Fast forward to the fourth week of August 2011 and there I was, sitting in the Keller office.
I was 15 weeks and so excited. Everything had been going well. Morning Sickness was slowly waning and my pregnancy acne was just starting. sweet. So glad my midwife, Anne, didn't judge. I listened to this heartbeat and my own begin to race. I'll never forget how sweet it sounded. The very first pitter-patter of a lifetime of love. I recorded it on my phone so that Tyler could hear it later.
I was 15 weeks and so excited. Everything had been going well. Morning Sickness was slowly waning and my pregnancy acne was just starting. sweet. So glad my midwife, Anne, didn't judge. I listened to this heartbeat and my own begin to race. I'll never forget how sweet it sounded. The very first pitter-patter of a lifetime of love. I recorded it on my phone so that Tyler could hear it later.
The appointments increased and so did my weight. The acne subsided but the constant craving for any type of sugary goodness did not. My morning sickness was just about completely gone by the middle of my second trimester! It had lasted so much longer with my first.
At 22 weeks we had our sonogram. We were preparing for a Birth Center birth with a Midwife instead of an in-hospital birth with Midwives, like last time. Nothing wrong with it, just didn't want the hospital experience. And since a very good hospital and an amazing back-up Dr. was less than 4 minutes away, we weren't worried. Our Midwife wanted a sono to make sure she knew about everything she could. Our baby was perfect. In fact, our sweet little one curled up into a little ball every time we tried to get a picture. We decided that we wanted the sex to be a surprise and the waiting wasn't so hard after we made up our minds. We heard it all, "Well, How will you prepare!? What if it's a girl!? You don't have anything!" Well, we knew the Lord would provide anything we needed and all of the important stuff had already been purchased when Will was a baby. So we weren't worried at all.
Thanksgiving came and went. Christmas. New Years. and then suddenly, January was over and February was upon us. I was due February 8th, a Wednesday, and believing in my body's ability to begin labor on it's own when the baby is ready, I was going to wait. The Friday before that Wednesday I casually got on Facebook and announced that I had a headache for the second day in a row and how annoyed I was...
How blessed am I to have Midwife who cares enough about me to 'stalk' my Facebook in order to make sure I'm doing well? Pretty stinkin' blessed. I don't many doctors that would be my friend on Facebook, but even if I did, how many of them would watch my statuses and keep up with every little thing I said in order to care knowledgeably for me? hmmm...Anyway, Ann advised that I check my BP. So I did. And when I told her what it was, she remembered that my BP was usually very, very low. So for it to be a teeny bit above normal was pretty high for me. She told me to get some HSII from the healthfood store and rest. I did and the headache went away. I rested all that day and the next. Then came Sunday and a thunderstorm and let me tell you how many Braxton-hicks I had that weekend. Let's just say I was hoping my parents could get there in time. Earlier that week my midwife asked me when I was going to have the baby and I had said that I didn't want to have it until my parents got in (the next Monday the 6th). I remember her saying, "Well, we're not having that baby until next week then." I thought it was funny at the time, but with my BH contractions picking up from the thunderstorms and my parents not in from Florida yet, I was getting a little anxious.
Well, the storm rolled through and Sunday ended and the next morning my parents got in. I was relieved, but still didn't feel like having the baby yet. I kept relaxing since my BP cuff kept reading high. And my mom made meals and my dad read books to Will. And we had a wonderful week. My parents respected our decision to wait and there was no pressure on this momma to have her wee one until it was time. I do think my dad was a little anxious, since my first baby was 10 late and my dad had to go to a conference in two weeks. But he never said anything to me about it.
Well, the storm rolled through and Sunday ended and the next morning my parents got in. I was relieved, but still didn't feel like having the baby yet. I kept relaxing since my BP cuff kept reading high. And my mom made meals and my dad read books to Will. And we had a wonderful week. My parents respected our decision to wait and there was no pressure on this momma to have her wee one until it was time. I do think my dad was a little anxious, since my first baby was 10 late and my dad had to go to a conference in two weeks. But he never said anything to me about it.
Monday passed, and Tuesday passed, and then Wednesday came and I went to my "due date" appt. with my midwife. They asked how I was feeling, if I was nervous, we went over my BP readings from the weekend. Still elevated but no threat. I decided against any exams, there's no point. They don't change anything. Why introduce bacteria and put yourself on an emotional roller coaster for something that may or may not happen within the next few days. Nope. No "call me now for your free centimeter readings", Miss Cleo. And so Ann sent me home with a smile and a hug and said, "whenever you're ready."
And I left with a peace and a calmness. I have to say that before this point I was worried. My first birth was long (17 hours) and hard and pretty intense. And I didn't want that again. I didn't want to be afraid either. So I started "speaking truth over that fear" as my christian midwife told me to. I prayed and asked God to help me accomplish the task set before me and when I did I knew he listened. We headed home and I decided that I would be ready to have my baby by the end of the week.
