26 Weeks
Prenatal
I had a prenatal appointment on Monday, and no news is good news! My blood pressure was good at 118/68, baby’s heart rate was around 148-158, and weight gain is still totally under control, somewhere between 10 and 13lbs depending on the scale. Next appointment is in three weeks, and then I think they’ll be every two weeks? Probably depends on how that appointment goes.
I’ll do my glucose test at my next appointment, but they don’t do the gross drink – they just have you eat some extra carbs 2 hours before your appointment and then they do a finger-prick test.
My followup ultrasound to check for the presence of a placental lobe will be around 36 or 37 weeks. So WAY closer to the end than I was expecting.
Carseat
We dug out Wesley’s old infant carseat from my parents’ basement and thankfully it’s still within dates (carseats expire!) so that’s one expense we can avoid this time around. It’s absolutely FILTHY though – covered in sawdust and grime, so I’ll be washing it really, really thoroughly.
Birthing Class
Our Bradley birthing class is nice. It goes much more in-depth into each stage of the labor process than the class we took with Wesley did, so I feel like both Daniel and I have a way better idea of what I might say/do during each stage of labor and how he can support me through it.
It also focuses a lot on optimal baby positioning (something my midwives with Wesley never mentioned) so I’m supposed to tailor-sit all the time, and I’m not supposed to recline at a 45 degree angle because it’ll encourage the baby to be posterior. The not-reclining thing is really hard for me! I usually just give up and lay all the way down on my side to avoid it.
Nesting
I’m slowly starting to accumulate baby clothes and supplies. We didn’t use cloth wipes with Wesley and I don’t even know why – partly it seemed stupid to pay money for flannel squares, but in that vein it was also stupid to spend oodles of dollars on throw-away wipes! I think mostly we kept using the disposable wipes because that’s what we’d been using. This time, I purchased some GroVia cloth wipes and a new BumGenius diaper (the “Jules” one) because the print was adorable. I’ve never tried the organic “Elemental” diapers before so I’m curious how it’ll compare to the microfiber ones. The GroVia wipes got really good reviews so we’ll see how those go as well.
I also picked up some essential oil blends for each stage of labor. Feel free to think I’m a nut – I’ve also got somebody lined up to encapsulate my placenta for me, which is way nuttier than massage oils – but I’m basically willing to try anything non-invasive to help me through a natural birth. My labor with Wesley was weird and augmented and I didn’t really try very many coping techniques before everything went downhill, so if essential oils might help me, I’ll totally try them out.
I’m feeling a really strong urge to get ALL THE THINGS READY for labor/delivery/baby even though I haven’t even hit 30 weeks yet. I don’t really feel like I “nested” with Wesley but man, with this baby I feel like everything needs to have A PLAN at least and it’s making me anxious that I have no plan for a lot of things. We’ll need some kind of dresser for the baby’s clothes and we’ll have to figure out a spot for her diapers. Somebody will have to take care of Wesley during the birth. I still don’t have a doula and I’m not sure if I should be panicking about that or not.
I keep thinking I HAVE TO GO BUY SOME NEWBORN DIAPERS and I SHOULD GET A NEW NURSING BRA and MAYBE I NEED A BIRTH POOL then I remember I probably still have, like, four months left to go and I can buy them at any point during that time. But my brain thinks I need to have them NOW, just in case.
Comparison
I’m still shocked at how much better I feel physically this time around. No fat feet! That started at 24 weeks last time. No pubis symphysis pain preventing me from putting on pants or escaping a theoretical house fire! That started at like week 17 and didn’t improve at all until about week 25. I wrote here that I felt pretty good, but looking back, I already had a lot more things going wrong physically than I do right now. (Also, apparently week 26 is when I start freaking out about nesting and baby stuff. Good to know.)
File Under: Pregnancy
4 Comments
How far are you into the Bradley classes? I was looking into some here in Portland and apparently I just missed the start of a series put on by Susan McCutcheon (missed 3 weeks so far). I’m about 80% sure I will get an epidural but I just want to learn as much as I can and learn coping mechanisms for early labor, and who knows, maybe I could do it natural. Are they really anti-drugs in your classes? I really like the partner-coaching part too. But I was thinking about maybe just reading the book and then taking a hospital class which will be partially covered by insurance.
Tomorrow is week 5 of an 8 week class. I really recommend it – there’s a lot of emphasis on signs of each stage of labor so you (and your partner) have a better idea of where you are, which is something I felt I didn’t know very well last time.
It also focuses a lot on the partner helping you, which is also nice – they won’t feel as helpless/panicky.
It’s not militantly anti-drugs, or my class isn’t really, but it does really encourage natural birth, especially since epidurals can: 1) affect the baby; 2) wear off; 3) cause a longer second stage of labor (pushing). I had an epidural last time, but I also didn’t try to cope with the contractions for very long and I wish I would have, like, walked the halls or something for a while first.
Mostly it’s nice to have the knowledge. I feel like I know a lot of the info in the class already, but I’m finding it helpful to have it reiterated. And it goes into more detail.
I’d also really recommend a breastfeeding class! And/or see if you can find a La Leche League meeting close to you. They’re really supportive and helpful.
Thanks! I will keep looking for a class that is a little shorter — all the ones I’ve seen so far are 12 weeks and the timing of them doesn’t quite fit (they’d end within 4 weeks of my due date). I didn’t think I’d have to start looking for classes so early, but I may even be late to the game now, at least with Bradley! I just emailed Susan to see what my options would be. She’s the one who wrote ‘Natural Childbirth: the Bradley Way’ so she seems pretty legit
I want to delay any drugs as long as possible, and I definitely don’t want to be stuck in a hospital bed the whole time. That’s my main concern; I want to feel comfortable to walk around and get into any position I want. I’ve been thinking about a doula too but maybe with Bradley, it won’t be necessary?
I found a “Yoga Way to Birth” series which looks interesting but it costs about the same as the Bradley classes, and I’m worried there’d be too much emphasis on spiritual stuff when I’m more interested in knowing scientifically what’s going on with my body at each stage. I’m sure it’d be great for relaxation and movement though. But maybe prenatal yoga classes would be enough (which I’m doing anyway).
I might sign up for some hospital classes now anyway, since they’d be practically free with my insurance — including a newborn care and breastfeeding class. Thanks for the tip on Le Leche League, they have a NE Portland meeting plae 10 blocks from my house!
Awh! Just now getting caught up with your pregorama numero dos posts. So excited to hear y’all are having another babe… AND I’m super stoked you’re getting your placenta encapsulated. I still have a handful of pills left that I use in emergency only situations. They are amazing and def lifesavers. ?