slacker, i know

yup.  so I haven't written here in so long that i think my own blog forgot me.  forgive me?  I am going to try to be better about it.

So now I am thirteen weeks and a bit along in my pregnancy, next week i will be officially in my second trimester.  I am feeling much, much, much better.  I wasn't sick really, but I was super irritable and generally filled with ennui.  I decided to bail on my concurrent care with Kaiser around 10 weeks.  It was redundant and annoying so I have only been seeing my homebirth midwife, the marvelous Sue Baelen, and I am SO HAPPY.  This means that I have to pay for my own glucose monitoring strips, which are expensive, but it also means that I will not be subjected to any more tests, vaginal exams, mandatory peeing in cups and getting weighed, waiting in waiting rooms or counseling about genetic testing that I do not wish to have.

See, I had thought I would do concurrent care at Kaiser along with my homebirth prenatal care so that I could have all the testing that was necessary covered ad so that in the event that a transfer was necessary during labor they would not necessarily label me high risk because they would have their own records.  But after being informed that they wanted to re-do my 3 hour glucose test every four weeks to "monitor" me and being given a "standard procedure" 8 week vaginal sonogram with no discussion of whether or not i wanted one I realized that i was denying myself a true homebirth experience.  DUH.  It has been a really great choice. I really feel so different i can hardly explain it.  I am definitely owning my own pregnancy.  Talk about a weight being lifted.

Sue gave me a great book, called the Natural Pregnancy Guide by a midwife named Aviva Romm.  Tons of great info on making herbal infusions for nutrition during pregnancy, as well as herbal remedies for stuff.  And dietary info and just a great, feminist and woman centered approach to health self care during the childbearing year.  Highly recommend!  She also wrote one called raising children naturally that I have coming from Amazon as we speak.  Am thinking infusions would be super for Ava to drink instead of so much cows milk... so long as they were of the proper sort for kiddos.

Have started to show, which is good.  I was just looking chubby.  Today I had a nice thought as i was resting after lunch, that soon i will lay in my bed and nurse my baby while i stroke it's little ear.  sweet thing.

MaryStarr