Home Birth

I was finally able to find a midwife in Washington who had enough room to fit me in. I am really looking forward to having a midwife, especially as a first birth experience. It will be nice to have someone knowledgable who will be able to be there constantly and not have to leave the room to check on other patients. Chris is just happy that he won't have to argue with any doctors wanting to give me pitocin or an IV.

I'm relieved not to have to go to a hospital, because I feel that hospitals are for people who are either sick or injured. Childbirth, where the woman and baby are healthy, doesn't fit into the "sick or injured" category. I think doctors tend to view childbirth as a medical emergency, which is sad. I realize I'm a little biased though. The downside to all this natural birth preparation and education is that it makes you afraid of OBs and hospitals. Most of the hospital stories I've read are about women who ended up getting unecessary cesareans. But I need to give doctors a little credit--after all, all of my sisters-in-law (on my side) have had hospital births, and none have had c-sections. So I probably shouldn't be so squeamish about it. I am grateful that hospitals are there for when there are complications. All the same, I am still relieved to avoid the whole hospital experience, and hopefully all will go well to keep it that way.

I am very excited about my midwife. I emailed yesterday asking if she was available and she called me last night to talk to me, so that was great. I'm so used to the hospital run-around, and it was so nice to be able to speak to her and set things up so quickly. She is very experienced and has attended over 3,000 births since 1983, so that is pretty cool. I think that is pretty close to Ina May (for those of you who've read her book)! She offers both home births and births at her own facility with a jacuzzi for waterbirths. The jacuzzi is tempting, but I will probably go with the home birth. My parents have graciously agreed to this plan, as we will be staying with them in Washington.

I think it will be a nice experience and I am looking forward to being in such a comfortable environment. After all, when I'm uncomfortable, I'd rather be at home anyway. And it will be nice to have my mom there with me, too. It will be great to share this experience with people I love and trust in an envrionment where I can feel totally relaxed. I can't wait!

Baltimore

Hooray! Chris got a job! Two years ago, we would never have imagined that we would end up in Baltimore, and it's also a surprise to us that Chris won't be a lawyer. He will actually be taking a position with the Social Security Administration as a budget analyst. They seemed happy that he had a law and public policy background, and we feel very blessed to have been given this opportunity. I think he would have done a great job in law, but we are both really grateful that he'll have a 9 to 5 job instead of a 60-80 hour work week at a law firm. It is definitely a big pay difference, but I very much enjoy time with my husband and I think I would have gone crazy having him gone so much. So this works out great for me! Thanks to everyone for their faith and prayers on our behalf. We feel very much that we have been led to this position.

Chris will start on September 16th, which will hopefully give us a little relaxation after the baby comes to spend with friends and family in Washington.

Speaking of the baby, we have a new baby bump picture for 23 weeks. I missed the 5 month mark, and so I'm already well into the 6th, but oh well. I know some women feel like they look fat with the baby bump, but I've gotta say that I'm loving it. Everything seems to be going great. Peter is proving to be a very active little boy. He gives me lots of kicks and nudges throughout the day. I think he's gonna give me a run for my money!

We've been having fun with our Bradley method classes. Our Bradley instructor is very mellow and pragmatic, which is really quite perfect for Chris and myself. The classes are quite comprehensive and they also emphasize nutrition, which is nice. The hard part for me is getting adequate protein. They recommend 80 grams of protein per day, which is a lot for me! I'm used to getting between 50 and 60 grams, and it's hard to fit in that extra 20-30 every day. I'm hoping that my anticipated appetite increase in the third trimester will help me to get 80 grams more comfortably. It seems quite important to get in lots of protein. Harvard did a study that found that in women who consistently had 80 grams of protein per day, there were NO instances of toxemia/preeclampsia. So, 80 grams it is!