Pregnancy update

Well, I guess I should post an update while I'm still pregnant... because if I procrastinate any longer, it will be April and baby will be here!

That's how fast it seems this pregnancy is going. I can't believe I'm already in the third trimester. Time needs to slow down (really slow, because I don't want to turn 36 in two days, nope, don't wanna). I'm enjoying it, for the most part. I love being pregnant, I love the feeling of blossoming and growing a baby. I'm lucky in many ways -- I don't tend to gain a lot of weight, I don't really crave junk food (don't have that much of an appetite, really), my blood pressure is good, I don't get a lot of swelling. So I don't have many complaints, especially since I've been seeing a chiropractor consistently throughout this pregnancy, so the lower back and lower abdomen pain I experienced with my two girls is under control. So is the heartburn (although it's still early for that, I know it's coming).

One thing that is bothering me is the regularity of Braxton-Hicks contractions. I get them frequently, when my bladder is full, when I don't drink enough water, when I move too fast, when I walk too far. So annoying.

The other annoyance has been my OB/GYN. I'm planning a homebirth, so I have been seeing both the OB and a midwife. I started with the OB for the purpose of sustaining this pregnancy--after three first-trimester miscarriages, I wanted to make sure that I am able to carry at least one more past my "danger point" of 9 weeks. The early blood tests suggested low progesterone levels, so I went on a supplement until 14 weeks, then weaned off it. Both the midwife and OB agreed that I could do co-care... but the OB's office has hassled me at every visit to get a pap smear. I have declined every time, but they won't leave me alone about it. There are other tests coming up that I want to decline--GD and GBS--and I don't want to be hassled for those either. So now I have to get the nerve up to call the OB's office and dump them. Or at least thank them for their help and let them know (nicely) that I'm not coming back. As a doula, I don't want to burn any bridges, ya know?

So far the plans for the homebirth include a birth tub, my midwife, my doula, a few other close friends and family members... and that's about it. All the other plans are unformed in the swirling clouds of the nether regions of my brain. In some ways I feel disconnected from the birth experience because I am not placing expectations upon it... I am so open to whatever happens that I don't feel the need to plan it out. I just know that the birth tub will be here waiting, that my labors have been long and painful in the past, and that I want to just relax the baby out. How's that for a birth plan?

What else is there to say about the pregnancy? My girls are impatiently ecstatic. My preschooler asks me every day if my tummy is big enough for the baby to come out yet. My seven-year-old talks to the baby and gives me neckrubs. This child, girl or boy, is going to have many mothers, including its two sisters.

Girl or boy? Gosh, after "What's your due date?" this is the next most-asked question. I simply say, "It's a surprise." The reaction is pretty split: either, "Oh my gosh, I don't know how you can stand not knowing, I would have to know!"; or "Good for you." I prefer the latter. We have definite predictions around here--hubby and preschooler both think it's a girl, my older daughter and I both think it's a boy. We'll see.

That's it for now, I'll post another update with more info later.