I made my second pilgrimage to The Farm for a prenatal visit, this time by myself. It would've been a much more enjoyable commute had it not been raining the whole way there and back, but I enjoyed the many hours of NPR (streaming KQED! Go SF!), my Tightrope (Janelle Monae) Pandora Station, and some good catch-up conversations with my sis and a few CA girlfriends. As it turns out, without the 4 yr old, the trip is about four hours and fifteen minutes, each way. Still a lot to do in one day, but well worth it.
Disclaimer: For all you non-birth-junkies, I do go into some detail going forward that you may or may not find interesting. But *I* find it interesting, so I'm going to include it.
I arrived at The Farm about 15 minutes late, but as things often go with the hectic schedule of midwives, my midwife was later than I was. She sent an apprentice midwife named Laura ahead of her to let me in. We had a lovely chat about what it's been like for her to have two children four years apart, siblings sharing a bedroom, and childproofing the second time around. By the time Pamela arrived, I had already peed in the cup (everything good there) and weighed myself.
I was surprised to find that I've lost nine pounds since my last visit six weeks ago. I mean, I knew I had lost some weight, but didn't know it was a whole nine pounds! Gestational diabetes (as borderline as it is) has been a blesisng in disguise, both pregnancies. Eating well, avoiding sugar/white foods, and watching my carbs is generally a good thing anyway. Pamela was really happy with my progress in that regard, and noticed upon first seeing me that I looked well. We're both hoping that watching the sugars from this early point in my pregnancy (I started at about 14 weeks this time, as opposed to 31 weeks last time.) will help me make a smaller baby. I would be thrilled with a nine pound baby. Even ten pounds would be ok with me! Let's just try to veer away from the almost-eleven pounder this time, mkay?
Some fears had come up for me between last visit and this one, about homebirth in general and, more specifically, homebirth 40 minutes away from the closest hospital without ambulance transfer. Ahem. I may be granola-crunchy-mama in some ways, but let's not forget that I chose a hospital birth last time, and all the eventual crap that went with it. It was where I felt most comfortable at that point in my life. Even though I am clear about wanting a homebirth this time, I still felt somewhat uncomfortable being that distance away from an OR should I or the baby need one.
I had a long talk with my very good friend/mentor/doula/now-midwife about the instances which are true emergencies in childbirth. She is so great at providing the information and statistics without any judgment, and letting me come to my own conclusions about what feels comfortable for me. The two true emergencies (for those that would like to know) are placental abruption, and cord prolapse. Both of these are rare (1 in 10,000 and 1 in 500,000), and I do not have any of the known risk factors for either. Good information to have, for sure.
Still, I wanted to check in with Pamela about my concerns. As it turns out, my fears were alleviated. The hospital is, in fact, only 30 minutes away by car. There is, indeed, ambulance transfer available, and the ambulance can get to The Farm in 10-15 minutes. Retained placenta would warrant a trip to the hospital to get the drugs for extraction (that happened to me in the hospital the first time - they can do it without drugs but even the midwives recommend them), and a fourth degree tear would also warrant a transfer for reparation. But neither of these things are emergencies, and the likelihood of either of them a second time around are slim-to-none.
We chatted about the housing on The Farm, and it still was not a good time for me to see any of the properties because they were either occupied or not appropriate for our needs. Pamela has me penciled in for the house that she rents just outside the community, and when she said that to me, Laura gave me a nod in the background and mouthed, "It's really nice!" That made me feel good.
She asked if I had gotten an ultrasound, which I haven't yet, but I've decided I would like to have one for the information about fetal health and placental placement. I've apparently convinced Scott that we should wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl, but I find myself waffling about it now. We'll seek out an ultrasound in either October or November, so I still have some time to ruminate on that one.
Last, but certainly not least, I had my first fundal height measurement, palpation, and I got to hear this little one's heart beat! My measurement was right on, and Pamela had me feel where the baby was, too. No matter how much I know that the baby's alive and kicking (literally) in there, it's still an amazing thing to hear the heartbeat for the first time. I'm sad that Scotty and Zoe weren't there to share that moment with me, but there will be plenty of opportunities between now and January to hear it again. For this visit, it was my baby's and my special moment. I don't keep many things to myself, but it was kind of cool to be the first one to hear the heartbeat.
After we finished our chat, I drove around the property a bit, and had a long browse in The Farm Store. They have all the things you'd expect for a 'hippie store' - lots of Farm soy products, Ina May's books, organic offerings, handmade jewelry, local produce, and all that. But they also had a healthy (or unhealthy, depends on how you look at it) selection of junk food and sodas. Somewhat surprising, but kind of a relief, too. It's good to know I probably won't be judged when I have my five cupcakes and a glass of delicious, sugary wine within hours after this baby vacates my body...What? Ok, maybe not the wine. But for SURE the cupcakes.
Here are some photos of things that I had referenced after the first visit. Behold the peace swingset...
and the hilarious speed bump sign...
I promise to take more pictures next time. It was raining for this visit, and I wasn't feeling particularly inspired to stand out in the gloomy weather.
Update: Last night I went to bed and had my FOURTH dream that this baby is a boy. So far we have two votes (my coach and mom) plus one dream of Zoe's that it's a girl, and four of my own dreams plus one vote (my sister) and a pendulum test that it's a boy. We shall see...
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