First Meeting with the Homebirth Midwife

Today was my first appointment with my home birth midwife. It was great although there were some hairy moments. For example, there is some confusion about my due date so she actually has someone as her back up midwife just in case I go into labor while she is out of town. I will be meeting with the other midwife sometime soon. Other than that everything went just fine. It was kind of cool to have a prenatal exam in the comfort of my own home. No waiting around in a medical office. It felt cool to just hang out in the house while I waited for the midwife to arrive. Now I understand the appeal of a home birth. All the creature comforts so close to you. I definitely know now that I would not want a hospital birth. I can't imagine laboring in a random hospital room. I am feeling really good about laboring with just me, B, the midwife and my doula. I told my mom that I am doing a home birth and she was less than enthused. But she accepts my decision although she did say that she would prefer that I NOT do it. It's going to be so nice just eating and drinking whenever I want to during labor, having the baby(possibly in water) and then falling asleep in my own bed with the baby on my chest. :) Okay I am kind of tired so I will check back another time.

Interview Process with Homebirth Midwives

I am currently well into the process of interviewing homebirth midwives. So far B and I have interviewed 2 and we have one more interview on Monday. Between you and me, the one we interviewed yesterday is our pick, hands down. She is the midwife my doula used and my doula just raves about her. In fact the midwife and the doula rave about each other! We just sensed more of a spiritual and emotional vibe from the 2nd midwife, which we like. B has been really stepping up to the plate in regards to the whole homebirth thing. He made a long list of questions to ask the midwives. I was like "Okay you can run the show! I have pregnancy brain!" LOL! I can't believe we are planning a homebirth; it seems so surreal. I actually really want a waterbirth but we will see how that works out. My doula is the only person I know who has had a homebirth so this is pretty new to both me and B. I know B's family and my family are going to be like "Say what?" when we tell them about our plans. It should be interesting. I think yesterday I was dehydrated or something because this morning I drank like 32 ounces of water in a matter of 20 minutes. It was pretty humid outside yesterday and I did go to the gym but I had a bottle of gatorade with me. I can't workout with weights without some sort of sports drink these days or I feel weak. I am SO excited to be going on vacation! August is really going to be a vacation month for me since it looks like I will be on vacation more days than I will actually work. I need it though! I am almost 7 and a half months and this back pain is no joke! And rush hour subway rides get on my last nerves, especially the evening commute. But people have actually been giving up their seats happily as of late. My bump is undeniable at this point and apparently some people would prefer not to see a pregnant lady suffer through the evils of mass transit. :) The other day when B and I had just finished interviewing with a midwife, we had planned to walk home but my bladder had other plans. We had to end up catching a bus for an embarrassingly short walk home. But I just couldn't take it! I had to get home and FAST! Me and my Snoogle slept pretty well last night although I have to switch positions several times a night. Hopefully I will be able to post some recent pics of my bumpalicious tummy soon!

Family Dinner Time

Yesterday B and I headed to Connecticut to have an early dinner with my parents and my brother. It was really great. My mom was saying that she doesn't want to be called granny. She said the baby is going to call her "mere" and my dad "pere". My dad didn't agree, LOL! My mom even found a bassinet which was really nice since the baby will probably be sleeping in the bedroom for quite sometime. My brother has even agreed to babysit! Will see how that goes...I can't really imagine him changing diapers. I asked my mom if I looked fat...and she said I did! I was like "Um...okay". That is only going to make me work harder in the gym NOW and after the baby is here to get back in shape, better shape than I was before I got pregnant. The topic of winter holiday came up and I know I definitely want to go to Chicago in December because it would be the first time that many of my extended family will see little Bojangles. I know Granny is going to go bananas for him, her first great grand child.
On another note, I am in the process of interviewing homebirth midwives. I have decided that hospital birth is not for me, and if this pregnancy remains low risk, I intend on bringing little Bojangles into the world at home in a small pool of water. B is all for it and will be present to interview with all the midwives. More on that to come...

Pregnancy Overload

Right now I am sort of feeling overwhelmed by this whole pregnancy thing. Just because I feel like every waking moment something to do with being pregnant has to enter my mind. Hiring and interviewing a midwife, childcare, maternity leave, etc... These are the things that wake me up in the middle of the night. I am banning myself from buying or borrowing anymore pregnancy books, I want to read something that has nothing to do with childbirth and babies. I am in the mood for a good sci-fi novel actually. Only thing that gives me relief lately is the weather; it's nice and cool outside which I love. During the heat wave, I was having trouble sleeping because I was so hot. I even shunned my Snoogle for awhile because I just felt too hot to touch anything. Meanwhile, it seems like I can't get enough sleep. I have been averaging like 10 hours of sleep lately. Tonight I have to go to the gym because I just couldn't get up this morning. As long as I go tonight and tomorrow morning, I will have met my goal for gym attendance for the week. I may even put in extra credit on Saturday morning, for some reason going to the gym on Saturday morning puts me in a great mood. I spoke to my doula for a long time yesterday; she's awesome and I love the fact that she is a young mother; she had her son last October. She really helps me and reassures me. She is having a doctor come and speak at her store about alignment in pregnancy on Saturday afternoon. It's free so I'm game. My back is all messed up, especially the right side. Yesterday, I had a little pregnancy weight gain freak out. I mean it's been so hot lately, I know I was probably retaining some water but I still freaked out. This morning my weight was back to "normal", reflecting a 11.5 weight gain since December/January. I have tried to come to terms with the fact that I may end up gaining as much as 25 pounds, which to me sounds like SO much. According to my BMI before getting pregnant, a 15-25 pounds weight gain would be appropriate for me. I was about 7 pounds overweight before. I was wishing so hard to only gain 15 pounds, but considering I am at the 11.5 mark now with 3 months to go, I can't imagine not getting to at least 20 pounds. It seems like a lot of women end up gaining a lot more than 25 pounds these days due to poor diet, sedentary lifestyle and "cravings", so I guess I should consider myself lucky that I am still in control although I will admit I ate a cookie last night. One cookie and it was really good. One thing I really indulge in on a daily basis is fortified Eden Soymilk. I love it because it is a great source for calcium, folate, B12 and protein. I know protein is something I struggle with so I definitely drink the soymilk pretty liberally; one serving has 11 grams of protein. I also like the carob flavor they sell too. I know some pregnant women eat like a pint of ice cream everyday. I would feel gross if I ate a pint of soy ice cream every night. The baby is squishing my stomach so I feel like stuffing myself with anything would be asking for trouble. I like to feel energized after I eat, not sluggish and bloated. Even drinking too much can cause that not so great feeling. Anyway, it's Thursday, almost the weekend and only one more week after that until I get to take a nice vacation. It's not the wonderful vacation abroad that I had planned but I do intend on making the most of it and doing stuff in the city and its environs and attending summer events that I would normally be too tired to go to. I wonder what's on the menu for lunch today?
Pickles and ice cream is definitely NOT on the menu! Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! LOL! Later people!

Maternity Tour at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital

Yesterday evening B and I took the maternity tour at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital. It was cool because it answered a lot of my questions about giving birth there. But I will say this: I was underwhelmed by the labor and delivery floor and the birthing center. The labor rooms seem tiny and the private and semi-private postpartum rooms seemed tiny as well. The birthing center suites are a nice size, but they don't really look as nice as they are portrayed on the website in the photos. I guess I had romanticized the birthing center but even still I would like to give birth there since it seems like a homebirth would be out of my price range for now. I would probably end up paying 5,000 out of pocket which to me can be better invested in me and my child's future. Unfortunately, none of the homebirth midwives in NYC are in-network for my insurance. For me, I really can't justify the extra cost. So I am staying in-network and working with my midwife. I will see her on Thursday and discuss things further. Right now I just want to focus on my health and it can be hard when people are stressing me out. Stroller choices are stressing me out too! I don't want an ugly Graco travel system! Bump that noise! But I digress, I need to sign up for the "Introduction to the Birthing Center" class and the "Early Discharge from the Birthing Center" class which are mandatory for women who want to use the Birthing Center. Luckily they take place on the same day, 2 hours for each class. I left a message yesterday about registering for the classes. They say that it takes 2 full business days for them to get back to you so hopefully I will hear from them by Thursday. I just ate my lunch and now I feel like having dessert. Yesterday I grabbed some animal cracker from Duane Reade before an afternoon meeting. They were the old school kind in the box with the string handle. And they were good! This is not a pregnancy craving...I just like food and have been known to get excited about rediscovered forgotten treats even pre-prego so this is nothing new! And according to the box, the crackers are a "good source of calcium". I am sold! I will probably jam on over to Duane Reade a little later. Tonight is my first prenatal yoga class, hosted at my doula's baby store, The Stork Store. I need some damn "om" in my life, LOL! Breathe in..Breathe out!

Finally Found My Provider!

Today I had my second prenatal appointment since discovering that I am pregnant. I actually have changed providers because I wanted to give birth at the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Birthing Center. See image below:
All rooms are equipped with Jacuzzis, showers, wood floors and double beds! If everyone thing goes to plan, I will be bringing Baby Bojangles into the world there. I just have to pray that I am considered low risk or else I will be "risked out" of the Birthing Center and will have to deliver on the regular Labor and Delivery floor. Which wouldn't be the worst thing ever since as of today I am seeing a midwife for my prenatal care and she is really nice. She is really committed to letting women give birth on their own terms and she is very supportive of natural birth and the emotional, holistic aspect of birth. I have to get a test for Gestation Diabetes but I am have a feeling that I don't have that. My blood sugar looked fine and dandy when I had a fasting blood sugar test done at the end of May. And I feel fine, I would think I would feel like crap if I had GD but we will see. If I don't have GD, that would definitely make it easier for me to be considered eligible for the Birthing Center. According to mayoclinic.com:
"Rarely, gestational diabetes may cause excessive thirst or increased urination. For most women, however, gestational diabetes doesn't cause noticeable signs or symptoms."
Oh crap! So I guess I really wouldn't know if I had it, would I? Well I guess I am just going to have a "wait and see" attitude about this one. In any case, I am really excited to be seeing a midwife in lieu of a doctor because to be real, that's what I really wanted in the first place. I just was feeling frazzled with insurance and the fact that I had only had one prenatal so far and I am 6 months along already. But luckily, le Bon Dieu gave me a flower and I was able to get into a Ob/GYN practice that has a midwife. They are actually hiring another one soon apparently.
Okay so a little more than half an hour left before I can blow this popstand and head back to Brooknam. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be okay enough to go to the beach like I had planned. I need a belly tan. Yeah I plan on rockin' a 'kini with a pregnant pot belly! Don't hate! There are supposed to be "a T-storm or two" tomorrow according to accuweather.com. Boooooooooooooooo! Bojangles wants to get his ocean swim on! Until next time folks!