Another milestone, hurray!!!
Things are moving along just fine. I can occasionally feel baby flutter, and my nausea is usually workable, though not pleasant (especially post-noon). Yesterday was a rotten day, nausea-wise, but most days are at least semi-okay, at least until afternoon!! I picked up my second-to-last prescription of Zofran today, and realized that unless I want to fight my insurance again, I need to immediately start cutting down on my dosage so that I can make it last. I'll probably start on that tonight or tomorrow. Wish me luck!
My mom heads for home on Sunday, so I will be on my own. Am I ready? No, but more ready than I was a month ago. We'll just have to see how it goes.
Right now I'm facing two questions. Question #1: Do I really want to get an ultrasound? I chose not to have one with DS, and loved doing it that way. I really don't want an ultrasound. However, having taken so many drugs with this baby (legal drugs, folks, legal!), I am a little nervous - and I don't like surprises. If anything was wrong, I would rather have time to prepare my heart rather than having a birth-day surprise. So I'll have to think it over and make a decision - within a couple of weeks, as I think they're usually done around 18 weeks.
Question #2 - Do we want to take childbirth classes? I'm kind of torn. On the one hand, the classes we took last time (hypnobirthing) just did not cut it for me. Worse than useless, actually. I could really use some good labor-coping techniques (trying to imagine running through a field of flowers SO did not work!!). And I love hanging out with pregnant mums and CBE teachers and talking birth! Every week, too!! Hurray!! On the other hand.... I've spent the last 2 years of my life doing massive research into birth, and I don't know if I want to spend all that time and energy into sitting through classes (and paying money to do so!) that talk about the basics that I already know. And, a much bigger impediment, we have to pay for childcare for DS now if we want to attend classes - which would be about three hours per week, which would really add up. Quickly. Let's see.... $6/hour x 3 hours/class x 12 classes.... That comes to $216, plus the $300-400 for the class. Yikes!! I'll have to think on that one.
Also.... I'm hoping to get either (or possibly both) pregnancy photography and/or birth photography done. I wish I had with my first - I really regret having only some dark, bad-quality home pics of our pregnancy/birth with DS. I'd love to have better pics, especially since we're (right now) planning on this being our last. So that's another expense. Thankfully our region has a surfeit of free/low-cost doulas right now due to last month's training (the one I had to miss, *sob*!), so I don't think our doula(s) will be a big expense.
My mom asked yesterday if she was invited to my birth, and I had to tell her no. I know she was disappointed, and I felt badly about that.... But for some reason, there is nothing more repulsive to me than the thought of one's mother at one's birth. I know tons of people do it, but.... I'd rather invite our entire church and bystanders on the street! LOL So hopefully she won't stay too upset about that.
Well, enough rambling! I'd better get back to work. Thank you all for your sweet comments on my article! I really appreciate the support!
Love to all,
Diana
I didn't want my mom at my births either -- but mostly because I knew she'd freak out from being so nervous.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Hypnobirthing goes -- I know a few people who have taken and/or taught both Hypnobirthing & Hypnobabies, and they all prefer Hypnobabies and have gotten good results from it. Hypnobabies also has a home-study course, so you wouldn't have to pay babysitting.
Whatever you choose, make sure that you don't do what I did with my 2nd birth and say, "Yeah, I know all that -- I remember it from last time, so I don't have to think about it or work on it or practice or whatever *this* time." I think that practicing relaxation was helpful in my first labor, and I didn't practice it in my second labor and had a *very* hard time not tensing up during contractions, which I think contributed to the greater degree of pain I had the second time around. That is one thing that going to a birth class will help you in, even if it's only psychological -- "I'm paying all this money, I'd better do it right!" kind of thinking; and the weekly classes do kind of keep your mind on things, and makes you more likely to do the relaxation exercises between-times.
-Kathy