Maybe my last post while pregnant...

Well, I'm still not in labor! I haven't even begun what they call "Early Labor," which is the not-too-bad stage of contractions that start the cervix dilating. This is WAY before the "WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?!" stage many people describe jokingly to Dan. Although some of them, I suspect, are not actually joking.

I am scheduled to check into Mercy Hospital Monday morning at 7:30 am. They'll start with a mild "intervention" (any time labor is helped along medically, it's called an intervention), namely a prostaglandin insert. I won't go into detail here...I think it's pretty self-explanatory. I will say that the purpose is to start early labor and get my cervix a bit dilated!

The next step will be (if the prostaglandin does its job, and Baby & I are doing well) to strip my membranes. Again, not going into detail; it sort of sicks some of you out to hear these medical procedures explained. One could always Google it, if curious.

Final step to "get things moving" is Pitocin. That's a synthetic version of oxytocin, the labor-inducing hormone the body naturally produces around 40 weeks. Who knows? My body might need a little jump-start, then will take over with no problem. Or, I might need the Pitocin to keep labor progressing. It's like a choose-your-own adventure book, but many of the pages will be turned on my behalf by my body.

(Okay, that was a bit hokey.)

So, I had really thought that I would have gone into labor last week, or that I would be induced last week. Changing gears has been a bit emotional!

Because I didn't understand the "schedule" correctly, Dan and I engaged a wonderful Doula, Kate, who was only available until July 27th. We were thinking, "Oh, that's fine, they're inducing me the week of the 23rd, it will work out perfectly!" So, here we are on the 28th, and our Doula is off on a family vacation, available by phone, but...well, I'm not exactly going to rub my cell phone on my sacrum to ease the pain of contractions, now, am I?

Being the sweet, genuine, accomodating person she is (truly - she has been the perfect person to help Dan & me prepare for birth, and we are so sad she won't be there with us), Kate worked her butt off to find us a substitue doula to attend our birth. She presented us with two options - a doula in training (translation - still being certified, but will not require any payment. This can be a great option if it's the right person), or Leah.

Leah? Really? Leah's available?!

Leah was the instructor of our childbirth preparation class, Birthing from Within. Not only do we already know her, and she knows us, but she is THE doula here in Portland. She runs the non-profit childbirth education and resource center. She trains new doulas--in fact, she trained Kate, and recommended her to us based on our personalities and budget. She is making a documentary on childbirth. Her mom wrote the book on Connection Parenting - literally, look it up, Pam Leo's "Connection Parenting." She attended our good, good friends' birth just last week. In short, she's fabulous, knowledgable, experienced, and would have been our first choice in the first place, if her fees were in our little budget. Since she's filling in, and we have a prior engagement with Kate, we would be paying only the balance we owe Kate to engage Leah.

Who doesn't believe in fate, blessings, luck?!?

(We did meet with the doula-in-training, because, of course, free is better than on sale, SOMETIMES. Not so much in this case. The second she stepped into our house, Dan and I knew she was the wrong person for us. I'm sure she'll be a great doula for other women, and I'll just leave it at that.)

So, we have Leah engaged to attend our birth. While we will miss Kate, we are thrilled that our first choice has become available. Seriously - there's a greater hand at work here. Not that I claim to understand that, or have figured out what my belief is about it, but, really? A blessing. This is probably how it was meant to be.

The other stress that has come up this week is a call from my Short-term Disability insurer, just to let me know that since I signed onto the policy after receiving care for my pregnancy, I am not eligible to receive any of my benefits. My claim is being denied. My maternity leave will not be paid, even partially. I will have no income for the next six weeks. Stress anyone?!

I had a conversation with our account manager at the insurance company several months before signing onto the policy, specifically asking if I could enroll while pregnant and still receive the benefits. She said yes. I'm hoping the conversation was recorded, although, since it's in MY favor, not theirs, I somehow suspect it wasn't! I have hope that I will win this little battle. Still, it's a stressful battle at a time when I should not be worried about such things.

So, Mama is a bit stressed out. I'm trying to stay calm, stare at candles, listen to relaxing music, be massaged as frequently as possible, and not worry so much.

Some reasons why Baby should be born on Monday:

#1 It's my due date. They say that a woman's cycle has something to do with when she delivers in relation to her due date, and I am the most punctual woman in this area, EVER.

#2 It's full moon. Some of you may not believe this, but maternity wards are actually flooded with women in labor on full moon.

#3 Two of my family members that I want to be in the wings (in the waiting room in case I want them) are able to be in town that day.

#4 My doctors say so. And, thank God I live in a time when we have access to these "interventions" (yes, the ones that I don't actually want), so that Baby and I can both be healthy and safe and alive. And that is the most important thing to remember here. Whether or not I WANT pitocin, it's a good thing it exists, so that in the end? In the end we get a baby.

A baby. *sigh*

Next post will be picture, date, weight, length...all sorts of stuff about Baby, and not Me.

-Lindsay

P.S. Who knows about Blogger? I need help archiving/saving/printing this blog for a keepsake.