37 days to go...........

Once again - I find that I'm not keeping up with the blogging. We have had a bit of baby-related drama in the last 2 weeks, although we all are doing just fine.

Last Tuesday, the birthing center where i'm doing my prenatal visits and am supposed to have the birth (which is an hour and a half from our house) fired over half of its staff, including all but 2 midwives, due to "budget concerns" and "downsizing". So, lots of appointments got cancelled, and on-call docs from the Hilo and Kona hospitals were brought in........... We opted NOT to have the birth in Hilo (where we live) because it has an awful reputation and both Hilo and Kona hospitals have a 50% cesarian (sp?) rate........ so we went with the women's center in Waimea - 11% c-section rate and all vaginal births are attended by midwives. Now though, they're bringing in on-call docs from the Hilo and Kona chop shops to do pre-natals, and cant guarantee that one of the 2 remaining midwives will be on call for the birth.

so, we talked, and discussed pursuing a home birth instead. We had pretty much decided that this is what we wanted.........then I went in for my 34 week appointment, where they told me that the baby was transverse. Transverse babies can only be born by c-section. There is still potential for baby to turn on it's own, but the bigger it gets, the less likely this will happen. So now we're back to the birthing center plan............unless baby gets it's head down quick. I've heard that there are things that we can do to assist turning the baby - acupuncture, chiropractor, swimming, manipulating position - so i'm scheduling appointments with natropaths left and right......and trying not to freak out............everything i've heard and read says that the mothers attitude and environment surrounding the birth can really affect the outcome, so i'm trying to sort-of relax despite feeling pretty panicky about our birth options.

another thing we've decided to do is hire a doula. whether we have the baby at the birthing center, at home, or in the case of a failed home birth, the hilo hospital, i really want someone there who is an expert in the birthing process, a familiar face, and guaranteed support person. I figure its $500 well spent if it prevents surgery. Or even if she just makes me feel better.

In more fun preperations though, yesterday i spent all afternoon washing all the baby stuff we've been given, prepping the diapers (we're going to attempt cloth), and putting together the crib and jogging stroller. Pretty soon, we're going to be about as ready as we possibly can be.

Cam swears he'll take some pictures tonight. I'm not promising I'll post them. I'm feeling quite large these days, even though I've only gained 20 pounds. If we have a girl, we're pretty sure what her name is going to be. If we have a boy, we dont have a clue. We're taking suggestions.

love and aloha,
Lisa, Cam, and baby J