Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Bah Humbug to Obstetricians!

So I had another Doctor's appointment yesterday and I tell you, it's amazing how one visit with an overzealous OB can knock down what took you weeks, or maybe even months to build up. What am I griping about? It's the idea that many OBs just aren't Natural Childbirth (NCB) friendly. It's so amazing that in this day and age we have to fight for something that has gone on since the beginning of time... naturally!

Why am I so cranky? Well...

1) I am not dilated at all yet, despite being halfway through my 38th week of pregnancy. But after speaking to my Doula, now I'm annoyed with myself because if the average baby stays in until 40 weeks, so what if I'm not dilated yet? Thank you Doula Shanon for knocking my head back into place! The baby's head is very low, and my cervix is soft, so in actuality I AM making progress and I need to stop fretting.

2) My OB said he was concerned that I gained 7 lbs this week instead of the average 2-3 lbs so he scheduled me for a sonogram next week to make sure my baby isn't becoming a "Maury Baby". You know what the "Maury Baby" is.. it's the 100 lb baby that gets fed pizzas and spaghetti for breakfast. In any event, all that did was put a little fear in the back of my head that I might have a massive baby shooting out of my crotch, which did not fair well for me or my "bubble of peace" that my Doula keeps trying to help me stay in.

3) My OB seems to have changed a bit... or maybe he's just showing his true colors. Initially when i first "hired" him (which is what it really boils down to) he swore up and down that he respected my wishes for a NCB and was all gung ho about it - in the beginning. But recently, he's been doing a lot of epidural and induction talk which is very off-putting! At every visit he throws in the "and don't feel as if you have to be a hero.. you can get the epidural and go from excruciating pain to reading a magazine in minutes!" Ya doc, not to mention the 4 inch needle in my spine, the lack of mobility, the constant fetal monitoring, the catheter in my bladder... shall i go on? That is just SOME of what occurs right alongside the epidural, but NO of course he won't mention those little juicy tidbits of information.

So with all of that, I came out of my appointment nearly in tears because I felt that A) I'm going to be pregnant forever and B) My doctor isn't supporting me. And that is NOT how you should feel when you're days away from delivering your baby. But after speaking to my hubby (who is sooo amazing with how supportive he is) and after speaking to Doula Shanon, I now feel that I am back on track. And all my OB did is give me more gumption to have my NCB and be extra smug about it to him afterwards, tee hee.

The one thing I'm certain of is that if we're blessed with another baby, I will be searching for a great MIDWIFE, and OBs will not be in my field of vision at all. Do you know that you could have a Midwife patient in one room and an Obstetrician patient in the very next room, but they both are given totally different "rules" of laboring? Most Midwives will allow you to have clear fluids such as water, or chicken broth, during labor. Guess what Obstetricians allow you to have? Ice chips... That's right, ice chips. What's the difference between the Midwife patient and the OB patient? They are both in the same hospital. Both could be low risk pregnancies. The difference is the mentality that OBs have of wanting to control everything, bill insurance for as much as possible, and make it "easy" for themselves and their staff. Ugh.. don't get me started!! I've learned so much during this pregnancy. I've gone from being 8 weeks and saying that I would be making a bee-line to the anaesthesiologist at delivery, to now at 38 weeks wanting to avoid the anaesthesiologist like the plague! In any event, I now feel as if I have regained control and am looking forward to meeting my little pumpkin! Even if he IS a hefty sized pumpkin. :)

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

My Poor Swollen Feet!

I am now 37 weeks and 4 days and I FINALLY have experienced the dreaded swollen feet! I totally thought that I was on the road to going through the whole pregnancy without it. Besides early first trimester drama, this pregnancy has been pretty smooth sailing. Once I hit the second trimester, I really felt great! No heartburn, nothing swollen, and I gained weight mostly in my belly as opposed to every place else! But alas, my feet... my poor swollen feet!

It's like it happened exactly when I hit 37 weeks. I have no idea why or how but one evening, while watching TV with my hubby, I looked down at my feet and they looked like Fred Flinstone's! What the! I was in shock! My hubby looked down at them and just shook his head lol I immediately elevated them and drank water. The next morning they were back to normal, however, every evening they seem to balloon up. I read that it's common for feet to get swollen towards the end of pregnancy, and especially in the evening. So as long as I keep them elevated and keep drinking water to eliminate the water weight, I should be fine. They're very uncomfortable though when they get like that! I feel like I'm walking on bricks!

Other than that, I'm just sitting here, playing the waiting game. As nervous as I am about labor and delivery, I'm really ready to meet our little guy and move on to the next stage: actually being parents! I wonder what he'll look like. Will he look more like me? More like my husband? What type of temperament will he have? So many questions!! It really is amazing. Just think - this time next month I'll be a mommy! :) And I'll be posting baby pics! This truly has been an amazing journey. I learned so much and am so glad I have tons of supportive people around me.

OH, and last week was our last Bradley Method birthing class. The series was really great, I highly recommend it to those who are interested in natural childbirth and want as much information as possible. There are a lot of things that we are unaware of in terms of hospital protocol when delivering babies so it was great to learn all of that so we could make educated, informed decisions about the birth. We learned all about the stages of labor, pain management, pros and cons of medications, C-section, and breastfeeding. We saw tons of videos of actual births which I think was great preparation. Most importantly, the class left me feeling like I CAN BIRTH NATURALLY. There was empowerment there. When I first started the class I was so unsure of myself and scared but now I know what to expect, and I know that I'm strong and brave! God will see us through it. :) I'll try to write another post next week but I'm hoping that the next time I write I'll be a mommy!!! Yay!