Natural vs Robots.

I have reached 33 weeks! I haven't taken any new photos this week, but this photo is from last week. I have been busy with other things like making soups and freezing them to prepare for when time will be scarce with a new baby. I have been busy crocheting and visiting with family and friends. Just making a life here in a new big city. So far I am loving it. People are so kind in Toronto. This city is so well run. The transportation system is the next best thing to a teleporter! And most of all, I was able to get a midwife no problem. So, we are prepared/preparing for the big day which could come in as little as 4 weeks. I am "full-term" on November 8th, so anytime after that! Yikes.
I have pretty much finished that book 'Birthing From Within' and I think it was the most helpful out of all the books I have read. It made me feel so much better about a lot of things. Giving birth to a baby is something women have been doing since the beginning of time...but this is MY first time and it's kinda scary. This book helped me realize what I was so afraid of and it turns out, I was just afraid of the whole western birthing experience. Going to a hospital, being poked and prodded by random doctors or nurses, hoping there is a private room and if not, sharing your personal space at such a vulnerable time with complete strangers. Not having nearly as many choices, such as eating and drinking during labour, not having the option of birthing in a pool/tub, when to cut the chord, not forcing the placenta out, being pressured for drugs and possible interference with tools or even a C-Section so the doctor can get home in time for dinner. You become so limited. I know doctors are useful when it comes to birthing high risk babies, but if there is no risk, then why chance the hospital where most babies are born doped up on drugs. I suppose if that's where you feel most comfortable, then the hospital is a great choice for you, but why have an OB/GYN or doctor when you can have a Midwife?! Midwives are obviously HIGHLY educated and know more about normal natural births then a doctor. Some nurses have never even seen a natural birth! YIKES! So, though many people think I am "brave" for having a homebirth, I think women who birth in hospitals are brave. I certainly feel more at home and comfortable and safe in my own home.
I know that Canada and the USA are a little different, but they aren't THAT much different when it comes to birthing techniques. I watched the movie 'The Business of Being Born'. It's a little aggressive like "Sicko", but if you are expecting a baby or know someone that is expecting a baby, this is something that is worth your time!! Watch it on YouTube (if you can find it) or rent it or buy it. But watch it!!! Educating yourself on your rights and options is so worth your time so you can make your birthing experience a magical one instead of a terrifying stressful one. They bring up things like the domino effect of taking drugs for pain and how it can actually complicate your birth WAY more. They talk about unnecessary C-Sections. Did you know that in New York 1 out of 3 births are done by C-Section?! They have these things called "Designer Births" where you book yourself in around your due date (sometimes earlier if you don't wanna get too big to avoid stretch marks), then they induce you, slice you open, remove your baby who obviously wasn't ready to come out yet and then while they have you open on the table, they do a quick tummy tuck and ta-da! You have given birth to your beautiful baby. EFFING SICK!! It's just scary how far removed we are from our natural animalistic instincts. Have we forgotten that we are animals too? There is one doctor from Europe in the documentary who is passionate about natural births and he talks about "love hormones". These hormones are produced and released when pushing your baby out naturally. If you and your baby are drugged up, or if you have a surgical birth, your bodies natural abilities are blocked and confused. That being said, you are more likely to have a much harder time during postpartum with depression, healing and you increase the chance of infections. I understand that SOME people need drugs and interference to save their baby and/or themselves, but with something like 90% of our population taking part in these new birthing techniques, it seems crazy to me! I can't believe that some advice I have been given time and time again is "take the drugs!" What kind of advice is that? They say that "if you can give birth to a baby, then you can do anything"...well, does that apply to women who opt for a pain-free birth, or a "designer birth"? I guess maybe, but I will admit...I am less impressed. If you NEED it, that's one thing, but if you don't, why interfere with something that our bodies have been doing since the beginning of time? There are consequences. I wonder what will happen if we keep going down this path? In time maybe we'll have smaller pelvic bones because we won't be using them to birth anymore, or the complete loss of certain hormones or the ability to naturally go in to labour? Or maybe women will take back control of their own bodies!
I think the bottom line is...educate yourself, find out the pros and cons and have your baby where ever you feel comfortable and stress-free. Just know what you want so you don't get pressured in to something that's not right for you.

Manitoba to Ontario to 3rd Trimester.

Yikes, it's been over a month since my last post. What can I say, we were busy. We have packed up and moved out of Winnipeg. We will be moving in to our new apartment in Toronto this Friday, Sept 10th. I am excited about settling in a new place. Change is good. It's refreshing and inspiring. When you stay in the same place too long you become blind, so I am excited to see again!
For now, we are visiting my family in Rosseau. We drove for 2 days to get here, through Ontario around Lake Superior. What a beautiful drive. I would like to do that drive again but with more time so I can photograph the landscape and the wildlife. Since we had 3 cats in the car with us, we wanted to get to out destination ASAP. And having just started my 3rd trimester, I didn't want to spend too many days in a car.
My cousin (who we are staying with) has a friend who does henna work, so in celebration of my 3rd trimester, she did some beautiful henna art work on my belly. I love it. It should stay for about 2-3 weeks.

As of today, I am 28 weeks pregnant. I am still feeling fabulous. Maybe a little tired and some days I need a nap, but I can still touch my toes!! I experience practice contractions multiple times throughout my days which they call Braxton Hicks, but ya know, I just hate that they are called Braxton Hicks so I can't bring myself to call them that, lol. The baby is very active and getting stronger all the time. She sometimes gets hiccups which makes my belly jump rhythmically. The backache can be pretty bad, but my husband massages my back every day...thank goodness!
I am reading a book called 'Birthing From Within' which is great and helps me get more comfortable with the idea of pushing a baby out of my hoo-ha! It brings you back to a primal way of thinking about child birth instead of the medical way we look at it today. As I get deeper in to the book I will write more about it.

It's A......

So, we had our ultrasound just over a week ago that checked to make sure baby is growing okay and could determine the gender if we wanted to know. We knew from the moment we found out we were pregnant that we would want to know the gender. I am not one for surprises and for something like this, I really needed to know. Thank goodness I live in today's western world because a little over 20 years ago this just wasn't possible and for many people in many countries, this still isn't possible.

We got the photos from her "photoshoot" and most of them look like blobs of gray and I can't really make out what it is. But some of them are pretty obvious. Like this one here shows that it's a GIRL!!! Those are her legs and butt and as you can see, there is no willy. I know that these things aren't 100%, but they are pretty accurate.

This next one is a face only a mother could love, lol. It sorta looks like I am pregnant with Jack the Pumpkin King, lol! But there she is, laying on her side looking right at you.

These ones below are my favourites. She has her arm up covering her eyes and you can see her little lips and her tiny nose nicely framed by her arm.

This one is a little closer.

And here is the last one I will post, of her cute baby feet.

So of course there are all these numbers and letters and I didn't know what they meant. Was this a normal looking ultrasound? I didn't know. My appointment with my doctor isn't until the end of next week, so I wouldn't get the results until then. So, I researched like crazy on how to read an ultrasound. What things meant. This was the most helpful website:
http://www.baby2see.com/medical/charts.html
So, you gotta study your ultrasound and find the numbers and find the averages and then ta-da! What I discovered was she is doing just fine. Everything is in the normal ranges and that for me was SUCH a relief. I know that they can't tell everything from the tests and ultrasounds but nothing wonky has shown up yet so there is no reason to think that this baby will have any problems. THANK GOODNESS we didn't listen to the first 3 doctors that I saw. It just goes to show that you are the best person to listen to. Now time to make an appointment with my homeopathic doctor to detox me from this ultrasound!

19 Weeks...Half Way There!

So, a fetus is considered full term at 38 weeks, which means, we are half way there...unless I pop early! All this time I felt like I was climbing a hill and now that I have reached 19 weeks, I can start my way back down. Of course if the baby is overdue, which is anytime after 40 weeks, I will be waiting at the bottom of the hill standing still...so maybe I will bring a tent, lol.
We are slowly collecting things we need thanks to close family and friends who have children and kept all the stuff their kids grew out of. Babies hardly use anything because they grow so fast. My sister gave us this pretty bassinet which is mint green. Bassinets are so sweet. I wish babies could sleep in them longer then they can, but thanks to my parents, we'll have a crib to upgrade to. Though, my cats seem to really like the bassinet, lol. (These 2 pictures can be enlarged if you just click them!)


Sometime is the next couple weeks we will be heading back to Health Science Centre for hopefully our last ultrasound which will have more detail on the anatomy of our baby. We'll also find out the sex of the baby then too. I had another dream last night that it was a boy, but we'll see...
After the ultrasound I will be going back to see my homeopathic and naturopathic doctor to detox me from the ultrasound and to see how my vitamin levels are. I have started taking a teaspoon of cod liver oil everyday and I must admit...it's one of the grossest things I have ever swallowed, but thank god for B12 spray because I just breath out of my mouth for a while until the B12 is absorbed and then swallowed so I can't taste or smell lemony cod anymore, only spearmint from the B12. But cod liver oil is good for brain development in fetuses and makes for smarter babies! Not to mention all the GREAT things it does for YOU! You'll know cod liver oil is a good natural healthy brand when you stick it in the freezer and the oil doesn't freeze. I was told the 2 best kinds are by Carlson's and Nordic Naturals (which is the one I use. I bought it at the vitamin store on Corydon Ave called 'Thrive'.)
Thanks for reading and stay tuned!

16 weeks and Counting!

Well, we had a nice surprise when we got home from India! Looks like half way through the honeymoon we made a baby by accident! At first is was very concerning since we had many vaccinations and we were on anti-malaria meds called Docycycline (a drug that is NOT recommended for pregnant ladies.) A few heartaches and many doctors and specialist later, everything looks good and normal! PHEW!!! So word of advice out there...if you are ever concerned about conceiving on medications that are "high risk" to a fetus, don't jump to any conclusions right away, start by calling Motherisk (they are Toronto based): (416) 813-6780
www.motherisk.org/
Sometimes doctors only know what they read in the text book, where as these doctors have stats for you so you know just how high the risks really are. If it wasn't for them, I don't think I would still be pregnant since the first 3 doctors we saw pushed us in the direction of an abortion.
Now I have a VERY excellent western doctor that I see regularly, along with a homeopathic doctor (who is also studying to become a midwife) and a naturopathic doctor who specializes in massage therapy too. So far all tests have come back normal and I am getting myself on track with vitamins...I was low on B12 a few weeks ago, but I think at my next live blood test she will be pleasantly surprised thanks to all the red meat I started eating and the B12 spray that take 2 or 3 times a day. Hopefully there are less toxins in my body from the help of Acidophilus. I also have another ultrasound in about 4 or 5 weeks time that will show any problems (if any have developed) and we'll be able to find out the sex (even though I am willing to bet that it's a boy!)
We are so excited! Sometimes I am like, "WHOA, there's only 5 more months until the baby comes" and other times I am like, "man, there's still 5 more months to go!"
Come back to stay updated on this adventure!