Adventures in Pregnancy

I'm trying out some new things this pregnancy.

For the past three, I have seen the traditional Ob/Gyn, but decided to give another couple of routes a chance this time.

So far I've visited with a Licensed Midwife and our Family Doctor, who also happens to catch babies.

Both folks were wonderful, nice, and viewed birth as a natural, normal process, unlike my former Ob/Gyn, whom I felt looked at me as though pregnancy was an issue to be dealt with or that something could go wrong at any moment. Ah and I frequently felt pressure to be induced--not because of medical reasons but "just because."

The Midwife was very nice and promotes birth in the woman's natural, normal surroundings--the woman's own home. I was very surprised and impressed to learn that these are not just women who show up, not knowing much except to "catch the baby." They're extensively trained and are monitored closely by the State. As she told me yesterday, she must watch her p's and q's. One of the first differences I had with the midwife was that I wasn't running straight off to the lab, as my Ob/Gyn had me do, because obviously as soon as one becomes pregnant, the body doesn't know what to do (sarcasm). Also they show up very early in labor, so honestly she'd probably catch more abnormalities than my Ob/Gyn would, as I tend to wait until the last minute to go to the hospital.

**Note that I am diligent to run to the Endocrinologist for blood work ASAP. :)

The Family Doctor was also very nice and a little different as I've built a relationship with him over the past two years. He's familiar with my OCD, thyroid disease (he and my Endocrinologist are in the same building) and has just gotten to know our family. Even though my visit with him was in the doctor's office, the whole atmosphere was different....still no running off to the lab for labwork--they didn't even ask me to visit the bathroom. Instead of the atmosphere of "what's wrong with this pregnancy," there was excitement. For a doctor who sees whole families, there's definitely something different when he gets to see a pregnant woman and all he talked about was how exciting this was going to be and his favorite part of his job. He's extremely supportive of natural birth and even though I began to ask how other women dealt with epidurals, he said, "Honestly, I don't think you're going to need one." He was very adamant that he'd support me in any way possible.

I've learned lots of things between the two of them.

Both my Endocrinologist and Family Doctor "cleared" me for Homebirth, if I want to do that.....we'll see. And if I decide to birth in the hospital, I think I'm going to be much more comfortable with our Family Doctor, as he's known for being less likely to jump to unnecessary interventions compared to my former Ob/Gyn and I do like the idea of continuity of care--he's also the baby's doctor, not just mine. :)

So now I just need to decide which way I'd like to go. I think both are excellent choices. So it really does boil down to which way I feel most comfortable.

BTW here's a listing of the Midwifery Model of Care vs. Medical Model of Care, just in case y'all are wondering. I think our Family Doctor leans more towards the lines ofthe Midwifery Model of Care.

Midwifery Model of Care

1)Focus on health, wellness,
prevention
2)Labor/birth as normal
physiological processes
3)Lower rates of using
interventions
4)Mother gives birth
5)Care is individualized

Medical Model of Care

1)Focus on managing problems
and complications
2)Labor/birth as dependent on
technology
3)Higher rates of using
interventions
4)Doctor delivers baby
5)Care is routinized

Morgan's Makeover

On Sunday evening, while sitting on the livingroom couch, Morgan suddenly discovered that several inches (up to 8) of hair was missing from her head. Over the next few hours, we would find strands and strands of long brown hair strewn across the livingroom floor. Jared used his craft scissors to snip a few inches off of his sister's hair and as she puts it, "I was distracted and didn't know what he was doing." When we saw him with the scissors, it was too late--he was very quiet.

Because of the drastic difference in length, I only trusted one person to correct this 'do, and Morgan got her first "Designer Cut" at an upscale salon. Yes it was more than what it costs to have all 3 get a trim at their usual salon, but, in this case, I didn't want to take any chances.

So off we went.....all the way to the salon, Morgan pouted and was very sad to lose her locks. She has just learned about braids, barettes, bows, and all those other girlie things. Unlike Elena, who has had an appreciation for ruffles and lace since the moment of birth, it's taken some time for Morgan to aquire a taste for the feminine.

Here she is, waiting her turn, obviously not happy. I said she could pick out her own haircut (within reason) and asked if we could look at books with children's photos, but they didn't have a single book showing kid's cuts. I guess not many parents bring their kids in for a "Designer Cut."


After assessing the damage, the Master Stylist prescribed an ultra short backwards stacked bob for the princess. Not yet understanding how short this would be, Morgan excitedly jumped to the floor and headed over to the sinks.




With freshly shampooed hair, the cut began.

The moment of truth as real tears begin to flow.

After the cut is over, Morgan tried very hard to smile.

But when the cape came off, she was very pleased, although concerned because she was afraid that she was no longer Morgan. She proudly announced, "I'm still Morgan! My hair is different, but Morgan is inside of me and can't be taken away."

One last update on baby Bethany Michal

I think this is our guy's last day or so in her orphanage and he let us know tonight that while they're still unsure as to what happened with her health, she is NOT improving. We all kind of got the impression that while she's still alive, her condition has started to worsen.

One thing I've learned about this man is to trust his judgment. It's hard to do, especially when we can become so attached to a child and want to see them for ourselves. But his heart for the children and "his families," is very evident. Since I began moderating the family network, I've watched him take a real interest in all of us and believe he puts a lot of thought into which child should go to which family. It also puts just a tad bit of pressure (but in a good way) to know that he specifically thought of a family when he feels a child is ready to be assigned.

Back in January he believed that the best place for Bethany was the orphanage and while others told me a few not so pleasant stories of what "could" be going on, it's nice to know that he truly has the best interest of the children and the families at heart.

Update on baby Bethany Michal

We haven't learned much, except that they're unsure as to what happened with her health wise. She is still alive though and is "with us," as they put it.

They'll continue to keep her there in the orphanage until they know for certain what happened to cause her to take such a turn.

I sometimes wonder if we'll still have the chance to bring her home.

Changing Vacation Times?

Last July, I booked our Orlando vacation. The flight, hotel, and rental car are paid for. All we have to do is board the plane in Memphis and show up with spending money. We got a very good "promotion" package deal. The last few years we've been able to find affordable vacations by looking for different product promotions. It can be a hassle, but we do save a lot of money, which is great when a family is on a budget.

We also purchased travel insurance, which allows us one change or cancellation. However, if we cancel, we don't get our money back--we just recieve a credit to use towards a future trip. And we only get one change.

I booked this trip before we signed with an adoption agency and also before realizing that I would be 6 1/2 months pregnant.

Currently we're booked to go in September, the weekend after Elena's 3rd birthday. We were looking forward to this because Elena will be old enough to be more independent/walk on her own, etc. Another pro to September is that there won't be as many crowds, which sounds great to me. Also it may be a bit cooler than the summer months.

So, we're considering switching the dates to July, when I'll only be 4 1/2 months pregnant, but I'm sure the crowds will be horrendous and the weather will be HOT.

I thought about waiting until 2009, but then we'll have a baby in tow and quite possibly another child via adoption, as well.

And of course, there's always the last option of just cancelling the trip and using the package for credit in the future.

While I'm not crazy about walking around the Magic Kingdom while 6 1/2 months pregnant, I'm even less crazy about long lines, crowds, and Orlando July heat. :) Actually when I was pregnant with Elena, I never went out the whole summer. Ha!
WWYD? I guess I could just let Andrew and the kids visit the MK and I'll stay back at the hotel pool? :)

A Homeschooler's Paradise

Have I mentioned how much I absolutely love homeschooling? I know I sound as though I'm crazy, but I actually enjoy working with my children, picking out their curriculum (hand picked by me after doing lots of research and study), and watching them learn.

Our homeschool convention is this weekend. There are workshops to attend and many homeschool vendors are present to display their materials. I finally found a Science program!

As I've mentioned before, we're very ecclectic, so I'm using a Literature Rich program for History, Geography, and of course the much needed Living Books for Read Alouds (Sonlight), Traditional for Math, Learning to Read, and Language Arts (Christian Light Education) and Hands On/Traditional for Science (Christian Liberty Press/Backyard Scientists)

Jared will start K4, using Christian Light Education and also he and Elena will listen while I'm reading our Living Books.

If you click on the above links, they'll take you to the specific page to see what we're using.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming year. :)

My Buttercup

My sweet baby girl has felt left out quite a lot recently. I don't think it's intentional, but I usually find her running to find me and then wrapping her arms around my legs crying, "Mama, hold me."

Last week we sat in the livingroom and she handed me some of her dehydrated apples and cranberries. Thinking she was engrossed in the movie, I walked back to my bedroom and started flipping through the catalog, only meaning to be there for a second or two. But just as I was getting up to walk back to the livingroom, I noticed my little princess peering around the corner. She ran to the bed, climbed on, and proceeded to share her snack.

Today I tried to get in some exercise and she continued to hover very close to me, asking me to hold her. My eldest was playing a game and her brother was trying to put something together in the playroom, and no one was including the Buttercup. So I picked her up and we ventured on back to the bedroom. She feels left out a lot, so I decided to share a secret.

She's only 2 1/2, so I figured she wouldn't "get it." I said, "You can't tell the others, but Mama has a baby in her tummy."

"Mama? Baby? Tummy?" she asked as she pointed to my tummy and smiled.

"Yep, and it's a secret."

She patted my tummy, leaned over and kissed it, patted it again and said, "Baby."


Maybe she's able to understand more than I give her credit for.

It's all I can do to get her to give me a kiss on the cheek, but she didn't hesitate once, even without prompting, to give her little sister or brother a kiss. This is a good attitude I hope to keep up, because the Buttercup very much enjoys being the baby in this family.

Boy?

With my first three pregnancies, I immediately knew what I was having--my intuition was just so clear. I even knew not to bother with names of the opposite gender, because I wouldn't need them. But this time I have had really no leaning towards either--I don't know if it's because the baby was such a true shock that I don't know what to think or what. This time is just very different--I even still have feelings that something isn't quite "right," but I'm going to tell myself that's just a common insecurity.

But yesterday I had my first "inkling" towards gender. I know it's an "Old Wive's Tale," but when I was pregnant with my girls, my hair just didn't grow. It's probably way too much information, but I only had to shave my legs maybe once a month. My hair only had to be cut once or twice during those pregnancies as well. But two days after they were born, everything went back to normal. In fact, I started my "Four week after baby day out," because of this very thing. While my hair quit growing during the pregnancies, it grew four to six inches within the first month after their births--it was overkill.

During my pregnancy with Jared, my hair grew and grew--I just couldn't keep up with it. And opposite of the girls, after his birth, it stopped growing and then continued on normally.

Yesterday a friend of mine pointed out that my hair has gotten quite a bit longer just in the past week or so and I realized she's right.

So.....could it really be another boy?

Completed the Overview and My First Exam!

I am SO thrilled to say that I finally completed the overview of the course. The overview touches a little on everything we're going to learn about and then I take a course on each specific topic.

Next up is Anatomy and Physiology (sounds fun, eh?)

In the overview, I learned quite a bit about the importance of nutrition and its relation to the immune system. Not only nutrition, but fitness as well. I especially found the importance of water to be interesting. We all know that we're *supposed* to drink water every day, but I bet if we all knew just how important it is to make sure we're getting enough, we'd all do a lot better. (And yes, I'm even taking an entire course dedicated to water, but that's not for another couple of courses).

I want to post a few of the things I've learned that can be practical and implemented into just about anyone's life, so be on the lookout for those entries. I'm hoping that I'll be able to incorporate a lot of this into the pregnancy and wonder if things will be different. It's also great to teach the kids what's healthy and what isn't. It's easier to make the right decisions from the beginning than to try to break old habits and create new ones. I only just now got them off of white bread--I didn't think that would ever happen.

My first exam, which consisted of 25 essay questions is over and I've just sent it off to the Instructor.

Today is Autism Awareness Day

April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day

I've read a lot about autism over the years. Two days after Elena's birth, we were told that Jared looked as though he was autistic. Being the researcher that I am, I immediately visited the library. Upon returning to the car, Andrew looked at the amount of books I had and asked, "Well, I hope no one else in town wants to read up on autism."

Even though autism has been ruled out for Jared, I have been able to meet a group of kids who are amazing.

I used to be rather ignorant towards autism and when the therapist said he looked autistic, my first thought was that I would have a child who would never be able to be "with us." Many of his characteristics were autistic-like, so we did know the frustrations of what a lot of these families go through.

I've learned that with proper therapy and support, these kids can thrive and many of them are SO intelligent.

I have a few books listed below which I've recommended to many parents who have recently had a child diagnosed with autism. If you're interested in checking out any of them and have questions, let me know. :)