Heather's Pregnancy Compendium: Part 4

25 weeks!

more topics to tackle:

hair: 

i have mentioned before that my hair has felt healthier than ever. it is thick, full, and growing. i am tempted to cut it a little but i've always admired the Farm midwives and want to have that long-haired nature-mama look. best hair plus: i hardly have to wash it. it never feels dirty or looks greasy. it just looks messy, but you all know i don't mind that!

another fun fact: i am growing tiny baby-hairs all along my hair line and best of all, they're coming in both brown and silver! you know you're an "older" mama when that happens J

 headaches: 

this was a pregnancy symptom I had never heard about.

 in my life, i've never had a migraine or struggled much with headaches, so when i started getting a headache every day it came as a surprise during the first trimester. of course, you don't take advil when you're pregnant and even though it is supposedly okay to take tylenol, i never did. i wasn't even drinking tea or anything at the time. there are always other ways to deal with headaches like deep breathing and relaxation or some yoga poses. these can relieve the tension of the headache a little, and i do still get them from time to time, usually after work. and sometimes i just have to give in and sleep them off.

home birth / hospital:

an issue i have thought about and imagined and studied and grappled with for years. in 2003 i wrote a research paper for a college course on the history of work in america entitled "The Labor of Labor." i have long been fascinated with the industrialization of birth and the harmful effects that process has had on mothers and babies alike. starting about ten or twelve years ago i fell in love with Spiritual Midwifery and the idea of natural childbirth. for a while I wanted to study to be a midwife and I still think about becoming a doula. needless to say, i had always planned on giving birth at home, especially as a person who is totally uncomfortable in hospitals, has never gone to the doctor as an adult and is pretty much infuriated by the capital-driven practices of western medicine.

then i got pregnant. and i had no health insurance. and i qualified for medi-cal which takes care of everything obgyn-related for the full term of the pregnancy and childbirth and the first year of the baby's life. it also would have paid $1000 toward midwife care, i heard, but unfortunately we have a shortage of midwives in our area and the nearest birth center is down in sacramento. whereas good old-fashioned marshall medical center is basically across the street. all these factors added up with the fact that we got a great feeling from dr. nelson and his staff from the first instant i walked in there. smiles and warm greetings, familiar faces, kind and respectful treatment. and that he has delivered babies in our community for thirty years including many of my very own friends. 

then i heard a story from a couple that are good friends of ours. they had elected to have their baby at home and had two midwives present (who had driven 45 minutes to get here) a good trust relationship had never really developed and the midwives were very stand-offish, trying to empower the mother but rather leaving her feeling very empty and alone. after 20 hours of labor, feeling very little support and feeling scared, my friend and her husband went to marshall hospital. my doctor, dr. nelson, ended up delivering their baby. they had a wonderful experience and she felt far more supported, respected, loved and encouraged by the nurses and staff than she had felt with her midwives at home. they went from being completely anti-hospital-births to now realizing and admitting that sometimes our preconceived notions are wrong. they LOVED their birthing experience at marshall, and all my friends who have given birth there agree and have wonderful stories to share.

so that's my plan. i have a lot of other plans for my birth in order to try to stay away from the system of interferences that, in my mind, complicate and hinder the beauty of the natural process. i have a vision in my mind of my dream birth for this baby and i will hope to envision and embrace that fully to the end. we'll see how it goes. there is nothing i respect more than the process of childbirth and the many ways that women prefer to encounter that experience. for me, for this my first birth, i hope to bring together the best of all worlds and stay true to myself and my baby. 

immune system:

some people will tell you that you are more apt to get sick when you're pregnant, because supposedly your body is working so hard on growing and protecting that life inside that the mother's immune system is slightly compromised. i have found the exact opposite to be true. it seems my immune system has kicked into high gear and i have been (knock on wood) vibrantly healthy throughout many rounds of the flu, colds, etc in my household and community. for about a day i thought i had a cold, stayed home from work, and it virtually vanished! i am eating really well and taking prenatals, and i think that helps. plus maybe a good dose of solid personal determination for healthy, stamina, and energy so that i can do the best i can possibly do at growing this baby.

indigestion:

yep. it's an issue. it has come on pretty strong these last couple weeks. i do some light stretching to try to relieve it, but i wish i could stand on my head or something, it feels so weird like there is nothing i can do. but just tonight i figured something out: (to my dismay) chocolate makes it wayyy worse! oddly, i have been perfectly able to eat spicy foods, which i love, without it affecting me adversely.

they say if you get bad indigestion, your baby will have lots of hair. 

darin was born with tons of black hair that he never lost, whereas i was bald until age three. guess we'll just wait and see :)

check out this dorky mama, i think i am cooing at my cat in this pic. but i love the belly! look how huge it's getting!

in a week or two i'll finish up my compendium with topics such as: nesting, skin, and weight....woooo hooooo, exciting stuff :)

wearing:

my mama's maternity dress from the 1970s, she made it herself

wrap: thrifted recently, $2

boots: bohemia designs, WON in this giveaway

hat: thrifted a long time ago

wooly brown tights: thrifted

necklace: made by laura carter, trade

belt: gift from andrea