Well it's been awhile so let's update.
We still haven't gone public with this pregnancy. I want to let some friends soak up their glory of new babies and pregnancies before announcing. Also, we went public fairly early with Madelyn and it is a loooooong time to wait for the little one's debut so we are going to spare everyone the waiting period as much as possible. Lastly, Madelyn isn't even 1 yet and I want her to get her first year all to herself and not have to share the spotlight at all. Not that she cares but oh well. We are hoping to make it to Christmas before the big reveal but that would put me at 20 weeks and I don't know if my body can hold out. Which brings me to my next topic....
Weight gain. I've gained about 5lbs so far with this pregnancy. Not too bad but I don't remember where that is in comparison to Madelyn. I am still in my normal clothes and I think I can stay in them for a bit longer.
Birth plans - we met me with another homebirth midwife but didn't really click with her. I had high hopes because she is a VBAC mom herself but this woman is about to be all up in my jazz and if I don't feel immediately comfortable, I would rather not go that route. I also had my first appointment with a midwife through UofM which is where I am getting my prenatal care until we make a decision. I really liked her! She had already reviewed my operative report from Madelyn's c-section and the first thing she told me when she came in was that because I was able to dialate to a 10 and ultimately the c-section was a result of fetal distress my chances of a VBAC are over 80% and my scenario tends to be her best VBAC scenario in terms of results. She also recommended another midwife through UofM that practices accupuncture and suggested I see her closer to the birth to help ensure optimal positioning and help prime my body for labor since induction is not an option in a VBAC scenario. I asked about chiropractic care and she agreed that it can help align my pelvis and again, help to ensure optimal positioning and gave me a referral. The best news for me - she "lets" her VBAC patients go to 42 weeks before scheduling a repeat c-section. One of the biggset issues women come across with providers that claim to be "VBAC friendly" is that they only "let" the mom go to 39 weeks and if you don't go into labor before then they will push scheduling a repeat c-section.
With regard to UofM and laboring as a VBAC candidate, they do require continous fetal monitoring. She did say they will let you come off the machines for short periods of time but because that is the best way to detect rupture, they do prefer you being monitored most of the time. Thankfully, UofM has telemetry monitoring available which is basically a wireless fetal monitor. This means I can labor while walking, standing or even in the tub!! She also said their staff prefers women labor with as little intervention as possible and are trained to help women labor med free. Music to my ears!!
At this time, I am feeling very comfortable with staying at UofM in the care of the midwives and hiring Stacia as a doula. I don't want to make a final decision until Nick gets a chance to meet my midwife through UofM though. My next appointment is scheduled for December 7th with the anatomy scan right before. Nick will have a chance to meet her then.
Final thought, I am way more chill with this pregnancy than I was with Madelyn. I actually will go through the entire day and forget that I'm pregnant. I was an absolute basketcase with Madelyn and would freak out before every appointment that we wouldn't hear a heartbeat. I have faith in my body this time around and know that it is capable of growing an amazing and perfect little human and as a result it has allowed me to be much more relaxed. Madelyn also serves as a great distraction.
*almost there - one more prewritten post after this!
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