32 Weeks Pregnant and we finally get our first OBGYN appt.

We have hit week 32 and I finally had to step on a scale again.  I didn’t get weighed at my last doctors appt last month, so it’s been two months since I last weighed in.  Official verdict…. I’m up exactly 40lbs.  I still have more weight to go… I assumed I would be on the high side of weight gain given my starting weight, but I am struggling.  Had a Pelvic Floor Specialist appt. last week and it made me feel better.  She was awesome, gave me some tips and tricks to help these pelvic floor muscles that at being strained, overworked and are super tense.

Finally got an OBGYN

Also had my FIRST OBGYN appt this week!!  WHOOHOOO!  I’m not really celebrating as it still wasn’t what I was hoping for.  I met with the Nurse first who went through my whole medical profile.  I explained to her that I had declined the Gestational Diabetes testing and only completed the 20 week ultrasound.  I told her I was not looking to complete any more ultrasounds and was looking for a low-invasive pregnancy.  Right after that whole conversation she had my lie down so she could examine me.  First thing she did was pull out a Doppler to check the babies heartbeat.  I was frustrated immediately, but didn’t say anything.  A Doppler is essentially a portable ultrasound machine.

After she was finished, the OB came in.  She gave me a huge long lecture about not doing the GD testing and let me know how I was putting my baby at risk.  While she did agree with some of my reasoning’s, which included my diet giving me a false result, she did finally say it was my decision.

Once again, I explained to her what I was looking for from this pregnancy.  In that conversation she asked me why I wasn’t with a Midwife. I explained to her I was declined because of my Adenomyosis and they labelled me a high risk pregnancy.  They said they wanted me to see an OB first to see how things were progressing and then I could look to be switched back to the Midwife around 6 months if all was good. However, my first OB appt. was at 7 months.  The OB stated that my condition should have no effect on the pregnancy at all.  I told her I’ve been lucky with a great pregnancy so far and felt no major issues or concerns.  However, if you look up Adenomyosis and Pregnancy there is a whole list of concerns.

We also discovered that our OB delivers out of the Ajax Hospital. This unfortunately was not a conversation our GP had with us when referring us to this OBGYN.  Ajax is not ideal and given how far along I am in this pregnancy, we know it’s going to be next to impossible to switch.  We discussed a couple of options with the OB and one was to try to get back in with a Midwife.  She provided me a form to give to them stating that I was a low-risk pregnancy. She mentioned that if I didn’t have any luck with the midwives to let her know and she would reach out to see if she could find any OB’s in the Oshawa area might be willing to take on a new patient.

Is the Midwife option back on the table?

So we left the appointment feeling a little bit better.  I went home and I started my phone calls to the midwives. I went back to the original place that had declined me and told me to come back in 6 months explaining I have the all clear.  They informed me that they cannot take on any new patients at this time and are booking for patients delivering into April!  All they could do was put me on a wait list, but said the odds of me getting a call where next to none.  They are the ones who said they could take me at 6 months if I could get the all clear from the OB!  A little disappointed…

I then called midwife office number 2.  Would you believe I had the exact same response?  They’re booked up and all they can do is put me on a wait list but said I probably wouldn’t hear anything.  They were also confused as to why I would be coming to them so late in my pregnancy.  Starting to feel really deflated…

I called the final office in the area.  An office that doesn’t even deliver out of a nearby hospital because if I had to choose, I’d take the midwife over the location.  Fully Booked.  For now, I don’t get the midwife or the hospital location…

This left one last try, I called the OBGYN office back to book my next follow up appointment and to inform them I was not successful at getting in with the midwives and would like to see about a referral to another OB office.  I was having this discussion with the receptionist who I cannot express how rude she was towards me.  I explained to her that the OB said she would reach out to other OB’s to see if they would take me on as we are so late in the game. The receptionist told me she didn’t believe the OB said that to me.  That if I wanted to go to a different office, I would need to go back  to my GP to get a different referral. I tried to explain my situation to her and she kept talking over me saying  that they don’t do that at that office.

I was beyond frustrated.  The receptionist said she could book me in for a follow up appointment but could not get me in for 2 weeks (Which I’m not sure is true).  I would need to wait the full two weeks for that appointment before I would be allowed to talk to the doctor about a referral elsewhere.

Defeated.

• missbarroness

Is hoping for a Natural Birth really a crazy dream?

We’ve hit 30 weeks and I don’t have a desire to step on a scale.  I feel very large, sleeping has become uncomfortable.  I sleep with a king sized pillow on each side of me so my rotations are easier as I do require a leg pillow.  It makes it easier with two cats and my husband in the bed.  Having a pillow on my back side at all times also helps prevent me from sleeping on my back, however my shoulders and hips are feeling the pain now and I have to rotate often to give them relief.

Visual of sleeping space.  The cats and I share one side, while my husband has the other:

I’ve officially got the pregnancy waddle down pat. Between the pain I’m experiencing from this weight and pressure I’ve now gone and pulled something in my groin during prenatal yoga so each time I step on my left side, I get a nice sharp pain.  It has been a less than fun couple of weeks.  The past couple of days I’ve been feeling more tired than usual.  I’m not sure if this is from the difficult sleeps I’m having or if I’m entering the 3^rd trimester sleepiness stage.

I have cut right back on my workouts.  Partially because I’ve been super busy, travelling and such, and partially because I’ve been noticing ‘coning’ while working out.  This has really made me nervous as I was trying to be very cautious on this throughout my pregnancy.  As I am more aware of this, I will be doing more research behind it to hopefully prevent Diastasis Recti.  With that, I do have an appointment with a Pelvic Floor specialist next week so hopefully that will also help with everything.

We are 10 weeks out and I’m getting more nervous.  I have still yet to hear of a positive birth experience from those who have recently given birth around me.  As I continue to mention to everyone, my goal is to have as natural a birth as possible without any interventions.  Each time I say this, the reactions I get are usually negative, like it’s unheard of.  I understand all of this.  I cannot guarantee that I will have a perfect birth, but I can ensure that I educate myself as much as possible in hopes to have the best birth possible.

Why does it seem that the idea of a natural birth seems crazier than having interventions during birth?  Each time I hear a story of another labour and the series of complications that took place, I’m usually not surprised.  I’m not judging these women who follow the norms of what the Hospital/Doctors suggest.  Everyone has the right to do their own research and make their own decisions.  I hope that people can respect my decision with my labour/birth and understand the extensive research I have done behind it.

Labour Wants/Don’t Want

NO Pitocin

I have no desire to receive Pitocin or be induced.  This produces an unnatural labour and can have some serious side effects. The likelihood of having to have a C Section after induction has now doubled.  The contractions have now just become more unbearable and that leads women to beg for the epidural.

NO Epidural

Epidurals are derived from Cocaine and contain Fentanyl.  Again, there are a bunch of side effects that can occur on both mother and baby.

Labour in my own position

If I receive an epidural, I will be trapped in the bed, which may prevent the baby from turning through the birth canal, causing tearing.  I would like to opportunity to labour in my own position, one that feels natural and comfortable.  I believe my body will tell me what positions those are.

I’m scared.  Terrified even, about labour and giving birth.  The more I read and understand, the more I am helping to mentally prepare myself for what I’m about to go through.

• MissBarroness

 

27 weeks – The end of Second Trimester

The last two weeks have hit me like a pregnancy freight train.  Wow things have just become instantly difficult.  I am definitely feeling the weight gain.  I’m officially up 30lbs, and still have probably another 15lbs to go.  I think my lady lumps have officially stopped growing, which I am actually happy about!  I have been informed they will probably grow some more after the baby arrives, once my milk supply comes in.

Current Symptoms:

• Swelling below the waist. This may be TMI but my lady parts are swollen, and if I’m on my feet too long then my feet and legs swell too.  I cannot shake the pain for at least a day afterwards.
• The varicose veins are very prominent in certain places – mainly behind the knees and on the inside of my feet
• My appetite has increased, where I can eat more in one sitting
• Lower back pain is more paralyzing than ever before
• Belly feels soo tight, all pants/shorts are uncomfortable and I try to stick to dresses as much as possible
• Baby is more active than ever before. He will be kicking around in there for hours straight
• All food adversions have completely disappeared along with the horrible acne I was suffering with at the beginning
• Acid reflux is now a thing in the evenings
• I wake up to some pretty good charlie horses in the middle of the night sometimes in my legs or feet

6 Month Checkup:

Had my monthly checkup with my doctor last week.  As I’ve been feeling uncomfortable down there, I asked my Dr. to check me out to make sure it was nothing to be concerned about.   The verdict is in and it’s all pregnancy related!  With this little guy being all belly I’ve get all the fun side effects of pressure, muscle tension, a baby cyst down there smaller than a pimple, swelling and some varicose veins starting to develop.  All normal to pregnancy so it doesn’t sound like I’m having any side effects from Adenomyosis.

To help carry all this weight around and give me more support for my back and relief from my belly, I’ve ordered a belly band.  It has been a great investment and I find very beneficial if I’m going to be on my feet or walking around for a long period of time.  I felt instant relief when I put it on!

Exciting news to share!  I’ve finally got an OBGYN who will see me!  I will be 33 weeks pregnant before our first appointment next month but better late than never.

Gestational Diabeties:

As part of this months checkup the doctor wanted me to do the Gestational Diabeties testing.  After doing some research behind this I decided to decline the testing.  In my research behind this, I found that only occurs in 3-5% of women and having a false negative or a false positive result are common.

Some of the ingredients alone in the Glucola are questionable for ingestion.  I have attached a link of another blog who has broken it down extremely well and sited other studies for your reference.

Doula and Acupuncture:

I also had a visit with my Doula this week.  With that visit I was able to tell her about my current swelling symptoms.  She did a bit of acupuncture on me and we discussed the supplements I’m currently taking.  She has also suggesting I see a Pelvic Floor Specialist which can hopefully help throughout the remainder of my pregnancy and help with the pressure and swelling.

• MissBarroness

25 Weeks and we have a Doula!

During the scare of the baby’s heart, I decided to reach out to a Naturopath and was lucky enough to find one who also specializes as a Doula.  I’m now 25 weeks pregnant and I still do not have an OBGYN.  I went in for a meet and greet and to discuss if her services could help me through this process.  I explained to her about my Adenomyosis, my attempts to get in with a midwife and my current struggles with waiting on an OBGYN.

In discussing everything with her, we concluded that instead of going the Naturopath route, that her services may be better rendered as a Doula.  This way I get the benefits of both worlds.

We have a Doula

With the Doula, she will work with me on how I’m feeling throughout the pregnancy and suggest things to help along the way.  We will be creating a birth plan together and from there, I will need to transfer that information to my OBGYN as well.  She will be there to support me through labour and help with pain management as I attempt a natural birth.  We will also have a postpartum visit see how mommy and baby are doing. 

She is working with me through all my millions of supplements that I’m still taking daily.  I have continued to take all my vitamins individually.  This appears to be a positive thing, just need to make a few adjustments along the way and we will be all good!  With regards to the Adenomyosis, in discussing my concerns with this and how it might be currently affecting my pregnancy, we’re hoping some adjustments may help with that.

Below is a list of vitamins that I am currently taking:

Vitamins/Supplements

Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Vitamin D
Vitamin B6
Cod Liver
Fish Oil
Prenatal
Probiotic
Magnesium
Iodine
Selenium
Calcium/Magnesium (before bed)

If this baby doesn’t come out a healthy genius then I’ll be at a loss! (Kidding)

Again, we are still feeling some minor pain and I’m not sure if it’s pregnancy related or Adenomyosis related.  I have a Doctor’s appt. coming up and can hopefully see if we can get some answers.  As I also have a paralyzing pain in my lower right back, my Doula is going to look into pregnancy safe acupuncture for our next visit.

I am still going to the gym regularly and I will say that leg day is still the worst as I’m carrying around all this extra weight.  My husband has been amazing at motivating me to continue to go, even on those days that I just have no desire.

I’m finally starting to feel the effects of this belly.  In the beginning I constantly said I didn’t really feel pregnant, that changed quickly over the last two weeks.  Things are now becoming more difficult and this belly is getting in the way more and more.  I cut my toenails for the first time in a while this past week and that was extremely difficult.  I could barely get my knee to my chest to bring my foot close enough to cut them.  Might be an excuse to look into getting one of those organic pedicures finally.

 

-MissBarroness