We went to see the midwife today. Everything looks good! I'm measuring right on schedule and we got to hear the heartbeat again, which was 144. Woohoo! We tried to hear it with the fetoscope first, but then we gave up and used the Doppler again. I think I'm addicted to hearing our little sprout's heart pumping. DH got a really clear recording of it this time, so as soon as he converts it to an mp3, I'll definitely be posting a link to it. I'm at 19w2d.

I have to admit, we are both becoming a little impatient about wanting to find out the sex of the baby. I really want to hold out, though. I guess it helps that we don't have an ultrasound scheduled or anything.....so our temptation is easily ignored, for now.

Hearing the baby's heartbeat is so amazing to me. I probably had the goofiest grin on my face.

Well, I have registered for a bunch of baby gear at Target, Wal-Mart, and Babies'R'Us. I was thinking that it's a little early, me only being 5 months pregnant and all, but my family baby shower is in January and I suppose that's not too far away. I'd love it if I could register at stores that sell cloth diapers and slings and more natural baby items....but I know my family, and they are not big on-line shoppers. I bet I probably don't need half of the stuff I put on my registries, but I I'll be able to take things back if I want to. It WILL be very handy to have things like Lasinoh, a breast pump (nothin' fancy), a carseat (I already have the infant one, so I registered for the next step up), a stroller, and some other random things. Any of you mommas wanna suggest things to add to my registry? I also picked a bunch of Onesies (although I don't know exactly how they fit with CD's), some sippy cups, socks, gender neutral sleepers, nipples for the bottles my sis gave me (if I ever have to pump and use them for any reason), baby wash/shampoo, hhhmmmm.....there's a bunch more, but I'd be here forever if I listed it all.

***Edit***
I felt the baby move from the outside for the first time today! (Wednesday) It was pretty amazing. I've been feeling little movements for a while now, but every time I put my hand where I felt the movement, the little bugger stops and then I wonder if it's just my imagination.

This morning at about 5:30, I got up to pee and when I laid back down, I could feel a lot going on down there. I put my hand right below my belly button and pressed down a little so I could feel the top of my uterus. Just a few seconds later, I felt a strong kick or punch. There's no blaming it on muscle twitches or gas when your hand feels a definite jab! Maybe 5 seconds later, I felt it again, but slightly to the right. I love it! Some days, it's easy to forget that there's a person riding around in my belly....I'm sure it'll get harder to forget as the little one starts keeping me awake with kicks to the ribs and punches to the bladder....but for now, I am eating up every little bump and thump. It feels like our baby is saying "Hi, Mommy!"

Ooh yes, and another little note about baby gear. I am torn as to which carseat to register for. I would REALLY like to have the Britax Marathon, but I feel a little guilty about putting a $269 item on our gift registry. Besides, maybe no one will get us a car seat if I'm asking for one that is so expensive. But I can't deny all the wonderful reviews. Any thoughts? Suggestions? Is there a carseat that you absolutely love and swear by? I particularly like the fact that it lasts from birth to a whopping 65 lbs....so, I guess I'd like a convertible carseat that is comparable. My other thought was that if no one gets us the Britax, we could buy it ourselves....and maybe use any money that is left over if we have to return things. I dunno.

Labels: baby gear, midwife, pregnancy milestones, prenatal appointment

This blasted UTI will not subside, so I called my midwife this morning to tell her that I am about to resort to going to our family clinic to get put on some antibiotics. She had me call my back-up doc for the pregnancy to see if she would call in some antibiotics for me. Her office said that she would not do that without an exam, and suggested that I go see my family doc if I have one. I would have gladly gone in to see my back-up doc instead because I like her and trust that she would put me on the safest possible meds, considering her views on natural low-intervention pregnancy....but she is almost 2 hours away. I really don't have one particualar doctor at our family practice that I feel comfortable with, and I doubt that they would be open and understanding to me choosing a midwife for prenatal care and birth. I know that there are probably certain antibiotics that doctors have deemed "safe" to use during pregnancy, but then I'm so skeptical when it comes to most doctors' knowledge (or lack thereof) of pregnancy.....I would wonder if they REALLY knew the true effects of the drug on the baby.

So, my midwife (who is also an herbalist) told me to pick up some cornsilk, couch grass, and echinacea. When I went to the natural foods store, I found that they did not have any couch grass, so my midwife said it would be fine to use horsetail instead.

Here is my remedy plan:
* 30 drops of echinacea 3-4 times daily
* brew cornsilk and horsetail into a tea and drink it 3-4 times daily
* add more citrus fruits to my diet and cut down on sweets
* drink TONS of water
* drink AT LEAST a few ounces of pure cranberry juice every hour
* take 1000 mg of vitamin C EVERY HOUR, at least for a couple days

Oh yes, and here is the worst part....I've been eating beef like crazy lately and she told me to cut it out! I already knew she wasn't crazy about her clients eating beef, but it just sounds so good to me. She told me that beef protein can do some strange things to the urine's pH balance so it should be totally avoided...at least for now, while I'm beating this infection. She suggested I pick up some rice protein powder to supplement my protein intake. So, my protein will be coming from beans, rice protein powder, eggs, small amounts of cheese, and nuts. Some chicken is okay with me, but it has to be "hidden" in something like soup or a burrito for it to look appealing to me.

I am also supposed to use a spray bottle w/ water and a teeny bit of salt to clean off the...ummm...affected area everytime I use the restroom. I hope all this effort (and money!) pays off and knocks the infection out.

Labels: health, midwife, pregnancy, pregnancy whining

We went to see the midwife and back-up doc today. It was our most exciting appointment yet! For one thing, I've only gained 2 lbs in the last month. That's enough to throw a party for in itself! Oh yes, and we also GOT TO HEAR THE BABY'S HEARTBEAT! Woohoo! It was amazing to hear it steadily wooshing away, loud and clear. The midwife said it was about 150 bpm. My husband recorded it with his fancy phone and turned it into an mp3 file. You can click HERE to listen to it. It's probably not that interesting to anyone else, but the novelty has not worn off for me yet. I'm really thankful that DH thought fast enough to record it.

My uterus is well above my pubic bone by now, so it was easily palpable when the midwife and her apprentice felt my abdomen. It measured at a little over 14 1/2, which is just about right since I am 14 weeks and 1 day today. After our appointment with the midwife, we went down the road to meet our back-up doctor. I felt so comfortable with her. She LOVES midwifery and all things that have to do with natural birth. She used to be a midwife before she became an OB/GYN and had 3 out of 4 of her children at home, UNASSISTED....and that was before she became a midwife! She backs up a lot of the midwives in the area and is a wonderful advocate for homebirth/birthcenter births. I had a pap smear done and the nurse offered to do a Doppler, but I declined since I had just had one done @ the midwife's office. After my exam, the doc sent me over to the lab to get my standard pregnancy panel done. The doctor said she is proud of us for making the choices we've made about childbirth and she was wondering how we came to the decision to deliver at a birthcenter with a midwife. I told her that I'm not exactly sure how we came to embrace this choice, but it immediately seemed like the right thing to do. My family is pretty "conventional" about pregnancy and birth, so I was raised to think that birth always had to be some big medical event. Beats me how I came to a different conclusion. I knew a long time before conceiving that I would like to shoot for a drug-free, epidural-free birth outside of a hospital. My husband is the one who originally brought up the option of homebirth, which I think is very cool. I've heard/read about a lot of women who have trouble getting their husbands on board with the idea of birthing outside of a hospital, so I'm thankful that DH supports and encourages it.

I don't know if it's pregnancy hormones or what, but I'm feeling especially sappy about my wonderful husband. It has been really nice having him right there with me during my appointments. I feel like this baby and I are being very well taken care of and I'm very grateful for that. I can't imagine going through this journey with anyone else.

I praise the Lord for the healthy little person who is growing in my belly. I am so blessed to be the "vehicle" for such a wonderful thing! It's even more amazing than I thought it would be. Can you tell that the appointment today really gave me a little boost of confidence and peace?

Labels: midwife, pregnancy, pregnancy milestones, prenatal appointment

Yesterday was our 2nd prenatal appointment. I am at 10 weeks and 3 days today. Everything went great! We opted NOT to try and hear the heartbeat with the Doppler because I really want to limit baby's exposure to ultrasonic waves. I know most of the studies out there on the negative effects of ultrasounds on human fetuses are relatively inconclusive, but I've read a few of them that were enough to make me feel very cautious. When I voiced my concern to the midwife, she seemed glad that I had done my research and told me that she has also been reading up on the subject and has the same concerns. I was glad that she didn't think I was just being unnecessarily paranoid. She said we'd probably be able to hear the heartbeat at around 16-20 weeks with a fetoscope, and I am totally fine with that. She will, however, use the Doppler during labor because it is almost impossible to use the fetoscope effectively when momma is in the tub or in strange labor positions on land. I'm totally fine with that as well. So, barring some unforseen circumstance, this little one will have only been exposed to the Doppler twice and have had no sonograms. I feel really comfortable with this decision.

My iron went back up, so the midwife was very pleased with that. I've only gained about 3 lbs since my last visit and that seemed to make her happy as well. She and her 2 apprentices tried to measure my uterus, but said the top of it is probably still right below or just peeking up over the public bone, so it was too difficult to measure. She checked my urine for protein and other levels and everything was good. My appointment with my back-up doctor is next month, October 17th. I suspect I'll get some lab drawn at that point, but not sure what else will be done.

I wish I had more to report. It is a lttle disappointing not to be able to have any concrete "proof" of the little one, but I know in my heart that he or she is growing beautifully and everything is a-okay. Women back in the day didn't have the technology to see and hear their babies this early on, and yet somehow, the human race survived. :)

Labels: midwife, pregnancy, prenatal appointment

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

I took my last pregnancy test today and snapped a photo of the entire test progression. I can't remember why I skipped taking one on Aug 10th. That doesn't sound like something I'd do at all. Oh that's right.....after that first barely-there line on the 9th, I was under the delusion that I was going to wait until AF didn't show that weekend to test again. Ha ha. Yeah right. You can see how that went.

I called my midwife this morning and we set up my first appointment, a week from today at 10:00am. She seemed very excited for me. I asked if it's something she would encourage DH to attend as well, and she said, "Absolutely!". She supports fathers being as involved in the pregnancy and birth as possible, which I think is great. I called DH and he said he's going to try to get off work to go with me. He really wants to go....it's just this blasted job he's got right now. If any employers are reading this, just a little advice: don't work your employees to the bone 6 days a week. It's bad for morale and your employees will end up hating their jobs and in turn, give you sub-standard work. Really, give them the weekend to spend with their families, you awful Scrooge! Okay, just had to get that little rant out of my system.

I've got to get to work. DH and I are taking a good number of our 3,000+ vinyl record albums to an open air market in a (somewhat) nearby town next weekend and I need to alphabetize several bins. Yuk. I am VERY excited about selling them and getting them the crap out of our house. We bought them super cheap from a local record store a while back, thinking that we could sell them on eBay, but eBay is totally saturated with records. Some records that could sell for $8.00 or $10.00 at a record store are selling for as low as .99 on eBay. Grading the records in order to accurately describe their condition within the listings is a time-consuming process. I would always end up grading them lower than what they really were for fear that a customer would receive it, think I graded it too high, and then leave negative feedback on my account. We have probably sold more records and made more money putting the records on consignment at our friend's store than we have with me spending months listing them on eBay. I hate failing at something that I had confidence was going to be relatively successful. Now any time I have an idea of how to go into business for myself, I am afraid that it will be a bust like the records. I would LOVE to make a living sewing cloth diapers and maybe even buying some wholesale diaper accessories and opening up an online store with my wares....but I'm not sure where to start. It seems you need capital to start a business and that's something we don't have a lot of right now.

Labels: home business, midwife, pregnancy, pregnancy tests

Almost every year, my husband and I give eachother our Christmas presents a week....or two....or three early. When were were looking to buy our first house last October, we made an offer on the 4th house we looked at, on the first day of our house-shopping! It proved to work out just fine and the house is perfect for us, but most normal people don't buy the 4th home they look at within 20 minutes of stepping foot on the property. About a week ago, my husband who has been having some pain in his shoulders, decided he wanted to try one of those theraputic memory foam pillows. We were out with some friends late one evening and stopped at the only store around here that's open at 11:00 PM, Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart didn't have a huge selection of memory foam pillows, and I could tell that my husband would've rather held out for a better one, but his impatience got the best of him. We walked out of there with a pillow that I'm not sure he would've chosen if he had checked around at say, Target, or Kohls, or elsewhere. I know there are other examples of our hopeless impatience, but they escape me at the moment.

Oh here's one: You know how I said I was going to wait until Monday to take another pregnancy test? I know myself better than that. I took another pregnancy test first thing this morning and guess what I saw not even 3 minutes after taking dropping the pee-pee in the well?



Here are a couple pictures of the test I took this morning next to the test I took 2 days ago:





Here's what the test looked like after about 45 minutes:



I want to be excited, but I can hardly believe it! I know for a fact, though, that a pink line would not appear there in less than 3 minutes if I did not have hCG (the pregancy hormone) in my urine. I called my husband, my mom, and my sister and told them. I know a lot of people wait a while to tell their family members, but i'm extremely close to my mom and sister. They know that we're trying to conceive, and.....well, I guess that's another good example of how impatient I am!

DH doesn't quite believe it. He sort of teased me for thinking that the super faint line I saw 2 days ago was pink.....and rightly so. It was pretty ambiguous. But today's was considerably darker. My sister said she never got a test line that was as dark as the control line for 2 of her pregnancies....and she tested WAY after I did.

DH said "How do you confirm it?" and I was like "Hhhmm....I dunno...take a blood test??" But here's the thing: I'm not going to an OB/GYN for this pregnancy. I am getting my prenatal care through a midwife. The midwife I'm going to use works closely with an OB/GYN who used to be a midwife herself. All of her clients see that doctor twice during their pregnancies: once relatively early on for an evaluation and labwork, and a second time @ 28 weeks to make sure the pregnancy is "low-risk" enough to deliver naturally outside of the hospital.

Also, since my husband recently got a new job, our insurance doesn't kick in for another 90 days. That's not a problem at all, since we were planning on paying the midwife out of pocket anyway.......but it does rule out the possibility of cheaply going to the clinic we used to visit in order to see a doc there and ask for a blood test. My sis said that more than likely, they would just tell me they didn't want to see me until I'm 6 weeks along and then they'd just end up doing a urine test in their office anyway.

So, I called the midwife, told her about my tests and all the details and she told me to test again in a week - first thing NEXT Friday morning - and then call her, since I tested so early and my period was just due yesterday. She also seemed excited for me, so it's not like she didn't believe I'm pregnant, she just thinks it would be wise for a later test to confirm it. My blogger pals, Sorlil, and Danielle both suggested on my last post that I get one of those digital pregnancy tests that clearly state "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant" on a digital screen, so I don't have to fuss with these crazy pink lines. I think that's a good idea. Maybe I'll pick one of those up for my "confirmation" test on friday. I still have one more pregnancy test in my possession. It's one of the First Response Early Result tests. I think I may continue being a crazy peeing-on-a-stick fool and take it tomorrow w/ my first morning urine. I kind of like the idea of having a photo progression of my tests where you can see the line get darker and darker as the hCG in my urine increases.

So.....I'm CAUTIOUSLY excited. I'm not going to go around telling my friends just yet. I'll wait for that.....in fact, DH has a funny plan for telling our friends at church that I'll elaborate on some other time.

Labels: midwife, pregnancy, ttc