Water birthers do it in the tub.

By now I'm sure everyone has heard my glowing recommendations for water birth-I wasn't sure while pregnant with Morgan if I wanted to give it a go or not, but after doing it, I have a hard time imagining giving birth on dry land. I had the same reservations as most mothers, "but I'll have to sit in all that stuff." Really, in that moment, you just aren't think about anything coming out of you except a baby. Sorry if this is TMI, but blood is heavier than water--just about everything (accept the baby) sinks right to the bottom. It doesn't get all mixed up.

So anyway, graphic discussion of bodily fluids aside, I've been shopping for birth tubs in preparation for our home birth. Yes, home birth. Should this be surprising or alarming to anyone, I assure you home birth is very safe (statistically it has better outcomes than hospital birth for healthy, low-risk moms when attended by a licensed and/or certified midwife), and should any unusual or unexpected events arise that would require a different setting, we are very close to a hospital. Hospital transfers happen in about 10% of homebirths. See, hospital caregivers are trained to treat disorders--birth is not a disorder, and seldom requires any "treatment" or intervention. But once you're in the doors, they just can't keep from "treating" you (it's their job). Even something so simple as the standard-issue IV (totally unnecessary in most cases) can cause complications and make a normal birth more uncomfortable and potentially dangerous than it would be on its own. By the way, you can refuse the IV (in fact, any procedure in hospital) unless they are placing it for the purpose of medication.

So anyway, off the soapbox and on topic, I've been shopping for birthing tubs. The tubs I'm investigating are inflatable, and about 25" deep when filled. The odd thing is that they aren't that much different from kiddie pools-which some women opt for as they are about $150 cheaper. I think I'm going to cough up the extra dough, though, as the birthing tubs are made from plastic that is phthalate-free and more environmentally friendly--which mainly translates into less chemicals for me and baby. There are two I'm considering, pictured below:

This above pool is the "la bassine," and is the cheaper of the two-it has handles on the inside to hang onto during labor and pushing. It looks a little roomier, but I believe they both hold about the same amount.

This one is the "birth pool in a box," the more popular of the two. As you can see, it has handles on the inside AND outside, so that if you're on your knees leaning over the side (a common tub position), you still have something to hang onto. This one also has a seat built in, for mom or for partner (who would sit on it and hold mom). Both pools come with the option of a disposable liner, which makes a handy garbage bag for when all is said and done, but I'm not sure if the liners are as chemically conscious as the pools. One cool benefit of purchasing my own tub is that I can then offer it for rent to my future doula clients, provided they purchase their own liners. The personal-use pools are good for about ten uses--they also offer a professional grade for a higher price that is good for about 30 uses, but I think I'll stick with the cheaper one and see how it goes. Regardless, the kids are gonna be tickled to have this thing inflated in the living room (even if it won't have any water in it yet).

My only reservation with all this is that I don't know if I'll labor long enough to get the darn thing filled--it takes about 45 min, given the water heater doesn't poop out (we're thinking of installing a tankless one to avoid that problem). At least I can still rent it out.

If you have any questions about waterbirth, visit www.waterbirth.org or just ask me. For more info on hombirth, visit www.mana.org.

Secret Spaces and Burgeoning Bellies

Oh how I wish, for just a little while, to be a careful youth trudging through the mud of time--lamenting how long it seemed to take to get from one event to anther. Now I am in a speedboat, racing with the current of a raging river. looking for any kind of anchor with which to slow myself down.

That is my fancy way of saying, "Holy Freakin' Cow! I'm 27 wks pregnant! How in the heck did THAT happen?!?" Well, obviously I know how THAT happened-- I am more baffled by the rapidity of the process. Suddenly I feel huge and cumbersome, whereas a month ago I was still wondering where my belly was as I had been sure my third baby would make him or herself known much sooner than the others. And then there it was. My huge belly. Complete with stretch marks, back aches, and an ever-growing need to eat things that are not good for me. And while I am struggling with the discomforts (I experience really extreme pelvic rotation with my pregnancies-a very painful and inconvenient condition) and the difficulties of managing pregnancy and the care of two younguns', I am still (as always) in awe and in love with the journey of growing a new human. As with every new experience, we are adapting to accommodate and evolving as a family along the way.

I realize I have been sorely negligent with picture posting-acquiring a new computer threw me off as all my pics are on the other, and apparently I shant dain to work upon it, as it is now old and ucky. But here are some just taken today, at 27 wks 1 day:

Now onto the other truly exciting developments in our household--whilst removing the old, ugly fiberboard wall paneling that covers our upstairs rooms (you can see it in the above pics), our love for our old house was reaffirmed in the discovery of a (duhn duhn duhn........) hidden room. Nope, I'm not kidding. And no, there was not a dead body in it. Nor any valuable antiques. But oh, the excitement of finding it! And oh, the many ideas and suggestions we have had for using it!
We have known for some time that the crawlspaces upstairs were huge and could be put to use if we so chose--so some of what we have discovered is crawlspace, but the exciting thing was the discovery of a sealed-over doorway behind the paneling we were removing. The "room" (really more of a closet, but big-large enough to be a nice reading room) is finished in the same hardwood paneling as the bedroom itself, complete with a floor. The second surprise came from finding another, smaller door opening leading into the crawlspace behind the room (next to the bedroom's walk-in closet--there's another space the same size on the other side of the closet). These spaces are currently unfinished, though there are leftovers of wall and floors coverings that indicate that at some point they were. The space behind the hidden room connects to a crawlspace large enough to walk/creep behind the bathroom, handing for installing new vent fans upstairs and down. There is also enough space to run ducting from the furnace in the basement to the upstairs, which has never had its own heating system (we had planned on installing electric forced-air heaters, but now won't need to). My current plan (though that seems to change hourly) is to have the two large crawlspaces serve as the kids' individual bed-areas, with the bedroom serving as a common playroom. They are thrilled at this idea, and oddly anxious to sleep in the "spooky rooms".

The doorway into the "hidden room" (Morgan is our tour guide)-the mirrored door is the closet:

Inside to first room-the opening is the doorway into the unfinished space that will be Garrett's "bedchamber":

Looking into Garrett's future room, left of the closet (that is a gable vent, but will be a real window), it's roughly 8'x10':

Morgan's room, to the right of the closet (that's my dad--they're here for a couple weeks visiting, and we put him to work-he's laying new electrical cables so the rooms will have outlets and wall sconces, and laying down sub floor that we will probably cover with carpet). Her space is slightly smaller.

The big bedroom, which we had originally intended they share by actually putting beds in it. The opening behind Dad goes into Morgan's room. Garrett is measuring. He's in charge of measuring.



The whole is exciting and fun and totally overwhelming-we have probably tripled the total project time and effort, and are baffled by the fact that we are doubling the square footage of that room--but oh, how cool it will be when it's finished! We haven't even started work in the small bedroom yet and yes, there are crawlspaces that big on either side of it, too). It's driving me crazy to not be able to get in there and build with Dad, though. He and Troy are having all the fun (though I won't lament the absence of 50 yr old black cobwebs hanging from my hair).

Busy days and butterfly parties.

This week is going by in a haze as we try to organize the house and get ready to make room for baby while also preparing for Morgan's 3rd bday this weekend AND trying to start a remodeling project upstairs in anticipation of G and M moving into a bedroom up there in a few months). I should mention that Troy took the week off, so I am not attempting all these endeavors on my own. Life, however, always seems to wiggle its way in front of plans, and we haven't made much project on our list items--but have managed to meander through Costco, buy a new computer (yay!), go to the zoo, hang out with our midwife, attend a PALS Doulas board meeting (me), go to a birthday party, and replace our damaged futon mattress. Oh, and Troy did all the laundry. Tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day we get on-task. Isn't that when most goals are achieved? Tomorrow?
Regardless of what we accomplish, I'm happy to have this time with my family before things are forever enhanced by our new addition. Speaking of whom, I will be 26 wks pregnant tomorrow, which officially puts me in the 3rd trimester. While that sounds amazing and makes birth seem imminent, we must remember the June is still 3 months away--and hope fervently that 3 months is enough time to be ready, to absorb how we are and how we will be different. It won't be, it never is, we will feel as though it has gone by too fast, that we aren't ready, and then the baby will be a part of us and all the frantic preparation will be forgotten. In terms of the baby right now, yesterday's appt was wonderful and all is going swimmingly. Just Garrett and I went, so that he could discuss with Val his role in the birth. The two of them decided that he would help Troy cut the cord and could also help bring the baby out of the water (should we make it into the birth tub) if he so chooses at the time. He is very into this whole experience and I know he will want to stay close to me throughout the birth, so I was glad he had this opportunity to have his own meeting with Val. He loves our appointments anyway-they taught him how to use the blood pressure cuff (he took his blood pressure 3 times), he has full reign over the measuring tape, and yesterday Val let him explore the armoire and closets full of linens and medical equipment(if you are interested in seeing photos of our birth center or learning more about midwifery, visit www.birthcenter.com . We have our appt's in the birth suites-I spent yesterday's laying on the bed in suite 3 while Val kicked back in a comfy chair). He is also always in charge of turning the Doppler on and off when we are listening to the baby's heartbeat. If you ask him what a placenta is, he will give a surprisingly detailed description of its form and function (which I don't recall discussing with him in that much detail, but he never forgets anything). Perhaps we see a future in birth services? Hmmmmm......
Morgan is more concerned with her upcoming butterfly party, which she got to pick out decorations for today. She was certainly in her element with an armload of goodies within 5 minutes of entering the party store today. It should be quite an event, made all the more merry by both sets of grandparents being in attendance. Which means we also have to ready the house for out-of-toners--yeesh!! I'm sleeping all next week.
At least it isn't snowing today!!