Our first appointment with the midwife went great! It took us 2 hours to get to her center, which isn't too bad, since we made a few stops along the way and got caught in some pretty heavy rain. We spent about 3 1/2 hours there. First off, she asked us what we wanted - what kind of birth we would like to have. I kind of stumbled over my words trying to answer. I don't have any really out of the ordinary expectations, except that I want to have a natural birth outside of the hospital. I told her that a water birth is certainly a possibility, although when the time comes, I may just want to labor in the water and then get out to push.

I asked her questions like what her hospital transfer rate is, how many births she has attended, etc. Her transfer rate is extremely low and she has delivered (she's guessing) 600-700 babies. She is a licensed midwife and was the education director at a local midwifery school for a couple years. The list of her credentials is pretty impressive....oh yes, a doctorate in both nutrition and alternative medicine....and she is also an herbalist. Most importantly to me, she has strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and her beliefs seem to spill over into her work. She attributes her low hospital transfer rate to prayer. She told me that I should read the Bible and sing hymns to the baby while it's in my womb. I just loved that about her!

She believes it is important for DH to play a large role in the pregnancy as well as the birth. She welcomed him to learn how to feel my belly when the baby is bigger in order to determine its position. He can also help deliver the baby if he chooses to. When she felt around my tummy for the uterus, she guided his hands in a way that he could feel it too. She checked my urine for protein levels, glucose, etc and everything was perfect. She pricked my finger so she could test my blood sugar and hemoglobin, both of which were a little low. I admitted that I had not eaten a very balanced breakfast but promised her that I would from now on. Being an expert on nutrition, she warned me that she would be a stickler on how I'm am taking care of myself dietarily. I'm glad - I need to be kept accountable. She said the hemoglobin can be brought back up by eating more green leafy veggies and buying something called "Floradix" at the natural foods store, which is an natural iron and herbal supplement. DH picked some up for me today. That, along with my 2nd bottle of Nature's Plus Source of life prenatal vitamins ran him about $45! Doh! I guess keeping momma and baby healthy can be a little expensive at times.....but it's so worth it. If I have to keep taking the Floradix throughout the pregnancy, I'll have to find a cheaper source...maybe online or something....one bottle is only about a 12 day supply. Yikes! It must've been pretty expensive, because my vitamins only account for about $11 out of the $45.

Midwife estimated that I was at 6 weeks and 3 days yesterday and my estimated due date is April 16th. Everything looked good! She tried to hear the heartbeat, but told me that it is really rare to be able to hear it this early with her equipment. She has heard it as early as 9 weeks before, so we may be able to hear it at our next appointment on September 19th.

I actually felt pretty queazy this morning, which surprised me, since I've felt pretty great until this point (well, barring the headache I had on Wednesday). This morning, just the thought of swallowing water made me want to hurl. I knew that I needed to eat and drink though, so I ate some cereal and 2 eggs, and gulped down some water. It was rough, but I got it down. I just about gagged up my vitamins, but eventually got those down too. I never actually threw up....just went to the toilet and gagged a few times after I ate some baby carrots that felt slimy to me. Now, I'm cooking some chicken breasts and I'm going to make DH and I big salads with spinach, romaine, peas, mung sprouts, parmesan cheese, and olive oil/lemon dressing. Surprisingly, all of that sounds pretty good to me right about now. My mom said that I should keep Saltine crackers on hand for when I feel nauseous, but I've been trying to avoid white flour, so it just seems strange to buy them. I've heard smelling lemons is great for nausea, so I may try that next time.

Labels: midwife, pregnancy, pregnancy whining, prenatal appointment