Why Did I Choose A Midwife?

This is not my midwife.

I think when people hear the word 'midwife', they think of only home births and no pain relief. Another misconception is that they are primarily hippy women that burn incense, listen to Yanni and don't shave their armpits. While I am not privvy to the personal preference of every midwife, this is not true on the whole. My friend who has a midwife is having a home birth, while Chris and I are choosing to deliver in a hospital. I might even have drugs. I'm not sure if the midwife delivering will shave her armpits or not, but I don't really care, as long as she safely extracts that child from my womb. A few people have asked us why we chose to have a midwife instead of a obstetrician or doctor. Since it's been a common question, I decided to post it for anyone that was wondering. Keep in mind much of this is going on what my friends that have or have had midwives say, since this is our first kid, and therefore our first midwife experience... 1. At the moment I don't even have a family doctor! There's a pretty mean shortage here in BC, unfortunately. That was my first concern: was who was going to deliver our baby? I didn't love the feeling of having a strange (though qualified) doctor I have never seen prodding around 'down there'. 2. Better service. Midwives take more time at each appointment with you to answer questions and are thorough in telling what's going on (compared to a walk-in clinic). The first time I was at the walk-in to 'confirm' our pregnancy, the doctor basically just said, 'Yep, you're pregnant now go take these blood tests'. I thought it would be great to have the doctor be excited with us in this first experience, and have the time to answer questions and just inform us of things, since we have no clue! So far it's been that way with our midwife, so thumbs up. 3. It's free. It's covered by MSP, it costs us nothing, so why not? 4. At the birth, the midwife will be there for just me. My friend, who is a nurse at SMH says the doctors are often pulled in many different directions when it's busy, naturally. So sometimes the doctor doesn't even do the delivery...which is okay because a nurse does it (someone has to!), but you sometimes don't really know who is going to deliver! I like the assurance of knowing who will be delivering the baby. 5. In the event of an emergency... We have a pager number on hand so we can reach her at any time, day or night. 6. Lower risk. Check this out: Midwifery clients experienced lower rates of forceps, vacuum extractions, cesarean sections, episiotomies, infections and babies born requiring resuscitation, in studies where midwifery was compared to physician led care. (that's from bcmidwives.com) Sounds good to me! If you have any other questions, shoot.

Gotta Love Surrey

This has little to do with pregnancy, but I thought it was something some might find interesting. On Saturday evening, Chris and I were going to walk to Blockbuster to return a movie we rented. Just in front of our apartment building there is an alley that many people use, and when we were on it a couple guys on bicycles rode up to us and asked the time. After a few seconds the next thing we knew, one of them had Chris by the throat and told him to give him all his money...we were being mugged! Since one of them had brass knuckles and the other was holding a can of bear spray up to Chris, I didn't know what to do. Things weren't getting out of hand and since they told me to turn around (and called me a foul name) I decided to do so. Since we didn't have anything on us and Chris wouldn't let them have his wedding ring (they seemed strangely okay with that), they told us not to call the cops and we'd 'be cool'. Obviously after they were out of sight we promptly called the police, they came, and questioned us. We later found out they were circling around our neighbourhood and had the search helicopter out! All in all, it was a crazy experience but the whole time, we can honestly say we felt protected. Despite feeling a tad shaken up, I had no fear while the whole thing was happening, and Chris said the same. We know it could have been so much worse! Thank God!

First Midwife Appointment

What I peed on. No, those are not my fingers. Google.

I just returned from our very first midwife appointment (sadly, without my 'partner', Chris). It was pretty much full of form-filling and family history-telling but it was great. I didn't feel rushed and it felt very personal - not at all like going to the walk-in clinic of times past with a doctor that just wants to rush you out of there. It was great! After the in-depth interview, she got me to lay on the couch so she could feel where the baby is. After prodding a little she determined that he/she is just around and a little below my belly button. Movin' on up! This is where I wish Chris were there...I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again! It was funny because the midwife was trying to get it but our little Douce kept running away from her so she would get it then two seconds later she lost it, then she would chase him down and he would dart away again! She said he's (or she?) a very playful baby already. Ha! Once we were able to get him/her settled in a spot, that weird heartbeat sound filled the room. It was awesome and I almost teared up a bit! Almost. Embarassing Moment at the Doctors #1 They got me to pee on a stick to test for gestational sugar (or something? I don't know - I'm still new at this) and I walked out of the bathroom in to a group of five ladies chatting and laughing. They all turned and looked at me as I'm standing in a dark doorway holding a thin plastic strip with my urine hanging off the end, and all I could say was, "I have this stick thingy..." They chuckled and the receptionist was kind enough to come tell me to just toss it, that because it was such a light green (the stick, not my pee...) it was so low it's not a big deal. So they really didn't need to see me with the pee stick. Could have avoided that all together. Good to know.

17 Weeks

Brandi-Lee at 17 weeks! Not much change from the last photo...

Not a load to update right now, but we are very excited to have booked our 20-week ultrasound for April 16. I don't know if I can wait that long to see a little Douce in there with actual arms and legs, and a head...a little more than Mr. or Miss Blob we first saw at eight weeks! This Thursday we also have our first meeting with the midwife, which we're also pretty pumped about. The downside is Chris won't be there because he's off playing guitar at a conference in Red Deer. I'm happy he gets to go but bummed he won't be here for the first meeting. There will be many more to come though! On another note, I'm pretty sure I may have felt a little movement in the tummy. It's that fluttery type of feeling every once in a while. I'm sure if you have ever had a baby you might know what I'm talking about. (I guess that would apply to girls only...) It's just hard to tell the difference between that and if it was the piece of pizza I ate! HAVE ADVICE? One thing we are trying to figure out is how we're going to organize our bedroom once the baby comes. We have buttloads of purging to do in our closets to make room, but our actual room is tight as it is, nevermind with yet another human plus their bedding supplies! Any suggestions on how to make it work? So far we have thought about getting rid of our dresser and just using the closet. If you have tips on having a child in a small one-bedroom apartment, we are open!

15 Weeks

Brandi-Lee at 15 weeks and 2 days!

Hey y'all! Well we're at 15 weeks now, and I think it's safe to say I've got a bit of a belly going on! Apparently, our little Douce is about the size of a large navel orange, and is moving around in there even though I can't feel it yet. Some people have been asking how I've been feeling, and for the most part it's been pretty good! Here are some of the symptoms I've had or been having:

• 'gaggy-ness' - especially when brushing my teeth. I've only been 'sick' once, so I'm pretty thankful for that.
• occasional nosebleeds (I was a little surprised at that one)
• stuffy nose
• minor back aches (only on my right side?)
• drier skin and more zits from awesome hormones!

That's it for now, anyway. More to come I'm sure!

Learning About Parenthood

Mmm...broccoli!

Since becoming pregnant, I find myself observing parenting techniques of my friends and others that have kids. My latest observation is how much patience it takes to do everything. I have always heard it takes patience to raise kids, but I've really started noticing this in many simple situations. Take eating for example. I have observed our friends, Destiny and Josh at dinnertime on numerous occasions with their almost-two-year-old, Ruby. The other day we were at a friends house for a birthday dinner and Ruby was eating her lasagna with a side of broccoli. Of course, like most kids, she ate all the lasagna first, leaving two or three florets of broccoli untouched. Now, all parents want their kids to eat their veggies so they get their nutrients, but kids don't understand the concept of nutrition and you can't just tell them, "Eat your veggies so you don't get rickets!" (Well you can, but whether they will understand or not is left to wonder) Sometimes parents have to give the old, "Eat two more bites and then you are done.", which Destiny did. But kids don't just nod their head and quickly stuff the two bites in their mouth...there's stalling, trying to pawn it off on someone else, trying to dump it in their juice, taking a bite then spitting it out again...all the while mom is trying to get her to just eat it. Finally, after about ten minutes of Ruby taking her last two bites (and making us laugh), she's done and off playing. It was actually a humourous scene, but I know it takes much patience to do that three times a day, every day. I will be praying for patience for Chris and I once the Little Douce comes along...I know we're going to need it!

We've Got a Midwife...WOOO!

I just got a call today from Sage Midwifery (did you know it's pronouncend 'mid-wiffery'? It sounds weird to me.) saying that they have an opening for me. I am SO excited! I was beginning to think that it wasn't going to happen, that I would have to deliver with some odd-ball doctor I didn't know that's obsessed with the Fonze (anyone watch Friends?). Last night I just prayed that a door would be opened and that having a midwife would still be a possibility, and this afternoon I get that call. Yeah! Our first appointment is on April 2. In other news, today marks the day that I am officially out of my first trimester and in to my second! I am 13 weeks today. Still not showing too much, but maybe a little. At night. Or after I eat...