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Week 15 ~ May 14, 2004
~ Second Midwife Appointment
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It's been a busy week. My parents are back in town, and we've spent some lovely time with them. Pete has been anxious about all of the things we need to get done before the baby comes, and he told them, "We have just six months, and then we won't be able to do anything again for about three years!" We all laughed at the truthfulness of this.
So, my mom came over and cleaned our bathrooms (or, as Pete says, gave us two brand new bathrooms.) My dad vacuumed again and helped Pete with some yard work. Mom and I had a chance to go shopping together, and she helped me pick out some maternity clothes. It's wonderful to have some things that fit me correctly!
On Tuesday, I had my second midwife appointment. I got a little anxious a day or two before it. I even threw up the morning of the appointment; I've noticed my morning sickness is worse when I'm more stressed or tired than usual. I have been feeling pretty good lately, and feeling rotten again was, well, rotten. By the afternoon, though, I was okay.
The appointment was blessedly uneventful. My midwife checked on the results of my blood tests, and all looks good. They did forget to check one thing. My blood type is A negative, and she wanted to make sure I've got the antibodies in my blood that I should have after the miscarriage. I made sure to get a RhoGam shot after my D&E, but it makes me feel better knowing they can check on this.
She talked to me a lot about doulas. I am very excited about having one this time. With Charon's birth, I expected I'd only want Pete there, and then decided to also ask my mom to be with us as a kind of doula. They did a wonderful job supporting me, and I have beautiful memories of the birth. This time, I know I won't really care who is in the room, as long as they are focused on me and my labor. I expect Charon will be in and out, and I will ask my parents to be in charge of her. I'd like to hire a doula to help me and Pete.
I learned that there is a group of doulas in our area, and they have weekly meetings where you can go to learn more about birth, while also meeting several of them each time. What a great opportunity! Some of the topics include learning about what doulas do, comfort measures to use in labor, birth stories, and planning for postpartum. I plan to attend a few of these, and I'm hoping to find a doula there who will feel like a great fit for us.
After our doula discussion, we got ready to listen to the heartbeat. It took a bit to find it, but then, there it was. It sounded so calm and lovely. The thought that there is a little body with a little heart beating inside me, a being that I am helping to grow and support, is so amazing. As I lay on the table and listened, I looked up at a poster on the wall. There in front of me were drawings of babies in the womb at different stages of pregnancy. "Is my baby really that big already?" I ask the midwife, pointing to the week 12 and week 16 pictures. "Yes, those are true-to-life size." "That is incredible!" My baby is about the size of my hand.
Now, I often rest my hand on my belly and try to feel its movements. I've felt some flutters, but I'm not positively sure it's my baby. They remind me of Charon's movements when she was inside me, only smaller and quieter. Soon, I think I will know for sure.
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