Nee's blog
#1
Posted 18 August 2010 - 01:27 AM
I'm 38 weeks preggo as I write this. I first learned I was pregnant Dec. 23, 2009. My chest was super tender, and my body felt all-around different so I decided to take a home pregnancy test. I was home alone that day, and after it showed a positive result I went stalking through the house in astonishment. Needless to say, this was unplanned and a huge surprise.
My husband was even more shocked than I was, and a little outraged at first. He kept asking me, "You're kidding, right?" But I'm not the type to joke or lie about something as serious as this. After his initial reaction, he sobered up and admitted he was happy, but stressed about the mounting responsibility he must have felt. Now that the baby is nearly due, I think he's going through the same emotions all over again.
My pregnancy has been good, and enjoyable for the most part. I was lucky to have only minor morning sickness, and my feet never got swollen (although they hurt like a b*tch when I was at work standing on concrete floor). I quit my two worst habits of smoking pot and drinking the day I learned I was pregnant from a home pregnancy test. I've never felt healthier in my adult life, and I can honestly say that I don't miss either vice and will never go back to using like I used to. Not that I'll never enjoy a drink or two again, but in moderation. I am still guilty of drinking soda and eating sweets, however, I counter that by taking extra iron and prenatal vitamins.
Tomorrow I shall rant my opinions about prenatal health care but for now going to do something fun.
Ciao~
#2
Posted 18 August 2010 - 02:02 AM
Love is not about admiring the strength or perfection of the person but to fully accept their shortcoming and weakness. - Me
Dragcave: (Mine and a Certain cat's): http://dragcave.net/user/MelisaArtemis
#3
Posted 18 August 2010 - 06:09 PM
I watched a documentary called "The Business of Being Born" that compared the two in depth. Some things have changed in the few years since it's release, but it's still a pretty eye-opening thought provoker. It had some pretty amazing statistics that I never would have believed before, like the fact that the U.S has the second worst newborn death rate in the developed world. Here's a clip, but you can watch the whole thing free on Netflix. Every pregnant couple should watch this!
Midwives are able to spend a lot of time getting to know you. They take the time to sit with you in your most comfortable setting, home, before anything else. The first
The biggest thing that separates midwives from doctors and the women who chose between them is emotional. Midwives tend to believe that a woman is fully capable of bearing to term and delivering a healthy baby by virtue of being a healthy woman. Doctor's rely on strict routine and what works best on most women, but every woman and every pregnancy is different. They simply don't take the time to treat each patient as a unique case.
Here's one example of how a midwife will treat her patients differently because of how she respects the female human body. It's kind of long, but a great post, especially if you're pregnant. Cervical Exams: Who Needs Them?
Different doctors have different opinions on these cervical exams. Some wont do the first one until 39 or 40 weeks, or maybe not even until the woman thinks she's in labor. Mine just happens to be one of the most fun kind of doctor that starts at week 36 and checks every week after that. If you don't know what a cervical check is, it's basically what it sounds like: the practitioner uses a sterile glove and lube to handily feel the cervix to check for effacement and dilation. It is as uncomfortable and awkward as it sounds, and like that midwife blogged it's only for curiosity's sake. My doctor seems to do them to check for progress towards labor, at the same time he's talking to me about inducing labor after 41 weeks if no progress is made. I didn't have the balls to outright ask him why he feels the checks are necessary, but from my other questions it seems he doesn't expect me to know when my own body has started real labor. "I don't expect you to make that diagnosis yourself," He told me. I'm thinking, diagnosis? He obviously thinks he knows the female body better than I know my own. And that makes me feel like he has no respect for me or any woman. In his defense, there are a lot of women out there who don't respect their own bodies, and even more who think they've gone into labor when they really haven't. But I think I would prefer having a midwife believe in me, respect my body as being wonderfully capable, and boost my confidence by telling me I have this great potential to be as great a mother as anyone can be. After all, how many hundreds of thousands of generations have been born at home surrounded by comforting grandmothers and sisters and aunts, compared to a bland sterile hospital setting?
For now, since I have already paid this doctor, I will go to the hospital and expect him to be there to play catch. But I'm determined that if I ever become pregnant again I will do it the most natural way: At home with a midwife who's earned my trust.
#4
Posted 18 August 2010 - 06:44 PM
Thanks BL!
#5
Posted 19 August 2010 - 01:09 AM
#6
Posted 21 August 2010 - 09:08 PM
Looking forward to today's H&E fantasy football league draft!
@Konakonafan It's a surprise!
#7
Posted 22 August 2010 - 12:58 AM
fyi, my wife said that she think you gonna have a daughter.... she won't tell me why she think that though ._.
Love is not about admiring the strength or perfection of the person but to fully accept their shortcoming and weakness. - Me
Dragcave: (Mine and a Certain cat's): http://dragcave.net/user/MelisaArtemis
#10
Posted 24 August 2010 - 04:11 PM
It is a little nerve-wrecking, especially now that I could go into labor at practically any time, but I've had 9 months to get used to the idea. I think as long as the three of us stick together we'll be ok. The first couple days at home with the baby will be the hardest, I think. Getting used to all this stuff I've never had to do before like swaddling and changing diapers and comforting her when she cries. I never got to do those things with my nieces since they live so far away. Also, really looking forward to breast feeding.
Yeah... all the close cuddling and bonding... and dry, cracked, bleeding nipples.
Yesterday we put the carseat in the car. I've got a bag halfway packed to take to the hospital, just gotta smuggle some foodstuff in there when the day comes. Looking at lists people make online of what to take with you makes me feel like I'm packing for a three night stay in a hotel. I've got the awful feeling that I'm forgetting something and I'm going to have to run to the store with a newborn for something so DUH obvious that I should have gotten during these days of having nothing to do.........
Speaking of which, I still need to wash all the new clothes and blankets from the baby shower. And can a newborn sleep in a crib or do I HAVE to have some kind of bassinet? I know someone who made a makeshift bassinet out of a dresser drawer... Eh, Maybe I'll just kick Dad to the couch and have her sleep next to me.
#11
Posted 24 August 2010 - 04:29 PM
#13
Posted 24 August 2010 - 08:48 PM
#14
Posted 24 August 2010 - 09:59 PM
Hang in there!! The first month is the hardest. You don't know where you end and the baby begins. I've even heard it called the 10th month because momma and baby are pretty much inseperable.
Get lots of sleep. When the baby sleeps, you do too. Don't look at clocks, just be on 'baby time' for a while. And babies can sleep anywhere, crib or your own bed is fine. (If sleeping in bed, just remember do without tons of covers and pillows, and no smoking, drinking or meds. Anything that would stop you from waking up immediately. You probably know this, but just in case someone else is reading and doesn't know it or thinks it's totally crazy!) And the sleeping-in-bed/breastfeeding thing works like a charm. I think it's been shown to give both momma and babe the most amount of sleep. But really, whatever arrangement gives the most people in the house the most amount of sleep is the one for you!
And don't listen to anyone's advice! Including my own (ack! I just can't help myself!)! lol lol lol! Everyone's got loads of advice! Especially about babies. Just do what you are comfortable with! You know yourself and will know your baby better than anyone else ever will. So what's good for the two of you is the best parenting choice you can make.
So are you going in for the c-section tonight? The next time you post, you may be a momma!
Congrats! I'll be thinking of you!
Edited by tricksie, 24 August 2010 - 10:05 PM.
#16
Posted 25 August 2010 - 01:01 AM
I'll be thinking of you! Happy early birthday, baby Nee-sama!
#17
Posted 25 August 2010 - 02:25 AM
#18
Posted 25 August 2010 - 02:35 AM
#19
Posted 25 August 2010 - 02:50 AM
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