40 Weeks

40 weeks

I can't believe I am near the end of my pregnancy. I am 40 weeks today! Gerritt was born at 39 weeks 3 days & Sophia came at 40 weeks 2 days (after membrane stripping). I would not be terribly upset going over 40 weeks, & I will not be doing any special techniques to induce labor this time. This baby will come when he is ready to be born. The article by Dr. Nancy When Are You Due? is very reassuring about carrying a pregnancy for longer than 40 weeks. Anywhere between 37 & 43 weeks is considered normal. 80% of babies are born within the 2 weeks before or after 40 weeks & only about 5% of babies are born on their "due dates." Another article titled ACOG: Post Dates is Past 42 Weeks by Birth Without Fear is comforting as well.

"Attending births is like growing roses. You have to marvel at the ones that just open up and bloom at the first kiss of the sun but you wouldn't dream of pulling open the petals of the tightly closed buds and forcing them to blossom to your time line." Gloria Lemay

As far as I am concerned, this pregnancy went by too fast. I am excited to meet my baby, but I am also slightly afraid of going through labor again. Giving birth is like a journey into the unknown, having to trust higher power & giving up all control in the process.

"When you have come to the edge of all the light you know and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen: there will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught how to fly." Patrick Overter

I had mild contractions around 4 am yesterday. I tried to mentally connect with Jacob & keep all my fears away. I knew I needed to conserve my energy for the long day ahead, so I stayed in bed, snuggled up next to Gerritt & ... fell asleep. When I awoke at 7 am, the contractions were gone.


Gerritt examining the table with home birth supplies

Friday was my last day of work at the clinic & I celebrated by going to see the new Twilight movie Breaking Dawn in the evening. I felt useless & lost for the next couple of days (I probably need therapy since I don't know what to do with myself when I don't have to go to work). I stayed busy doing one of my favorite activities - blogging. I prepared most of the outline for posts on placenta encapsulation & cloth diapering. Writing a thorough & informative article on a particular topic takes time & research. I will have so little of that once the baby comes.


Pomegranates - the latest craving

Other than writing, I am spending quality time with Gerritt & Sophia, knowing they will probably not get much one-on-one time with me for the next few weeks. Gerritt discovered a few more of his favorite books:

Dr. Seuss's ABC
Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs by Ian Whybrow & Adrian Reynolds
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
Clifford's Halloween by Norman Bridwell
Clifford's First Sleepover by Norman Bridwell

I am also obsessed about keeping the house spotless. I could go into labor at any time & I would be embarrassed if my birth assistants saw any mess. It's actually kind of nice to have these few days of nothing to do, it's own "calm before the storm," although having your 3rd baby is nothing like your 1st (it gets easier).


Sophia practicing feeding her baby

Today my nanny Irina & I took Gerritt, Sophia & Anna to play at the Kids' Cove at the Bellevue Square. In the afternoon, while they napped, I went to see Breaking Dawn movie for the 2nd time. Then grocery shopping, a couple of loads of laundry, bill paying, more pregnancy photos... I am feeling unusually unproductive. In the evening, as I was watching my kids playing in the living room, I thought about our plans to have the baby at home & it felt surreal. It has been a long journey & I really hope to have my perfect ending soon. :-)

Helpful Resources:

Affirmations & Visualizations for Birth

39 Weeks

39 weeks 2 days

The birth preparations are in full swing. This weekend my husband & I raked the fallen leaves in the front of our house (we have a huge flowering cherry tree, which is beautiful in spring, but requires a lot of clean-up in the fall). I have finished most of the things on my to-do list for the past 4 days (my last break before 3 more days of work).
I organized all my clothes drawers (another pile of things for GoodWill ready to go), vacuumed & dusted my bedroom, put away all of the kids' toys from the living room (we need more space for my birthing tub & birth assistants), put away the kids' summer shoes to clear the house entry way & re-organized my birth supply table.
The candles & the CD player are out & photo camera & video camera are ready to go. I have also cleaned out the refrigerator, ran a self-cleanining oven cycle, washed the cloth diapers (new ones need to be washed prior to first use) & polished all glass surfaces.
I washed windows & floors (on my hands & knees) which was a perfect exercise to prevent occiput posterior baby positioning. I picked up my rental electric breast pump & made Laboraid drink to be put in the freezer. I took Gerritt for his dental cleaning & made fresh hummingbird food. I made a list of my favorite foods to eat during labor (per request of my birth assistants) & To-Do list when labor starts & posted both on the refrigerator. I feel like this baby will not come unless the house is absolutely perfect!
Although all of the above activities were deeply satisfying, the most fun activity was shopping for the kids' presents. I have created them out of the 1$ items at Target & Old Navy to be given after the baby's birth as something sweet from their new brother. I have definitely put way more preparation effort into this birth than ever before (know better, do better, right?).
I had another appointment with Charlene this week & gained 3 more pounds. So much for being smaller than average earlier in the pregnancy. I've gained weight the most quickly during the last 2 weeks. I was right not to go back for those recommended repeat ultrasounds. My short cervix didn't stop me from making it past 39 weeks already. I have been wearing my Supple Cups faithfully for at least 4 hours every day for the past 2 weeks, & I am starting to see some improvement in the shape of my nipples. I have also been listening to the hypnobirthing CD at bedtime. Gerritt actually fell in love with the soothing voice of the hypnobirthing lady, so he has been requesting to listen to it with me.
I've finally received some good news about my Mom. It looks like our long & time-consuming paperwork journey will soon come to an end. The INS has scheduled the immigration interview for her on December 22nd, so she'll probably be here by Christmas! Along with the medical exam, this is the last step in the permanent immigration process. We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present. Our new son should be about a month old by then. What a blessing for all of us for my Mom not to just come for a few short weeks & then have to tearfully say goodbye, but live next to us & her beloved grandchildren on a more permanent basis. I would have loved to have her here for the baby's birth, but since she is not going to make it, the next best thing will be the birth video we are planning to record. I can't believe I will meet my baby in just a few days!

38 Weeks

38 weeks 1 day

My belly has grown even more & almost overnight, it seems. I have gained 3 pounds since last week's appointment with Charlene. The baby must have dropped somewhat since I walk like a duck & have to urinate every couple of hours. Thankfully, my sleep has improved & I don't wake up at 3 or 4 am anymore. It's hard to believe I only have a couple of weeks of good sleep left. Both Gerritt & Sophia were up at least twice a night for the 1st year, so my chances for getting more sleep with this baby are slim.
I have started to get more swelling in my legs, but other than that I still feel great. I can't do brisk walks anymore so my dogs have to pull me for most of the way. My back pain is almost gone thanks to regular chiropractic adjustments. Weekly massage sessions & having a nanny 5 days a week help to keep me relaxed & sane. It's now harder to find clothes that fits so I am down to a pair of pants & a few tops.
I had another visit with Barbara, the lactation consultant at the Birth & Beyond store, today & received Supple Cups to help draw out my flat nipples. There is always a possibility of breast stimulation bringing on labor, so it's a perfect time for me to try them. This product is so new that Barbara really wanted my feedback on whether they would work for me.


Me, "You need to try a different angle. I look huge!" My husband, "Honey, but you are!"

I have recently organized my breastfeeding supply drawer. What do I have in there?

- Medela Tender Care Lanolin nipple cream (soothing relief for sore nipples)
- Nursing bras/tops
- BPA-free electric breast pump personal use kit
- Cotton nursing pads
- Medela Tender Care Hydrogel (to soothe sore nipples)
- Medela SoftShells for sore nipples (protects nipples from further irritation)
- MilkBands nursing bracelet (keeps track of which side you nursed from, what time & for how long)
- Earth Mama Angel Baby Booby Tubes (natural, gel-free, microwavable & freezable breast packs in organic cotton to help ease breast engorgement)
- BPA-free breastmilk storage bags (for milk freezing)
- Medela contact nipple shields (for flat/inverted nipples or latch-on difficulties)
I absolutely can't fail breastfeeding now!

Additional Resources:

What Breastfeeding Supplies Do I Need? (by KellyMom)


Gerritt insisted on being in most of my pregnancy photos

Good news! My Mom's immigration paperwork went through without a glitch (I received a confirmation email from the INS only 5 days after mailing all of the application documents last week). My many hours of reading, translating & document editing have paid off. Nothing was missing except MY original (or notarized copy) marriage certificate. I mailed it the next day using the overnight mail. My Mom should be getting an immigration visa within a few weeks. Whether I am ready to deal with her on a full-time basis is another story, but for now I desperately need help with a new baby.


The head dress I made for Sophia from the leaves found during my walk today


The autumn princess


Gerritt kisses Sophia during dance (he has been wearing his new favorite Spiderman pajamas for several days in a row)


Too dizzy to do any more dancing

We are still debating when to set up the birthing tub. We inflated it this past weekend just to make sure it worked. The kids decided it was an iflatable playground & spent much time climbing & jumping in it. The tub then had to be put away for it to have a chance to serve its true purpose. I am thinking we'll probably put it back up a week before my due date. My husband researched & ordered a lead-free gardening hose online in order to be able to feel the tub quickly when needed.
I am starting to get a little anxious about the upcoming birth. I am wondering whether I'll be able to handle natural labor & whether the baby is healthy. I also hope the presence of so many people during birth will not hinder my labor progress (my midwife + 2 students, my doula + 1 assistant, my husband, Sophia, Gerritt & our nanny). I will probably not care who is around me once I am in the midst of active labor, however, the fear of performance anxiety is always there. I am also afraid of having another occiput posterior baby & having a long, painful back labor & even possible hospital transfer. The fact is birth is unpredictable, & I will have to cross that bridge when I get there. I trust my body & know that my chances for another successful VBAC are greater at home than in the hospital. Less than 2 weeks to go!

"If you want to feel sad, live in the past. If you want to feel anxious, live in the future. If you want to feel peaceful, live in the now." - Author unknown

37 Weeks

37 weeks 2 days

I've made it to 37 weeks already. My blogger pregnancy count-down states I have only 17 days to go. How did I get here so fast? I had another midwife appointment yesterday. I haven't gained any weight for the past 2 weeks (I am still at 162 lbs). I've started my pregnancy weighing 133 lbs, so I am gaining weight appropriately. Hopefully, this means this baby will be less than 8 lbs. I actually think my belly looks relatively small being this far into the pregnancy (I was able to shave my legs this morning :-)).


Yesterday I put all of the birth supplies out on the table in the living room. I was originally thinking of giving birth in my husband's bedroom since its sliding door opened right into the back yard (easier to drain the birth tub), but decided to settle in the living room instead. The bedroom may be a bit crowded with our midwife, 2 students, my doula, her apprentice & my husband. Plus, if my labor starts in the middle of the night, I can come out of my bedroom & labor quietly for a few hours without waking up my husband & children. Now I have to come up with some way to cover the living room window (we currently don't have curtains).


"Sophia, where is baby?" "There!"

I've prepared a few CDs this week. It is meditation-type music to be played during labor:

1) Reiki - Hands of Light by Deuter

2) Inner Peace by Steven Halpern

3) Gifts of the Angels by Steven Halpern

4) Ocean Suite by Steven Halpern (I thought the sound of the ocean waves was very appropriate for a water birth)

I am surprised how good I feel. I've been feeling intermittent pressure & small electric shock-like sensations in my cervix for several weeks now. According to my favorite home birth book Birth Your Way, this means baby's head is in a good position. My walking is a bit wabbly & slow, otherwise I am able to keep up with my daily activities for the most part. That's probably why I am still in denial about the proximity of this baby's birth. I am so used to being uncomfortable that continuing this pregnancy for a few more months would not be so bad. :-) My midwife mentioned using primrose oil (oral & vaginal) to make sure the baby was not overdue, but I brushed off the idea. Being pregnant for 41 weeks or longer doesn't phase me, at least not yet. The baby will come when he is ready & I would never be selfish enough to interfere with the nature's process purely for my own comforts.
Gerritt & I have been getting ready for baby's birth by reading a couple of birth-related kids' books:

1) Welcome with Love by Jenni Overend (This is an excellent book from Australia portraying a home birth. There are several startling but beautiful images of the baby's head emerging from between Mom's standing legs, the baby boy with his umbilical cord reaching up & the naked mother on her knees cradling the baby in her arms. The baby's siblings get to witness the birth & end up cosleeping with the new baby & their parents at the end).

2) Waiting For Baby by Harriet Ziefert (A good book about preschooler Max impatiently awaiting the arrival of his little brother. Sadly, he misses the birth as his Mom has the baby in the hospital while he stays with his grandparents).

My Mom's photos have finally arrived & I mailed the 2nd part of her immigration paperwork last Monday. My hope is that she will arrive to the US by mid-December or sooner (my nanny really wants to move to Portland to be with her boyfriend by Christmas). I even have a Christmas stocking for my Mom with her name on it.


Daddy enjoys Gerritt & Sophia's kisses


Pure happiness

Good news! The length of my requested maternity leave was approved, so I have until February 1st off from my hospital job & until March 21st off from the clinic. Whether I will take my full requested leave is another matter (I always get restless after 4-5 weeks of staying at home), but I want that option nonetheless. I have no idea how I will feel once this baby comes. I've already learned from having 2 children how fleeting the time is & I may want to absorb & enjoy every moment of my newborn's cuteness.

35 Weeks

36 weeks pregnant

This baby is continuing to train me for the upcoming sleep deprivation by waking me up around 5 am on most days of the week. Usually I get up to use the restroom, then have a snack (I am usually starving early in the mornings), then have a hard time going back to sleep. So I just get up & find something to do.
Luckily, I've had plenty to do lately. With only 5 weeks to go before my due date, it seems the time has accelerated. For example, yesterday (my only day off this week), I started the morning with a meeting with my manager at the hospital to sign my maternity leave paperwork & finish some of the required annual continuing nursing education competencies (chest tube care & epidural pump programming, just to name a few).
Then I rushed to downtown Seattle for a meeting with a lactation consultant at the Birth & Beyond store. With 2 failed attempts at breastfeeding, I have a major anxiety about being unsuccessful again, so I've been in touch with a lactation consultant to prepare as much as it was possible in advance. She looked at my inverted nipples & recommended I rent a hospital-grade pump about a week before my due date. I bought the BPA-free personal use electric pump kit & filled out paperwork for a pump rental. The rental for the Medela Symphony will run about $70/month (still cheaper than the cost of formula). We also talked about me using the Medela SoftShells to draw out the inverted nipples, but not until 1-2 weeks before my due date (they can stimulate breasts enough to cause premature labor).
I started my afternoon with a visit to my chiropractor for another spinal adjustment, followed by a pregnancy massage. I've been having more back pain since the start of my 3rd trimester. After finding out that my Aetna health insurance covers chiropractics & massage I decided to give them a try. The only paperwork I had to do was obtaining a massage prescription from my midwife. What a relief! I should have done it sooner. Every pregnant woman deserves to be pumpered with some kind of body work.
It was 3 pm by the time I finished my morning & early afternoon errands. I was starving! After having some lunch at home, I've decided to make the most of a few hours my kids had left with their nanny. I headed to my favorite Value Village (a thrift store) for much needed home birth supply shopping (it's advised to have everything ready by the 36th week of pregnancy). I was very productive & bought many large & medium-sized towels, 2 bed sheets, 2 large pieces of plastic - one for the bed & one to be placed under the birth tub (actually, they were U-Hall plastic mattress protectors), 2 large metal bowls, 2 large cookie sheets with raised edges, a flash light & a gooseneck lamp. I also found a beautiful white sheer bed canopy - got to have the right setting for those postpartum family photos! Of course, I couldn't pass up some other good finds & bought a shoe rack for my closet, almost new pair of Umi shoes for Sophia, 2 large soup bowls, a springform baking pan, a new linen shower curtain liner, & beautiful red Christmas table cloth. I didn't have any trouble falling asleep that night!


Gerritt has discovered another favorite activity - listening to books on CDs


Gerritt pretending to go on a trip (on the evening Shon got back from his business trip)


Sophia learning to eat all by herself


Gerritt dressed himself as a race car driver (including wearing my boots!)

Gerritt has been more irritable lately. The fact that he still sleeps with me is probably to blame. I wake & toss & turn often while trying to find a comfortable position, so his quality of sleep suffers as well. Gerritt has been making great strides in learning Russian. His favorite activity to do after turning off the lights at night is to "practice Russian." I usually name various Russian words (objects in the living room, fruits, vegetables, body parts, colors, etc.) & he translates.
My husband took a recent business trip to San Francisco recently. He was gone for 4 (!) nights. The kids, 2 dogs & I all slept in one king-size bed. It was challenging, but we managed. We were very happy to pick up Daddy at the airport on Friday night. I am grateful my husband doesn't have any more trips planned after the baby's birth.
My Mom's criminal background check is ready, however, I am still waiting for her photos to come in the mail. It looks like she won't make it in time for the baby's birth, but it may not be such a bad thing. The idea of home birth frightens her, so her presence may hinder rather than help my delivery.
I had a OB/GYN VBAC consult at the UW Women's Health Center about a week ago. The doctor told me she thought home birth was dangerous, but at least was nice going about it. We discussed all the VBAC risks involved, & she told me it was my choice at the end. I was dreading the appointment not knowing how I would be received by the provider. I am glad it's behind me.
Good news! My latest platelet count went up from 113K to 146K! My ITP treatment plan must be working. I am that much closer to my dream birth!

33 weeks/Alternative Treatment of ITP in Pregnancy

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!

31 Weeks

I have started to have a familiar pain on the right side of my rib cage (this baby is all on the right, just like Gerritt & Sophia were) from baby's kicks & stretches. He is growing big time, & I am constantly hungry. I can hardly believe that my abdomen has grown that much bigger. Just 2 months to go! In one respect, it seems like far away, but I know it will fly by quickly.
I've decided not to go back for my 2 recommended ultrasounds (one for cervical length check, another one to check on baby's growth). I just feel like they are completely unnecessary. My main concern was placenta previa, & now that it has resolved, I feel like the other 2 ultrasounds were advised mostly due to the US practice of defensive medicine (a doctor is afraid to miss something) & to generate more business ("your baby's belly is on the small side," common!). The perinatologist even asked me if I was gaining appropriate amount of weight. Believe me, it's not a problem now. I can tell how much my son has grown since it's so much harder for me to bend over & almost impossible to put on my shoes. I've already had 2 ultrasounds & would rather not expose my baby to more ultrasound waves (even though it's considered relatively safe, I am very conservative when it comes to unnecessary medical interventions).
Plus, based on all my research, I've come to a conclusion that cervical length is a poor predictor of likelihood of preterm labor in low-risk women (in the absence of other risk factors such as, for example, previous preterm birth, LEEP procedure (where part of cervix is removed due to precancerous cervical cells), bacterial vaginosis, diabetes, hypertension, increased stress, etc.). In low-risk women (such as myself) the sensitivity of cervical length measurement is decreased & the false positive rate is increased. One article even stated, "In order to improve the positive predictive value of a cervical length measurement in low-risk women, a length of 1.5 cm rather than 2.5 cm should be considered too short." So, there!
My sleep is more disturbed than ever. I toss & turn probably at least every 2 hours, often waking up Gerritt. He has been more grumpy in the mornings because of that, & even though I offered to move him to his own bed, he has been stubbornly refusing. I've started to wake up at 4 or 4:50 am & not being able to get back to sleep. In addition to having to empty my bladder more often, I also have uncomfortable pubic & bilateral hip pain. If I lay on my back, I feel like I am suffocating, but if I lay on my side for too long, my hip is killing me.
I am still trying to find an OB/GYN who would do my VBAC consult. The purpose of the consult is to be fully informed of the VBAC risks (such as uterine rupture) & also to establish care in case of a hospital transfer. Of course, I am already well informed, so this is just another formality. I was referred to a female doctor at Salish Women's Health a couple of weeks ago, but then had to cancel when she decided not to do VBAC consults any more. The whole situation is very political, & many OB/GYNs do not want to get involved with midwives, especially the ones doing HOME VBACs, which they consider unsafe. So I have a tentative VBAC consult appointment with a different OB/GYN at UW in October, but she wanted to see my medical records first.
I am still working. In Russia, Canada & most of Europe women have the option to start their maternity leave in their 8th month of pregnancy. Unfortunately, not so in the US. I will probably be working until the very end thanks to poor maternity welfare system in the US. If I start my maternity leave now, I will have almost nothing left for after the birth. Actually, it's not such a bad thing for me since my job at the clinic is mostly sedentary. My physically demanding work as a hospital bedside acute care nurse only happens once a week & sometimes, as per diem employee, I get cancelled. Also, I like to keep busy!
I still haven't met my doula Patti Ramos (she had to cancel several times due to her clients going into labor), & I have a meeting set up with her in a couple of weeks. I don't really care when we meet as long as she makes it for my birth.


Gerritt & Sophia riding a car at the mall


Sophia discovered a way to combine drinking apple juice & milk


Gerritt & Sophia's favorite game - making a "cake" & then taking turns jumping on top of it ("cake" is made of pillows & blankets)


Kids fascinated with the spinning dinosaur top


Gerritt displaying his favorite toys - the Transformers, the Thor hammer & the Spiderman helicopter


"I am a turtle, Mommy!" (Sophia after strapping a diaper changing pad to her back)

Sophia has started to climb out of her crib regularly. Often, when she wakes up in the morning, she'll get out & then stand by the bedroom door pulling on the door knob. I was pretty shocked finding her there for the 1st time, but now it has become routine. Sometimes she climbs out of the crib during the night, simply because she wants to snuggle with Daddy.
We've finally stopped buying formula for her. She still likes her bottle about twice a day, "I want my milky!", but we now give her only organic whole milk. She doesn't need the formula anymore from the nutritional standpoint (she is an excellent eater & has a mouthful of teeth). More importantly, I want to get formula & bottles out of sight so I don't give up too soon when I am struggling to learn breastfeeding my newborn son in a sleep-deprived, zombi-like state. I am actually not concerned about the delivery part as much as attempting breastfeeding again. Maybe the 3rd time will be the charm?

28 Weeks

Last weekend my husband & I had another date night, more exactly date morning. We dropped off the kids at Mrs. Anna's house around 9 am on Sunday & went to see the "Art in the Garden" exhibit at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. I originally wanted to hike the Snoqualmie Falls, but with my hubby's encouragement (who thought I was way too ambitious for the 3rd trimester of pregnancy) changed our more physically demanding hike to a leisurely walk in the Gardens. It was a good decision since, unfortunately, I got tired fairly quickly. We finished the date with a lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.




Posing with some of the art exhibits

I am officially done with the "easy" 2nd trimester. Now the all too familiar back pain, sleepless nights & fatigue are back again. I am up to 4 pillows for sleeping. The hardest part is getting up twice a night to use the bathroom & then not being able to fall back asleep. I'll be up with the baby soon enough & it just doesn't seem fair not to get my rest now. The hot weather has been especially difficult causing considerable ankle swelling & more insomnia. I have to start seeing my midwife every 2 weeks now (I honestly wish I could skip such frequent visits, but those are the medical guidelines). It's harder to find clothes that fit well & I'll probably be wearing the same pair of pants & a couple of shirts for work for the rest of the pregnancy. My feet are definitely bigger & I have to wear shoes that are half a size or even one size larger than usual.
I am in the midst of doing all the immigration paperwork for my Mom to move to the US. We filed the paperwork in March & got approved at the end of July. If we move quickly enough, there is hope she'll make it here for the baby's birth. Most of the work now has to be done on her end & involves being current on immunizations, a detailed medical exam, undergoing a criminal background check (which takes about 1 month) & submitting a huge stack of documents (including the original, a copy & a translation).



Attempting to capture some of the outdoor's beauty

The baby must be gaining weight since I've been craving rich foods. I've recently switched from low-fat products to full-fat milk & cheese & even started to eat butter(!). Most of the traditional pregnancy-related websites & magazines encourage maintaining a low-fat diet, yet some alternative practitioners state a diet rich in full fat foods from healthy sources is beneficial (e.g., organic full-fat dairy, organic grass-fed meats, pastured eggs & coconut oil), especially in pregnancy. The growing baby's brain is composed mostly of cholesterol so it's essential to consume adequate amounts.
Homeopathy practitioner Joette Calabrese from HomeopathyWorks.net recently wrote about good fats vs. fake fats in her August newsletter, & about the commonly accepted notion of saturated fats & cholesterol causing heart disease being completely wrong. One of my favorite online health experts, Dr. Mercola, even wrote a recent article, "The Forbidden Food You Should Never Stop Eating," outlining all the benefits of saturated fats in one's diet.
Personally, my well being has much improved since adding some fat to my diet. I still remember when about 10 years ago I went to a naturopath complaining of lethargy, depression, angry mood swings & feeling cold often. I was following a strict low-fat diet & replaced all my dairy with soy products. My cholesterol levels came back BELOW normal. The moral of the story is that we all need cholesterol to maintain healthy hormone levels & produce sufficient serotonin to feel happy.


One of my favorite things to eat for lunch lately is bacon, avocado & tomato sandwich. Just spread Vegenaise on toasted slices of rustic whole grain bread. Top the bread with avocado, tomatoes, & crispy bacon slices (I really like Trader Joe's Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon).


Strawberries topped off with organic whipped cream make a perfect desert

I had my 28-week OB ultrasound & good news - my placenta moved away from the cervix! Green light for home birth! The baby is head down & growing well (over 2 lbs). Of course, I couldn't get off easy. My cervix is shorter than usual - 2.4 cm to be exact (the ideal length is between 3-4 cm). If it gets any shorter I'll be at higher risk for preterm delivery. Perinatologist & I did a thoroughly chart review & it turned out I had the same "problem" while pregnant with Sophia. My cervix length was 2.1 cm at 29 weeks & that didn't stop me from carrying her to 40 weeks 2 days.


The little guy's 3D image (this is the best ultrasonographer could do since he kept his hand in front of his face the whole time)


It looks like he inherited my long nose!

So more appointments for me - a repeat cervix check in 1 week & another complete OB ultrasound in 3 weeks (due to baby's abdomen diameter being in the 5th percentile, or smaller than expected). That's on top of my regular midwife appointments & an OB/GYN doctor consult for VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) (another formality to be fully cleared for home birth). Did I already mention how much I don't like going to the doctors?


Sophia taking a nap with her favorite kitties (I couldn't help photographing her - she looks so precious when sleeping!)

Gerritt & I have discovered a few more favorite books at our library:

Bad Boys Get Cookie! by M. Palatini & H. Cole
Superman: The Story of the Man of Steel by Ralph Cosentino
Dora Saves the Snow Princess by Phoebe Beinstein
Don't Be Silly, Mrs. Millie! by Judy Cox
The Red Hen by Rebecca & Ed Emberley
That's What Leprechauns Do by Eve Bunting
Where's Kitty? (a lift-the-flap book) by Mercer Mayer

Additional Resources:

How Low Cholesterol Can Harm Your Health by Sayer Ji from GreenMedInfo.com

The Diet-Heart Myth: Cholesterol and Saturated Fat Are Not The Enemy by Chris Kresser, L.Ac