Thursday, February 24, 2011
Highlights
Ok, so bear with me as I learn to use my new blogger app. We don't have Internet at home anymore, so I'll be posting via my iPhone... And I'm still figuring things out.
Here are some of the highlights of the past few months. Yes, almost entirely related to Garner and what he's doing, because realistically, my world is now all about him. Some of them will probably turn into posts of their own... someday.
November 2010
-42 Weeks pregnant
-induction
-29 hours of labor
-November 11, 12:30pm, Garner Charles Chapman delivered via c-section, 9 lb 13 oz, 22.5 cm long
-obviously (especially to those following my earlier posts) not the birth we wanted, but nonetheless, the exact outcome we wanted: a perfectly healthy, happy, beautiful baby.
-4 days later, the most miserable hour I've ever spent in a vehicle
-home at last
-the joys of new parenthood and recovery from surgery
-getting acquainted with baby
2 Weeks Old
-Thanksgiving at our house with Grandma Dida, Pawpaw Larry, and Aunt Shannon
-Demonstration of just how far a diaperless infant can shoot poop across a room, onto a wall and everything in the vicinity between infant and said wall
-weight: 10 lb 5 oz
5-7 Weeks Old, December 2010
-slept 5 hours overnight for the first time
-first bottle
-smiling and coo-ing frequently
-went to Oklahoma then San Angelo for Christmas holiday
-first deer hunting trip
January 2011
-2 months: 13 lb 7 oz
-reaching toward and swatting at toys/objects/faces
-trying to giggle
-studies, sucks, & chews fingers
-loves to go outside
-first flyfishing trip to the Guadalupe
-started going to storytime at Rockdale Library, getting better at getting ourselves together to go places (grocery store, etc.)
-still not very productive around the house, most days we're doing good if we both get a bath and manage to have supper at least started when Jason gets home
February 2011
-3 months: 16 lb
-all smiles, giggles, and wiggles
-Superbowl party at Lazy K
-roll from back to side all the time, sometimes from back to tummy
-HATE tummy time
-first cold :(
-started C25k
-getting more productive at home, now that we've pretty much mastered basic mommy and baby stay-at-home-alone survival, we can usually get dishes and laundry done, sometimes some general tidying, and we're working on adding in some basic house cleaning. We are very good at playing, inside and out, and making sure we get our walk daily.
Things Garner loves
-mommy (and daddy)
-outside
-watching dogs and kitties, and more recently, touching them
-baths, being naked
-standing, playing in the jumperoo
-our new all terrain stroller
-blowing sloppy, slobbery raspberries
-cooing, gooing, and squeaking, along with other generally cute indistinct baby noises
-being held/carried
-putting everything I grab straight in my mouth
Here are some of the highlights of the past few months. Yes, almost entirely related to Garner and what he's doing, because realistically, my world is now all about him. Some of them will probably turn into posts of their own... someday.
November 2010
-42 Weeks pregnant
-induction
-29 hours of labor
-November 11, 12:30pm, Garner Charles Chapman delivered via c-section, 9 lb 13 oz, 22.5 cm long
-obviously (especially to those following my earlier posts) not the birth we wanted, but nonetheless, the exact outcome we wanted: a perfectly healthy, happy, beautiful baby.
-4 days later, the most miserable hour I've ever spent in a vehicle
-home at last
-the joys of new parenthood and recovery from surgery
-getting acquainted with baby
2 Weeks Old
-Thanksgiving at our house with Grandma Dida, Pawpaw Larry, and Aunt Shannon
-Demonstration of just how far a diaperless infant can shoot poop across a room, onto a wall and everything in the vicinity between infant and said wall
-weight: 10 lb 5 oz
5-7 Weeks Old, December 2010
-slept 5 hours overnight for the first time
-first bottle
-smiling and coo-ing frequently
-went to Oklahoma then San Angelo for Christmas holiday
-first deer hunting trip
January 2011
-2 months: 13 lb 7 oz
-reaching toward and swatting at toys/objects/faces
-trying to giggle
-studies, sucks, & chews fingers
-loves to go outside
-first flyfishing trip to the Guadalupe
-started going to storytime at Rockdale Library, getting better at getting ourselves together to go places (grocery store, etc.)
-still not very productive around the house, most days we're doing good if we both get a bath and manage to have supper at least started when Jason gets home
February 2011
-3 months: 16 lb
-all smiles, giggles, and wiggles
-Superbowl party at Lazy K
-roll from back to side all the time, sometimes from back to tummy
-HATE tummy time
-first cold :(
-started C25k
-getting more productive at home, now that we've pretty much mastered basic mommy and baby stay-at-home-alone survival, we can usually get dishes and laundry done, sometimes some general tidying, and we're working on adding in some basic house cleaning. We are very good at playing, inside and out, and making sure we get our walk daily.
Things Garner loves
-mommy (and daddy)
-outside
-watching dogs and kitties, and more recently, touching them
-baths, being naked
-standing, playing in the jumperoo
-our new all terrain stroller
-blowing sloppy, slobbery raspberries
-cooing, gooing, and squeaking, along with other generally cute indistinct baby noises
-being held/carried
-putting everything I grab straight in my mouth
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Coming Soon...
Much has happened since my last post! But not to fret, loyal readers! I promise to update you soon on all that has transpired!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Patience....
Fair warning... this post is a bit lengthy.
Yes, we are still pregnant. Yes, our ESTIMATED due date (note I said ESTIMATED not expiration) came and went. Yes, believe it or not, it is ok. No, there is no intention or plan to induce at this point. "What the?" you say. Keep reading...
First, we have a lot of faith.
Faith in ourselves. That we are intelligent, responsible, educated, highly informed people who have put LOTS of time and effort into learning and researching and making the best, safest choices for our baby in our particular circumstances. We have not wandered blindly through our pregnancy, nor are we un- or under-informed about our current "overdue" status. We are constantly weighing the benefits vs. risks of our options as our pregnancy progresses and will act accordingly. Right now, there is no medical indication that anything needs to be done. I am healthy, baby is healthy. So, we are making every effort to have patience. No two marriages, no two women, no two pregnancies, no two babies, and no two births are the same, thus, there are no medical protocols that fit everyone (contrary to common perceptions and medical practices). Our choices may not be right for you and visa versa, but I urge you, educate yourself, and be your own advocate.
"If you don't know your options, you don't have any." Diana Korte and Roberta Scaer, authors of A Good Birth, A Safe Birth
Faith in our care providers. A wonderful, caring group of Ivy-league educated professionals who educate, advise, and advocate rather than dictate. They combine a strong belief in the natural physiological process of pregnancy and birth with the safety-net of western medicine. They practice medicine based on current, modern research findings rather than standard protocols implemented long ago and though thought safe a the time, many of which have been found to NOT be safe or beneficial, or only so in very specific circumstances, NOT across the board or for the sake of convenience.
Faith in our doula. From her website: "A doula is someone who supports pregnant/laboring women emotionally, physically, and with sound information during her pregnancy and the birth of her child. A doula assists in educating a pregnant woman with knowledge of risks and benefits allowing her to weigh her options when it matters most. As your doula, I am your assistant and advocate, I will impart information and make sure your wishes are met, but will not make decisions for you. Whether you want to birth at home, in a birth center, or in a hospital, I will work in harmony with you and your caregivers to ensure that you, your family, and your baby are well cared for. A doula may not make diagnoses or perform medical treatments or techniques." She has been an invaluable addition to our team of caregivers because of her wealth of knowledge and information, and because she has no other agenda than to take care of us. She has no obligation to anyone but us, not the hospital, not the doctors, her only priority is supporting us through this process.
Faith in God, nature, and the natural process. Baby will come when he's ready. Women have been delivering babies via spontaneous, natural labors for thousands of years. In fact, depending on your age, many of our mothers, and most of our grandmothers did so successfully. Only fairly recently has intervention and intensive management of pregnancy and birth become so popular. Unfortunately, if you look at the statistics, and look at the outcomes (maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, i.e. injury and death), societies that believe in and practice care based upon the natural process have significantly better outcomes than those who practice high-tech, intensely managed, highly interventionist care--like is prevalent in the US. Does modern medicine save lives of mothers and babies? Absolutely. Do MOST mothers and babies need "saved" from the "perils" of pregnancy and birth? Absolutely NOT. The research, literature, and facts are there. What you choose to seek, see, and to believe is up to you.
Now, on to the business of being "overdue".
From Henci Goer's "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth"
"A better term than overdue would be the medically correct postdates. "Overdue" implies that going past your due date is a problem, rather like overbaking a cake. On the contrary, inducing for exceeding your due date is a textbook case of how mainstream obstetric care keeps narrowing the definition of normal until practically no one fits, which then creates the "need" for intervention. True, a small percentage of women don't begin labor when they are supposed to. And, yes, placentas are not made to last forever. Still, mainstream postdates management has little scientific basis.
Up to the late 1980's, conventional obstetric wisdom held that if pregnancy continued two weeks past the forty-week due date, either labor should be induced or some sort of periodic testing of fetal well-being should be done. Nonetheless, induction [not testing] became the norm."
"There are problems with the due date itself. You may be surprised to learn that the conventional forty-week pregnancy length is completely arbitrary. It was established by a German obstetrician in the early 1800's. He simply declared that a pregnancy should last ten moon months, that is, ten months of four weeks each. However, when researchers in a 1990 study followed a group of healthy, white women, they discovered that pregnancy in first-time mothers averaged eight days longer than this."
"In addition, ultrasonography, the current standard for assigning due dates, does not reliably do so accurately."
"It gets worse. While even the forty-two week limit isn't sound, in recent years the "time's up" date has backed up to forty-one weeks, and then forty weeks. " Thus "first-time mothers are not only NOT "late" at forty-one weeks, they haven't even reached the average pregnancy length."
Ok, Laci, we get it, so maybe you aren't medically "overdue"... but still, why not induce? Lots of people do and everything turns out fine. Get that little man here because we are all dying to meet him!!
Well, here's the deal. The day I found out we were pregnant, my world almost altogether ceased to be about me, and began revolving around what's best for this baby. It wasn't a conscious shift, it just happened, and for awhile, I didn't even realize it.
The Cascade Effect: a vicious cycle, why we are choosing to avoid interventions if possible.
It's all about chance. Even if something has only a small percent chance of negative effect, meaning most people who use it turn out fine, I don't want to be that small percent affected negatively. So, by choosing to avoid unnecessary intervention, I reduce my chance of negative side effects from that intervention to zero. If it turns out we need it... ok. But why risk it if we don't need it?
Every intervention (i.e. things like continuous fetal monitoring, iv's, disallowing food/drink during labor, inductions, pain meds, episiotomy, cesarean, etc.) comes with a surprising and scary list of possible risks and negative side effects. I won't get into all of them, you all know how to google. The bigger problem is what's called the Cascade Effect: one seemingly harmless intervention has a side effect, that requires another intervention to fix it, that has another effect, that required another intervention.... you get the idea... that eventually leads to cesarean section. Cesarean section... MAJOR SURGERY-the most common major surgery in the US-that comes with a whole host of possible negative side effects including increased chance of maternal or fetal death! Ok, yes, it sounds dramatic, but it is true.
Inductions increase the risk of fetal distress leading to cesarean, problems that are then attributed to the baby's condition rather than their real cause--the induction itself. Unlike the natural process in which contractions begin slowly and then increase in duration, frequency, and strength, induced contractions start out long, strong, and frequent posing the risk of compressing the umbilical cord (among other potential problems, like failure of the induction altogether), and viola, fetal distress, that can lead to c-section. Natural, spontaneous labor allows the mother's and baby's bodies time to produce pain blocking endorphins and other chemicals and hormones to cope with the stress and pain of labor. The human body comes fully equipped with impressive coping mechanisms. Induced labor doesn't allow this and the body's coping mechanisms can't keep up. Leading to use of pain medications and all of the potential side effects they carry with them (again, you can google), often leading to what? You guessed it, fetal distress, and c-section.
Do these scenarios always come true? Of course not. Are they common enough to be cause for concern? Yes.
The bottom line.
We are not crazed radicals who are refusing necessary medical care. We have great doctors and support people and are planning to deliver in a state-of-the-art hospital fully equipped and prepared to handle any complications. I am healthy, baby is healthy, and we are being monitored closely for any problems that could arise. If things change, our plan will change accordingly. The goal is to have the healthiest happiest baby we can, and part of achieving that goal is to minimize risks, and especially to avoid choosing options that increase risks. We are excited to welcome our little man into the world and can't wait for his arrival, and are 1000% confident that we are making the best possible decisions for us and our circumstances!!
Am I huge and uncomfortable. YES. Enough to take unnecessary risks. NO. So... until his debut... patience. :)
Yes, we are still pregnant. Yes, our ESTIMATED due date (note I said ESTIMATED not expiration) came and went. Yes, believe it or not, it is ok. No, there is no intention or plan to induce at this point. "What the?" you say. Keep reading...
First, we have a lot of faith.
Faith in ourselves. That we are intelligent, responsible, educated, highly informed people who have put LOTS of time and effort into learning and researching and making the best, safest choices for our baby in our particular circumstances. We have not wandered blindly through our pregnancy, nor are we un- or under-informed about our current "overdue" status. We are constantly weighing the benefits vs. risks of our options as our pregnancy progresses and will act accordingly. Right now, there is no medical indication that anything needs to be done. I am healthy, baby is healthy. So, we are making every effort to have patience. No two marriages, no two women, no two pregnancies, no two babies, and no two births are the same, thus, there are no medical protocols that fit everyone (contrary to common perceptions and medical practices). Our choices may not be right for you and visa versa, but I urge you, educate yourself, and be your own advocate.
"If you don't know your options, you don't have any." Diana Korte and Roberta Scaer, authors of A Good Birth, A Safe Birth
Faith in our care providers. A wonderful, caring group of Ivy-league educated professionals who educate, advise, and advocate rather than dictate. They combine a strong belief in the natural physiological process of pregnancy and birth with the safety-net of western medicine. They practice medicine based on current, modern research findings rather than standard protocols implemented long ago and though thought safe a the time, many of which have been found to NOT be safe or beneficial, or only so in very specific circumstances, NOT across the board or for the sake of convenience.
Faith in our doula. From her website: "A doula is someone who supports pregnant/laboring women emotionally, physically, and with sound information during her pregnancy and the birth of her child. A doula assists in educating a pregnant woman with knowledge of risks and benefits allowing her to weigh her options when it matters most. As your doula, I am your assistant and advocate, I will impart information and make sure your wishes are met, but will not make decisions for you. Whether you want to birth at home, in a birth center, or in a hospital, I will work in harmony with you and your caregivers to ensure that you, your family, and your baby are well cared for. A doula may not make diagnoses or perform medical treatments or techniques." She has been an invaluable addition to our team of caregivers because of her wealth of knowledge and information, and because she has no other agenda than to take care of us. She has no obligation to anyone but us, not the hospital, not the doctors, her only priority is supporting us through this process.
Faith in God, nature, and the natural process. Baby will come when he's ready. Women have been delivering babies via spontaneous, natural labors for thousands of years. In fact, depending on your age, many of our mothers, and most of our grandmothers did so successfully. Only fairly recently has intervention and intensive management of pregnancy and birth become so popular. Unfortunately, if you look at the statistics, and look at the outcomes (maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, i.e. injury and death), societies that believe in and practice care based upon the natural process have significantly better outcomes than those who practice high-tech, intensely managed, highly interventionist care--like is prevalent in the US. Does modern medicine save lives of mothers and babies? Absolutely. Do MOST mothers and babies need "saved" from the "perils" of pregnancy and birth? Absolutely NOT. The research, literature, and facts are there. What you choose to seek, see, and to believe is up to you.
Now, on to the business of being "overdue".
From Henci Goer's "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth"
"A better term than overdue would be the medically correct postdates. "Overdue" implies that going past your due date is a problem, rather like overbaking a cake. On the contrary, inducing for exceeding your due date is a textbook case of how mainstream obstetric care keeps narrowing the definition of normal until practically no one fits, which then creates the "need" for intervention. True, a small percentage of women don't begin labor when they are supposed to. And, yes, placentas are not made to last forever. Still, mainstream postdates management has little scientific basis.
Up to the late 1980's, conventional obstetric wisdom held that if pregnancy continued two weeks past the forty-week due date, either labor should be induced or some sort of periodic testing of fetal well-being should be done. Nonetheless, induction [not testing] became the norm."
"There are problems with the due date itself. You may be surprised to learn that the conventional forty-week pregnancy length is completely arbitrary. It was established by a German obstetrician in the early 1800's. He simply declared that a pregnancy should last ten moon months, that is, ten months of four weeks each. However, when researchers in a 1990 study followed a group of healthy, white women, they discovered that pregnancy in first-time mothers averaged eight days longer than this."
"In addition, ultrasonography, the current standard for assigning due dates, does not reliably do so accurately."
"It gets worse. While even the forty-two week limit isn't sound, in recent years the "time's up" date has backed up to forty-one weeks, and then forty weeks. " Thus "first-time mothers are not only NOT "late" at forty-one weeks, they haven't even reached the average pregnancy length."
Ok, Laci, we get it, so maybe you aren't medically "overdue"... but still, why not induce? Lots of people do and everything turns out fine. Get that little man here because we are all dying to meet him!!
Well, here's the deal. The day I found out we were pregnant, my world almost altogether ceased to be about me, and began revolving around what's best for this baby. It wasn't a conscious shift, it just happened, and for awhile, I didn't even realize it.
The Cascade Effect: a vicious cycle, why we are choosing to avoid interventions if possible.
It's all about chance. Even if something has only a small percent chance of negative effect, meaning most people who use it turn out fine, I don't want to be that small percent affected negatively. So, by choosing to avoid unnecessary intervention, I reduce my chance of negative side effects from that intervention to zero. If it turns out we need it... ok. But why risk it if we don't need it?
Every intervention (i.e. things like continuous fetal monitoring, iv's, disallowing food/drink during labor, inductions, pain meds, episiotomy, cesarean, etc.) comes with a surprising and scary list of possible risks and negative side effects. I won't get into all of them, you all know how to google. The bigger problem is what's called the Cascade Effect: one seemingly harmless intervention has a side effect, that requires another intervention to fix it, that has another effect, that required another intervention.... you get the idea... that eventually leads to cesarean section. Cesarean section... MAJOR SURGERY-the most common major surgery in the US-that comes with a whole host of possible negative side effects including increased chance of maternal or fetal death! Ok, yes, it sounds dramatic, but it is true.
Inductions increase the risk of fetal distress leading to cesarean, problems that are then attributed to the baby's condition rather than their real cause--the induction itself. Unlike the natural process in which contractions begin slowly and then increase in duration, frequency, and strength, induced contractions start out long, strong, and frequent posing the risk of compressing the umbilical cord (among other potential problems, like failure of the induction altogether), and viola, fetal distress, that can lead to c-section. Natural, spontaneous labor allows the mother's and baby's bodies time to produce pain blocking endorphins and other chemicals and hormones to cope with the stress and pain of labor. The human body comes fully equipped with impressive coping mechanisms. Induced labor doesn't allow this and the body's coping mechanisms can't keep up. Leading to use of pain medications and all of the potential side effects they carry with them (again, you can google), often leading to what? You guessed it, fetal distress, and c-section.
Do these scenarios always come true? Of course not. Are they common enough to be cause for concern? Yes.
The bottom line.
We are not crazed radicals who are refusing necessary medical care. We have great doctors and support people and are planning to deliver in a state-of-the-art hospital fully equipped and prepared to handle any complications. I am healthy, baby is healthy, and we are being monitored closely for any problems that could arise. If things change, our plan will change accordingly. The goal is to have the healthiest happiest baby we can, and part of achieving that goal is to minimize risks, and especially to avoid choosing options that increase risks. We are excited to welcome our little man into the world and can't wait for his arrival, and are 1000% confident that we are making the best possible decisions for us and our circumstances!!
Am I huge and uncomfortable. YES. Enough to take unnecessary risks. NO. So... until his debut... patience. :)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
If I wasn't us, I'd be super jealous of us.
That's what I told Jason yesterday evening as we filled our bowls with seconds of homemade red beans and rice with shrimp.
It really is the little things that make life great. A perfect, cool fall evening complete with gorgeous sunset. Supper by the fire in the backyard... a backyard that you can have a fire in. Leaving the windows open and the a/c off. Sunrise walk... well, ok, waddle... with the dogs. Enjoying what are sure to be the last calm, quiet days I have left for a very long time.
I am truly, truly blessed.
It really is the little things that make life great. A perfect, cool fall evening complete with gorgeous sunset. Supper by the fire in the backyard... a backyard that you can have a fire in. Leaving the windows open and the a/c off. Sunrise walk... well, ok, waddle... with the dogs. Enjoying what are sure to be the last calm, quiet days I have left for a very long time.
I am truly, truly blessed.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
38 Weeks & Awesome Shower
Less than two weeks to go. WOW! I am excited, anxious, and nervous all at the same time! The doc told me Monday to make sure my bag is packed and the car gassed up because it could be "go" time any day now!
I mostly feel ok still. My hips and pelvic bones ache almost constantly, but according to the doc, this is good, it means he's descending and getting ready to go! My feet and legs look like tree trunks, also due to the added circulatory constriction caused by his dropping lower, but the good news: not long to go! and, up until now I've been very lucky and blessed to have very few and very minor discomforts.
Thank you again to all of the wonderful ladies (and their male counterparts that helped!!) that hosted a baby shower for us this past weekend. It was tons of fun, and so great to get to see and visit with everyone! The food was awesome, the decorations were perfect, I think that's THE best diaper cake I have ever seen, and the cake was SOOOOO good! Thanks also to everyone that came and brought us something special for baby Chapman, he's not even here yet and already spoiled! There will be pics to come! I didn't take any, but there were several cameras around!
I mostly feel ok still. My hips and pelvic bones ache almost constantly, but according to the doc, this is good, it means he's descending and getting ready to go! My feet and legs look like tree trunks, also due to the added circulatory constriction caused by his dropping lower, but the good news: not long to go! and, up until now I've been very lucky and blessed to have very few and very minor discomforts.
Thank you again to all of the wonderful ladies (and their male counterparts that helped!!) that hosted a baby shower for us this past weekend. It was tons of fun, and so great to get to see and visit with everyone! The food was awesome, the decorations were perfect, I think that's THE best diaper cake I have ever seen, and the cake was SOOOOO good! Thanks also to everyone that came and brought us something special for baby Chapman, he's not even here yet and already spoiled! There will be pics to come! I didn't take any, but there were several cameras around!
Monday, September 20, 2010
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
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!
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!
Friday, September 3, 2010
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...
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...
Monday, August 30, 2010
32 Week bUmPDATE
How far along: 32 weeks, 1 day
Total Weight Gain: +30
Stretch Marks: I discovered a few... but they are small!
Symptoms: nothing new except my hips get achy
Sleep: usually pretty good, sometimes hard to get comfortable
Best moment this week: finally getting the picture for his room in a frame without breaking the glass... I guess third time is a charm!
Movement: all the time, less big movements and more squirming and wiggling
Food Cravings/Aversions: macaroni and cheese... yum.
What I miss: having some heat tolerance. Poor Jason is going to turn into a popcicle!
What I look forward to: visitors this coming weekend! Angelo the next weekend!
Weekly wisdom: Listen to your intuition... it may be trying to tell you something important.
Total Weight Gain: +30
Stretch Marks: I discovered a few... but they are small!
Symptoms: nothing new except my hips get achy
Sleep: usually pretty good, sometimes hard to get comfortable
Best moment this week: finally getting the picture for his room in a frame without breaking the glass... I guess third time is a charm!
Movement: all the time, less big movements and more squirming and wiggling
Food Cravings/Aversions: macaroni and cheese... yum.
What I miss: having some heat tolerance. Poor Jason is going to turn into a popcicle!
What I look forward to: visitors this coming weekend! Angelo the next weekend!
Weekly wisdom: Listen to your intuition... it may be trying to tell you something important.
The Bump
So... I've been a bit of a slacker with the photos. What can I say? I'm a busy girl!
Week 27
Week 31
Week 32
Only 8 more (give or take...) weeks to go!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
30 Week bUmPDATE
How far along: 30 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain: +25
Stretch marks: not yet!
Symptoms: Increasing frequency of insomnia, edema (swelling), super sensitivity to certain smells (coffee smell... makes me gag), shortness of breath
Sleep: restless, lots of tossing and turning despite the 42 pillows I try to prop and support with
Best moment this week: seeing that beautiful face on the ultrasound
Movement: all the time
Food cravings/aversions: sweets
What I miss: seeing my feet without craning my neck and bending over :)
What I look forward to: actually meeting this little miracle
Milestones: 3/4 of the way there!
Weekly wisdom: Despite its discomforts-which I have been blessed enough to only experience mildly if at all-I'm actually enjoying pregnancy. I am truly thankful that have been granted the opportunity to experience first-hand the creation of a new life.
Total weight gain: +25
Stretch marks: not yet!
Symptoms: Increasing frequency of insomnia, edema (swelling), super sensitivity to certain smells (coffee smell... makes me gag), shortness of breath
Sleep: restless, lots of tossing and turning despite the 42 pillows I try to prop and support with
Best moment this week: seeing that beautiful face on the ultrasound
Movement: all the time
Food cravings/aversions: sweets
What I miss: seeing my feet without craning my neck and bending over :)
What I look forward to: actually meeting this little miracle
Milestones: 3/4 of the way there!
Weekly wisdom: Despite its discomforts-which I have been blessed enough to only experience mildly if at all-I'm actually enjoying pregnancy. I am truly thankful that have been granted the opportunity to experience first-hand the creation of a new life.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
4-D Ultrasound Pic
Love this face already!
At our appointment last week (28 weeks and some days), the Dr. thought he was measuring kinda big-like 4 weeks big-so she scheduled us for an ultrasound Monday to get a better idea how big he is. He appears to be totally healthy, and turns out he has a BIG head, 93rd percentile, full of brains of course... he get's this from his mommy. :) His abdomen is a bit bigger than average for this gestational age, and his legs are right on track with average. We go back again next week to find out what this all means, if anything.
A Work in Progress
The conversion from office/junk room to nursery....
This is where everything in our house that does not have a designated "place" lives... er.. lived.
Mammaw was good help cleaning out the room...
Blank slate...
Begin furniture construction...
Dresser/Changer
Is that a manatee?? oh.. right... that's me...
Furniture construction makes honey tired...
There's still much progress to be made... but it's a great start!
Monday, August 2, 2010
28 Week bUmPDATE
Oops... missed 27 week.
How far along: 28 weeks, 1 day
Total weight gain: holding steady at +23
Stretch marks: still none showing
Symptoms: more frequent insomnia... same, other than that
Sleep: yes please, I would love to.
Best moment this week: listening to baby's heartbeat with my at "home" heart monitor
Movement: getting stronger all the time, less tiny ninja, more tiny DONKEY
Food cravings: chocolate
Belly button: still in, but almost completely flat
What I miss: fitting in the first thing I put on
What I look forward to: Brooklyn's wedding this weekend, and going H.O.M.E.
Weekly wisdom: Change is good... and inevitable. Don't fight it... embrace it and love the good things that it brings.
Milestones: Third trimester!
How far along: 28 weeks, 1 day
Total weight gain: holding steady at +23
Stretch marks: still none showing
Symptoms: more frequent insomnia... same, other than that
Sleep: yes please, I would love to.
Best moment this week: listening to baby's heartbeat with my at "home" heart monitor
Movement: getting stronger all the time, less tiny ninja, more tiny DONKEY
Food cravings: chocolate
Belly button: still in, but almost completely flat
What I miss: fitting in the first thing I put on
What I look forward to: Brooklyn's wedding this weekend, and going H.O.M.E.
Weekly wisdom: Change is good... and inevitable. Don't fight it... embrace it and love the good things that it brings.
Milestones: Third trimester!
The End Is Near
Though I am excited and anxious for camp to be over, the end is all a little bittersweet. I am happy to be finally putting my marriage and family first, and excited about the changes soon to come, but as I spend what is my last few days here, a part of me is filled with sadness. Sadness to be cutting loose from the place and organization that has been such a huge part of my life and my personal and professional development for such a long time, and a place that is filled with so many memories.
But, all in all, change is for the better right? The personal and professional connections I have made will remain regardless of my employment status. The memories are still mine. No bridges have been burned.
So, I look forward with optimism to the changes and challenges that lie ahead. I have always been open to new opportunities and unafraid to walk into newly-sometimes unexpectedly-opened doors. Look out world! I'm about to be a free agent!
But, all in all, change is for the better right? The personal and professional connections I have made will remain regardless of my employment status. The memories are still mine. No bridges have been burned.
So, I look forward with optimism to the changes and challenges that lie ahead. I have always been open to new opportunities and unafraid to walk into newly-sometimes unexpectedly-opened doors. Look out world! I'm about to be a free agent!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Recent Happenings and Week 26 bUmPDATE
Had an excellent weekend celebrating the end of single-ness for Brooklyn. They started Friday with a fun day on the lake, but I spent Friday with Jason and then joined the festivities Friday evening at Shar's. Saturday involved sleeping in, lingerie shower, delicious Japanese supper, and then Pete's Dueling Piano Bar, where luckily, if you are the pregnant designated driver, you get all the free water you can drink! After a brief search for the vehicle and a bit of navigational confusion (thank you Ft. Worth roadways) we all made it home safely! The girls all slept in but I of course was wide awake at 7:15, so I got myself up and joined Jason and family at church and then lunch. Now I'm back at camp on a lovely Monday morning preparing for the arrival of our next camp this afternoon. Less than three weeks of camp remain. Let's hope it goes by fast!
Week 26 bUmPDATE
How far along: 26 weeks, 1 day
Total weight gain: +20.5
Stretch marks: still none... one of these mornings I just know I'm going to wake up and they'll be there!
Symptoms: same, cankles, heartburn, bathroom visits every 20 minutes... plus occasional sleeplessness
Sleep: getting harder and harder to actually get to sleep, but usually good once I drift off
Best moment this week: spending the day with Jason
Movement: he's practically the karate kid
Food Cravings: yes, I crave food.
Belly button: still in... but barely!
What I miss: home
What I look forward to: going home
Weekly wisdom: Me-So, where's the car? Response (yes, she was serious)-Shouldn't it be where we parked it? Me-Thank you for clearing that up.
Week 26 bUmPDATE
How far along: 26 weeks, 1 day
Total weight gain: +20.5
Stretch marks: still none... one of these mornings I just know I'm going to wake up and they'll be there!
Symptoms: same, cankles, heartburn, bathroom visits every 20 minutes... plus occasional sleeplessness
Sleep: getting harder and harder to actually get to sleep, but usually good once I drift off
Best moment this week: spending the day with Jason
Movement: he's practically the karate kid
Food Cravings: yes, I crave food.
Belly button: still in... but barely!
What I miss: home
What I look forward to: going home
Weekly wisdom: Me-So, where's the car? Response (yes, she was serious)-Shouldn't it be where we parked it? Me-Thank you for clearing that up.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Week 24 bUmPDATE
How far along: 24 weeks, 2 days
Total Weight Gain: +18
Stretch Marks: not yet....
Symptoms: fiery dragon breath heartburn, bring on the tums. Calf cramps... youch!
Sleep: pretty good when I'm not having crazy weird dreams or waking up for the heartburn or the leg cramps.
Best moment this week: sleeping and waking up in my own bed this past weekend.
Movement: all the time. He's going to be a NINJA!
Gender: Boy... although, the Santa Anna Dairy Queen lady--apparently the local authority on the gender of perfect strangers' babies based on belly shape--disagrees.
Food Cravings: fresh fruit
Belly Button: hardly a button anymore... almost flat.
What I miss: icy cold coca cola
What I look forward to: Friday Dr. appointment, and weekend visitors!
Weekly Wisdom: "It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
Total Weight Gain: +18
Stretch Marks: not yet....
Symptoms: fiery dragon breath heartburn, bring on the tums. Calf cramps... youch!
Sleep: pretty good when I'm not having crazy weird dreams or waking up for the heartburn or the leg cramps.
Best moment this week: sleeping and waking up in my own bed this past weekend.
Movement: all the time. He's going to be a NINJA!
Gender: Boy... although, the Santa Anna Dairy Queen lady--apparently the local authority on the gender of perfect strangers' babies based on belly shape--disagrees.
Food Cravings: fresh fruit
Belly Button: hardly a button anymore... almost flat.
What I miss: icy cold coca cola
What I look forward to: Friday Dr. appointment, and weekend visitors!
Weekly Wisdom: "It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
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