UC Home Birth and stuff

Wow, its been a weird couple of weeks for me. I think my hormones have really done a work over on my state of mind. I'll be very translucent here and say I have been having a hard time getting excited about this pregnancy. Just a feeling of blah has been over me this whole time. All I can figure is it has to be hormones because if you know me even a little bit you know that I LOVE babies and LOVE having them. I am sure it will pass soon.

Some have asked about being my own care giver during pregnancy and what that looks like. I'll give you a short history. My first 4 children where born in a hospital, the last two with a fabulous Dr whom I adored. BUT, I always left the hospital with baby in arms feeling like a protocol like another one through the cattle gates and out the door. I was never fulfilled or happy with my experience. I just knew that it had to be easier than that, that surly babies didn't require all that to make it into this world safe.

I have been studying midwifery for over 3 years now, just as a passion of mine. One day when my children are grown I will put my knowledge into practice with others but for now I use it for myself and a few close friends. I marvel at the miracle of the birthing process, our Creator is truly Awesome. A woman's body in unison with her and our Father can deliver a baby beautifully with very little to no assistance.

So upon being pregnant with my 5th baby we lived in an area of CO that was pretty remote and I decided it was my time, we would do this with no outside help. He was born healthy, my biggest yet at 9 pounds and 22 inches in less than 45 minutes. It was my easiest birth, it finally felt "right" for me. The last two have been also home births and both were super quick and easy with labor and delivery on both lasting less than 3 hours.

So how do I know throughout pregnancy that baby is OK? Well. lets start with what we can control and monitor. Many things you can do yourself. After 12 weeks you can pretty much (not always) assume that you are past any place where you might loose the baby. So the first 12 weeks are spent resting, eating well, and praying for baby. Nothing else is needed. After 12 weeks you can begin to keep a journal of your pregnancy. Begin measuring your fundal height and do it regularly to keep an on going tally. Use this tool as a "common sense" guide. If you are 25 weeks and measuring 33 weeks than perhaps you are carrying twins, maybe you are way off on your due date. If you are measuring that large and rarely feel the baby move, you may have to much amnio fluid. Etc, Etc.

Purchase urine sticks. This will help you to chart any problems or lack thereof just as the Dr office would do. A doppler can be rented or purchased. This will be my first year to use a doppler and I am excited about it. Seeings how this is number 8 I wanted a little bit more control over monitoring this pregnancy and a doppler just feels right. I can monitor babies heart throughout pregnancy and delivery. Check your blood presure at least once a month at the grocery store if you dont have a BP monitor.

Common sense and prayer/listening are the key. We live in a knowledge NOW society. Sometimes just waiting out something and listening to your body and trusting The Lord are the answers. Here's an example, I have a friend and we are due at the same time. She has been super sick with sinus and stuff for a few weeks, she went in to get antibiotics and should be fine shortly. But, she began bleeding a few days ago...not alot but enough for her to be sent to bed and wait it out for the rest of the week. If her bleeding gets heavier, then she is probably loosing the baby, but I think she just needs rest due to all the sickness and coughing etc. She will wait it out for the next few days and watch her body to know what is happening with her. She could run to the Dr and have them poke and prod her to give her an answer or she can wait out the week and let her body give her the answer.

Please don't get me wrong, Dr's are important. There are some cases where it is a must to be under Dr care and if that's the case then so be it. Safety of mom and baby is key. Common Sense comes into play when you know something is absolutely wrong and you seek a physicians help. Its a fine line of not jumping to conclusions and worrying over every little thing and knowing when you need help. Listening to our bodies and our Lord will give us that knowledge.

So there you have it, nothing stellar ;-) I will keep my pregnancy journal on the blog as I take stats and asses each month. So you can get a feel of what it looks like played out. One thing notable this time around is I have already felt the baby move. Last night and the night before I was sleeping on my stomach and could feel pouncing around. It was very strange in deed. Hmmm..... wonder what that could mean? LOL