You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘waiting for baby’ category.
i’m learning there are similarities in birth and in death……for instance, the day my mom died my world stopped…life as i knew it would never be the same…i am not the same. thursday, april 1st 2010, our lives changed forever yet again, time stopped, life as i know it will never be the same…but this time because of life and birth. and what a wild, beautiful ride it has been since then.
i had no idea when i woke up on weds march 31st that my labor would begin that evening…i just went about my day, wondering how much longer until she made her debut. all along i’d been thinking she’d be born on the 30th, so when the 30th came and went i was out of guesses. would we have another whole weekend together, just huz and sweetie? i really thought we would.
and then that evening at 6:53p i felt the first contraction. still, we weren’t sure for quite a while whether this would turn out to be another practice session or if this was the real deal. but as my mucus plug began to release, i knew this was it.
in the beginning, every contraction was pure excitement. i’d had so many practice rounds that i was prepared for what they felt like and i faithfully listened to my birth affirmations and my relaxation techniques on my ipod as the frequency and intensity increased throughout the night. when i called my midwife around 9:30p to let her know that i believed we were experiencing the real deal, she said, “have half a glass of red wine, go to bed at your usual time and try to sleep…true labor will not be slowed. and you’re going to need the rest.”
i didn’t bother with the red wine b/c i don’t generally like the taste…though we do happen to have an unopened bottle in the house, but i just didn’t feel like forcing something down that i didn’t want to drink…so i took a hot shower to relax instead. then off to bed with my birth affirmations playing in my ear.
my goal all along was to labor as long as possible at home before heading to the birth center. since we’d decided against working with a doula, i wasn’t sure how feasible this was going to be, but still i’d hoped i’d do most of my laboring here.
and boy did i! all night long i’d doze off only to be woken every 8-7-6-5 mins to another contraction. they were becoming more intense and finally at 5a i got up to take another shower and to move around in general. that’s when they started coming 4 mins apart, so after an hour of consistant 4min contractions lasting a min each, i called my midwife again. we decided i’d call her back when something changed again…as in if my water broke or the contractions became noticeably more intense, closer together, etc.
an hour later, i called again b/c i’d begun feeling shaky, slightly nauseous and the contractions were stronger. so, we left for the birth center about 20mins later…it’s a 40-45 min drive there and this was during rush hour, so we were hoping we’d not get stuck in any traffic. gotta love those hov lanes! the drive was MUCH better than i thought it would be…my contractions were still very intense, but they slowed in frequency while we were on the road…thank you body! we arrived shortly after 8a.
this is when things started to get really exciting for me…i could not believe we were actually there because our baby was finally coming to us!! i was so happy and excited and our midwife and the student midwife were both surprised at how “chipper” i was, especially when i agreed that they could check me and found that i was at 7cm already!
well, if i wasn’t chipper and excited before this news, i certainly was after. my huz and i celebrated my good work with a double high-five and two of our friends arrived at the birth center to support us. though not in our birthing suite for the birth, they did spend a while with us until i began to feel the need for privacy. i loved knowing they were in the building, there for us, anticipating with us…so glad we invited them and they were each able to be there on that particular day.
at around 10-10:30ish a.m. i decided to get in the tub to see what i thought of laboring there for a while. i liked it and decided to stay put for as long as i was comfortable, which turned out to be the whole time.
at some point we decided they would check me again……..and wouldn’t you know it—her head was at +1 already! that’s when i reached up there and felt her head for the first time…absolutely incredible. as my water remained intact at that point, we talked about whether i’d like them to break it for me or if i’d like to wait and allow it to release naturally.
i’d always wanted to wait for my water to release naturally, mainly because once it’s broken, it’s broken…they can’t go back and undo it….which can set a person up for further interventions that i was not interested in having….but since she was definitely–without a doubt–coming (+1 already!!), my huz and i agreed to go ahead and have them break it for us.
the whole water breaking thing was kind of anti-climatic………at first.
and it was just as my hypnobirthing teacher told me—when my baby and my body were ready, my uterus would begin to contract downward to bring our baby to us…i just needed to focus on directing my breathing downward, rather than breathing up, as i was during the thinning and opening phase of labor.
well, holy.mother.of.god.
yes, my body did just that………my uterus surged downward…it literally heaved in the most unexpected way—at least, it was unexpected for this first-timer. and with that massive heaving a huge gush of amniotic fluid was forced from my body. when the contraction ended i exclaimed, “holy crap! i feel like i just threw up out of my vagina!”
my midwife started cracking up and said she’d never quite heard it described that way. well, i ask you, how else could i describe it? that’s just exactly what it felt like…an out-of-control-heaving while fluid was expelled from me!
so, for 53 mins the heaving came four minutes apart. i could tell with each contraction that her head was getting lower and lower through the birth canal. it was amazing.
at some point one of the midwives sneezed while i was in the midst of a contraction. when it finished, i said, “bless you.” everyone started laughing and that’s when i realized how silly it must have been to have this woman in active labor, in the midst of heavy contractions saying bless you to someone sneezing….but really, that’s just how present i was in the moment. my senses were hightened. and i was very aware of not wanting to be left alone. not that anyone was going anywhere, but i was hyper-aware of my huz’s presence and the student midwife who was doing all the hands on work with me.
and then she began to crown…she’d come down with the contraction, stretch my tissues and then go back. down, stretch, back. down, stretch, back. my midwives were awesome about letting me know this was natural and good…our baby was stretching my tissues so that her head could comfortably emerge. well, somewhat more comfortably than if she just rocketed out with that first heave!
and then they told me i could feel her head.
feel her head!
i have tears right now just remembering that precious moment. the first time i felt her silky hair waving in the water. her sweet, soft little head. i never thought to ask if i could see it. and as far as i know my eyes were closed…all i know is that i wasn’t looking at anything; i was deep inside of myself, visualizing the stretching and unfolding…feeling her head travel down the canal and into our arms.
then i heard our midwife say she could see some cord around her neck. but that she wasn’t able to get it off until the next contraction. i remember feeling absolutely panicked when i heard this. the cord being around her neck was something i’d been fearing (and trying not to fear) for many months. i was just certain it was going to be that way. but then i’d fear that my fear was going to make it happen, so i’d try not to fear. i’d visualize her unwinding before coming down the canal. but, alas, the cord was around her neck. they told me this happens 40 percent of the time and that it was okay.
then at 12:24p, our little bear emerged. our midwife helped my huz catch her and place her on my chest. i remember hearing him say that she was slippery. and she was limp. and i was freaking out. there was all this blood in the water and i was scared. scared she wouldn’t breathe and scared i was dying from hemmoraging. then i heard our midwife say, “she’s okay. just talk to her and rub her back.” so i did just that. i told her, “mommy’s here. you’re okay. you can breathe now. mommy’s here.” and i rubbed and i rubbed and i felt panicky and i looked into susanne’s (student midwife) eyes and pleadingly asked her if our baby was going to be okay…and she looked directly back into my eyes with piercing strength and said, “yes. everything is okay.” and i believed her. all of this took seconds? minutes? hours? i have no idea how long that was. all i know is that the moment susanne assured me all was well, i breathed. and so did our little bear. first a little breathy cough. and then she wailed.
and i was so happy. but still scared i was going to bleed out. i remember pausing to assess my physical sensations and thinking, “well, let’s see. i don’t feel like i’m dying. maybe that means i’m going to live.”
and live i did.
oh, and i forgot to talk about the placenta…that precious, hearty placenta! what a miraculous thing, i say!
i didn’t know until later that my huz took detailed pictures of it for me (he knows this part of me so well…he knew i’d just love to see it all even after the moment was over). they also showed it to me, all the parts and the cord. amazing. amazing.
and then they took a piece of the art paper i brought and pressed it onto the inside surface (the side baby was against in the womb)…we’d heard the blood vessals make the shape of a tree if you press it to paper…and it sure does! many have asked me what i plan to do with these papers (they did it more than once before finding the masterpiece!). well, to that i say………..i have NO idea. none. but it’s just an amazing image to me…a tree shape on the inside surface of the placenta on which my baby rested and bumped and thrived for so many months…that’s just crazy. but even crazier was when another student midwife offered to dehydrate the placenta and put it into capsules for me. i said to susanne, “listen. i do a lot of crazy shit. i really do. but i am not going to eat a placenta. that’s too crazy, even for me.” placenta tablets?! not for me.
all the rest is a whirlwind. by 4:20p that afternoon we were heading home (just four hours after she was born!)…the three of us in our car for the first time as a family. we pulled into our garage a little after 5p that day…just like a normal work day….left home at 7:20a and returned just after 5! all in a day’s work, if i do say so myself.
and this, my friends, is our birth story…together my baby and my body worked to bring about the most amazing miracle ever.
since then, it’s been quite the roller coaster…quite. i’ve felt every emotion from sheer joy, to grief, to rage, and back to elation. there is no way to express it all and frankly, i feel ashamed at times for the more negative feelings i experience. but they’re real, too. a very real part of the process of coming in to motherhood.
first, happy 30th birthday, MEG.!!!
**********************************
obviously, we all know the likelihood that a baby will be born on her due date is very slim…in fact, only 5%-ish of babes actually are.
this means, i am now moving into the majority! i thought all along that she’d be born yesterday, the 30th. so that’s what i considered my due date (based on ovulation and her measurements at our first u/s at 6wks2d)…my midwives have always gone by the 31st b/c that’s her due date based on the first day of my lmp. however, at my 12wk u/s the tech tried to tell me my due date was moved up to the 20th of march or something like that! imagine how disappointed i’d be by now if my midwives and i had gone with that date!?
of course, we knew it was impossible for me to be due that many days earlier, as it’s no mystery—none at all—as to when i ovulated and such. i’m really really really thankful we didn’t change my date back then b/c although i was excited to think we’d meet her sooner, by now they’d be talking a hospital transfer and induction…two things i’m hoping to avoid if at all possible.
i’m using this time to practice patience and trusting in my body and this baby to know what to do about birthing and when. i keep letting her know that whenever she wants to come out she’s welcome and will be received with joy and love, but if it’s not time, it’s not time and that’s okay. we have several more days before it becomes urgent in any way, as long as she remains healthy and isn’t distressed.
but i will say, even with all of this practicing and all of my good intentions toward patience and everything else, i’m sad to see these days come and go without her arrival. i’m increasingly feeling like staying in and hunkering down…driving sounds miserable to me…so i don’t want to go anywhere or do anything that involves getting in the car…unless we’re heading to the birth center, that is! and each time i feel a contraction i get excited…then sad when they peeter out. so, it’s hard sometimes to not want to pressure the baby or doubt that my body knows what it’s doing…after all, staying pregnant was difficult, what if my body doesn’t know how to birth?!?
but it does. and things will get moving when the time is right. i’m just hoping it’s soon b/c i can’t wait to check this little one out!
well, there’s been a lot of practice labor around here lately. each night for a few hours i experience intermittent contractions. the other night they were happening 10 mins apart for nearly an hour and i was almost sure it was the real thing. i was getting so excited and doing my breathing and relaxation techniques and feeling confident and happy.
but then it wasn’t really happening.
and that was okay, too, because although i was a little sad, i was also a little relieved and happy to have the practice. i’m learning the feeling of the contractions and taking every opportunity to put into action everything i’ve been working on for the last few months. i’m going to be the next hypnobirthing star!
i hope.
but maybe not.
i never know how it will go when things really start rocking and rolling. all i can say is, i’m getting very, very excited to experience the most intimate and empowering experience ever…….and it’s going to happen very soon!!
or at least i hope it’s soon. because i’m going out of my mind with excitement.
and i’m a little bored and lonely, too, being at home without much ability to lift, bend, scrub, work, etc. driving in the car is more and more uncomfortable. i go for walks every day, but it’s more and more difficult to go any real distance. i’m working hard at keeping myself occupied, but sometimes i’m just plain bored and longing to have my body back.
right now i feel like i really want to get this show on the road! and i want to meet this little girl, to see her little toes that have been poking me all these months…and to find out if she got my huz’s bendy thumbs (which i really hope she did…i don’t like my thumbs).
but i know babies come when they are ready and when the timing is right. so, i will do my best to wait patiently while she soaks up these last few days in the safety of my womb…relishing in nourishing her with my body while longing to hold her in my arms. after all this time, i know i can wait a few more days, even a couple of weeks if i have to.
holy crap.
my midwives say 8 days, but i say 7.
7 days….more or less. sometimes i think more. sometimes i think less.
last night as we were settling down for the night, my huz said, “we made it to 39 weeks! remember when we were at 9 wks?”
at 9 wks we were visiting with family in the hills of tennessee. i remember when i told my dad that week that i was pregnant again and a flash of excitement crossed his face, rapidly followed by a worried expression while saying, “how are you feeling?” obviously he was happy for us and worried, too. just as we were…but by that point, we’d seen and heard her precious little heartbeat pounding away for the first time…something we’d never seen in our previous pregnancies. i remember worrying back then about every little thing…now i just worry about every other little thing.
i was worried about flying. about going through the security screening machine thingie (which i refused and opted for a pat down instead…whether or not this pleased the security staff). i worried about eating enough antioxidants. i worried when i’d forget to drink my herbal supplement. i had a horrible time sleeping through the night, especially falling asleep in the first place. i made a million trips to the bathroom every night. and we had fun too, believe it or not.
at 9wks, i thought 39wks would never come. back in august, march seemed an eternity away. yet here we are…facing laboring and birthing…preparing our hearts and our home to welcome this little wrinkly pink wonder into our lives…practicing with the moby wrap…and, of course, my huz’s continued practice burping of our cats.
what a difference 30 wks of healthy pregnancy has made in easing our anxiety levels…and yet, many days there’s still plenty of worry to go around. but not yesterday.
yesterday, at my 39wk-ish midwife appt i learned:
fundus height is 39cm (perfect!)
bp is 124/66 (lovely)
no protein or sugars in my urine (yay!)
baby’s heart rate is in the 150’s (strong and beautiful)
her head is “very low” (getting ready to labor and birth!)
and, finally–though i knew this already and did not learn it at my appt–i have no (pregnancy induced) stretch marks to date!! this is perhaps the most shocking news of all to me. i once read that if you have stretch marks from adolescent growing or extra weight, that you’d get them in pregnancy; if not, you won’t. doesn’t matter if you use creams or not, etc. well, i am living proof……(so far)…….this isn’t true. so, if you’re pregnant and feeling some burning or discomfort as your belly grows, i highly recommend applying burts bees belly balm liberally morning and night! and i do mean liberally.
that’s all i know for now…39wks and counting. i’ll keep y’all posted!
i’ve known for a few weeks now that my huz had a special surprise adventure up his sleeve for today. and that’s about all i knew. i tried really hard not to pester him too much b/c i knew that if i got his anxiety going i could probably get him to spill the beans just to calm himself, but then i’d end up disappointed b/c there’d be no surprise.
this says a lot about my desire to be surprised b/c i’m terrible about snooping and putting 2 and 2 together to figure out what’s going on…but i did spectacularly and i must say it was worth it!
first, i woke my huz up an hour and a half earlier than we’d planned to get up…i was excited, of course, and couldn’t sleep! why should i have to lie there by myself while he blissfully snored away?! we should be together in the agony of excitement induced insomnia.
luckily he’s a good sport…so when i woke him by saying, “huz, i can’t sleep—tell me a story,” he actually tried in all his sleepy haze to come up with some sort of story to tell me! hilarious. woken out of a deep sleep and he’s still kind. i would have been barking at him for sure if the tables were turned. 🙂
anyway, our first stop was a new-to-us coffee shop that serves gourmet sandwiches and gelato…yum! oh, and coffee too. we played our favorite board game together (which was not the game his parents so benevolently bestowed upon us for our shower gift—we gave that away!)…we love to play sequence and often say our mutual enjoyment of it saved our marriage in our first year. it was one of very few things we could do without bickering or crying or stomping out of a room to get away from each other! so we ate and drank and played—my huz beat me twice and i said, “enough! this is supposed to be my day!”
not really…in truth i gave him a high five and called him a rat bastard. then we laughed and headed to a waterfront park…gotta love where we live…water, mountain views, the smell of the sea. love it love it love it.
we walked a short distance and sat down at a table to watch the water, scuba divers, birds and so on. then my huz gave me the most perfect card ever…and a pair of gorgeous, long-hoped-for princess cut diamond earrings that match my wedding ring perfectly (as far as i’m concerned!). love them love them love them.
can’t walk past my reflection without checking them out. so sparkly and so special. he’s been saving for months and months and months–almost ever since we found out i was pregnant and definitely ever since it became pretty clear she was going to be with us for the long haul) to be able to get me something like this. i was pretty sure he’d picked the earrings, but secretly feared he’d go out on a limb and pick something we hadn’t talked about before. i was very happy (and relieved) with his choice!
i was surprised he gave me my present so early in the day…i wasn’t fully sure if he was going to give me the special gift today or not, but i certainly thought he’d at least make me wait until the end of the day. so fun! when i asked him why he decided to do it early in the day he said, “i knew that you love them right away and want to spend the whole day looking at them and talking about them and on and on and on…”
it’s so good to feel known.
next, i was off to my regularly scheduled prenatal yoga…didn’t want to miss it—even for a special day.
after class, we had a picnic in the warm sunshine (i’m sure i got a tan today—almost 70* and bright blue skies!)…we relaxed in the sunshine and searched the sky for eagles…shortly after returning home we turned around and left for dinner, which incidentally was back on the waterfront. the most delicious dinner ever and i’ve found my new favorite restaurant…love love loved it!
and now i’m lounging on the couch, drinking in the memories of our day…….nothing was especially spectacular or over the top, but everything was incredibly thoughtful and full of meaning for us.
i asked my huz why he decided to give me a “birthing our first baby gift” before i’d actually birthed her, he said, “i just really wanted it to be a special moment that we could enjoy together rather than have it be all twisted up in a flurry of diapers and sleeplessness and all.”
i never would have thought of that, but i’m so glad he did. we are doing all we can to savor these last days of “us” even though there’s really no such thing…we are both so constantly aware of her presence and we know already we are no longer two, but three (plus three angel babies, two cats and a bunny).
i’m so happy to report that at my appt yesterday–two weeks after the initial scare–my blood pressure has returned to my usual 120’s over 70’s and there was no sugar or protien in my urine….which means i didn’t have to have my blood drawn again….big celebration over that little piece of good fortune!!
thank you nina planck and your book real food for mothers and babies! i can’t say enough good things about this author or the books i’ve read of hers…i know i’m a broken record on this. what can i say?
my pregnancy ticker says “14 days until my due date”! how did that happen so fast??!!
38 weeks, here i come!
guess what? our baby’s not here yet and already i’m so aware of a major transition in thinking/living………
no more can i buy or do or pay large amounts of money on things that aren’t necessities…not if i’d like to stay home as long as possible with our little munchkin (although i did make an impulse buy a couple of weeks ago when i was mad at my huz…i think that was a “one last hurrah-type moment”).
this feels especially raw for me today since i accidentally dropped my kin.dle about three feet to the floor and damaged the screen….total bummer. absolute sadness. would love to simply buy a new one or even be able to afford a new screen to replace the damaged one, but guess what?
we are parents now…no more just working an overnight to pay for the new one…no more scraping together odds and ends of cash here and there to justify the replacement…i’m a bona fide grown up now…must wait for luxuries…must wait even longer than i’m used to waiting. i guess this grown-up-ness is partially why my mom wore the same clothes for many, many years while we had new ones…babies first.
but, hell, i waited a long time to be almost 38 weeks pregnant, so i suppose i can wait a while for my kindle repair or replacement. in the meantime, i can just guess what the words are in that part of the page……….it might even be a fun game. okay, probably not.
and may i say………if you have a kin.dle, .don’t drop it even while it’s tucked safely inside its case and only falls a short distance…even if you’re 37.5 weeks pregnant and you drop everything these days….don’t.drop.your.kin.dle.
this is going to be a post of assorted tidbits from my life these days…maybe a bit random, but hopefully worth the read.
first, if you are pregnant and you’d like to practice your birthing technique of choice (for me it’s hypnobirthing), i suggest you try having your eye brows threaded rather than waxed. oh my. wow. i went today for my first brow threading since i’m trying to get things tidied up before this baby comes (only to fall behind again on all the upkeep, i’m sure!) and i must say, waxing might not be as en vogue, but i do prefer having the pain over with more quickly. wow. it was intense and i was trying my best to stay relaxed and calm, visualizing myself going limp and loose, but it was a challenge for sure! have you ever tried the brow threading? what do you think?!
it does feel good to have my furry brows under control again, though…and that makes the pain worth it i suppose.
when i got home i decided to call my grandma (my mom’s mom). she’s 95 and a crack up. ever since she moved into an assisted living home right around christmastime, she’s spunky in a way i haven’t previously known her to be. anyway, she was asking me how i was doing…how many more days…etc. then i told her that my dad will be sure to call her when the baby comes and she said,
“now, lilly, just so you know, i have all these grandchildren and great-grandchildren and i don’t send them presents. so i don’t want you to be disappointed. i haven’t sent all the other kids presents when they were born, so i can’t start with yours.”
oh my gosh, i laughed so hard. and that got her laughing too. so there we were, 95 year old and 33 year old, laughing together and it was a moment of pure joy. she was just so her in that moment and i wasn’t expecting her to just say it outright like that. of course, i knew all along that there would be no gift from her, so that part was no surprise (i am one of her many grandchildren, after all)…i’m just not used to her actually acknowledging it! she’s a funny lady, even if she can be a bit crotchety too.
talking to her always makes me long to talk to my mom…she says some of the same expressions my mom always said when used to talk on the phone….like after i’d fill my mom in on a whole bunch of my happenings and then she’s say, “well, what else is going on? anything?” i remember one time responding to my mom, “geez, mom…i just told you about a ton of things that are going on…isn’t that enough?!” and we laughed. i miss her. i miss her more and more as this baby’s birthing day draws closer. i wish my huz (not just me) would have her extra support, too, when i’m laboring. but, alas, that’s not what is to be, though that doesn’t keep me from wishing.
today i’m 37 weeks…technically full term. a day i never knew i’d reach way back when getting to the 8 week mark with a viable pregnancy felt nearly impossible. and here we are. certainly, life continues to be uncertain….as it is for all of us, but i must say——-we are pretty damn excited to have made it this far!
and with the excitement comes the sadness and loss…i’m engaged in many endings and this is naturally sad. i’m winding down with my nanny family and trying to plan a last day together that will be meaningful and memorable. the older child (11 yo) is especially aware of my impending absence. she reminds me each time i see her how many days until our last day, how many days until our baby’s due date…she asks me repeatedly if i would please email her when the baby is born, which of course i will. i assure her that i’m going to stay in touch and that i want her to know this baby…she reminds me so much of myself in certain meaningful relationships…tenderly attached, yet so afraid of losing our connection.
then there are the last lunch dates with “just the girls”, last weekends spent lazing around watching lo.st with our friend for hours and hours…last dates with the huz…last moments of spontaneously jumping in the car and running off to get something or do something or see someone.
now, i know that eventually we will be spontaneous, we will still have our friendships, we will have lazy-ish days…but in a new way. and i know that feeling these losses, talking about the changes with friends and our mutual sadness over those changes, are such a part of what will continue to make me the kind of mom, friend and woman i long to be……..tender, aware, alive, authentic…and so i keep moving forward, feeling my feelings along the way.
and on top of all these things? we are just plain excited with anticipation! it’s like the longest night before christmas ever!!
well, well, well….we passed a couple major milestones this weekend.
first, just when we’d given up on having the crib we loved (b/c we couldn’t justify the expense at the moment), my huz’s entire office–multiple departments–came together to give us a huge surprise………all the cash we needed to buy the crib we’d been hoping for! so, while my in-laws disappointed us when they sent a board game, we were more than elated to receive such a generous gift from an unexpected source. as i was leaving his office after the party, my huz grabbed me for a hug and said, “sweetie, life is full of surprises!” yes it is.
perhaps the biggest surprise is that we put the crib together on friday night without any arguing or frustration! i thought it was going to be a struggle and i was actually afraid to start putting it together…especially since our last few weekends have been a struggle for us and i just wanted to be able to enjoy our weekend…but i reluctantly agreed to try assembling it when my huz suggested we spend our evening in that way. it turned out to be fun and exciting……and, naturally, our cats had to try out the new digs. since then we’ve kept the door closed so they can’t get in there and make her crib their new home. 🙂
and finally, my huz wanted to install the car seat into his car yesterday and practice using it. so, we got out the directions and got into the car. i was a bit more snotty in this activity than either of us would have hoped, but in the end we managed to have a fun time.
so, here we are…readying ourselves for this major life transition into parenthood. we have a few more details to iron out, but overall we are ready for the big day to come at any point (after i’m considered full term this weds, that is). my body has been practicing with contractions here and there, which always gives me the oportunity to practice my hypnobirthing and relaxation techniques. each time a feel a contraction come on i thank my body for practicing and for knowing how to birth this baby…practice, practice, practice body!
next on the agenda—we need to finish our phone/email tree list and pack our bag for the birth center…we’ve already got the baby’s bag packed and ready to go! have i mentioned we’re excited?!
so glad to report that my blood work came back normal!
i’m relieved.
but i’m also taking this scare seriously and sticking with my protein plan. [for more info on steering clear of preeclampsia see nina planck’s real food for mother and baby, the brewer diet, and the weston price foundation.] no more slacking off for me and forgetting to eat or eating simple carbs just because they go down easy and require little effort or planning.
must.stay.committed.
we’re in the home stretch now!
the hunt for my fertility 