Update on pregnancy #6

Wow, I cannot believe I am 33 weeks already! The time seems to have flown by!!! I guess it is because I have 4 other children already to keep me distracted, plus it really has been a super-easy pregnancy. I am so thankful for that!

I am having weekly appointments now. My blood pressure has been creeping up and I am on BP meds for it, but it is holding in the normal range. I have had quite a bit of swelling the last month or so. I know if I could get it off, my BP would go down even more. I don't think I will need to continue the meds once baby is born. It always goes down to normal fairly quickly, although my "normal" has been creeping up over the years. :(

Up until a month ago, I had only gained around 10 pounds. When I went in last week, I had doubled that!!! Yeah, lots of swelling! Yesterday I was back down 3 pounds, so that was nice.

My last two pregnancies I had bursitis in my hips. The only relief I could get, which also helped during the day, was to sleep in a recliner. It was actually quite comfortable! Well, I found out a week ago that sleeping in a reclined position is probably the worst position you can be in when pregnant. It can cause the baby to be breech, and guess what.....they both were! This pregnancy, for some reason, my hips have not bothered me. I have been able to sleep on my side, which is the best position, and this baby is in the PERFECT birth position!!! :) The ultrasound yesterday confirmed it. (It also showed normal response, fluid, etc......absolutely NO concerns!)

Other than being overweight and out of shape, I am feeling really, really good. The doctor seemed surprised when I told him that this pregnancy is going really well and I feel great. I had to tell him again about my last pregnancy when I had the HELLP syndrome and that this one was just so much better! I think he may have been worried it would come back, but at this point in my last pregnancy, I was already so sick. Jack was born at 34 weeks, and I am 33 right now! Praise God for a great pregnancy!!! :)

I am totally preparing for a VBAC. This doctor will deliver VBACs and breech babies, no problem, but he has to abide by hospital regulations. In my case, I am not "allowed" by this hospital to have a VBAC since I have had TWO c-sections in the past. They don't even consider that I previously had two vaginal births. Well, I found out that I can still legally have a VBAC. The laws are in my favor! I don't have to go in at the very last minute or have the baby at home, I can still have a hospital birth. Basically, they cannot force me to have a c-section, so all I have to do is refuse it. The hospital cannot turn me away, and my doctor cannot refuse to see me if it is within 30 days of delivery when I let him know my plans, so there ya go! :)

Oh, I just had a thought! So many women, myself included until a week ago, do not know their rights. I wonder, IF I have a very successful VBAC, if maybe I could help to change hospital policy?! How cool would that be? :)

My hope and prayer is that this labor and delivery, and the remaining few weeks, will go so incredibly well that I will be able to have my home birth someday! I am still striving for that, BUT, after my last experience and my own personal spiritual growth through all of that, it is not quite as important to me as it used to be. I saw my pride, and even though in the end I did do what was best for me and baby, just as I promised I would, I did not like that pride! So I gave it all to God and He has changed my heart on the whole "natural birth" issue. I can still strive for it, and I certainly will, but it is not the end of the world if it doesn't happen. Boy, it sure felt like it last time! :'(

A side note, my youngest actually has a genetic disorder. I'm not sure if that is the best description, but he has a duplication in a small segment of the short arm of his 6th chromosome (6p21.1). It doesn't have a name and little is known about it, but I really, truly believe that is what made my pregnancy with him so different and difficult. No one else in the family appears to have the same thing, so I don't expect any other babies to have it in the future. My hubby and I are going to be tested for it though just to be sure it is not inherited. If one of us is positive, then the geneticist thinks his symptoms may actually be caused from something else that we have not yet discovered, but if we are both negative, then it is highly likely what is causing his symptoms and physical characteristics.

I guess that's all I've got for now! If the rest of the pregnancy continues to go well, my next update might just be a birth story. :)

:)

Announcement!

Well, I woke up two hours ago and can't get back to sleep, so I thought this would be a great time to blog!

I announced this on Facebook, but I don't think I have put this on here yet.......I'M PREGNANT!!! I am 10 weeks and 2 days as of today. The due date is around November 20th, the weekend before Thanksgiving. We are all extremely excited as this will be our biggest gap (Jack will be 3 in June), and we've been waiting on God to bless us again with another teeny babe for what seems like a very long time! Jayla is about to make herself sick because she wants a sister so badly! I think we would all love to have another girl, but another boy would be awesome too! Whatever God has in store for us. :)

I am seeing a doctor this time. I haven't gone to an OB since my 2nd pregnancy! I don't "feel" like there will be anything wrong with this pregnancy, and actually, I feel like it will be pretty normal, more like my first three and not like the last. However, I suddenly feel like I've done my best with a natural home birth (both home birth attempts ended up in c-sections), and the desire to continue that journey has left me. Now my only desire is to focus on a healthy pregnancy and baby. And I feel good about that! I am sad I never got to have a home birth, but I feel like the time for that has come and gone, ya know? And that's okay.

I have had all the normal pregnancy symptoms EXCEPT morning sickness! YEA!!! I was feeling a bit fuzzy-headed for about 3 days a few weeks ago, but I determined it was because of a supplement I was taking that had gone bad. I stopped taking it and was instantly better! Another time I took some prenatal samples from the doctor that made me feel a little nauseous. Once again, I stopped taking them and immediately felt better. So as long as I stick to fresh, good supplements, I am feeling perfectly fine! I am just thoroughly exhausted!! This pregnancy is definitely more like my first three though, so I am hoping, praying and expecting to go full term with a healthy pregnancy and baby! Pray with me!!!

I want to add, the doctor who did my last c/s (the horribly rude one!!!) didn't seem to believe me that it was the first time I had HELLP and that all 4 of my kids had the same father (meaning, I wasn't sleeping around). Well, my current doctor (who happens to be the same one who did my first c/s), asked me the same questions, but at least he was nice about it! He just said something like he'd never heard of it before and it is very rare, or something to that affect. So I'm sure it was just because Jack has some kind of genetic abnormality that my first three did not. This pregnancy is much more like my first three, so I really do expect this one to be normal.

Update about......nothing?

Well, there isn't really much to update since I am not pregnant and Jack is nearly 3 years old now! I did find out some news today though that I wanted to get down here.

I have had two c-sections now. The only hospital in my state that will even allow me to try for a VBAC will consider me high risk, really for at least 3 reasons:

1. I have had TWO c/s
2. I am now 35 years old (like that is a magic number or something?)
3. I am obese.

Now, I know that I can be healthier than I am right now, but I am generally healthy aside from all the excess weight. All my blood work that was done recently came back in the normal range. All of it. I eat pretty healthy, for the most part, and I am not completely sedentary (how could I be with 4 young children?), but I do need to be more active and cut out the bad foods completely. I know I need to exercise too. So there is something I can definitely do about the third thing on this list.

However, those first two I can't change. I can't reverse my age (and my new gray hairs!), and I certainly can't go back in time and undo my c-sections. So I will forever be considered "high risk", which means.......

.....absolutely NO chance EVER for a hospital or midwife (that I know of) VBAC, ever.

So, my only possible chance for a VBAC and a natural birth is if I have my baby at home. That is my only hope! Thankfully my husband trusts me enough (especially after the last pregnancy when I caught and diagnosed my own illness in plenty of time) to let me try this!

There will be stipulations, however, which I completely agree with.

1. I must eat as healthy as possible and exercise and lose weight!
2. I will have a midwife (if I can find one who will see me) or will at least go to the medical doctor every few weeks to check certain things like blood pressure, iron, proteins in the urine, etc.
3. I would like to have a doula just because it will be less stressful for me if I can tell my family that I have support, and doulas greatly decrease the chance of c-sections, etc. This one isn't a "must", but I think I will try to find one who is willing to see me.

Other than that, if I can lose weight and get in better physical shape over all and can find someone who will do the testing every month or so, I will be ready to have another baby......AT HOME!!!! I would still be considered high risk with any future babies even if I do have the "perfect birth" I've always wanted, but if I do finally get that, I'll just go for another perfect home birth again!

I was disappointed when I spoke with the nurse at the hospital today, but I didn't realize how willing my husband was for me to "try" again. I didn't realize how much he really trusted my own intuition and trusts me to really pay attention to my body for signs of anything abnormal. So I guess this is a good thing! I just need to get my body in shape (eat healthier, exercise, lose weight) and seek out a midwife and maybe a doula who will work for me!

On another note, I must be very hormonal today. I cried when I thought my "last hope" (at the time) for that natural birth was gone. Then I heard some horrible news about a family I barely know, and I cannot stop crying! It is very sad news. My heart just breaks for them. :'( But seriously, I barely know them and I just can't get a hold of myself! I know they will be fine, but I am so, so sad for them.