With my wonderful midwife, Charlene Campbell, LM, CPM (see BirthJoy)
I have only 7 weeks left to enjoy being pregnant. How time flies! I am so used to being uncomfortable, achy & off balance that it's hard to imagine having my body back again.
My husband & I had our 1st midwife appointment together today. We've decided that he needed to be present for the rest of my appointments so he is on board with our home birth plans & can support me to the best of his ability. My midwife was so happy to see him - she was starting to wonder if this was a desired pregnancy. The combination of my husband working standard 8 am to 6 pm 5-day work week made it difficult for him to attend any of my meetings with Charlene. Thankfully, she opened up her evenings for us, so he would be able to join me for my 6:30 pm appointments on Wednesdays.
Gerritt checking out the pregnancy wheel
I didn't feel like he needed to be there in the beginning. I've carried 2 pregnancies to term & being pregnant again was an "old hat" to me. I tend to be an "easy" patient because I accept pregnancy discomforts as part of the game & don't complain much. I didn't need my husband's presence to discuss & validate my nausea, sore breasts & fatigue. Why would anyone want to sit through this relatively "boring" stuff? Plus we needed to pay extra for our nanny to watch the kids.
But everything changed in my 3rd trimester. Suddenly, I became aware of other expecting couples arriving to the appointments together holding hands & I started to feel that I was missing something. I realized that I couldn't & didn't want to do the rest of my prenatal care on my own & desperately needed my husband there. It doesn't matter if it is your 1st or 3rd pregnancy - each child deserves to be celebrated by BOTH parents. We even had Gerritt join us today. Since he's going to be present at the birth, I wanted him to meet Charlene & also be involved in welcoming his little brother into the world.
My latest craving - kombucha tea (to learn more about Kombucha Wonder Drink go here)
My platelet count dropped from 168K to 113K 2 weeks ago, so Charlene & I discussed our plan to build up my platelets. I developed idiopathic thrombocytopenia a lot sooner in my past pregnancies, so actually it's pretty good for me to drop only in the 31st week of pregnancy this time. My platelet counts in previous pregnancies always stayed above 80K, however, Charlene would be more comfortable doing a home birth with a platelet count > 100K, so I had to committ to the following treatment plan:
1) Drink 1 "green" drink daily.
I use Perfect Food Super Green Formula powder by the Garden of Life. This formula is made with vegetable, sprout & organic cereal grass ingredients & probiotics. One serving is equivalent to 140 grams of fresh grass juice to support digestion & healthy immune function.
2) Decrease amount of physical exertion & get more rest ("Have more energy coming in than out").
3) Take 1 drop of vitamin K twice daily.
Charlene recommended the K-Quinone vitamin K supplement distributed by the Scientific Botanicals, Inc. (Mukilteo, WA). 1 drop equals 2 mg of vitamin K-1 (as Phytonadione). Also, I bought a vitamin K2 supplement from Dr. Mercola's website. 1 capsule equals 150 mcg of vitamin K2 (as Menaquinone-7). Vitamin K2 is called the new miracle nutrient by the natural health community (similar to the relatively recently discovered health benefits of vitamin D). To learn more about benefits of vitamin K2, go here.
4) Increase my protein intake to 100-120 grams/day.
It's a good thing I am hungry all the time & crave mostly red meat. It's not unusual for me to eat meatballs for breakfast, turkey sausage for lunch & steak for dinner.
5) Take digestive enzymes with all my meals.
I use the Raw Enzymes Women by the Garden of Life. This supplement contains a variety of protein-, carbohydrate- & fat-digesting enzymes.
6) Drink 2 cups of nettle/red raspberry leaf/alfalfa/oatstraw tea a day (a combination of 1 part nettle leaf, 1 part red raspberry leaf, 1/2 part alfalfa leaf, & 1/2 part oatstraw). I have listed the benefits of individual herbs in my previous post.
I love how holistic midwifery is! This is definitely not an advice you would get from a conventional OB/GYN, although you also have to be careful to avoid choosing a "medwife" as your provider. The standard medical treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP) in pregnancy includes steroids (oral prednisone), but only for platelet counts < 50K. The greatest concern for ITP during pregnancy is the risk of thrombocytopenia in the newborn (although only about 5% of newborns have a platelet count < 50K). Prednisone given for several weeks before delivery does not affect the fetal platelet count, so treatment should be given only if indicated for mother's thrombocytopenia. The platelet counts of infants born to mothers with ITP may decrease sharply during several days after birth, so serial platelet counts are recommended in the newborn period. Even when severe thrombocytopenia occurs, bleeding problems are almost always mild & can be treated effectively. Current recommendations include managing the delivery in a conventional manner & with Cesarean delivery performed only for obstetrical indications. Epidural anesthesia is appropriate for maternal platelet counts above 80-100K (depending on anesthesiologist's preference & comfort level).
Gerritt said a few funny things recently, so I had to write them down:
"I love you 10 times, Mommy!" (Gerritt explaining how much he loves me)
"Can we blow more candles out? That's a favorite part of my birthday."
"I am going to turn into ice & freeze the whole bed!" (while refusing to go to sleep by taking off his bed covers)
Here are a few photos of Gerritt & Sophia. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?
Gerritt, Sophia & their friend Anna are driving the imaginary bus
The rainy season began in Seattle, & Gerritt can never resist jumping into a water puddle
Sophia loves puddles too!
Gerritt & his friend Anna are enjoying a walk in the rain
Gerritt & Sophia pretend to swim like fish when taking a bath
Sophia has officially moved to cosleeping with Daddy (She now uses her crib only for naps in the daytime. Coincidentally, Gerritt started cosleeping with me shortly after turning 2 as well.)
Gerritt & his friend Anna playing dress-up
I still have so much to do! I have an appointment for a chiropractor evaluation & massage for my back pain & my 1st meeting with doula next week. The countdown begins!
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