Nanny to Mommy

I am 29 weeks pregnant today, officially in my 3rd trimester as of last week. The baby is about the size of squash, either acorn or butternut depending on who you ask. Or even a small pumpkin according to my side bar ticker. Either way, baby seems to be about 2 1/2 lbs and around 15 inches long. :)



I have been having a little trouble to keep up with blogging as of lately and that's mainly due to the holidays, but also slightly due to the fact that I had my 28 week check-up on Monday and besides having SweetPea there plus having to keep her entertained while I took the the 1-hour glucose test again, I found out that we had until delivery to pay $3,000 and then they took my blood pressure...

My husband has a plan to pay for delivery (why they didn't tell us sooner, I have no idea), so that's not a problem, but I still have to go back earlier than scheduled to make sure my blood pressure comes down. Hubby is on vacation next week for his birthday (he's turning the big 3-0) so I won't have to bring SweetPea this time. I think that stresses me out when I have to bring her as well.

I have been doing a great job about my weight but I have noticed I gained the most the week before my appointment. If you have been following my blog for a little bit, then you know I had pre-eclampsia with SweetPea and my doctor told me at my 24 week check-up that although controlling my weight can try to help, I am high risk just because I had it before. She said she has seen just as many under weight women have pre-eclampsia and it effects all women of all sizes. There really is no pre-exsisting conditions that determine it, although over weight women are at higher risk of developing it.

So I am a nervous wreck. I did discover that second hand smoke can contribute to high blood pressure. Just thought I would throw that out there for anyone reading this that knows someone who smokes.

I do have some swelling and have been having some headaches as well. I really hope I don't get pre-eclampsia again and have to go on bed rest this early.

For anyone interested, we are still team green, but I have been having lots of dreams lately that I'm holding a little boy, so who knows. :)

I will try and update after my appointment. And I hope you all are having a Happy New Year so far! :)

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People tell me I'm crazy because I don't want to find out the gender until birth and that because I don't want to have an epidural, I'm stupid because why would I take all that unnecessary pain when I don't have to. Well I have done my research. And this is why I have decided that I don't want to have an epidural this time around. I feel it is the mother's choice. And as long as you make an educated decision for your needs, then you are doing what is right for you. This is just why I have decided to go down this path this time around.

1. Epidurals can lead to sleepy babies which can be damaging to breastfeeding. I recently came across an article from Medical News Today that basically said just this. Sweet Pea was a super sleepy baby and it caused her to have a lazy latch which made it even more difficult considering she had lip tie. She would constantly fall asleep at the breast. And re-latching was uncomfortable, because you know being a first-time breastfeeding mom and all. Thank goodness we were able to make it 14 months, but I feel it could have been an easier process.

2. Back spasms...yikes! Reading all the stories on BabyCenter and WhatToExpect about other moms who had this happen to them, terrifies me. What if I'm not as lucky the second time around? This is what brought my husband on board with the no epidural ruling. He has back spasms periodically and so he knows I don't want to have to deal with that mess.

3. Risk being disconnected from labor because I can't feel contractions. PLUS being too numb can make you have trouble pushing which can lead to a possible cesarean. And I am terrified of c-sections.

4. Prove it to myself. "You won't win a medal for not having an epidural." True. But I feel it will be an empowering experience. I dilated to 9cm without an epidural when I was in labor with Sweet Pea and I felt that was brag worthy. Now my intentions are not to be able to brag, I just want to see if I can do it. I felt the ring of fire, I was getting into that mind set of just going to push the baby out, then the anesthesiologist came in. Machines failed me last time and so did medical intervention. The nurses said I wasn't even in labor because the machine wasn't picking up my contractions. I knew I was, but because I was a first time mom the nurses ignored me. I trust my body more than machines or medicine because of this.
Someone posted this comment on TheBump and I just loved it: "Why go through the pain if you don't have to?" "Why cook dinner when you could just get takeout or go to a restaurant? Why not watch TV instead of going to the gym? Because I like the challenge too."

5. Big needle in my back? No thanks! I was scared of this with Sweet Pea. And that's my main fear this time.

I was induced due to complications of pre-eclampsia with Sweet Pea. I want more than anything to be able to go into labor on my own. Going into this with the knowledge I have, I feel I can do it. More than anyone pressuring me to do what they want, I feel like I'm making an educated decision. Call me crazy, but our bodies were designed for this. I'm having a hospital birth, so if there are any complications my doctor will be right there. I'm learning that exercise before hand and breathing are the most important things to help me through this so I have been amping up my cardio. I know how to push this time, so I think I can beat my previous time of 45 minutes.

What are your thoughts on a non-epidural birth? What do you think about a mother's choice during labor? Tell me about your birth story, I'd love to hear it!

Welcome to the October 2013 Carnival of Natural Mothering! 

This article is a part of the Carnival of Natural Mothering hosted by GrowingSlower, Every Breath I Take, I Thought I Knew Mama, African Babies Don't Cry, and Adventures of Captain Destructo. This month's topic is Natural Birth Choices. Be sure to check out all of the participants' posts through the links at the bottom of this page.

Bloggers, visit GrowingSlower to sign up to be a part of next month's carnival. 

So at the doctor they said if she decided to come they wouldn't stop her. I want her to come when she's ready although I'm hoping she comes a little early because I'm miserable. We finished her nursery today I'll post pictures tomorrow. :) Here's how baby is doing:





Been looking into labor and breast feeding a lot. I hope she's able to do it. I'm trying to go into everything realistically. I don't really have a birth plan except I DO want an epidural and I DON'T want a c-section unless absolutely necessary. And I want to breast feed but I realize that for one reason or another we may not be able to. But I'm going to try my best to stick with it and hope for the best.

When I went to the doctor they put me on bed rest and mentioned Toxemia/pre-eclampsia. So I started doing a little research on it. Here seem to be the symptoms of Toxemia(the ones with the check marks are the ones I have): elevated blood pressure ✓ , protein in the urine (find out Monday), bloating of the hands ✓ , feet ✓ and face ✓ due to fluid retention, and hyper-reflexia. And here are the ones of Pre-Eclampsia: high blood pressure ✓ , protein in urine (find out Monday), water retention ✓ , fatigue ✓ , abdominal pain ✓ , headaches, nausea, the inability to tolerate light that is bright ✓ , blurred vision ✓-sometimes, shortness of breath ✓-sometimes, and infrequent urination. So I'm a little nervous about the results for Mondays appointment. But we'll see. Apparently they usually induce or tell you just to stay on bed rest depending on how bad it is. Please keep us in your thoughts.

Ok that's it for now. I still don't have my thank you cards done but I did make a big dent in them. :)