I mentioned this way back in the first post; I'm enrolled in a study at UVM's Clinical Research Center. They are studying preeclampsia: can it be predicted, avoided, and how do we treat it? It's a pretty neat study. It's number 1018 down next to the bottom of this page.
The second visit of the study, for me, is on Wednesday. I will officially be in my second trimester (woot!) and the pregnancy will be more secure. I will only be there for a few hours this time. They will take vials of blood, do a few sonograms of veins and arteries (including the one that feeds my uterus so I may get a view of the baby), and release me into the wild... After, of course, having fed me and collected my pee.
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I have to eat what they supply for me. I picked up Sunday and Monday's meals today. Salads and whole wheat pasta dishes. There is a dessert for Sunday night, but not Monday. The macaroni and cheese looks good. I'm almost looking forward to the meals. Almost. I had talked to the woman who made the meals about my food preferences and we discussed my yogurt and nut aversions and that I had been eating egg and cheese on a bagel every morning... We never discussed my bean aversion. There are beans in both dinners. And since they can't measure the nutrients in each individual egg - I have egg substitute for both breakfasts. The salads look beautiful though. Garbanzo beans and all. A courier is coming Monday with my meals for Tuesday.
I will be fasting when I arrive at the hospital at 8am on Wednesday. Not so much as a sip of water. I will have a headache (having ridden the bus there) and demand they hurry up so I can drink. The first thing I do lately is wake the Boo and prep her snack and breakfast and pour myself a glass of juice. I get some fluids, vitamin C, and a boost of sugar. I will not have my hummingbird fuel on board when I see the happy hospital staff...
I will present to them all of my leftovers and a jug of my pee. They will measure and analyze both of them.
I think I signed up for this study for the same reason I allow training nurses and midwives and doctors to help out during my exams. I want to help people learn. Since I can't teach them myself, I help them in the only way that I can. I really do think that dissecting the frog is not something you can substitute with a diagram. I have an aunt with three kidneys and a friend with one huge one - real-life is so much freakier than a diagram.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
First Exam
There are three midwives at Tapestry Midwifery. Heather is the one with whom we started (that just sounds awkward, but I have an ancient English teacher screaming in my head), but she is pregnant and may not be back from her maternity leave before I deliver. Bryn and I decided to rotate through the midwives and get to know all of them as a matter of principle.
Today we met with Martha and her shadow. Alaura (sp?) is a midwife in-training and she sat in on my appointment and took my blood pressure. I was raised in a medical household, so I tend to be completely fine with trainees observing and helping - they have to learn somewhere. I'd rather have a doctor, nurse, or midwife who was allowed to listen, observe, and help than one who was constantly denied the opportunity while still learning. I treated her like a shadow and practically ignored her. I feel a bit guilty about that, but for those of you who have had "female" exams before, I think you may understand my detachment.
Bryn and I started by telling Martha how the pregnancy was progressing and how different this one is than Alex's. Instead of my face clearing up and feeling fantastic, I have completely broken out, I am queasy and exhausted. Martha smiled and gave me the old rote about no two pregnancies being alike. She also said that there are some OTC things I can do for my face and if it comes to it she can recommend a dermatologist consult. I think I'll stick it out. Martha mentioned rosacea and having read about it, I have to agree... I'm really not happy about this. She also mentioned that my blood work came back good, except my iron levels are where she would want them at 28 weeks - I need to step it up. Ugh...
We talked about my last pregnancy and her delivery and my labor and Martha reassured me that Tapestry is probably a much better fit for me than my old cranky OB had been. I don't want to get into Alex's birth story. But Martha had worked with the man who replaced my old OB and we agreed that he was very sweet and worth the hour trip for an annual Pap.
Down to the exam. Blood pressure was done by the shadow 110/74, which is perfectly normal but a bit high for me. But I'M GOING TO HEAR THE BABY! So I laid back, Martha gooped my belly (apologizing that she needed to use the goop, when the baby is bigger and easier to get at they use coconut oil), and ran the microphone over my belly. She had mentioned that it's still a little early and it may take a while to find it yet, but she pressed the mic down and slid it half and inch and "swishswishswishswishswish" loud and clear. I think Bryn came up out of his chair. The look on his face was amazing. He looked shocked and surprised and thrilled and so full of love. I thought he was going to scoop me up abdomen first and press his ear to my belly. We are going to bring Alex to the next appointment so she can hear too.
Obviously not me, but so you know what we were hearing:
And I am in my 12th week, so the heart rate is pretty accurate.
After listening to the baby, Bryn was asked to leave. This is the part of the exam that I dread and is no longer safe for children to read about. This is where I get asked about my past, my triggers, and whether or not I am safe in my current relationship. Ugh... I blamed my flashbacks and nightmares during Alex's pregnancy on the OB asking me those questions - I hadn't been thinking about any of it before he brought it up - it's all his fault! Well... not so much. Obviously. Most women who have been abused or assaulted have control issues and there is no control over what your body is doing during pregnancy or labor or delivery (well, a bit, but not nearly enough) and pregnancy is inherently sexual so all those vulnerabilities resurface and wreak havoc on a pregnant woman's mind. For some women a certain body position will freak her out for others it has situational triggers: showers, mustaches, Aspen cologne... For me there's one of each. I explained about Bryn shaving his face clean and kissing him and I had terrible nightmares, so he grew back his facial hair. Martha "awww"'d and phrased the next question gently, "So you feel safe in your current relationship?" instead of "Do you?" which I think was nice of her.
This next bit is more biological. My chest is clear, my heart sounds good, I got swabbed for chlamydia, the walls of my vagina are healthy and pink, and I have a "lovely" purple cervix. The shadow actually called my cervix "lovely" and I thanked her; it was the nicest thing anyone had ever said about my cervix.
The swab for chlamydia will prevent the baby needing eyedrops. As I will be nursing immediately and eternally (if you've been there you understand), the Vitamin K shot will be unnecessary. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get around the Hep B vaccine. In talking to my mother, the RN, the Hep B is to protect the baby from the hospital. As the kid will be rooming in with me, not mopping up blood, swapping needles, or having unprotected sex, I think I may be able to get out of the hospital without the shot. I hope.
Today we met with Martha and her shadow. Alaura (sp?) is a midwife in-training and she sat in on my appointment and took my blood pressure. I was raised in a medical household, so I tend to be completely fine with trainees observing and helping - they have to learn somewhere. I'd rather have a doctor, nurse, or midwife who was allowed to listen, observe, and help than one who was constantly denied the opportunity while still learning. I treated her like a shadow and practically ignored her. I feel a bit guilty about that, but for those of you who have had "female" exams before, I think you may understand my detachment.
Bryn and I started by telling Martha how the pregnancy was progressing and how different this one is than Alex's. Instead of my face clearing up and feeling fantastic, I have completely broken out, I am queasy and exhausted. Martha smiled and gave me the old rote about no two pregnancies being alike. She also said that there are some OTC things I can do for my face and if it comes to it she can recommend a dermatologist consult. I think I'll stick it out. Martha mentioned rosacea and having read about it, I have to agree... I'm really not happy about this. She also mentioned that my blood work came back good, except my iron levels are where she would want them at 28 weeks - I need to step it up. Ugh...
We talked about my last pregnancy and her delivery and my labor and Martha reassured me that Tapestry is probably a much better fit for me than my old cranky OB had been. I don't want to get into Alex's birth story. But Martha had worked with the man who replaced my old OB and we agreed that he was very sweet and worth the hour trip for an annual Pap.
Down to the exam. Blood pressure was done by the shadow 110/74, which is perfectly normal but a bit high for me. But I'M GOING TO HEAR THE BABY! So I laid back, Martha gooped my belly (apologizing that she needed to use the goop, when the baby is bigger and easier to get at they use coconut oil), and ran the microphone over my belly. She had mentioned that it's still a little early and it may take a while to find it yet, but she pressed the mic down and slid it half and inch and "swishswishswishswishswish" loud and clear. I think Bryn came up out of his chair. The look on his face was amazing. He looked shocked and surprised and thrilled and so full of love. I thought he was going to scoop me up abdomen first and press his ear to my belly. We are going to bring Alex to the next appointment so she can hear too.
Obviously not me, but so you know what we were hearing:
And I am in my 12th week, so the heart rate is pretty accurate.
After listening to the baby, Bryn was asked to leave. This is the part of the exam that I dread and is no longer safe for children to read about. This is where I get asked about my past, my triggers, and whether or not I am safe in my current relationship. Ugh... I blamed my flashbacks and nightmares during Alex's pregnancy on the OB asking me those questions - I hadn't been thinking about any of it before he brought it up - it's all his fault! Well... not so much. Obviously. Most women who have been abused or assaulted have control issues and there is no control over what your body is doing during pregnancy or labor or delivery (well, a bit, but not nearly enough) and pregnancy is inherently sexual so all those vulnerabilities resurface and wreak havoc on a pregnant woman's mind. For some women a certain body position will freak her out for others it has situational triggers: showers, mustaches, Aspen cologne... For me there's one of each. I explained about Bryn shaving his face clean and kissing him and I had terrible nightmares, so he grew back his facial hair. Martha "awww"'d and phrased the next question gently, "So you feel safe in your current relationship?" instead of "Do you?" which I think was nice of her.
This next bit is more biological. My chest is clear, my heart sounds good, I got swabbed for chlamydia, the walls of my vagina are healthy and pink, and I have a "lovely" purple cervix. The shadow actually called my cervix "lovely" and I thanked her; it was the nicest thing anyone had ever said about my cervix.
The swab for chlamydia will prevent the baby needing eyedrops. As I will be nursing immediately and eternally (if you've been there you understand), the Vitamin K shot will be unnecessary. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get around the Hep B vaccine. In talking to my mother, the RN, the Hep B is to protect the baby from the hospital. As the kid will be rooming in with me, not mopping up blood, swapping needles, or having unprotected sex, I think I may be able to get out of the hospital without the shot. I hope.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Two Services
There are two things that I'm looking into with this baby that didn't happen or have a possibility of happening with Alex.
The first is diaper service. I went through so much research with Alex about how to diaper her. The arguments about landfills and plastics and waste water and energy use and which was worse for the environment. I crunched numbers for over two weeks (the joys of unemployment) and came to the conclusion that if I could find an environmentally responsible diaper service, cloth would win out over disposables. Between my energy consumption on the washer that was older than I was, the wear and tear on the septic tank, and the fact that I would have no help out in the middle of nowhere, I was swayed by the allure of disposable diapers. I now live in civilization. There is a diaper service and they have environmentally friendly washers and driers. They also have rates that, after paying for the diapers, are comparable and better to buying box after box of disposables. So, hint-hint, I think I would really like to go with the diaper service.
The other thing is something that never occurred to me while I was pregnant with Alex. Placental encapsulation. Don't laugh. Mammal mommas have been eating placentas since the dawn of time. The site has some really interesting information about the benefits of ingesting the placenta. I spent a bit of time wondering about the placenta when I had Alex. There were jokes made about placenta omelets and smoothies, but I thought there had to be something... important about placentas. Just a few months ago, a friend of mine from college, who is now a labor and delivery nurse in Chicago, had her placenta encapsulated. She seemed to have no post-partum depression at all. Since I have struggled with depression for over a decade, I think that this may be a tool to help keep me off anti-depressants for as long as possible. I have no idea how much it will cost but there is a woman in Montpelier that encapsulates placentas. I'll email her when I have a bit more nerve...
So those are the two things I've been researching lately. If after reading up on the subjects anyone has any ideas, comments, or suggestions, just leave a comment.
The first is diaper service. I went through so much research with Alex about how to diaper her. The arguments about landfills and plastics and waste water and energy use and which was worse for the environment. I crunched numbers for over two weeks (the joys of unemployment) and came to the conclusion that if I could find an environmentally responsible diaper service, cloth would win out over disposables. Between my energy consumption on the washer that was older than I was, the wear and tear on the septic tank, and the fact that I would have no help out in the middle of nowhere, I was swayed by the allure of disposable diapers. I now live in civilization. There is a diaper service and they have environmentally friendly washers and driers. They also have rates that, after paying for the diapers, are comparable and better to buying box after box of disposables. So, hint-hint, I think I would really like to go with the diaper service.
The other thing is something that never occurred to me while I was pregnant with Alex. Placental encapsulation. Don't laugh. Mammal mommas have been eating placentas since the dawn of time. The site has some really interesting information about the benefits of ingesting the placenta. I spent a bit of time wondering about the placenta when I had Alex. There were jokes made about placenta omelets and smoothies, but I thought there had to be something... important about placentas. Just a few months ago, a friend of mine from college, who is now a labor and delivery nurse in Chicago, had her placenta encapsulated. She seemed to have no post-partum depression at all. Since I have struggled with depression for over a decade, I think that this may be a tool to help keep me off anti-depressants for as long as possible. I have no idea how much it will cost but there is a woman in Montpelier that encapsulates placentas. I'll email her when I have a bit more nerve...
So those are the two things I've been researching lately. If after reading up on the subjects anyone has any ideas, comments, or suggestions, just leave a comment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)