Halfway Point

Today was ultrasound day.

Dan was able to be there, we hired a baby-sitter to stay with Edwin and off we went to watch this little one squirm around. I was incredibly nervous beforehand - really worried that something would be wrong. I'm not sure why I was so anxious, I just was. Then I saw that little heart beating away, and all seemed fine. I'm so thankful. And just now I felt a little kick or punch or something.

We decided to not find out the sex this time around. The ultrasound tech made sure to tell Dan when to not look at the screen because there's a good chance he could've identified the telltale parts if he'd seem them. I looked away too, just in case.

So now we get to decide on a boy name and a girl name. I have no hunch about what we might be having. Guesses?

New

So far I've had 3 prenatal appointments at The Birth Center, and I can't tell you how much I like it and feel that it really is the place I want to be for prenatal care, labor and delivery.

I posted recently about my blood pressure readings being much better there in comparison with the large OB/GYN practice I went to for Edwin's pregnancy.

The first visit to the Birth Center, my b.p. was so high the midwife just smiled and said "I'm not even going to tell you what it was." She left it at that, with no worries, and we moved on to the next thing. My 2nd visit, after chatting with the midwife (a different one) about my previous pregnancy experience, she took my b.p. while letting me know that they don't worry about "white coat syndrome". They just make sure everything else checks out healthy. Can I explain how relieved that made me feel? The last thing I want is drama over something that isn't clearly a medical problem. My b.p. was wonderfully normal.

At my last visit, I saw the same midwife and when she took my b.p., I remember feeling nervous because I was hoping it would be normal. AND IT WAS. I honestly expected it to be higher due to my nervousness, so I feel like it was a miracle. I haven't been able to control my nervousness, and we saw a pattern while pregnant with Edwin and even after pregnancy that the more nervous I am, the higher my b.p. is. But this time, my nervousness didn't seem to affect it. That feels like a miracle to me.

Before deciding to switch prenatal care to The Birth Center, I spent a number of weeks really worrying about what this pregnancy would be like if my nervousness/white coat syndrome issues continued. I was really fearful. I would feel tense and nervous just thinking about going to a prenatal visit.

While in Meeting (Friends/Quaker Meeting) one morning, remnants of a song came to mind that seemed to specifically be for this situation. I clearly felt that God was bringing this song to

my mind. I don't remember all the exact words and order but these are the phrases I recall:

Behold I will do something new among you

I will make a way where there seems to be no way

Rivers in the dessert, I will do something new

Favorite Activities

Signing "helicopter" because he hears an airplane or helicopter outside.

Edwin is at a really fun stage. Getting into lots of things (not always fun for me!) and enjoying a lot of different activities. Here are some things that seem to be his favorites lately.

Holding his little blanket/bear lovey.

Picking (and eating) raspberries or any other garden produce. I have to watch him to make sure he's not picking stuff before it's ripe.

Dogs, dogs, dogs!

Helping me anytime I'm working at the sink. So far he "helps" wash the dishes and has helped wash sour cherries and blueberries.

Anything that lets him play in the dirt. Here he's helping Dan plant squash seeds (that he later dumped out. Whoops.)

Pregnancy Randomness

I think this humidity is smothering my thoughts. Before we announced our pregnancy, I couldn't wait to blog about it. Once we announced it, I no longer really felt like I wanted to blog about it. Or rather, I wasn't really sure I had much to say on the subject. There are maybe two interesting pieces of information about it so far.

One is that I'm not going back to the same practice I went to with Edwin. There's a free-standing birth center in our city, and so that's where I'm getting my prenatal care this time around. I was too stressed out by the super-huge practice I went to before. I liked my midwife there, but I didn't like waiting a long time for a short appointment or some of the routines that made me feel like I was on an assembly line for pregnant women. Plus, I wasn't crazy about some of the routine practices at the hospital (IV ports, no eating allowed while in labor, hospital gowns, greater chance of unnecessary interventions, sterile looking rooms, etc.) and I like the atmosphere and type of care I'm receiving at the birth center. As long as no concerns or complications arise during pregnancy, I'll be able to deliver there. The only thing that I wasn't so sure about with a birth center birth is the early discharge. They send you and baby home 4-8 hours after giving birth. I did like having my meals brought to me in the hospital post-pardum. But I think I can get over that.

Anyway, I'm excited. My first two appointments have gone well - especially the 2nd where I didn't get all nervous when my blood pressure was taken and therefore it was NORMAL! If you read along while I was pregnant with Edwin, you'll know that my nervousness at my prenatal appointments always led to high blood pressure readings, which always created some drama. I'm looking forward to meeting all of the midwives there.

The other tid-bit of information is that Dan and I are unsure of whether or not to find out the sex of this baby when we have our 20 week ultrasound. We found out with Edwin - we'd both wanted to. This time, I want to wait until the birth, but Dan would like to find out. I guess we need to decide in the next few weeks, since I'm now at 17 weeks.

This is about 3 weeks old now (taken at 14 weeks), but it's the only photo I have so far.