29 weeks

So here are a couple of pictures of me at 29 weeks into this pregnancy. I think I am about as big as I was last time but it seems as if I am carrying higher. I had a midwife appointment last week and it went really well. I enjoy chatting and I pretty much always end up having hour long visits because of that. Everything seems to be going just great which means there's not much to talk about I guess. I decided not to do the glucose test as I don't feel I am at risk and I check my urine myself at every visit and there have been no deviations from perfect on the paper strips. I will now be going every 2 weeks to see her which will probably make the time fly by. I have been giving thought to whether or not I would do the Group B screening and I am leaning towards doing it. I did not with Leo and felt good with that but since it is not invasive to the baby or anything, I may just pay the extra $50 to see(and I will get to swab myself so that makes me more comfortable). We talked about doulas and birth preparation for this birth and I decided not to use a doula this time. I feel like a hypocrite but my midwife and her assistant told me that less moms use doulas at homebirths versus at the hospital or birth center. The apprentice who has been a doula for a long time said that she did not even have one at her birth. I want to be supported but I don't want too many people there. I will have Gary, my midwife, her apprentice, my sister-in-law, and probably my mother if she gets here in time. I am excited to have my sister in law, Leilani, who is a great photographer do birth photography for me. This will be her first time photographing a birth but I know she'll do great! To see her work, you can look at www.photosbylei.com I am also excited for my mother to be at the birth. She has not been able to be at my other ones as we were in Utah but it seems like a very bonding thing and even though she has witnessed many births in her career as a nurse(mostly L&D), she has never been to a birth out of a hospital setting.

I got a call from a friend yesterday during her labor. She is a friend from college and she was wanting to know when she should go to the hospital. I was so happy I could help her. She had told me that she was not wanting to get to the hospital too soon and worried that her labor would stall once she got there. I asked her if she really wanted to get there just in time to push and she said,"yes." So I told her some signs to look for that she was close to that stage. This is her first baby and she had been laboring since the early morning but I knew it could go on longer. I told her that if she started shaking during contractions, throwing up, grunting at the end of a contraction, or most of all, if her gut told her it was time to go, that would be the right time. I don't know how it all played out yet but a couple of hours ago, she sent me a text picture of her new baby boy. I can't wait to hear how it all went. I told Gary last night that I love being a part of a woman's birthing time. I told him with a few tears in my eyes that my friend was going to become a mother today and how honored I felt to have been even a tiny part of her day. That is why I love being a doula. I get to be a small part of a miracle. I get to talk to a woman or be with a woman as she experiences one of the most sacred moments life has to offer.