25 weeks, 0 days: Checking In

Wow, I didn't realize how long I'd neglected to update this blog! My other blog has been going through a flurry of activity lately, so I guess this one got shoved onto the back-burner.

Things are well! We saw our midwife (one of them, actually, as we have two) last Tuesday and had a ton of fun with her. This is the first time we've seen this midwife as a midwife - last time we saw her in-office (last pregnancy) she was still a student/apprentice midwife. Now she's licensed and out on her own! Pretty cool! And she does a great job. We're hoping that both midwives will be able to make it to our birth.

Speaking of birth, our birth team is finally shaping up! We have two doulas (tentatively, still working out details) who happen to be two of my very favorite people in the Phoenix birth community, and I am incredibly excited about that!! We also have a toddler-chaperone.... but only if the birth takes place on a night or weekend, LOL! So we'll hope for a due-date baby (which is a Saturday).

I have started doing my pregnancy exercises in earnest (tailor sitting, kegels, pelvic rocks, squatting) and am trying to get a walk in when possible (it's a lot harder with a toddler in tow!). I'm trying to practice the principles of optimal fetal positioning too, so I'm doing my best to sit on the floor or my birth ball and to lean forward while sitting. I do NOT want a posterior or breech baby birth!! I also dug out my Hypnobirthing CD and have started listening to it at bedtime. (This is on the principle of, "Since it didn't work last time, I guess I should do more of it!" LOL) Seriously, did relaxation really work for anyone out there during labor? I tried to practice relaxation during my last pregnancy, but it all went out the door with the first serious contraction. Well, maybe it will work better this time... I'll let you know. After all, I really do have a horribly hard time with meditation of any kind (my mind starts making grocery lists), so maybe it's just me.

I have been reading "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way" and enjoying it. Oddly enough, I never got around to reading it last time. One interesting thing in it that has gotten me thinking is its emphasis on high protein intake. I've been contemplating the "protein vs. carbs" debate and thinking that quite possibly we Westerners have gotten it all wrong by focusing on a high-carb diet. If you look at it, most of our diets are extremely high-carb. I don't know how it got that way (possibly a combination of lobbying by the grain industry and the low-fat diet craze), but it seems to be true. However, I have noted the following:

- High protein seems to be much better for morning sickness. Even now, at 25 weeks, I get nauseated after eating a high-carb snack/meal (like waffles or fruit smoothies), but do not get nauseated after eating a high-protein snack/meal or a combination protein/carb meal.

- I feel better after eating a protein-heavy meal (eggs, cottage cheese) than a carb-heavy meal (cereal, waffles, toast, etc.). I have more energy and don't tend to crash and burn like I do with the other.

- My mom is using a low-carb-ish diet to control her high blood pressure.

- High protein intake is one of the key components of the Brewer Diet, which is used during pregnancy to prevent pre-eclampsia

Anyhow, this isn't a pitch for low-carb diets... After all, my DH made himself good and sick on a low-carb diet (apparently one's body can go through a really weird reaction if one eliminates carbs, which he did). And when I tried to do that diet with him, I lasted.... hmm, maybe 48 hours? I'm definitely not a no-carb or even super-low-carb person. It's just a thought that our incredibly and maybe overly-high-carb diets (focusing on processed grains to the exclusion of higher protein and/or fruit/vegetable intake) might not be the best idea after all. Thoughts, anyone?

Moving on from diet.... Other than that, I am doing well! My nausea improved once again after my chiropractor's appointment on Monday, so I am a believer in chiropractic treatment for nausea (I'll post about that soon). We are keeping busy with church and home improvement projects, as well as finishing our yard project. We are toying with the idea of throwing a "come see the house" party, which would be our first ever, and are also getting ready for a flock of family birthdays/anniversaries and more houseguests. June will be a busy month!

I hope that you are all doing well! I will do my best to check in more often. Have a great weekend, all!