I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon- the only one so far Chase hasn't been able to come to. It'll be weird not having him there but really I spend less than 5 minutes with the Doctor at these monthly visits, so he's not missing much.
The appointments go like this: Doctor: "Hi! Everything OK?" Me: "Yep" Doctor: "Great". She'll use the doppler- find the heart beat for a few seconds- then we're done. That's about it. Oh yeah, I have to pee in a cup at the beginning too.
I'm not quite sure when to tell the OB that I don't want an epidural. I just feel like she may think I'm a little crazy- and I may be. I might tell her today or maybe next time. If figure now is better than waiting until I'm in labor and dropping that little surprise in her lap. I've forced Chase to watch "Baby's First Day" on TLC> this program only shows labor to birth and then a little blurb of family a week after. Chase now thinks birth's with epidurals are boring and he supports my decision to labor without meds. He told me he wants me to scream at him and yell and "have my head spin around". LOL.
Here's what "Sprout" is up to:
Sprout is now more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango) . Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing. We're getting to the point where Sprout is considered a "viable" fetus. 23 weeks is still pretty early to survive but it is possible. Wikipedia tells me
"According to data years 2003-2005, 20 to 35 percent of babies born at 23 weeks of gestation survive, while 50 to 70 percent of babies born at 24 to 25 weeks, and more than 90 percent born at 26 to 27 weeks, survive.[24] " ] .
Here's me this AM:
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| Kaiser felt left out. |
I'm sure you are bombarded with unwanted advice about the whole natural birth thing, but still, I can't help myself, but throw my $0.02 in: hire a doula. Once you are in labor, the pain can render you almost slightly delirious, and all those things you read about positions that help ease the pain fly out the window...and the hubster is probably just as useless. But my doula was supremely confident, and during each stage helped me get into another position, adjusted the height of the hospital bed, put a pillow in the right place, and told us what to do...while the nurses and doctor just stood and stared dumbfounded. When it came time to push, I was on all fours, the doctor was positive, but admitted that he was a little out of sorts, since he wasn't used to checking the baby's position from that perspective (upside down)...but it all turned out well. Doctors and nurses are trained to get that baby out with or without you...doulas are trained to help you get that baby out. And she stayed with me the whole time...didn't leave the room to go elsewhere and deal with someone else. Anyhoo, very exciting stuff! Congrats! Britt - www.ProjectMeHappy.com
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your advice! I actually haven't gotten any from people because everyone I know thinks I'm out of my mind. I've been looking into a doula but financially I'm not sure. I've considered getting my husband a birth coach book- I'm hoping that he stays as cool, calm, and collected as he usually is in stressful situations!
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