1st appointment for baby.
Just got home from my first appointment for this baby. It's such a relief to see that little one wiggling around on the sonogram and to know everything's okay so far. Such a weight of responsibility I've been feeling lately! I really love my dr. She and the nurse both were like, "Erin! We were so excited to see you on the charts today! Yay! Another baby! Can't believe it's been 2 years..." etc, etc. That was nice to be remembered and so welcomed back.
Looks like baby is more than 8 weeks along. That puts the due date at November 21. I'm thinking of going naturally this time. Freaks me out but I had a not good epidural experience with Violet, plus got left with a $2500 bill just for the epidural. Not something I'm interested in again (although it was a strange circumstance and the dr promises that it should never cost that much again). I am scared about going without the pain relief but looking forward to learning about methods to help and just tackling the challenge. Helpful suggestions welcome :). Probably going to check out the Bradley Method since my dr recommended it. Also looking forward to watching the documentary "The Business of Being Born" for some inspiration (hopefully!?!)...thanks for the recommendation Gwen, if you are reading ;).
Dru came to the appointment with me and took me out to lunch "because we needed to celebrate". What a guy.
Comments
I trained (but never ended up practicing) as a doula when Aidan was a few years old. Am a bit of a "birth junkie", lol. If you are considering natural childbirth, I think the first thing I would recommend is considering asking a doula to be with you during your labor. I know, it's often an initially off-putting idea, especially to Dad, but if you look at www.DONA.org, you'll find some great info and stats on doulas. I also have a friend in your area that I can ask for some recommendations ... I'm almost positive she used a doula with her 3 girls.
Other resources I highly highly recommend are "The Birth Book" by Dr. Sears, and "The Birth Partner" by Penny Simkin. The latter is actually primarily for Dads (or doulas or whomever is going to be with you at the birth), but I found it REALLY helpful for me to read as well when I was pregnant, to jump start a lot of important conversations as my due date/delivery approached. If you don't buy anything else, this is the one book to buy, imo.
I know we don't know each other really well, but please feel free to ask me about any and all of this. You can ask any of my friends, they'll tell you that one of my very favorite things to do is talk about pregnancy/birth and pass along whatever I've learned to my pregnant friends! Don't hesitate to email me ... seriously!
God bless you guys on this exciting journey towards being the parents of TWO!
I have heard really good things about the Bradley method and my friends who went that way made it natural. A friend really encouraged me to have Scripture verses near by to meditate on.
Yay! Let's hear it for babies!! How fun.
So, all natural, huh? I did bring three of mine into the world sans pain meds. Not really by choice, more by circumstance; rapid deliveries. Ouchie, ouchie. I don't have any suggestions other than don't try to hold back the cussin'. Let it out.
See you in July. ;)
P.S. Cuss if you want... it's a good excuse.
Kay