Crazy? Maybe. Happy about it? Definitely!

**Caution: In parts of this post I get up on my soap box and rant. If you don't care to hear it... then stop reading!

At 31 Weeks pregnant I fired my original Obstetrician--not recommended at near mid-third trimester. I'm sure that she's a perfectly good Doctor, just not the Doctor for me. Our attitudes and philosophies towards pregnancy and birth are DRAMATICALLY different, and I soon learned, unfortunately due to the way most doctors are trained, that my attitude and philosophy towards pregnancy and birth are very very different from most doctors, and honestly, most women. I'm not judging other people's choices, I'm just telling you what I feel is right for me. Pregnancy is not a disease, and thus should not be treated like one--doctors are generally trained from the perspective that women and pregnancy are broken they have to "fix" it. It is a natural physiological process that has been happening-without doctors and tons of drugs-FOREVER--doctors are generally not trained in the "natural" process. Contrary to what this doctor told me, I believe that most women and their bodies, when prepared adequately (Note that most women are NOT prepared adequately if at all), ARE physically and mentally capable of handling pregnancy and birth with little or no intervention. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that high quality prenatal and delivery care by a professional is a necessity, their job is to watch for, catch, and treat anything that does go wrong, and that drugs and interventions can be a good thing and do have their place. I know that there are situations in which intervention saves the lives of moms and babies. My major disagreement or complaint about the mainstream system is its gross overuse of all these interventions based solely on convenience or "standard protocol" with little to no regard for the possible side affects for moms and babies. Most mainstream doctors are not practicing and adjusting their practices according to the research, many it seems are still using practices that the research is not finding beneficial at all (or even safe!), and much less so when used for every woman, regardless of medical necessity. The general attitude is that if an intervention has a side affect, it's ok, because they can treat that side affect with another intervention, and if that intervention has a side effect, it's ok, there are more interventions that can be done... it's a vicious cycle. Most women, who trust their doctors' knowledge and skill, just as I did going into this pregnancy, are never told about all of the things that could go wrong with interventions and all the added risks they are choosing to take when they have elective interventions. All too often, women are encouraged to choose intervention for convenience. Dr: "I have a tennis lesson to get to, so let's just go ahead and do that c-section". Why would doctors, the people who are supposed to take care of you, encourage you to choose MAJOR SURGERY when, in many cases (obviously it is necessary sometimes), there is a safer alternative, or it's just as safe to be patient and do nothing! Women are not being told that they have a much smaller chance of things going wrong if nature is allowed to take its course.  Being patient and allowing the process to happen is inconvenient. Most women are told about interventions, "Don't worry, it's safe." or "You just leave that up to me." I, however, was not satisfied with this kind of blatant evasion of my questions. Had it not been for my desire to research and learn all I can about pregnancy and birth, and the support from both my super awesome husband and my super awesome doula, (and my rebellion against being told that "women can't do that") I too would have simply followed in line with all the rest. Again, no judgment intended, just expressing my opinion.  


So, in my frustrating quest for a new doctor in the B/CS area that would have a "less interventionist" philosophy (and take my insurance), I came up empty handed. All of the doctors/practices that I researched and/or visited with had alarmingly high rates of induction, cesarean, and episiotomy (one doc had an 80% episiotomy rate! yikes!), and I learned that both hospitals in B/CS also have intervention rates well above the state averages, and standard protocols that are not conducive to a non-interventionist birth. Not a good sign. Yes, I know that plenty of perfectly healthy, happy, babies are delivered here and in similar hospitals with similar doctors all over the US, but that still does not make it the right situation for us. Plenty of our parents rode around unbuckled or in the backs of pick-ups most of their childhood and turned out fine... that still doesn't make it safe.


When in doubt, what do I do? Google! And... viola! Where else but good old Austin, TX would I find the answer to my prayers. A practice with both doctors and midwives, with a strong non-interventionist philosophy (they only use interventions when truly medically necessary), that works with a super supportive LDR unit at a nationally acclaimed, top of the line, state of the art hospital. AND is only a little further from our house than B/CS. After perusing their website for awhile, talking to one of my best friends who lives in ATX and delivered her youngest son at the same hospital, getting rave reviews from all questioned including friends and friends of friends in the ATX area, I called to inquire. After brief conversations with a couple of nurses and one of the midwives explaining my situation, I was approved for and encouraged to transfer and I was set up for a consultation appointment the very next morning! What a whirlwind! 

It was wonderful! I had no idea the true extent to which I was displeased with my original doctor until I visited the new one! Jason went with me the second time, and we attended the hospital tour and the meet and greet with all of the doctors and midwives with this new practice. They all openly share the same philosophy of care, and since they work in a collaborative model, we will meet and get prenatal care from all of them, and be guaranteed that (at least) one of them will be present during my birth (much different from the "Only if I'm on-call" approach by my first dr).It's been so refreshing to be treated like a person experiencing a wonderful thing, not just a chart that needs some drugs and  procedures assigned to it!


I could go on and on (and would be glad to, all you have to do is ask!), but long story short, I am pleased and confident with the decision we have made!


Interested in learning more about any of this?? Here are a couple of great, eye-opening books that I read and would definitely recommend! Especially to moms! (I have them if you'd like to borrow!)
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth-Henci Goer
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth-Ina May Gaskin

Has it really been three weeks since my last post???

It appears that it has... lots to update!


Only a little over a month to go before the arrival of Baby Chapman (who is still nameless)! Wow!


I am officially unemployed as of last Wednesday! Yay! I have however, been keeping  myself quite busy. Jason has been accusing me of nesting, but I say I'm just doing all the things I've been going to do since we moved in here (i.e. cleaning out the weird boxes of random junk that no one knows why we kept and moved in the first place!). I'm also packing away all my work stuff to be stored, reorganizing to make room for baby stuff, and just generally purging the house of the random useless junk. Ok, so maybe I am nesting a little... but I've sure been giving my golf cart a good workout hauling stuff to the dumpster! And, I've learned, that roomba is a floor's best friend!


Went to Angelo last weekend for a wonderful baby shower hosted by my sisters, two cousins, and one of my very best friends. It was great! Great food, great friends and family to visit with, and of course, great baby stuff! Thanks everyone! I did learn however, that riding in the car for that long at 7 1/2 months pregnant is not fun.

35 Week bUmPDATE


How far along: 35 Weeks, 1 Day


Total Weight Gain: +35... I feel like a big BEAST!


Stretch marks: only a few little ones!


Symptoms: my. hips. hurt.


Sleep: so-so, between my hips keeping me awake, and getting up to use the restroom every 2-3 hours. Not much longer though!


Best moments this week: 1. Cash-dog sniffing my belly and then sticking his ear up against it like he's listening to Baby. Hahaha! 2. Two words: Caterpillar cake.


Movement: all the time


Food cravings: Mexican food


What I miss: Not planning every outing away from the house around where the good pit-stops are.


What I look forward to: Dr. appointment Wednesday


Weekly wisdom: Smile, people will wonder what you're up to!

Googling

The inner-workings of my brain are a mystery... even to me...


Is it my love for learning?... is it my weird (sometimes morbid) curiosity?... is it just a complete fascination with the worlds of information available on a whim via the internet phenomenon called Google? Why I ponder seemingly useless, irrelevant, information is beyond me. Who really knows. In any case... here's a little sample of some of the smorgasbord of things that pop into my head, often with no apparent stimulus, on any given day, that I proceed to Google:
*Please note that none of these are intended to be rude, insensitive, or otherwise offensive. I am genuinely curious...

• Do small people (dwarfs, midgets, etc.) have smaller toilets in their houses? If not, logistically, how does that work? step stool?
• How big is a baby armadillo?
• This one is courtesy of my sister: What happens to fish when lightening strikes a body of water? 
• What does whale poo look like?
• Do elephants really have excellent memories?
• Are unicorns considered wild or domestic?
• Ok, I get how a blind kid can SEND a text message... but how can he read the response??? I'm not being rude, it's a legitimate question!

• Clarify herd vs flock. Lots of buffalo (don't fly)=herd. Lots of cattle (also do not fly)=herd. Lots of pigeons (fly)=flock. Lots of geese (they fly too)=flock. Lots of sheep (fly? no)=flock? hmmm...

Curious now aren't you....