy food as I can and limit the treats as much as I can. I know I shouldn't stress about my weight gain and if I'm eating good foods then I'll gain whatever the baby needs me to and hopefully I'll be able to lose it not too long after I have the baby! I remember how awesome breastfeeding was for losing all that pregnancy weight! Hopefully that works again! I'm just saying, the numbers on the scale just make me a little nervous right now!

Craving sugar - this goes with the weight gain and I said I am trying to not eat a bunch of junk and at first that wasn't too bad but the past few weeks I've just been craving sugar like crazy!!! This is so not helpful. I am usually a chocolate girl and can have one or two pieces a day of dark chocolate and be totally satisfied. Lately, I'm gobbling up any chewy sugar sweet candy I can find! Well, not everything but way more than I should especially if I'm trying to slow down my weight gain! Becca mentioned sometimes if women aren't getting enough protein they can crave sweets - I've looked at my protein intake and it definitely could be improved so I'm working on that to see if that helps! Also lots of protein is super important during pregnancy! I have a whole nother (how do you spell "whole nother" sounds normal when I say it but writing it??) post I'm formulating in my head about diet! :) 

Hemorrhoids- I can't believe I'm writing about this in a public space but if anyone's made it this far down into this post they are probably safe to share this with. :) I didn't have this problem when I was pregnant with Robby but did a little bit in my recovery. I know lots of people get them and it's normal but nobody talks about it! So! Just wanted to share the advice my midwife gave me for this and it has seemed to help a lot! I've used witch hazel pads and put a drop of two of Lavender oil (from the sample kit she gave me!) - the lavender oil acts like an anti-inflammatory. Also, something my midwife & her assistant called BF&C which means Bone Flesh & Cartiliage - they said to ask for it at Good Earth and I did and came home with a small jar of it in an ointment form. Also, my midwife recommended taking baths & putting epsom salt in there which also helps with my skin being a little itchy and my muscles being a little achy. Win win. So I wouldn't bring this up except for when I mentioned what I'd learned to someone else she said, "I wish I'd had known that!" and I knew I couldn't keep the info to myself.


I'll try to take some better pictures of my tummy and post those soon! I took a belly pic every week with Robby - this time I seem to never take them!

A healthy baby....

....GIRL!

I am still in shock. Can't believe it! While we would have been thrilled with either a boy or girl we really thought it'd be awesome to have one of each - then whatever happens happens but there'd just be less stress...

Before we picked up Rob we got some Jamba Juice - give baby a nice sugary kick hoping to make sure he/she would be wide awake in there! I'm glad we had Robby come to this ultrasound - he was so excited!

I can't remember all the details right now.... the ultrasound tech checked everything else first it seemed and baby looked great in every area! We have referred to the baby as a boy the whole time pretty much and even during the ultrasound I was saying, "look Robby, there's his foot!" Then I didn't even realize she was checking the baby's bottom when she announced, "Well there's lady parts!" I basically sat up and shouted, "WHAT?!?!?" I was so caught off guard and didn't realize she was just perfectly sure we were looking at a girl... she even said, "Um... is that ok?" (like oh no this woman doesn't want a girl) and I told her I didn't even dare get my hopes up for a girl so was she SURE it was a girl?? She was very confident. The picture we got isn't great but that's ok. I mean, with Robby it was so clear instantly that it was a boy that this is just harder to believe. Like she said, "there isn't as much to show with girl parts..." but she did a few other things and then checked between her legs one more time and said she was so sure it was a girl she'd "take our stuff back for us" if it wasn't.

Here's our "girl" proof picture - you can see the three white lines that mean girl...

 HER foot... not "his" like I'd said earlier... sorry little girl!

Cute little profile...

 Her "halloween" mask as the tech put it! Kind of scary angle but still just neat cause it's my baby...

While I will definitely be double checking between baby's legs the second she is born to confirm this information I'm going to go ahead and be excited about this!

As much as of course I've always wanted a baby girl I think a big part of it for me is wanting Rob to have a daughter - he is so cute with all our little girl nieces and I just think that'll be really special for him.

Luckily Robby was instantly excited about this and doesn't seem disappointed he's not getting a brother. His face was so cute when she said it was a girl... we are all going to have to get used to saying SHE now. Which is great. :)

Robby my awesome photographer.... Rob had to go to a work meeting tonight and I forget to take a picture earlier with him!

Me at our Cornbelly's outing yesterday...

 

We are just SO VERY HAPPY! It already was such a miracle to get pregnant.... now to be having a girl.... I just can't even believe it. I feel so lucky!!!!! We are so grateful.

Ultrasound is coming up!

Ahhhh I'm so excited! We have our "20 week" ultrasound this Wednesday! I'll be one day shy of 19 weeks but oh well. They let me schedule it then so I'm doing it! And I can't even stand it hardly one more minute! Need to make it through a whole day and a half... tomorrow is packed and Wednesday is pretty busy too so that's good.

People have been asking if I have a guess - I have felt like it was a boy since before we got pregnant. I kept thinking this pregnancy has been a lot like Robby's - I haven't had morning sickness and feel pretty good most of the time! - but then I realized there are a few things that are different. The headaches, awful sleeping problems - both of which are much better and less frequent - this is random but my hair is still coming out at a normal rate where with Robby I stopped losing ANY hair basically... I'm STARVING all of the time and much more exhausted - I do have a 4 year old but last time I was working full time so... last time I got lots of leg cramps and none so far. Anyways - it is a little different.

Obviously we would be thrilled to have a girl so we can have one of each. Just to know we have a girl would make me feel like I could more easily relax and say, "now whatever happens happens!" But if it's a boy I might feel like I want to try harder for another baby hoping we get at least one girl. Robby would be SO HAPPY to have a brother though so that makes me excited for a boy too. Either way it's a WIN WIN for sure!

Feeling the baby move has to be one of my favorite things! I hope it gets strong enough to feel on the outside soon because I know Robby will love that.

I have nothing to wear - I bought a few very on sale maternity tops and just ordered some pants on sale from Gap and Old Navy so I hope they fit right when they get here!! I'm resorting to leggings and need to find some longer tops to wear with them so I don't look so silly!

I've been asked for some belly pics but you guys, I feel like I'm rarely "dressed for the day" and am always looking frumpy and in pajamas. At least after about 3 pm.... :) And Rob isn't the most eager photographer... I'll try to get Robby to take some pics of me!

Well, I'll be sure to update again after our ultrasound on Wednesday! Hope to see a healthy baby and hope we find out for sure what this baby is!

Prenatal apt & monthly forum

I had my second checkup with my wonderful midwife, Sherri, last Thursday. We had another good hour long visit and talked about all kinds of things.

One of the things we talked about were using essential oils to solve some of my pregnancy symptoms right now. She actually sells DoTerra and gave me a little 3 pack of essential oils for free which was great and I've already used them a bunch. Peppermint, Lavender, and Lemon.
Peppermint - great for headaches (which Tara ps my midwife says is fine to use while pregnant)
Lavender - to help me sleep and STAY asleep better
Lemon - Rob's used on his cold sore; good for upset tummies/digestion
A few drops of all 3 in a capsule is supposed to be good for allergies which Rob has bad right now so I made him take it 2 times and we're not sure the effectiveness yet but we're willing to try!
Anyways it sounds like there are a million uses for even just these 3 she gave me alone! I know people who use these instead of medicines and I love the idea of having something safe and natural to use for me and my family. I'm definitely interested in learning more about them.
Here's a little chart of different uses of some of the essential oils:

One of the best things was hearing the baby's heartbeat and having Robby listen to it with me - he was so excited! "The baby's heartbeat's COOL mom!"

My blood pressure was normal this time which is good...

Weight - can we talk about the fact I've gained 13 lbs (+maybe a few more if you count vacation lbs that I'm choosing to not count) and I'm only 16 weeks. I was freaking out thinking I'd gained 5 lbs in a WEEK and calmed down a little when I realized it was over a month but still - with Robby I'd gained 0 by this point. I'm not sorry and I'll gain whatever lbs I need to and I feel like I'm eating when I'm hungry and not gorging on treats or anything so it is what it is. But I don't love it. Speaking of gaining weight and nutrition...

Sherri's Monthly Forum

Once a month Sherri gets all of her clients together and does a forum on a subject that's important to cover and then has couples who have just had their babies come and share their birth stories with the group. I know my nutrition isn't perfect but holy cow guys, it can get overwhelming thinking about all the stuff you should/could do.

We learned about the HOPE diet:

H- High Fiber - should be getting 30 grams a day, most people get like 8


O - Omega oils - can be found in flax, hemp, or chia seeds (were some we talked about); I'm taking high quality  fish oil pills Dr. Dummar gave me


P - Probiotics - plain yogurt, we didn't understand too much about them :)


E - Enzymes - help us digest our food, in raw fruits and veggies, can take supplements

There's a ton I could say but I'll just say the thing we are working on now is having a good, healthy green smoothie every morning with flax seed in it to help with fiber and omega... trying to eat more fruits and vegetables, raw foods...

Also, Sherri said by your 4th or 5th month of pregnancy you really should be OFF sugar! Did you hear that? OFF SUGAR! Wahh! Ok, I do see that the more fruits and veggies we eat the less we crave sweets - I haven't even wanted chocolate for days which is good - but I'm definitely not OFF sugar! And there are different levels of OFF sugar - like no treats, or not using any products with High Fructose Corn syrup or sugar in them which is pretty much everything besides raw foods. :) (like when I did the HCG diet) At least that diet helped me be much more aware of what has sugar in it and look for/make my own no sugar or low sugar options. So I'll be trying to cut sugar out of my diet more and more but I'm sure I won't be perfectly OFF sugar.

So I haven't been able to convince Rob to do an early ultrasound and now ours is only 16 days away so I guess I can wait... waiting is no fun! But that's ok. Gives me something to look forward to!!

15 weeks

 I'm 15 weeks tomorrow!

I can't believe it! It's great. :) Today during my acupuncture treatment while laying there relaxing I think I felt a little baby flip inside of me! I felt Robby at around 17 weeks and I've heard sometimes with your second you feel it earlier - either way hopefully soon I'll be feeling lots of little kicks. I know Robby is going to LOVE being able to feel the baby moving and I can't wait for that.

So I'm still having headaches - not as often but still every now and then. They are so annoying. Thanks everyone for your advice and thoughts though - I appreciate all your input! I love when women can share advice with each other. :) It makes me feel better that this seems pretty common and normal! And that hopefully they'll go away soon!

Weird sleep - ugh, so annoying! Last night I could NOT fall asleep - no really, I didn't fall asleep so at 4 am I finally got out of bed and got a yogurt and got on the computer for a few minutes... after going to the bathroom tons of times I was finally falling asleep and then Robby woke up at 6:30 with a bad dream.... and yeah... I didn't sleep. Oh well. Today I laid down at 1 to try to take a nap because I was so dang tired but my body was just totally resisting sleep. Awesome. Now it's 9 pm and Rob is giving me a hard time because I am READY for bed. :)

So with Robby we paid the $50 extra for a 16 week gender check but I had said, no, we don't have to do that this time, we can wait and I made an apt for 19 weeks actually for Oct 19.... but I just realized I'll be 16 weeks next week - we could find out NEXT week what this baby is (assuming it cooperates) and now I CAN'T get the idea out of my head!!!! Rob is saying no way we are can wait but we'll see...

 

I'm not the best at taking pictures of myself! Oh well! There is a tummy!

Ideas?

Alright so the first trimester is almost over and I have had very little to complain about - this has been great! Not throwing up, more tired but not completely exhausted... but for like the last week and a half I've had 2 problems... Headaches & I can't sleep.

Headaches - from the base of my neck... off and on and it just kills. I went to Dr Dummar on Tuesday and he did a chiropractic adjustment which made it feel better then but then they came back quickly. Saturday I had a massage which again felt great but didn't solve the problem. I don't like taking tylenol because I feel like I'd rather not take meds during the pregnancy and I feel like it doesn't do anything anyway so what's the point - the two times I have taken it it's barely made a difference. The most frustrating thing is when I WAKE UP with a headache! Cause you think getting sleep would make it better! Grr! Oh well, it's just getting really old! And I wish there was more I could do!

Can't sleep - I fall asleep... then I wake up in the middle of the night and can't go BACK to sleep. It is SOOOO annoying. Sunday I woke up at 3:30 am and didn't go back to sleep at all. I just get up and go to the bathroom 18 times... roll around... sometimes I'll get up and eat something. Becca said maybe my body is hungry and I am going to try just getting up and eating something right when I wake up next time and see if that helps me go back to sleep. Also, I usually take all my pills (prenatal vitamins, fish oil pills, cofactor pill, and herbs that I finally capsulated because I couldn't drink them anymore!) so I'm drinking a lot of water at bed time which = lots of trips to the bathroom. I'm trying to take those a few hours before bedtime and just deal with the fact they make me nauseous so cut back on the middle of the night bathroom trips.

I'm still able to sleep on my tummy although it is getting a little uncomfortable. I just lay half on a pillow to distribute my weight and that seems to help!

I have another appointment with Sheri in two weeks but I might just call her and see if she has any suggestions for these problems!

Do you guys have any ideas??

If you got up in the middle of the night and were getting a snack what would you get? I need some ideas...

And yeah, let's just pause for a second - I'm almost out of the first trimester! Thursday I'll be 14 weeks! Ahhh! Still feel like this baby is such a miracle. Robby's prayer tonight was short and included, "Please bless the little baby... I'm thankful for the baby and please bless it will stay in there..." We are just so glad to be pregnant.

First prenatal

I meant to blog about this right after and I kept forgetting!

So you know how I had decided on a midwife and so when she called me back on Monday and asked when I wanted to come in I said RIGHT AWAY! I was able to see her the next day, so last Tuesday, for our first appointment!

I pulled up to her house and she and her 5 year old son were just getting out of the car - hurray! Someone for Robby to play with! You guys, this is so great, Robby just ran around and played with her son for the whole hour we were meeting. And we scheduled my next appointment to be when her son would be home again so they can play. It's such a relief knowing he's welcome at these appointments and now he even will have FUN!

It was kind of funny because she and her son had just been at McDonald's at the playplace - it was his first day of school. She said, "oh no, Esther! Today we're going to talk about nutrition and now you're not going to listen to a word I say when you see me with my Dr. Pepper and cheeseburger!" Ha! I told her no, now I won't worry about her judging me if I tell her I ate something like that. :)

We did talk a lot about nutrition and I asked her what I ask every doctor, "How bad is it if I have an occasional diet coke?" I am basically asking for it when I ask this question but I need someone to convince me not to drink soda!! She told me a pretty convincing story - when she was pregnant with her 9th baby, at age 40, she decided she'd just drink Dr. Pepper if she felt like it! And all through her pregnancy she kept having bladder infections... and she said, "I know what it was from and I didn't care!" And then when she was in labor her midwife broke her water and all her contractions stopped - she said in a serious voice, "And Esther... I had to have a hospital birth." She went to the hospital and she had a cervical infection. So they gave her antibiotics and an epidural and then the baby came without any other problems but it was not the kind of birth she wanted and she felt like the infections were linked to drinking soda and just not taking as good of care of herself as she should've. She pointed out that it has to go through your kidneys which are right next to where the baby is!

If my goal is to have a healthy baby and to be able to give birth at home then I need to take the best care of my body that I can!! So I am going to do my best to eat healthy foods and exercise and not drink soda.

My favorite part - we heard the heartbeat! I was almost 12 weeks at my apt and my uterus is tipped back so I knew it would be hard to hear the heartbeat but since I'd been having some cramping that weekend I was desperate to hear it!! She was very patient in searching for it and we found it a few times although it was very quiet - her monitor picked it up and it was definitely a baby's heartbeat! It was such a relief! I'm excited for my next appointment where it should be much clearer and easier to hear right away!!

She also took my blood pressure which was a little high which was random for me. She said it could be a fluke and she's not too worried about it but if it's high next time too then we'll start talking about ways to lower that - like eating more garlic apparently. I've read exercising can help as well - trying to get back into that these days!

And just fyi she does urine tests each week like at a regular doctor too. Other labs and ultrasounds are elective and we'll do an ultrasound around 20 weeks to try to find out if it's a boy or a girl and see if everything looks good! So that's just like a month and a half away! Ah! So exciting!

Basically I still feel really good about my choice and my midwife is great and I'm happy. :)

Ideas for natural childbirth

This is for you, Tiffany! And it's just one of my favorite subjects so I figured I'd do a post instead of a comment in answer to your question!

So, you're thinking about not having an epidural? Want to know what your options are? Well, I'm no expert but I've got a few ideas and am happy to share!!

When wanting to avoid an epidural these are some things I think are super important:

1. Educate yourself! Read read read read!!! Lots of awesome positive childbirth books! 
One of the keys to success in achieving a non-medicated birth is retraining your brain to NOT BE AFRAID of labor! Reading and learning about the process is a huge step in this. Learn what your body is capable of how awesome it is and let yourself feel empowered and not scared. Fear is what makes labor painful! When you can relax and let your body do it's job labor is less painful and goes much quicker!

This is my new favorite! The one I mentioned last time, The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth 

Birthing from Within...

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

Journey into Motherhood - this is full of positive birth stories which are awesome and helpful to read!

Watch this movie: The Business of Being Born

In fact, if anyone is in Utah and is interested we can make it a movie night! I just bought this DVD and would love to have anyone over to watch it and chat about birth!! Just let me know! And I could probably get my expert sister in law Becca to join us and answer any questions you have!

2. Take a childbirth class that focuses or covers natural childbirth and other coping measures

 Like this class taught by Becca - I think she has a few openings left for her class in October!!!

With Robby I took this Hypnobabies class and felt like it really worked!! Looks like that instructor isn't teaching right now but I'd look into that method for sure.

3. Choose a care provider who will be supportive and limit interventions

 OB, Family Practice, Midwife... You have options! Find someone with a low c-section rate (midwives and family practice that's easy because it will be 0 but you can ask about their transfer rate). You want to find a care provider who will be patient and allow labor to progress as normally as possible. Studies show OBs typically want labor to adhere to a schedule (dilating about 1 cm = hour) and when that doesn't happen they are more likely to introduce pitocin or other interventions which are not medically necessary and will make continuing in labor without medication more difficult!

I've had some people ask me what the difference between an OB and a midwife is - A Midwife sees you all throughout your pregnancy just like an OB. I'll be seeing her once a month till the end, then it goes to every 2 weeks, then once a week. My apts with her are 30 min - 1 hr, as opposed to the 5 minutes some OBs schedule for you. She is concerned with your nutrition and any questions you might have and it's important to create a relationship of trust through the pregnancy.

**On this same note, CONSIDER GIVING BIRTH AT A BIRTH CENTER OR AT HOME.

I know this will sound very foreign to most of you and you might not know anyone who has done this so let me be an example for you! The easiest way to avoid unnecessary interventions is to stay out of a hospital. Hospitals continue to stick to policies that have shown to have no benefits to women or babies and if anything are detrimental (the "nothing by mouth" rule which restricts you from eating or drinking in labor; continuous electronic fetal monitoring which has shown to have no benefit over intermittent listening and has been linked to higher c-section rates and use of forceps). Ok, sorry guys, this is probably more info than you're interested in but I've just learned so much and feel like I'm bursting to share!!!

So it's just something to consider - some women don't even know these options exist and I want them to be aware of what's out there!

4. Hire a doula to support and guide you through your labor

Even if you have the most doting, loving, supportive husband I think having a doula is probably the BIGGEST key to having a non medicated birth! Having a trained labor support person with you through every moment who comes with a bag of tricks and knows comfort measures and position changes and can make suggestions is priceless. Or, if you are worried about the price, a doula costs a couple of hundred dollars (I think we paid $350 for ours) but if you consider the price of an epidural which is what? $500? So if you pay for a doula in place of an epidural that's pretty good!

You can go here to look for a doula in Utah. I chose a few to interview and then picked from there!

Like I said, I'm not an expert, this is just my opinion!

My story 

I knew I didn't want an epidural because there was no way someone was sticking a huge needle in my back. End of story. So I needed another option to manage the pain. I began looking around at childbirth classes in my area and settled on Hypnobabies. 

I went with the first doctor my friend's recommended and while he was a great doctor to THEM it was clear he wasn't what I wanted when I walked in and saw a sign on the wall in the waiting room that said something like, "If you are planning on using a doula or Hypnobirthing or Bradley Method please let us know so we can transfer your records." Oooookay. At least they were upfront about it so I knew right away I needed to change. I went with the 2nd recommendation and that doctor while he seemed "ok" with the idea of me wanting natural childbirth the first appointment but at the second when I started asking more detailed questions he was impatient and I could tell when it cam down to it he didn't really care. Third doctor - I set up an apt to interview Dr. Shelly Savage before I switched my records over and she seemed very open to helping a woman have her birth be whatever she wants. I went with her and was very happy! But it was hard and awkward to switch doctors! Here's a tip - if you find a NEW doctor you can ask THEM to request your records from the old doctor and you don't even have to tell them. Figured that out by doctor 3.

Throughout my pregnancy I read and learned and my opinions on birth developed... I had stronger reasons for not wanting an epidural and was excited about natural childbirth! 

I had a great experience with Robby with Dr. Savage, my doula Angie, and at Timpanogos Hospital. But I know I can have an awesome experience at home with my midwife Sherri, my sister Becca as my doula, and hopefully in the water! While it's totally possible to have a great experience in a hospital you are definitely going against the grain of their usual procedures and it can feel like a fight at times. I'm excited to be in my own home and have only my supportive team around me... 

Whew, sorry for being so wordy! Can't give a short answer! All she asked for was "A BOOK" recommendation and this is what you get. :)

I found one!

So after my three interviews I've settled on a midwife - Sherri Price! She is great! I knew even just from our 2 phone conversations (first to make an apt for an interview, second to change the date of that apt) that I probably would end up liking her the best! She was very interested in how I was doing even though I wasn't her patient yet.

We met with Sherri first on Thursday afternoon at 5. We had a nice hour long visit with lots of chatting and Rob and I were both really comfortable with her. She told us about her and her 20 years of midwifery experience and most importantly we just clicked!

Rob was ready to have me cancel the other 2 apts since I liked her so much but I just felt like if I went ahead and did the other interviews the worst that could happen is I'd be more convinced that she was the one for me.

Thursday at 8:30 pm we went to the Better Birth birth center and met with Suzanne. She gave us a tour of the birth center which is a beautiful facility and I was curious to see it even though I knew I wanted to go the homebirth route. It was a different kind of interview - more... official? We reviewed my medical history and she said she saw no reason why if this is what I wanted I shouldn't be able to do this. We asked her our questions... she was very nice and I think the midwives there are all very experienced and any of them would do a good job but one of the benefits I'm looking for in a midwife is that I will be building a relationship with this person throughout my whole pregnancy and then they will be the one to be there to support me in my labor and birth. Going with a practice where you rotate through a group of midwives isn't my first choice for this pregnancy.

 

They have a beautiful bed, awesome jetted tub, and kitchen stocked with drinks and frozen food and snacks for mom and other people there while she's laboring...

Friday at 5:30 we met with Heather Shelley at the birth center she runs in Pleasant Grove. Again, we toured the facility even though we let her know we were planning on birthing at home. It was a nice place - a much older home compared to the brand new Better Birth facility but still looked like a great option for someone who is looking for a birth center. Heather was very nice and we asked her our questions and chatted a little and once again I just knew we weren't clicking as well as I had with Sherri.

After that I just felt excited that it was over - that I did it! I looked around, did some interviews, and get to have this amazing person as my care provider!!! I left her a message yesterday (Saturday) and I'm hoping I'll be able to go in for an appointment this week or very soon and hopefully we can hear the heart beat on a doppler or something! I've had some cramping this weekend which I know is totally normal but it just reminds me of my miscarriage and makes me worry!!

So yes, we are planning on a home birth. I'm sure there will be lots of you who think I'm crazy and I will say 10 years ago I wouldn't have believed I would do this and now I can't imagine it ANY OTHER WAY. The education and exposure I've had has led me to choose this and I know that this is a great option for us and I hope I can share with you guys some of the things I've learned over the next few months! If you think I'm nuts I'd ask that you have an open mind as I share some of what I've learned and if you don't think you can be supportive feel free to stop reading my blog now because I'll probably be bringing this up from time to time!

Right now I feel like I can't get ENOUGH of birth books - I'm kind of obsessively thinking about giving birth right now! I can't wait! I feel so lucky that I have the chance to have another baby and know it's going to be another awesome experience like it was with Robby! The books I've read recently that were very informative:
Gentle Birth Choices
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth

I really recommend the second one (Thinking Woman) - I wish I could quote the entire intro to explain to you guys why I think a homebirth is such a good option for me but that would take a long time (and maybe be illegal?) but it is great.