Thursday, November 10, 2011

childbirth classes and ultrasounds

One of the exciting new things that happened in the midst of our power outage and home displacement was that The Map Man and I began weekly childbirth classes. I know it's a little unusual to take a full set of classes for your 3rd child, but we're delivering at a different hospital this time (our beloved local hospital closed their birthing center a couple years ago), and quite honestly I've forgotten more than I ever knew about trying for a natural childbirth. With this being an attempted VBA2C (vaginal birth after 2 c-sections), and with me being the age I am (as in, could legitimately be the mother of any one of the other ladies in the class with us, without it being at all scandalous), I wanted to give us as much chance as I could for a positive outcome. So far I'm very pleased with my decision! And the other couples in the class (all of whom are expecting their first) sort of treat me like an oracle, which is both amusing and disturbing....

We also decided to take advantage of 3-D ultrasound technology so that the kids could get peek at their new baby sister. So, without further ado, here is our little Rosebud, at T-minus 2 months and counting:

Isn't she CUTE?!?!?!? I have to tell you, now I'm just DYING to get my hands on her!

She didn't cooperate much for the first 15 minutes -- she had her arm across her eyes, her umbilical cord across her mouth, and both of her feet in front of her face. But after taking a little break to stuff me full of sugar (a candy bar and a glass of orange juice), and bouncing around the room a bit, she managed to wriggle free of all of her various extraneous pieces so we could have a peek at her face. Her eyes are open in this picture, she's looking straight ahead.


In this one her eyes are closed, and she has a hand (pointing downwards) resting along her cheek. I like that you can see her pouty little mouth in this one.

People have been asking how I feel, and I have to say, I'm somewhat better pukiness-wise (as in, I'm not actually vomiting every day, tho I certainly feel like it on most days), somewhat worse heart-burn wise, and decidedly worse fatigue-wise. The Braxton-Hicks contractions are starting to drive me a little crazy, and I can't seem to be on my feet more than a few minutes before they start up. But they stop as soon as I sit down and relax. There's an obvious message there somewhere....

This is a "color" version of the pictures (I mean really, what is the point?) -- her other hand is up across her eye now, you can just make out a finger or two. That's the umbilical cord across her chin.

I think a big part of the reason I'm so exhausted is because I'm anemic (discovered at a recent blood test). But my insurance company is refusing to cover the expensive iron supplements my OB wants me on. Argh. Same company that dropped covering my prenatal vitamins half-way through my pregnancy because I turned 46 and they don't cover prenatals past that age. Charming. So I'm still trying to find a solution for the anemia, since taking standard iron supplement pills will just make me puke. Hopefully my OB's office can help us figure that one out.


One more picture, with her arm up along the side of her head (and more umbilical cord across her mouth).

We got about a dozen photos in all -- one of her girl parts (which we figured we'd protect her modesty and not share), and a couple of her sucking on her feet. The ultrasonographer said she was very active and most people don't get so many great action shots. We also have a DVD of the entire session (half an hour) so we can see her moving around.

Just amazing technology.

These next 2 months waiting for her are going to feel l-o-n-g.....

6 comments:

Jennifer said...

Thanks for the pictures! Amazing!

My third pregnancy was very like yours (exhausted, nauseated, anemic...). My midwife put me on a serious regimen when she found I was anemic. It was a big pain in the butt, but it did raise my numbers. Besides the iron tablet, she also had me drinking, I think, a half gallon of chlorophyll throughout the day. You mix it up in the morning, and just drink, drink, drink until you think you will turn green. It helps with the iron absorption. I also think I took vitamin C at the same time for absorption as well. Also, I had to space my calcium separately from my iron. She also wanted me to eat a couple of tablespoons of molasses a day, and other high-iron foods. I can't remember if you eat meat? Even if you don't, you might try a rare steak just here during your pregnancy. I usually like my steak medium, but I remember very vividly enjoying a bloody steak. It was the best tasting thing I have EVER had. I don't think I could stomach it now, but when I was anemic, OMG. Seriously.

Sorry for the unsolicited advice, but thought I would pass it along on the chance that any of that was helpful for you.

dongdong said...

The pics are so cool. Amazing technology. She is a darling. Yes, I remember those yucky iron pills...they made me sick too. I took them before going to bed. Wishing you the best!

Cathy said...

Wow. This technology was around when I was last pregnant, but it was new and expensive so not many clinics had it. The pictures are just amazing. Beautiful.

I hope everything goes well for the next few months, and I'll keep everything crossed that you get the birth you want.

The Studio said...

Just wanted to share my iron info. Try Twinlab prenatal vitamins. The iron in them is strong but it is designed NOT to irritate your tummy and it was the only pill I found that would help. I found molasses cookies to help as well as the ginger cookies. Hope this helps!

Carolyn West said...

Amazing pictures. So cool. I have no help on the pregnancy part, obviously, but good luck finding a solution.

Btw, moving to NH for the winter then to Manchester probably by March.

Alyss said...

What great pictures! I'm so happy for you guys... a little girl, what an adventure that will be :)