Archive for » 2009 «

Sep
12
Hospital Tour #1

I admit, I went into the tour of Overlake with a significant bias – they don’t have CNM’s, they don’t always get the best reviews, and they just seemed unfriendly to a non-allopathic approach. I further admit, however, that my biases were not entirely met.

We got to see a labor room, and then a mom&baby room, though in the middle of our discussion in the labor room, a nurse came in to say they needed the room asap. 🙂 It was reasonably nice – the lights were adjustable (presumably during stage 1 labor, not so up-to-your-control during stage 2), the bed had lots of configurations (including being able to add a squat bar), they had birthing balls, and had telemetry on monitoring if necessary (but they do an awful lot of monitoring). But it was most definitely a hospital, with rooms that weren’t cramped but were definitely not spacious, a door in front of the tub (which was in the bathroom), and a bunch of machinery to watch you. I have to admit, the stack of twenty widescreens mounted to the wall displaying fetal monitors with two nurses behind the desk there to watch them… a little impersonal, and a little “metrics” heavy.

But they seemed open to all kinds of delivery choices (even non-medically necessary elective cesarean, which I might be of the opinion is a little too open minded), roomed mom and baby together, tried starting nursing immediately after birth, and other friendly options. They don’t limit both food and liquid after starting active labor, but do generally limit to liquids only, and definitely do limit to liquids only if induced.

So, all in all, not the place I would choose to deliver off hand, but I don’t feel worried about ending up there in an emergency transfer either.

Though, I have to admit, I felt really strange being the only woman not showing. I’m at seven weeks, and … well… don’t really look pregnant. Everyone else was at least 32 weeks. Weird!

Category: Pregnancy  Tags: , , , ,  3 Comments
Sep
11
Birth Center Tour #1, and More Food

We had our first “interview” with a prospective provider. It was at a birth center nearby. We came in with a list of 39 questions, spent an hour there, and came out with a DVD of births they’ve done. One of the two midwives in the practice was our contact for the day, and she showed up around the birth suite, which is attached to her husband’s chiropractic clinic. It was nice, if a bit hotel-y. (Definitely not hospital-y, however, and had lots of room for moving around. It also answered one question I had always had about tub births – there was a shower immediately on the other side of the shower for cleaning up.)

We chatted for a while, asked about what they tend to do for coping mechanisms (movement, tub, herbs, willing to use TENS), if the same person would be with me the whole time (yes), what the do for transfers (non-emergency to one hospital, emergency to the other), got a feel for what those transfers tend to be like, how they avoid conflicts (careful planning and a bit of luck), and got an idea of how they do prenatal care and postnatal care (all regular tests offered, but not required). And how much it tends to cost (not cheap at nearly $5k, but cheaper than hospital, and totally covered by insurance).

The woman we talked to was nice, but I haven’t figured out if it’s a good personality fit. The only thing that I really noticed is that she talked a lot, rapidly. Heavens knows I do that too, and more so when I’m nervous, so I’m not saying it was all bad, but I think that’s the only reason it wasn’t a quick “meeting of the minds”.

We stopped by Whole Foods afterwards, and picked up some food so that I could have the oddity I decided would be tolerated well by my stomach – a BLT. It was gluten-free bread, nitrate/nitrite-free bacon, and organic tomatoes and lettuce, even healthy mayo. And it was good. 🙂 I might make another one tomorrow.

Category: Pregnancy  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment
Sep
09
Food? No.

I’m still not particularly nauseated, but I still have pretty much zero interest in food. I haven’t felt this not-hungry since the last time I had the flu. Of course, I have to eat, or I feel shitty… GAH! At the moment, the only things I can count on are guava or mango juice, and avocados. I’m eating at least one avocado a day. ‘Cause I know that’ll not play funny with my stomach.

In other news, Jason’s finished reading the Ina May Gaskin book I asked him to read, and I’m really glad he took the time to read it and think about why he initially preferred a hospital setting, as he is saying now that he’s just fine with a birth center. Not only was there the “why do I have faith in them doing a good job with labor when I don’t trust them to be intelligent for simpler things?” but he realized that all of the conditions I’m dealing with going into this (fibromyalgia, depression, restless leg, vulvar vestibultis, chronic migraines) – while everyone agrees do not put me at greater risk during the pregnancy or birth – are themselves best dealt with by relaxation, calm, warmth, and patience. And I’m not likely to find a great mix of all that in a hospital with different nurses and doctors coming and going, and bright lights and lots of directions.

Don’t get me wrong – we are going to be touring hospitals! All three in the area. If complications arise during the pregnancy, I want to not have to start over from scratch when evaluating places to go. There’s a small, but by no means close to zero, chance that even if we want to go for a birth center, I’ll end up in a hospital instead. If we get to make that decision before the birth, I want to go to a hospital I’m most comfortable with. (And if there’s an emergency transfer, just get me to the closest one!)

But I feel better about us at least being on the same page with what we’d like to work towards.

Category: Pregnancy  Tags: , , , , ,  Leave a Comment
Sep
08
Wake me up in two months…

Seriously… 10 hours of sleep, and I only get up because my body can’t sleep any more, despite it’s desires to do so. I’m ok with being mostly unproductive during these weeks, but the wanting to sleep and not being able to is annoying. Of course, so is the complete and total lack of appetite, despite the distinct need (via nausea and fatigue) to do exactly that. So… Summary of the first trimester so far? Distinct internal conflict.

I’ve always been sensitive to smell, and this has just increased that – as expected. Jason finished the steps for the car yesterday (as in finish/waterproof), and the garage REEKS of finish. Like, I can get so far as opening the door before pulling it shut. VILE! I’m happy food hasn’t smelled that bad, but the thought of some textures (mayonnaise, for instance) – BLECH!

And, today I started the search for a provider. Make that, “today I started banging my head against a dumber-than-usual brick wall”. Ok, ok – I’ll grant you that I have high expectations, and I’ll grant you that they may not be reasonable. But it doesn’t seem to me too hard to fathom that I might want to meet a potential provider and determine whether or not I feel comfortable with their philosophic approach to pregnancy and birth – BEFORE becoming their patient.

In a normal world, you want a new doctor, and you don’t generally interview. References from friends and family (maybe the internet) is standard, but you generally do a trial-by-fire type of evaluation, and dump them in favor of a new doctor if you don’t like their service. Well… It’s a little harder when you have about seven months to evaluate them, and less and less chance of being *able* to safely switch providers the longer you evaluate them. Not to mention that this person may (or may not!) play a vital role in one of the most important moments of your life. I want to know the person before I agree to a service agreement (essentially).

But NONE of the OB’s I tried calling, and only some of the CNM’s (certified nurse midwives) attached to hospitals do meet & greets. Both birthing centers threw an hour long (free) appointment at me, encouraging me to get a feel for the place first, and even suggesting a couple of hospital-attending CNM’s if their facilities end up not being a good fit for Jason and I. I REALLY want to try to be impartial, particularly as I know Jason has a preference for a hospital (and we have a tour set up for the first of three hospitals we’re going to check out), but the service levels and approaches are making it hard to remain free of too much bias.

The thing is – I’m a female. No matter what else I’ve done in my life, my body was bred for this purpose – to grow and birth another person. It’s what the human race does; we fuck, we birth. I am not in some sort of precarious medical condition that needs to be mitigated every step of the way. This is the job my body was supposed to do, and while I may need support and observation going through the process, I do not need to be managed. I’m not sick – I’m just pregnant.

Category: Pregnancy  Tags: , , , , , ,  One Comment
Sep
07
I am in your journal writing your entries!

Zomg, it’s a “husband post”!

So, thus far- Tiffany is sleeping a lot.  We’re trying to get some cleaning and purging done to get prepared for the push to baby-safe the house and make a nursery materialize in here somewhere.  And we should set up the tripod somewhere so that we can start constructing the time-lapse photography!

I’ve found that, not surprisingly, I’ve fallen into the typical male pattern of prenatal care opinion, and the assumption that we should have an OB and give birth in a proper hospital, etc. – even though I’m totally open to the general concept of a midwife and the notion that a comforting and relaxing environment for the mother is really important.  What is surprising to me is that I’ve managed to cling to this faith in western medicine when it comes to obstetrics when I don’t have faith in them to manage most general health issues.  Don’t get me wrong, doctors have a good deal of value, but most of what I’ve encountered in the medical profession is diagnosis by flowchart and treatment by pharmaceuticals with annoying side-effects.  Still, the what-if’s of the whole process make me want to mitigate any potential problems.  It will be interesting to see how our hospital tours and midwife interviews and all of that go.

Category: Pregnancy  Tags: ,  Leave a Comment
Sep
07
Holiday?

I have almost entirely lost track of holidays, now that I’m not working a 9-5 M-F job. I’d lose track of weekends, but those are the days that I don’t have to try to get Jason up and out of bed. But it is indeed a holiday. My first class of the day was canceled, but that’s ok – I’m quite tired.

We told everyone about the pregnancy yesterday. Jason’s parents were very happy – somewhere between excited and speechless, but we did take them by surprise while they were at a dance convention, and had never mentioned that we were trying. Our friends were all very happy as well, though I think a little surprised that we didn’t wait longer. I gotta say, teaching yoga is easier now that I don’t have to pretend I’m doing modifications for no good reason.

We headed to Jen & Chris’ Labor Day party, and I was very appreciative to get to use the guest room and take a nap (after taking a nap on the couch). It will be nice when I can go more than eight hours without needing serious sleep. 🙂 Or trying to figure out what to eat despite not being hungry.

Category: Pregnancy  Tags: , ,  One Comment
Sep
05
Day 24

(Well, of fetal life – 6 weeks if you’re talking gestational.)

Ok, I’ve discovered at least one reason why I’d be ok with telling people sooner, rather than later – I want to sleep, but social obligations prevent it! The “I’m sorry, I’ve been up for 14 hours and am beat; I need to sleep” thing just doesn’t seem so honest and true if no one knows you’re pregnant.

I’m a little curious how many people have guessed, however, since it’s not like there are no outward signs. Jason commented today that … well, it was a little apparent than my breasts were bigger. Of course, wearing an underwire instead of a sports bra kind of makes most of the difference, but still. He was all the more amused when I made him feel them – I discovered yesterday, they FEEL WEIRD. They fill like water balloons now, not the … well, the way they felt before. I just hope they remember that there’s a good long time ’til they have to start doing anything, though!

Category: Pregnancy  Tags: ,  Leave a Comment
Sep
03
Not quite real…

It still doesn’t quite feel like I’m pregnant. Don’t get me wrong, I still have the bloating/tenderness, and whooboy is there a lot of fatigue. But it just mostly feels like being tired, not like being pregnant.

I am incredibly happy that I have the luxury of taking a nap in the afternoon when I am feeling tired, and can sleep for 8 to 10 hours at night. Housekeeping is taking a back seat at the moment, but it’s hard to describe how exhausted I have been feeling. It’s not too horridly impacting, but only because I’ve got the time for it.

My doctor appointment was yesterday, and it was nothing more than blood draws, urine samples, and a couple of questions. I asked about providers and she noted that an OB or a midwife would be just fine. Nothing in my medical history makes me a high risk, so find where I want to deliver, and find a provider who has privileges there. I’m very much in favor of a midwife, and open to a birth center, but Jason is not so down on the idea of going somewhere that doesn’t offer the option of an epidural or other pain killers. (He quoted Susan in Coupling: “GET. ME. A FUCKING EPIDURAL!” :P)

It’s also horridly weird to not be able to tell anyone. I have told my health providers and my yoga teacher (because I was doing things a lot differently in class this past week, and realized that it’d be a lot easier to just let her know). But I’m not really sure when I want to tell anyone else. I’m thinking that I want to wait until I see a heartbeat (and, of course, I don’t really want repeat ultrasounds), because it still doesn’t entirely seem real to me, and I worry about telling people and then bad things happening, but who doesn’t.

Category: Pregnancy  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment
Aug
30
And so it begins…

Got a positive pregnancy test two days ago – Friday evening.
By my calculations, I’m 18 days pregnant (18 days fetal life, 5 weeks gestation*).
Weird.

That’s pretty much it.

Just weird.

Certainly planned, but let’s just say that we are quite the efficient pair, when it comes to timing.

I haven’t been having a whole lot of symptoms – a little bit of ‘constipation/bloating’ and tender nipples. That’s about it. Well, aside from being more tired, but I’m already tired a lot of the time, so it doesn’t seem like a qualitative change. And I’m certainly getting tired from exercise a bit more easily. But nothing that screams “YOU’RE GROWING A TINY HUMAN!”.

I’m still a little detached about the whole thing. But it mostly seems a bit overwhelming and huge, and I’m sure I’ll find the excited stage soon enough. Jason, however, is definitely getting towards the excited stage, and built a set of steps so I no longer have to lift Neo out of the car (he’s over 25 pounds, after all). So we’ve both started reading the books that I already have on hand, thanks to my prenatal yoga teacher training.

The last really weird bit at this point is not being able to tell anyone. Oh, we could, but all we have is an over-the-counter pee-on-a-stick test (which, granted, was pretty clear) – no blood tests. And I’m pretty NOT far along. My doctor’s appointment for the blood work to confirm is on Thursday morning, and assuming I get the results the next Monday, I’ll be six weeks (gestational). Not really sure when I want to tell. Waiting three months seems like an awfully long time, but at six weeks… The nubbin’s got a heart beat and limb buds are only starting.

(So, this all means that you aren’t reading this anywhere near the time I’m writing it. Enjoy! 🙂 )

Category: Pregnancy  Tags: ,  Leave a Comment
Aug
30
Last Hike of Hike-a-thon

I’ve been pretty exhausted, and my backpacking trip plans have been withering and dying as I don’t want to do a solo trip, so for today’s last hike of the -a-thon, I convinced Jason to come with me to Cougar Mountain. Again. 🙂

We did our standard four mile loop, getting Neo some exercise so he can be “a good dog is a tired dog”.

It was also fairly uneventful, aside from the way down.

We ran into two balloons, tied to a box, underneath a tree. They were pirate balloons! (Oh no! Forest pirates. Argh matey, walk the limb!) A little sign noted it was for someone’s birthday, and sure enough, it wasn’t long until we started seeing little kids (oh, five or six? I’m bad at estimating kids’ ages) running up the trail, adorned with plastic pirate swords and belts. Occasionally we’d see an eye patch or vest, too. And lots of parents walking along side them. Now that’s how to have a fun birthday treasure hunt, argh!

Category: Hike-a-thon  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment
« Previous Entries
Next Entries »