Birth Attendant Home Visit

Lucia and the pediatrician, Dr. Luis Flores, just left. Dr. Lopez didn't come because he's still recovering from his back surgery. That worries me a bit, and I'll discuss it more later on in the post.

Let me start with an on-the-record apology to my family. I slept in a bit this morning and during that time I dreamed that the team came over for this meeting but the house was a wreak and I was so upset and embarrassed. The bed wasn't even made. The playroom was a disaster. And Andrew had decided to revamp the living room configuration into something that was hugely aesthetically displeasing. I was mad at my family and mad at myself for letting it happen and the anger carried right into my real morning. Sorry family, for being so grumpy and impatient and curt this morning. I shouldn't have slept in if I was so concerned about getting the house in shape for visitors. I really wanted the house to look orderly and clean for this visit, because these people are doing something out of the ordinary on our behalf and I wanted them to feel very comfortable with their decision to attend our home birth.

Anyway we got the house cleaned up to my satisfaction, the kids went to Xochi's house to play while we had the meeting, and the meeting itself went quite well. We went over the list of supplies and who was responsible for what items. Then we toured the house. I had thought that we would put the tub in the front entrance but we decided to put it in our walk-in closet. Not as weird as it might sound. It's actually a walk-through closet. We walk through it from our bedroom on the way to our bathroom. Which means that I have shower, toilet and bed all nearby, and it's a nice intimate setting. Not the best for photos unfortunately. But I'm confident my highly motivated husband will figure something out. I'm sure it will include hanging some sort of backdrop. I can see it now... it's 3am, I'm in the throes of labour, and Andrew is hammering nails into the cement walls so he can get nice photos. Which of course I'll be glad we have after the fact, but possibly not so much at the time.

The neighbors also might not be so happy with this plan if I give birth in the middle of the night. But I've put up with a party or two so they can put up with some birthing noises (and some hammering) ;)

The pediatrician seemed quite relaxed with the home birth and with my low-intervention preferences. He thought it would be fine to wait on the vitamin K injection and just watch baby for any sign of hemorrhage. When I mentioned oral vitamin K he put it in my court so I am going to follow up on that. The oral application seems like a good compromise to me, plus ensuring that I have lots of vitamin K rich food in my diet.

About the OB. He had his surgery 2.5 weeks ago. I spoke to him a week later and he was feeling great and said that his recovery was ahead of schedule. He expected to be back in action two weeks after his surgery. So I was surprised to hear that he couldn't be here today. I think he may have overdone it or something in the last few days. Yikes. Of course I wish him a full and speedy recovery for his own sake. And also of course I'm a little concerned about what this might mean for my birth, especially if Wee3 decides to come a little earlier than we expect.

But there's not much I can (/will) do to influence Wee3's birth day and there's nothing I can do to influence Dr. Lopez's recovery. All I can do is continue to pray that God blesses this birth. I think we do have a backup OB, but I don't really like that element of the unknown. That said, Andrew expressed again that he is more than willing to protect our birth plans if things start to go off track without good medical reason.

On Tuesday Lucia will pop by with the hose from the tub so we can make sure that it fits my plumbing. The following Tuesday we will pick up the tub and stash it here in the house.

Before Lucia left I had her check baby's position again. It was the same as last time... at first she thought that baby was breech. Then she really dug in low and felt fairly sure that she had identified a head. I believe it that Baby's head is really low because I am feeling it in my ligaments, muscles and nerves. I sometimes get shooting pains down my thighs and I have to be a little careful how I move and turn otherwise I get very sore in my groin area.

Wee3, we trust you and our Lord to choose the perfect birth date. We will do our best to provide you with a gentle, peaceful, safe entry to this world, and we trust that God is in control even if the circumstances aren't exactly as we planned. We love you so much and we can't wait to meet you!

Just a Teeny Bit Worried

I spoke to Lucia the doula this week, trying to organize a gathering at our house with all the care providers so they can see the space, so I can meet the pediatricians, so Andrew can meet everybody, and so any outstanding questions can be answered. But Dr. Lopez had his surgery on Wednesday, which is great, but means we'll have to put off the big meeting for a couple of weeks. Which brings us quite close to full term.

So I'm feeling a little uneasy leaving this so relatively late. Also, Lucia said that Dr. Lopez had mentioned that the baby was breech when he saw me and she wants to take some action in that department. She wants me to crawl around for 5 minutes three times a day, and she wants us to come by so she can use her rebozo technique to encourage the baby to turn. All very good stuff, of course. But the fact that she is concerned gives me a tiny bit of stress. Add to this that I cannot tell what position the baby is in, which is so frustrating! I have been poking and prodding the baby and probably annoying him or her like crazy but I still can't find a head or a bum.

I'm also a little frustrated, because it's not like I spend my days slouched back on the sofa. I am conscious of my posture, and at yoga we do a lot of hands and knees and downward dog, both of which are positions which are recommended to encourage a baby to turn head down.

So I will do my crawling, I will do inversions, I will continue going to the pool, and today we are hopefully going to get over to Lucia's to do the rebozo thing.

Doctor Visit

I saw Dr. Lopez today. All is well. Blood pressure 100/60, heart rate 67, no edema, reflexes good. He palpated and listened for the heartbeat with a pinard horn (see photo)! Baby's was running at 158. Was head up and pointing to my right today.

I asked what he thought of my birth plan and he said again that it's all good and whatever I want is good with him. But then something else we talked about made me realize that he hasn't actually looked at it yet. Once I get back from Canada we'll have a meeting with him, the doula and the two pediatricians we would like to have on call, and work through any concerns.

He wrote me letters confirming my weeks gestation and health in case the airline requires them. And that's it til I get back!

Today I also had a terrific conversation with Abigail, our midwife for Eva's birth. Still four and a half years later she remembers so much about us and the birth itself! She is going to request the hospital records so we can go through all the details of Eva's birth. I think it will be so interesting!! We did talk a little about it. Suctioning is not something she does routinely so she probably didn't suction Eva and cord cutting is not something she rushes so it probably didn't happen until a little while after Eva was born. I'm so pleased to know that Eva got her full complement of blood! Andrew and I were talking about the kids' births the other day and while he doesn't remember a lot of the details he does remember noticing just how gentle both Abigail and Sari were with the babies. Makes me feel so happy to know they were treated so gently and respectfully. I have been so blessed!!

Another interesting thing is that she is on the committee for the birth centre that is going up in south Winnipeg. I gave her my email and asked her to keep me in the loop. They will definitely need a childbirth educator so there's an employment opportunity! ;)

Prenatal Class

I enjoyed today's class a lot. I enjoyed the exercise/relaxation part (and the massage part, naturally) more than yesterday. Now that I knew what to expect, I didn't feel like I was fumbling around trying to keep up at an aerobics class.

The information part was a natural childbirth movie which I thought was quite good. Covered a lot of bases in a short period of time. I was glad that the first-timers at class had the opportunity to be exposed to the many options and variations and to see what a natural birth can be like. Quite a bit of time was spent going over how the baby comes through the pelvis, and it really struck me just how much work birth is for the baby too! I'll be cheering this baby on when our time comes. It's a team effort! I also want to pay specific attention (assuming I have the presence of mind) to the movements of the baby throughout the labour and birth process.

Check out this cool animation of childbirth (it is not graphic):



Lucia and I went over my birth plan today. She referred to herself as a doula so from now on that is how I will refer to her. I believe she is certified as a nurse-midwife and I wanted to acknowledge that, but given my understanding of her role in the birth process, "doula" is the best fit. I loved it when she said that, to her, the labouring mother is a queen. Yessssssss.

Anyway she said she was completely in agreement with all of my desires. She thought I might have some work to do with the OB regarding cervical checks. She has two pediatricians in mind. One is a woman who lived in England for a time. She will most likely be ok with all of my requests pertaining to newborn care. However she works at the seguro social (public hospital) and wouldn't be able to miss work if my birth happens during her shift. The other pediatrician might be more resistent to my requests. I think Lucia was planning on talking to them very soon so I might know where we're at in short order. The good news is that they both speak English so I'd be able to forward English language literature to support my requests.

Care Situation

I met with a midwife today. I believe she is the only one practicing here in Torreon. She also gives natural childbirth classes. It was a good meeting.

I feel that she is coming from the same place as me in terms of trusting birth and God's design for our bodies. She will attend me, but not as a midwife in the sense that I understand midwifery, because there will also be a doctor there whose role will be the second stage (when the baby emerges).

That said, I haven't met the doctor she recommended yet, so maybe- hopefully- I can have a great, trusting relationship with him! She said that he is fairly sensitive and open. I will make an appointment with him in the next couple of weeks.

I have met the other OB she works with and had a pretty good impression of him. I know a woman who had two babies with him and was delighted with both births. But Lucia also told me a story which disturbed me. At one birth the nurse had forgotten to put the scissors on the instrument tray. And he felt like it was so important to cut the cord quickly that he tore it with his fingers! Eww. He is interested in natural birth but doesn't appear to really believe in it. Perhaps he sees it more as a novelty. Or another angle for getting patients? This despite the fact that Lucia said he has attended some wonderful natural births with her.

We talked about my options for the location of the birth and they seem to be pretty open. She recommended a number of hospitals, including one in which we could have a water birth. I will definitely investigate that option further as I think it can be an opportunity to have a very gentle birth for the mother, and for gentle transition for the baby. It also allows the mother to move around more easily than on dry land and therefore help the baby to move through the pelvis more easily. And of course it is a wonderful comfort measure to many moms.

I would also like to look into the option of home birth. I have some interest in that though I'm not married to the idea either. All the ducks would really have to be in a row for it to be the right choice, I think.

I have so many questions for the OB I choose. I pray he is receptive to my wishes. I am however prepared for some uphill battles. Praying that I can be convincing about those things with which he doesn't agree initially!

Lucia gave me some homemade- from her own trees- orange blossom tea to help me sleep better. I am having a cup right now. We'll see how it goes! Last night went slightly better. I brought an extra pillow to bed and propped my legs up on it and that gave me a bit of relief from the restless feelings I've been having.

I'm feeling pretty tired these last days, but it could be the poor sleep that's getting to me. Having some nausea, but very minor. Overall, feeling good!