Belly Shots!

The last pictures I posted were 25 Weeks and 4 Days (02.29.2008)! In the giant red shirt... LOL Here are some from 26 Weeks and 6 Days (03.10.2008), 28 Weeks and 2 Days (03.20.2008), and 29 Weeks and 4 Days (Today, 03.29.2008).

Books

Recommended Books

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
The Baby Book by William Sears, Martha Sears
The Nursing Mother's Companion: Revised Edition by Kathleen Huggins
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
Pregnancy Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide by Penny Simkin
Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper

There are tons of books that I'd love to get, but the ones that I really would like are:

The Birth Book by William Sears, Martha Sears
The Breastfeeding Book by Martha Sears, William Sears
The Attachment Parenting Book by William Sears, Martha Sears
The Vaccine Book by Robert Sears

I'd also like:

The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
The Baby Book by William Sears, Martha Sears

I know I'm repeating things here, over and over again, but just trying to be thorough.

I've heard that "The Baby Book" is better for first time parents, but I still don't think it's that bad of an idea. I consult these guys (and girl) website a lot for information on medicines, etc, but I didn't realize they had a huge chain of books. I thought I'd stick with a theme here and just go the "Sears" route. They seem to know what they are talking about and the majority of their books have been recommended, even by my naturalbirth community.

We won't be going the home birth route, but I will be trying my hardest for a natural birth at the hospital. With Maddox, I had to have the antibiotics for Group B Strep because I hadn't been tested for it yet and after about 15-ish hours of labor, I gave into the pitocin (thanks to my grandmother's scare tactics).

Hopefully all will go well. I'm praying that Faye turns around and is head down and that I will not end up having a C-Section. That's at the far opposite end than a natural birth. If I can avoid that, my next step is to find alternative, natural ways for labor progression in case I stall again. But who knows if I actually did stall. Maybe that's just what the hospital told me to try and talk me into having pitocin. They kept bugging me about it.

Things to talk about with Katherine

I had two posts of things that I wanted to talk to Katherine about and things I wanted to ask her about but I deleted both to make this one. More organized and whatnot...

So first of all - Birth Plan things that I KNOW for sure:

• Clayton and Maddox positively in the room.
• Other "guests" allowed in will be me my mother, sister, and Jess (for pictures).
• Basically want to try any birthing techniques that she can recommend - anything besides sitting/laying in bed. And no restrictions on movement, etc.
• Would like to be able to have both photographs and film done and be able to play music. Probably Laurie Berkner for Maddox LOL
  
• No IV, no pain meds, no pitocin. I want NO medications if I do not need to have any.
• Monitoring to be External, Intermittently.
• I do NOT want to give birth on my back.
• No episiotomy.
• I'd like to push when I feel the urge, but would like coaching. Want the baby to be born on it's own - no pulling the baby out.
• Clayton to catch the baby if he wants to.
  
• I'd like the baby to be places on me immediately, skin-to-skin contact with warm blanket, no separation, postpone procedures till after bonding and breastfeeding, and I'd like to breastfeed before the placenta is out.
• Cord to stop pulsating before clamping and cutting.
• Clayton to cut the cord if he wants to.
• I'd like the placenta to come out on it's own.
• Procedures performed in front of Clayton and/or I.
• Clayton to be with baby if there are any complications.
• No in hospital immunizations (if they are done).
• No bathing the baby.
• No formula, sugar water, pacifiers, or artificial nipples.
• Room in, no separation (unless I ask for it).

Things I'd like to get more information on:

• Birthing equipment
• Labor & Delivery positions
• Eye Drops - why would my baby need them?
• Vitamin K - Injection vs Orally, why does my baby need it?
• What can we do (without medical intervention) if my labor stalls?
• Can you run out of amniotic fluid, how long can I safely labor after my water breaks, will I NEED pitocin if it's been too long - how long is too long?
• Will you be at the hospital for all of my labor?
• How likely is it that you deliver my baby?
• Will my nurses be regular hospital nurses?
• What kind of emergencies can you handle, when would an OB/GYN be called in?
  

I think that is it. Of course I might think of other stuff, but for now, that's it. I'll have to print this out before my next appointment and bombard my midwife! At least she's a midwife, she might think I'm a little less crazy than an OB/GYN would!

Glucose Results

Katherine called me this after noon and said that she got my blood sugar results back and that she would recommend going and eating some Ice Cream!

So yay! No Gestational Diabetes!

Hiccups

Miss Faye has been getting the hiccups a lot lately. I felt them so much with Maddox, but until the past week, I have not felt her get the hiccups once!

No news on the Glucose test. I'll have to call on Wednesday. I don't know if she just didn't get around to calling or if everything is normal, so she was just waiting till our next appointment to say something. I guess I excepted her to call either way. So we'll see on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll remember to call!

3 Hour Glucose

Had my 3 hour glucose test this morning. We went into the hospital and I got my first blood draw (a whole flipping vile each time!) down around 8AM and drank the solution (that was worse than the orange stuff from the 1 hour) around 8:15AM. Clayton and I had to sit in a waiting area for 3 hours and I went back to the lab every hour (9:15, 10:15, and 11:15) to have my blood drawn. Twice from the same vein in each arm and I now look like I shoot up. The second time in each arm hurt. I'm a pro at having my blood taken. It never hurts even a bit, but the second time around on each arm was not fun. The right arm, she tried to take from a different vein the second time around but couldn't get any blood out of it. She dug in and out, turning from side to side and digging, almost the entire needle, into my arm. Then she had to try again and did so from the same vein they took from the first time they did my right arm. My right arm actually has a track mark on it about 1/4 inch long.

I won't be getting any results back until at least Monday. Hopefully Katherine will call me Monday to let me know whether or not I passed. The chick in the lab said the results would be faxed over to Katherine's office within a couple hours, but Katherine is only in the office Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

The sugar drink did not make Faye super hyper. Didn't really slow her down much either. I was incredibly tired though. My system just crashed and I could barely keep awake for the 3 hours. I tried really hard to read a book. I did pretty good considering!

Clayton and I ate at McDonald's afterwards. I was starving because I hadn't had anything to eat in 15 hours. Clayton didn't either, but he didn't have to drink that horrible drink! I ate some fries, at a horribly greasy double cheeseburger (YUCK at the grease) and had to walk, briskly, to the restroom because I thought I was going to vomit. Several moments of severe nausea and "bad water" (as Maddox would say), I got 3 really good burps out, with out puking, and then I seemed to be OK! I'm sure that fasting, sugar drink, and trapping air in my stomach by slamming greasy McDonald's was definitely the cause! I was almost freaking out that Maddox (the poor boy) might have gotten me sick again!

But that's all for now and I'll update again soon! Most likely when I get my test results back!

It's staying...

* Fever - anywhere between 100-104.4 (randomly jumpy with or without medication... totally weird)
* Shaking Chills (usually associated with the higher fevers - I'm calling the doc office again about this one)
* Cough (getting worse)
* Nasal Congestion (runny and stuffed)
* Vomiting (once today and once yesterday)
* Eye Irritation (possibly "pink eye" again)


Maddox has an infection in each ear and is on antibiotics. The doctor said that he *could* have strep, that his throat is a little red, but she didn't want to do the test because even if he did have it, the antibiotics for his ears would take care of the strep.

I looked at different symptoms on webmd and couldn't really get any information that I wanted. It said that ear infections can cause a fever, but they didn't say a "high fever" and they didn't say anything about what type of fever. Also, they did not list any type of symptoms beyond ear pain, not wanting to lay down, etc. I asked Maddox about his ears earlier today and yesterday because he had been sticking his finger in one of his ears the day before, but he said that his ears felt fine.

As for Strep - the only symptom he has of any that are listed is the fever over 101. Otherwise he hasn't had any throat issues. He has had a decreased appetite, like when he was sick before, but hasn't complained about the swallowing process or anything like that.

I'm nervous that he has pneumonia again. He has all the same symptoms and is coughing a lot again (except he hasn't complained of any body aches yet).

I guess all we can do is wait to see how he feels after 24 hours on his antibiotics. At least we'll know by Monday and will be able to bring him back in if we need to.

Perked Up

He slept until a little after 3PM, only waking up once for about 20 minutes, about half way through. He didn't want to talk to anybody. I did get him to shake his head 'yes' that his eyes were still bothering him, but the verdict was still out on the belly ache. Bepaw Kirby and Grandma Diane got home at almost the same time and he only started talking after I asked him if he wanted the Cadbury Egg that I got from Grandma. I gave him my egg, he ate almost all of it and then told Aunty that it was a big egg so he couldn't eat it all. He got quite talkative so I asked him if he'd like to stay home tonight, or if he'd like to go over to his cousins house. He could barely say it, but he got out "my cousins house today". So I sent him on his way with his blanket, pillow, and a water bottle full of ginger ale. The only issues I am/was concerned with were 1. Getting the other kids sick and 2. Too much stimulation for Maddox. I'm sure Aunty will lock all the other kids up in a bedroom if Maddox isn't feeling too great.

A couple more pictures - Sorry if sickie pictures make you sad, he is just so precious.

Sooooo Sleepy




He's so sweet!

Round 2 of the Sickies

Well, his temperature was rising, his cheeks and ears are very rosey, and he was half passed out on the couch. After Mr. NoNap yesterday (spent 2 hours in bed and didn't fall asleep and was bouncing off the walls the rest of the day), I knew something was up when he was laying on the couch at 11AM looking tired.

He told me that he had "bad water" and at first I was confused, but I asked him if he his tummy hurt and he said yes. Because I have a weird family - Bad water = excessive saliva that rushes out of our cheeks just prior to puking. I know that, at least, my sister, myself, and Maddox get this every single time we puke. A little later he showed me the inside of his glistening mouth and told me "bad water" again. A couple minutes later, he's throwing up.

I made him drink some ginger ale/watered down pink lemonade and then he wanted to lay down. Now he is passed out on the couch. Hopefully he stays that way for awhile (NO PUKING!) and hopefully the poor little guy feels better after he wakes up.

Like I said in the last post, he has been quite healthy for the past 1.5-2ish weeks, but he hadn't totally gotten over everything (still coughing and has had that low grade fever). Hopefully this time is doesn't last as long. :(