30 weeks!!!

It seemed like it was just yesterday that I started keeping track of fertility symptoms. Fast forward 15 months later and here I am, already 30 weeks pregnant.

I officially enjoy eating now. I am now up 20lbs from my lowest weight. That means 10 lbs in the last 3 weeks alone! Because of the sudden weight gain, I now have my first official stretch marks from this pregnancy. Ah well. It also means that my maternity pants fit a lot better as well. More belly, butt and boobs!

Little baby also had its first set of hiccups today. Felt kinda odd at first but then once I realized what they were, made complete sense! I have been seeing a chiropractor for the last week. Weird hip pain that plagued me 6 years ago started to come back so I wanted to make sure it didn't get too bad. Turns out I have very tight ligaments that are preventing my pelvis from opening up as it should. Even all the ligament softening hormones running through my system aren't helping. Regular chiropractor and massage therapy appointments for me now to help keep everything nice and loose and keep hip pain away.

Keegan and I attended a yoga labour workshop this past weekend. It was neat to practice positions that served a particular purpose while in labour. Combine that with the labour preparation we will have with our doula, I should hopefully have lots of techniques to use in order to have a "pain medication free" birth.

Last week, I had a freak out about my Vbac. I became worried that I wouldn't be strong enough to go through with it. I thought of how disappointed I would be in myself. After being told that it is perfectly normal to doubt myself all of a sudden, and that I was a strong woman who is doing everything in my power to give us the best possible chance at a Vbac, I realized I was being quite silly.

I saw my doctor last week to have her sign medical papers in order to be excused from jury duty and she filled me in on a couple things. Since she was still unhappy with the information I got from the OB during my referral visit a couple months back, she decided to email him just to get a couple clarifications. As long as baby and I are healthy, they have no problem with me going to 42 weeks. If ever I had to be induced for a medical emergency, he will take care of that. He will see me regularly during my last month of pregnancy. He also explained to her that if I didn't want an epidural, that they had to respect my wishes. So yay! She is now more on board with my natural childbirth wishes!

More frequent doctor, OB, chiropractor and massage appointments, the holidays, and my 30th birthday will help the next 10 weeks zoom by! I wonder if I will remember to post updates more frequently?!?

20 chore Tuesday

It has been a while. With only around 10 weeks left until we get to meet our second baby, there is still soooo much to do!

• Here is what I need to finish up at work this week as I prepare for whomever will be replacing me.

1. Make quiz 3.1-4 (8)
2. Plan division for ch 3 (8)
3. Plan order of operations for ch 3 (8)
4. Make list of informal assessments (8)
5. Make list of formal assessments (8)
6. Finish 2.2 puzzle activity (9)
7. Do up quiz for 2.1-2 (9)

• Here is what I still need to do at home in order to finally get these home renos on the go before I am 9 months pregnant!

1. Measurements of Abigail`s room
2. Measurements of nursery
3. Measurements of master bedroom
4. Measurements of hallway.
5. Move things around in nursery for storage
6. Empty bookcase in A's room
7. Empty closet in A's room
8. Take out everything except for bed, dresser, chair and side table from her room

• Give 500

1. Lay everything out in basement
2. Make list
3. Take picture
4. Pack up for delivery
5. Write post :)

Busy week! Throw my very first chiropractor appointment and a visit to the massage therapist in there as well and I'm sure I will be ready to relax this weekend!

The importance of making an informed decision

So instead of simply following my doctor`s advice, I have decided to seek other opinions. Isn't that what we are supposed to do anyways? Are we not encouraged to make informed decisions? How can a decision be informed when you only know part of the information?

I guess I have always wanted a vbac since one of the very first questions I asked the OB on call after Abigail`s birth was if I would need another caesarean next time. I was told "of course not!". And that was the day after she was born. Fast forward two and a half years, and some information I am receiving now is going against that.

During one of my first prenatal appointments, I was made aware of the risks of a vbac. No problem at all. She wanted me to understand the risks in the choice I was making. But what about the alternative? If I wanted, I could have a scheduled cesearian to prevent any of those vbac risks. Ok. But are there not risks with having major abdominal surgery as well? She didn't openly share those details with me. She wanted me to see an OB to go over more details.

Met with an OB based at our local women/baby hospital. Started off by saying that he firmly believes in the mother`s right to make the choice on how to birth their child as long as they know and understand all the risks. We went over the risks of a vbac. Alright, but then he also went over the risks of a 2nd cesearian.

Going over the details, I still stick by my choice to try a vaginal birth after a caesarean. If an emergency comes up, I have no problem with medical intervention. I`m glad that those options are available to me. I have spoken to a 3rd doctor about certain medical interventions and I have been told many are not necessary. I am not making my decisions based on "research I have found online". I am making my decisions based on medical advice given to me by several doctors who have years and years of education and experience behind them. I am not basing my research on medical professionals who are known to be ridiculed by the natural AND medical birth communities for her lack of references and blatant misrepresentation of facts in her articles. Instead, I choose to go with information from these kinds of sites.

• http://www.acog.org/About_ACOG/News_Room/News_Releases/2010/Ob_Gyns_Issue_Less_Restrictive_VBAC_Guidelines
• http://www.ican-online.org/
• http://www.vbac.com/
• http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/cesareanrisks.html
• http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/vbac.html
• http://www.sogc.org/health/pregnancy-vbac_e.asp
• http://www.sogc.org/media/advisories-20090617a_e.asp
• http://www.sogc.org/health/pregnancy-csection_e.asp

In the end, the decision is ultimately up to the mother. We should not be attacked for wanting to know all benefits and risks to all our options.

Frazzled - So much to do yet so little time!

The moment has officially hit me that this baby will be here before we know it. Maybe it's the fact that I only have 25 teaching days left until I start my maternity leave. Christmas break is days after that, then only a couple weeks until our anticipated birthday. With so much going on over the next couple weeks, time will fly by and yet there is still so much to do!

Still need to finish all our holiday gifts. I have finally figured out what I will be giving. Some handmade and some bought. Now to get off social media ad get to work!!

We still need to redo the flooring In all our bedrooms. I really can't set up the baby's room (even though it won't be used for a couple months) until we get everything done. I doubt I will repaint the walls but I may add some new splashes of colour. We'll see I guess.

Still no word from the local midwife program so I'm still on a waiting list. I am attending a big information session do hopefully I will get some news.

I am possibly putting together a local vbac support group. We have had interest shown by a couple moms as well as a local doula who "specializes" in vbacs. Fingers crossed we can get something underway before mid January!

Oh and Abigail can totally fall asleep by herself now. This helps immensely when I am feeling quite tired. We can both go to bed at the same time. We no longer need to wait while sitting next to her for her to fall asleep. But more on that later!

Nothing else to say other than people are saying I'm big. Many think that I am ready to pop any day and are shocked to hear that I still have more than 10 weeks left!!!