No Drugs Childbirth - Update

I have no idea why this idea came into my mind. I was just sitting at work when the thought popped in my mind, I wonder if I could do an epidural free birth. I can't say a completely drug free birth because the doctor may have to induce me again if the baby quits growing like Cassie did. I would love to actually be able to go into labor this time but it just depends on my thyroid. My thyroid has actually been really good this time, only once have we had to increase my dosage of meds. Could I actually give birth with no epidural? I already said I wasn't going to take the other drugs that they said would help last time because they did not help at all. I did get an epidural last time when I got to a 5 and I felt no pain but then I had to sit in bed for awhile after I gave birth waiting for the drugs to wear off so I could start walking around again. I have a very good friend who was unable to get an epidural because by the time she got to the hospital she was already at an 8. She said it hurt a lot but it was nice to be able to get up right after she gave birth.

I actually told Charles I wouldn't mind giving birth at home if I wasn't afraid that something would go wrong during birth or that the baby wouldn't need special care after. I hated staying at the hospital after I gave birth. I got no sleep and it wasn't even Cassie's fault, it was the nurses who constantly came in. I guess I will just see how long I can tolerate the pain this time, of course I may decide that I need the epidural and then they tell me that sorry, you are too far along now. Well things to think about before the big day gets here.

Last Friday we went in for our 30 week sonogram and she is looking good. She weighs 3lbs 8oz right now and has her head right where it needs to be for when I deliver. I can't believe I still have 9 weeks left. Charles said he was going to start working on the room this weekend but I will believe it when I see it. We have the bedding with us to take to the paint store to start figuring out the paint colors. Charles has this really cool design in his mind that he wants to paint so we will see how it turns out. I know it will look cool because he designed Cassie's room and it is exactly how he wanted it to turn out. I wish I was as creative as he is. I hope the girls get his creativity from him.


Update-Okay I got the drugs but in my defense, I had back labor, REALLY bad!  Was worse than Cassie's birth.  I took the drugs at 4 cm and don't regret it.  Well except when I got the bill, they should show you the bill first.

Third Trimester

I am on the home stretch and boy am I ready and we still have 76 days to go. I always laughed at women who didn't like to be pregnant because I never understood the problem because my first pregnancy was a breeze. This one has not been a breeze and I am so ready to hold her in my arms because that means I am not pregnant! Oh my back, it hurts all the time. Poor Charles has to listen to me grip all the time and I don't even care.

We got a new puppy, a Great Dane. Yes I know, what in the world were we thinking but in our defense we had already decided and put the deposit down for the puppy before we found out about Little Miss (I will announce her name after she is born :-).
Isn't he the cutest thing. He is actually a pretty good puppy. He is 11 weeks old right now so he should be well trained by the time the baby gets here.

We still haven't gotten the room done, Charles said he would have it done by June 18th, which is the day of my baby shower so I am leaving him alone about it and not nagging him. We are going to go register for stuff this weekend and go pick up some items I let people borrow. It is getting close and I wants everything ready by July 1st because I don't have any idea when she will get here and I don't want to feel rushed.

YAY!!!

Charles and I went to the doctor on April 20th to have another sonogram and this time my placenta finally did move up. The doctor said that my placenta had to be 2 inches above my uterus for him to let me have natural childbirth and when he measured it this time my placenta was 4 to 5 inches above my uterus. Both Charles and I are so relived. I had no idea Charles was worried about it until he told me after our appointment. He told me there was no reason to tell me because I was worried enough. I am so glad I can do natural childbirth again with our second baby. Having Cassie was not that hard and I felt fine afterwords and I would like to try again with Little Miss.

On another note, I don't know if I can make it to July. I am so miserable right now. I am carrying so low with this child than I did with Cassie. Oh and I can't breath, like at all. I even went to the doctor to make sure that the baby was getting enough oxygen because my lungs hurt from trying to breath. The doctor said that we were both getting enough oxygen and that this was perfectly normal. Not being able to breath is not normal. I am just uncomfortable and I was not uncomfortable with my first pregnancy and Charles said I just got lucky with Cassie. I loved being pregnant the first time and I can say with all honesty that I do not love being pregnant this time. I still love the fact that I am growing a new life and I can't wait to meet her and start raising her and loving on her. I was patting my stomach this afternoon and I told her that I can't wait to pat her cute little butt.

I have already bought two of the cutest onesies. One is a pink onesie that says Little Sister and I got the matching t-shirt for Cassie that says Big Sister. I can't wait to take pictures of them together. The other one is pink with gray trim and it says "I still live at home." I can't wait to hold her. That is the only thing making this bearable. We go back in 3 weeks to have another sonogram, which is a normal 30 week sonogram, to check the babies weight and progress. It should be smooth sailing till July!

24 weeks

Went back to the doctor on Friday, April 1st for another sonogram. My placenta is still looking low so we go back on April 20th to do a vaginal sonogram to see just how low it is. The doctor still doesn't seem too worried but I am. I really don't want to have a c-section. I want to get up after I have the baby and take a shower and eat Chick-fil-a and not hurt. If my placenta is 2 inches above my uterus then I can go ahead with natural birth. I know I am carrying Little Miss really low this time. Also at this next appointment I will have to do the glucose test to see if I have diabetes. I told Charles he didn't have to stay for that but he said he didn't get to go to many of my doctor appointments with Cassie and he now has a job where he can be there. Of course after he sits there for an hour with me, he may change his mind.

It has been cool to get to see Little Miss (my nickname for her) so many times. Sonograms have changed so much in the last 4 years. This time, Charles and I were able to see that we were having a girl even before the sono tech told us. There is just so much more detail.

Here is a picture of the 3D that she showed us. She has my profile which Charles is not thrilled about but I guess my no chin profile is more genetic. This picture freaked my dad out. He said maybe technology is getting too advanced that we can see this much detail.

I can't wait to meet her. We have 105 days to go!!

And Intelligender test is.......

Wrong! We are having a baby girl contrary to what the Intelligender test said we were having. I have to say I was slightly disappointed when we first saw the sonogram but I am okay now. Cassie is thrilled to have a sister and Charles and I are already use to a girl. I think I was disappointed for Charles and Charles was disappointed because he knew I wanted a boy. After we talked and realized we were disappointed for the other, we were both okay. We are just happy that little miss is healthy. She is right on schedule weight wise, she is healthy and due date still shows July 19th. We hope to have a name by then.


The sonogram did show that my placenta is laying a little too low. The doctor thinks it will correct itself as my uterus grows but we have to go back for another sonogram in 4 weeks to check to see if it is indeed doing that. If it does not correct itself, then I will have to have a c-section. So I am praying hard that my placenta moves to where it should be because I would really like to have a vaginal birth. So I guess another update on April 1st.

Blood Test

Went to the doctor last Wednesday for blood work. We did what is called a Quad Screening to test the percentage that the baby could have Down Syndrome. Since my brother has it, I have a slightly higher risk at having a baby with Downs. They told me it would be a week before the test results came back. Now I really have not been worrying about this. The doctor wanted me to go to a high risk OB to have all these test, but those are very expensive and Downs is not life threatening nor if I was having a Downs baby would I terminate the pregnancy. Well the nurse called me on Friday and said the chances of us having a Downs baby was very low. While I was not worried, I am happy that the baby is healthy, which is what every parent wants.

We go in on Friday, March 4th to see what the sex of the baby is. Will update then!

Thyroid

Went to the doctor today for blood work and routine checkup. I have to go in for blood work more than most pregnant women because I have hypothyroidism. This means my body does not make enough thyroid. As long as it is under control then everything is wonderful but pregnancy make my thyroid go crazy. When I was pregnant with Cassie, they wouldn't even give me a prescription because they were having to change the dosage so much. With this one, I have gone 17 weeks without having to change the dosage but that ended today. They had to up the dosage. I was so hoping I could go this whole pregnancy without having to change my dosage but I guess no luck. I had to deliver Cassie 2 weeks early because my thyroid caused her to quit growing, I was hoping it didn't happen with this baby. I don't know why I am so down about it, I guess I was hoping my thyroid would not get in the way like it did last year. I am still praying I can go full term and not have to be induced. I would like to see what going into labor feels like.

On another note, March 4th is when we find out if we are having a boy or a girl!!