RSS

Tag Archives: pregnancy

Our final “Bumpdate”

This post is definitely a bit late… 6 and half weeks post-partum, but I wanted to make sure I wrote about my final week of pregnancy so that I would have it to look back on later. So here it is…

Week 41 (or 39 as we would find out later):

This final week of my pregnancy was rather uneventful. I moseyed around the house, cleaning and “nesting,” mostly just trying to pass the time.

Our cat had another trip to the vet, requiring yet another surgery that we weren’t quite prepared for financially. His other ear puffed up really big and swollen. We knew from the vet that that is how his other ear ended up being “cauliflowered” (when the ear gets all hard and folds over on itself). This happened while we were away in China so we couldn’t do anything about it. Anyways, we didn’t want the same thing to happen to his “good” ear, so we brought him into the vet. Turns out he had another super bad ear infection and so they needed to put a tube in his ear. He had to stay overnight for surgery and we picked him up the next morning. I’m sure I looked ridiculous all big and preggo carrying a big ol’ cat carrier. But he’s doing much better now. We just had to bring him back in 3 weeks to get the tube out and then another week later to get his stitches out.

Friday afternoon I went over to my friend Laura’s house to see her little baby Rowan. We took a photo only a few months earlier when the two of us were preggo together. Anyways, I thought it might help to induce labor being around a newborn. I was lucky enough to be able to hold him for a while while I stayed and chatted with Laura and Nathan.

Laura and I while we were both still preggo.

I left their house and ran a quick errand at HEB before heading home. I checked our mailbox on the way (just down the block from our house) and as I got back into my car… it died. There was NOTHING. Thankfully, I was close enough to my house to walk my pregnant self and my small bag of groceries home. I called Trent to let him know and for the second time that week, I was lamenting a major unforseen financial obligation. Blast!

Saturday came and we spent our morning driving around in our “good” car trying to find a body shop that was open. We did some reconnaissance but decided to hold off until Monday since the towing would be cheaper. In the afternoon, we passed the time relaxing and watching college football. Around 2, my girlfriend Heather called. We chatted for a while before I started feeling something strange… come to find out, my water broke! I told her I’d have to call her back later. At this point we knew our baby boy would be coming within the next 24 hours!

Over the next few hours, we took care of last minute details, Trent painted my toenails and we took our final bump pictures- officially 39 weeks 3 days! These would be the last pictures we’d have with Jedidiah still inside of me!

week 41

*This seems like a good place to give a shout out to our neighbor who came over the night after we got home from the birthing center. He knocked on our door and asked what was up with our car (he must have seen us trying to jump it or just asked since it was parked outside of his duplex, which was abnormal). He offered to take a look at it for us, so we gladly obliged and handed over the keys. He came back about an hour later, having fixed it and parked it back in it’s regular spot. We thanked him profusely and then praised God for this little miracle. We sure didn’t have the money to fork over to pay for towing and a fix, so his help came at a time where it blessed us very much. I love it when God works like that! He does provide!*

Leave a comment

Posted by logsdonsbigadventures on December 31, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tags: 41 weeks, baby, baby is coming!, blessings, final week, oops 39 weeks, pregnancy, water broke

“Bumpdate:” week 40

09 Nov

Well, we are officially “Full-term!” I can’t believe I’ve been pregnant for almost 10 months! And it certainly blows my mind to think that a full-sized BABY is still in my belly. This week Jedi’s the size of a watermelon or a pumpkin. Since we’ve already done pics with a pumpkin, we decided to go with the watermelon (that and I’ve already used our pumpkin in every possible way I know how… two loaves of pumkin bread, several pumkin-based meals, failed roasted pumpkin seeds, and I STILL have pumpkin left over). Jedidiah is probably between 7 and a half to 8 pounds now and is over 20 inches long. It’s crazy to think that someone that big is INSIDE OF ME.

Last week we watched as my due date came and went, eagerly waiting and hoping that each new day might be “the day,” but alas, 40 weeks have passed and no baby yet. Ironically (or not), all throughout the Bible, 40 signifies probation, trial or testing. Jesus fasted and was tempted for 40 days in the desert, the Israelites wandered for 40 years in the desert before getting to the Promised Land, Noah’s flood rained down for 40 days and 40 nights, Moses was up on Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights, Goliath taunted the people of Israel for 40 days before David decided to fight him, after Jesus was resurrected, he remained on earth ministering for another 40 days before being taken up into heaven (Acts 1:3). There are many instances of 40 in the Bible. Anyways, I certainly feel that I can relate at this point to the trials and tribulations of 40 gestational weeks. This has been a time of trial and testing, of waiting and hoping, and of anxiety and anticipation.

One thing we did learn at our last visit to our midwife is that I am Strep B positive. Apparently this is extremely common- 1 in 3 women have the Strep bacteria in their vaginal canals and it remains asymptomatic. It can come and go (which is why they try to test as close to the actual birth as possible) and is not harmful to the woman. It can cause complications in delivery though if it is passed on to the baby. Most hospitals make you take antibiotics for it both before and during delivery, but I really don’t want my baby to be on antibiotics (which would also happen if I was put on antibiotics). Baby’s systems are very delicate when they are born and their immune system is basically non-existent at birth. Breastfeeding helps build their immunities and also helps develop the natural gut flora that will help them with digestion (this is the same gut flora that antibiotics destroy). Some people might think I’m crazy for not wanting to put my baby on antibiotics “just in case,” but I’m praying and trusting God that my baby boy won’t be affected during or after delivery. I hope you’ll pray for him too!

This week I kind of did myself a disservice by not really scheduling anything to do. It wasn’t really intentional, although in my mind I certainly thought we’d have a baby by now, but it just so happened that nothing really came up last week. It made for a LONG, agonizing week for me. I lost my mucus plug on Wednesday morning and had some “warm-up” contractions Wednesday night (sorry if that’s TMI). This really got me excited! I thought, “This is it, it will be soon!” …and then it stopped. Nothing more has happened since. I tried naturally inducing labor using every trick in the book, but to no avail (you can read about all the things I’ve tried in my post “Trying to induce labor… naturally”). I pondered and questioned the accuracy of my due date(s). I questioned my body. I painstakingly waited for labor to start. And I did so with no other distractions to keep me occupied or busy.

People have been texting, Face-booking and calling on a daily basis now, wondering whether our little guy is here yet. I love that so many people care, but it makes it hard for me to focus on anything BUT the fact that he’s still not here. Trust me… you will KNOW when he’s here. Social media will be BLOWING UP with photos of our little man. But thank you for your concern and please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

The good thing about last week is that we were able to spend a lot of time with Trent’s family. We spent Sunday afternoon with Trent’s sister Katey, her husband Nathan and our nephew Cohen. They spent the afternoon at our house, helping us fix up some things and then sharing dinner together. It was nice to hang out with them. We also spent a lot of time at “Nana” and “Popo’s” house- mostly watching their TV because ours no longer works but we don’t have the money to buy a new one or fix the two broken ones we have. We were over there several times this week catching up on shows or watching the Spurs (or the Aggies). On Friday we went to see Katey and Nathan’s new house. Cohen gave us the grand tour and seemed very excited about the move (good job Katey and Nathan). We hung out and ate very EXPENSIVE pizza (that’s what you get for moving to Stone Oak) before each heading our separate ways. Saturday they actually moved in, although we couldn’t be much help (obviously, a week past my due date makes me pretty useless as far as moving goes). It is sad for us to watch them move… they’ve been about 5 minutes down the road from our house since we got married almost 5 years ago. Now they live about 40 minutes away. But it is good for them. Nathan has been driving over an hour each way to work and back and it has really worn down on their family time. Since they are expecting too (only a few weeks after us), they really needed this move to make sure that they will have sufficient time together as a family (and especially with a new baby). It will be an exciting new chapter for them.

Symptoms this week: I lost my mucus plug and had some erratic contractions but then nothing at all. Obviously at this point I feel VERY big and pregnant and I have to pee all the time. I waddle because literally this kid’s head is sitting in my pelvis feeling like he’s going to fall out at any moment. I’m tired and cumbersome, and I’ve given up on picking things up off the ground… there are few things that are worth bending down for at this point. But I still have a good appetite and haven’t had any problems eating! We are just SO READY to meet our baby boy!!!

2 Comments

Posted by logsdonsbigadventures on November 9, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tags: inducing, pregnancy, Strep B, waiting, watermelon, week 40

Trying to induce labor… naturally

05 Nov

Pregnancy is a waiting game. 40 long weeks of excitement, anticipation, changes and preparations for a baby that, by the end of it, you are ready to hold in your arms! So as 40 weeks have come and gone, and my due date is now past, I am even more anxious to get labor started. We keep getting asked if we will be medically induced soon, and the answer is no. First off, there is currently no medical reason for our baby to have to come early. First babies are often late and it should be safe to wait until 42 weeks (I came two weeks late). Secondly, Trent and I have decided to wait until our baby and my body is ready to deliver this precious baby we’ve been waiting so long for. We know that babies and mommy’s bodies know what to do- they’ve been doing this delivery thing since Adam and Eve. When everything is ready, it will happen. Until then, we will choose to trust our baby and my body to know when the time is right. Thirdly, since our due date was changed, we really aren’t sure when he should come. We don’t know if the original due date was correct, or the new one, or something in-between those two. That gives us more patience as we wait (after all, it is possible that we are only 38 weeks along right now instead of over 40).

That being said… he’s been in position for weeks and I’ve been dilating and effacing, so we are trying as many natural ways to get this baby outta here as possible!

Here’s what we’ve tried so far…

Evening Primrose Oil.
This natural oil is supposed to help soften up the cervix and the other tissues that need to stretch for labor and delivery. I’ve been taking this for about two and a half weeks now. I can tell that it is working, just not quite as fast as I want it to.

Raspberry leaf tea.
Drinking this is supposed to help support a healthy pregnancy by promoting uterine health, stimulating milk production, and easing labor pains and nausea. I just bought this the other day because they don’t carry it at our local grocery store (Come on HEB, seriously???). I had to go to a specialty store called Good Stuff to find it.

Walking/squatting/zumba-ing.
Trent and I have taken a walk each night this week. And when I’m not out with him, I try to walk during the day or at HEB or somewhere! I’ve still been going to zumba classes each Tuesday and Thursday morning, and I’ve even been trying to do enough housework like sweeping and mopping to get things going.

Sex.
Several wise people have told us… “The way to get the baby out is the same way you got the baby in…”. There is honest truth to that as semen is one of the things that helps ripen the cervix. (Gross fact, one thing that doctors use to induce labor is a prostaglandin that is actually made from pig semen… No, thank you. I’d rather have my husband’s). Sex also releases oxytocin, which can initiate labor.

Eating pineapple.
Who knows if this is true or not, but pineapple is known to help ripen the cervix. It is also said to stimulate the stomach, and possibly the uterus in large amounts. I like pineapple, so I thought, “why not?”

Thai food.
Well, the more general idea is “spicy food” but I’m a big wuss when it comes to spices. We went for Thai food the other night though, and got some mildly spicy dishes. Whether they induce labor or not, they were mighty delicious! Especially since that may have been our last meal out, just the two of us.

Relaxation.
I’ve taken more baths in the past month than I’ve probably taken since I was a little girl. But the water is calming and it helps put me in a relaxed state. I’ve been putting Epson Salts in the bath water, which also helps to relax my muscles and my sore lower back.

Things I haven’t tried (and probably will)
Pressure points.
There are pressure points in your hands and just above your ankle that are supposed to induce labor. This seems like an easy-enough thing to try, we just haven’t done it yet.

Things I haven’t tried (and probably won’t)
Castor oil.
I’ve heard horror stories about using this… it causes very bad diarrhea, which in turn stimulates the uterine muscles… but at what cost???

1 Comment

Posted by logsdonsbigadventures on November 5, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tags: inducing, naturally, past due, pregnancy, waiting

“Bumpdate:” week 39

03 Nov

Wow, 39 weeks have come and gone. I can’t believe we’re now “full-term” and that Jedi could really come any day!

This week Jedi was the size of a mini-watermelon. He measures a bit over 20 inches and weighs about 7 pounds. He’s continuing to fatten up so that he’ll be able to regulate his temperature after birth.

It was REALLY windy that day, so my hair was a bit out of control!

This week was full of calls and visits from friends and of course, Halloween!

Last Sunday night we went over to Trent’s parents’ house to watch the Walking Dead… OMG… seriously!?! After that super intense episode, I can’t believe I didn’t go into labor! Trent’s sister and brother-in-law were there with our nephew Cohen. He was playing dress-up with the Santa suit. He made a very adorable Santa! He even let uncle Trent sit on his lap.

Monday morning, I visited my old campus, Copeland Elementary/Walker Intermediate. I ate lunch with one of my favorite students from a few years back and had a great time seeing my old co-workers and other students I used to work with. It worked out perfectly because right after I finished my lunch with her, I went to visit Trent for lunch as well. I just missed his actual lunch period, but I stopped by for a short visit anyways and hung out with his boys and him.

Tuesday evening we had another visit with our midwife. She checked me again and although not much had changed, she said I was dilated more and that my tissues felt much softer than last time. She said that it is likely that I won’t dilate or change much more before I actually go into labor. Jedidiah came down even further but is still at a -1 position, so for now, we’re just waiting on him to start the labor process!

Wednesday was a very social day for me. I talked with several friends (some from half-way around the world) and it was great to catch up with them. Then my friend Abby called- she was on her way to New Braunfels but changed her mind about her destination. She wanted to know if I was up for some visitors. So she and her three kids, along with another two that she watches, came over for the morning. We had a great time! We shared a picnic lunch out on our back patio and then the boys played outside. They chased the neighbor cat (who was REALLY good with them), they swung in our yard swing and kicked the soccer ball around. It was a nice change from the quiet days I’d been having. I needed some social interaction! Plus, those kids are so darn cute. I really had a great time.

As they were leaving, my other girlfriend Sandy was just pulling up. She and I spent the afternoon chatting until she had to go pick up her son from school. It was so nice to have visitors! I’m so thankful for my friends. 🙂

Friday evening we had our first Halloween party- it was at DeVoir Fitness, just down the road from our house (on FM 78 near 3009). It was a costume party. Trent and I dressed up like zombies, and made a zombie baby look like it was breaking out of my belly, then we headed out. Everyone there was pretty much working out, but because of all the make-up we were wearing, we decided just to hang out. Some families had brought their kids and their reactions to my costume were awesome! They were very cute, but they let me know that they thought it was pretty creepy! And it was… Anyways, by the end of the night they weren’t so much creeped out by it anymore, they just thought it was funny. Trent and I did win the costume contest and I got a few free classes. (YAY!)

After the party, we headed over to “Nana” and “Popo’s” house to watch the Spurs game. They were still out to dinner with my sis-in-law and her family (which was good, because I think we were too creepy for our nephew). We had some time to wash off all the makeup and remove the zombie baby and look a bit more “normal” by the time they came home. Too bad the Spurs lost, it was a hell of a season opener!

Saturday also came with some Halloween festivities. Trent and I decided to change up the costumes a bit (it’s more fun that way) and this time we exchanged roles as well… I was a white-trash-y, beer-bellied man and Trent was my lady. The reactions to our costumes were pretty priceless, and if I do say so myself, Trent makes a very pretty woman. 😉 We spent the evening with friends and took the kids out trick-or-treating before heading home.

Notice the “rat tail.” Yeah, I went there…

All in all, a good week! Just waiting for our little man!

Symptoms this week: So many Braxton Hicks contractions, but no real ones. There was one day this week where I thought I might be in labor because I had such bad abdominal pain… but as it turned out, I just had to poop (How embarrassing!). I’ve been having a much harder time sleeping and really just moving in general. My belly is getting SO BIG. I’ve still been doing zumba though, trying to get baby boy down and dance him out. I am anxious to meet our little man, but definitely nervous about labor and delivery. Prayers are welcome for us and for Jedidiah!

1 Comment

Posted by logsdonsbigadventures on November 3, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tags: costumes, Halloween, pregnancy, pregnant costumes, visitors, week 39, white trash, zombie baby

“Bumpdate:” week 38

25 Oct

Wow, I can’t believe how fast the time is going! We just finished our 38th week of pregnancy! This week Jedidiah was the size (length) of a leek. He is over 19 and a half inches long and weighs close to 7 pounds!

I can’t believe I totally forgot to include this in the last post, but we went to our checkup with our midwife, Amber, last week and she said that baby boy is “locked and loaded.” He is engaged head down in my pelvis, he’s sitting at a -1 position (0 is active labor), I’m about 50-60% effaced, and about 1 cm. dilated. This was big news that should have been included in last week’s “bumpdate.”

Now that that’s out of the way, I will jump to this week’s happenings. 🙂

Sunday I ran into an old friend at church who I haven’t seen for years. It was nice to briefly catch up before heading out. I’ve known Rick and his brothers since I first moved here it seems (so like 5ish years).

Monday I babysat for my friend Sandy’s son Cyler before heading to church for an important meeting. Our church is moving, well, at least they are beginning the process of moving. So we are in a time of transition where we are being challenged to “bold faith living and sacrificial giving.” We are watching and waiting on God for his guidance for our part in Revolution Church’s future.

Tuesday morning, I went to zumba at DeVoir Fitness, as usual. But after class, they threw me a lovely baby shower. It was such a blessing and I definitely felt the love!

Thursday night, as soon as Trent got out of school, we headed to Georgetown, just north of Austin, for a night of mystery and intrigue. Our good friends from China, Heather and Zach, were hosting another murder mystery party (You can read about their first murder mystery party in my blog: A Halloween Harry Potter Murder Mystery). This one was “vampire” themed. I’ll write another blog about it with more specifics later, but we had such a great time! I’ve said this before, but she throws the BEST parties!!! Even though we ended up driving about 3 hours, it was totally worth it!

Friday evening was spent with a couple we met at our birthing class that live pretty close-by in New Braunfels. They had us over for a delicious dinner of tortilla soup and then we played a game called Rummikub, which we’d never played before, but that we quite enjoyed. The first time we played, neither Trent or I even got to lay anything down. So we considered that first round a wash and just jumped right into the second round. The second time was a success! It didn’t hurt that we shared brownies (fresh out of the oven) and ice cream while we played. 🙂 It was a very enjoyable evening.

Saturday, amidst the monsoon that was taking place in San Antonio from the hurricane, I had another baby shower. Unfortunately the weather was a MAJOR deterrent. It ended up just being three of us, so we didn’t do any games or anything, we just ended up hanging out with some pretty elaborate and awesome Star Wars decorations. The ladies did such a nice job of planning everything, it was such a shame that no one else could make it. 😦 Look at how cute the invite was and all the decor! Traci even had her kids dressed up in Star Wars outfits (R2D2, Chewbacca, and the cutest little Darth Vader).

These two ladies are awesome! Love you Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Lippincott!

We finished off the week by Skyping with my parents, and we got the added bonus of chatting with my youngest sister, Jackie, and her boyfriend Billy, who we rarely get to see. Yay!

Symptoms this week: Baby boy is really sitting on my sciatic nerve, so when I sit down wrong, it gets pinched and sends shooting pains through my right leg and up my back… that’s fun… Jedi’s still moving a lot- I can feel his little hands moving way down low in my pelvic area. That is definitely a strange, and pretty uncomfortable feeling. It kind of feels like I’m being groped from the inside! His legs and feet are running out of room so I feel a lot of shifting around way up at the top of my uterus and I finally understand what people mean when they say that there is a foot under their rib cage… definitely not the most comfortable thing. I’ve also been finding that I need to eat smaller meals more frequently. There just doesn’t seem to be so much room in my stomach anymore. I’ve been starting to use Evening Primrose oil, per my midwife’s suggestion, to finish “softening” things up down there so that labor will *hopefully* be easier.

Bring on week 39!

Leave a comment

Posted by logsdonsbigadventures on October 25, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tags: Baby shower, pregnancy, symptoms, week 38

“Bumpdate:” Week 37

21 Oct

I’ve decided to move to weekly “bumpdates” now that I’m getting to within a few weeks of delivery. This will help me keep up, because Lord knows, when this baby comes, we may not have time to do much blogging (or what I do have time for will be all about the baby)!

Week 37:
Jedidiah is the length of a bunch of swiss chard this week- measuring over 19 inches long and weighing in at about 6 and 1/3 pounds. He’s working on letting his brain and lungs fully mature before he makes his grand entrance into the world. Baby boy has been having lots of hiccups this week- I’ve enjoyed feeling these rhythmic little movements. It’s a nice change from the big shifts and kicks I’ve been feeling lately!

This week was kind of uneventful (for once!).

Sunday night we watched the season premier of The Walking Dead. Anyone who knows my husband knows that he’s a zombie fiend… he’s been counting down the days until this series was back. We don’t have cable so we went over to his mom and dad’s house to catch it. Their dogs seem to know that I’m pregnant and even the one who usually doesn’t give me the time of day (she only LOVES Trent), was snuggled up against my belly all evening.

On Wednesday night, my friend Traci of T-Cup Designs took some maternity photos for us. We’ve been wanting to take some photos and even though we’re way past the recommended 32 week mark (they say that that is the best time for maternity shots), we made it happen. We met Traci up at Brackenridge Park and took lots of pics. Hopefully I’ll get them back soon and be able to post some of them.

Thursday night was our last birthing class. We’ve been attending Natural Birth Classes at our New Braunfels Family Birth Center every Thursday for the past 6 weeks. We’ve really enjoyed getting to know some of the other couples there and we learned SO much! Trent is so cute, he loves to talk about what we’ve learned and share it with everyone. This Thursday we had a little time to hang out and eat together as a class to celebrate our time together. And in January, after all of our babies are born, we will have a reunion party so that we can all meet each others’ babies!

The whole crew! One couple already had their baby. 🙂

Friday morning I spent with my friend Abby and both her kids and some other kids she watches every day (another friend’s kids). We had a fun time hanging out and it was really good for me to get out of the house and to enjoy some fresh air with them. We played outside, read stories, had a snack, and drew with chalk. When I left her house, I had just enough time to swing by Trent’s school to surprise him for lunch. We ate together and enjoyed the time to just hang out and then I headed back home. Friday evening we spent with Trent’s best friend Casey and his wife Shala and some other friends at their house. It was a nice time to decompress from the week and catch up before our lives are turned upside down in the next few weeks.

Although it probably looks pretty irresponsible, I’m drinking an O’Doule’s beer and there’s tortilla soup in my shot glass (I wanted to make sure it wasn’t too spicy). Rowdy pregnant fun! (Also note that my shirt is great at catching whatever I spill…)

Symptoms:
I’ve been having lots of dreams about the baby- some strange, some normal. One that made me laugh was that we were up north visiting my family and our baby (still very young) had a long, curly ponytail to like mid-way down his back! It was a bit ridiculous! Hopefully he doesn’t come out with quite that much hair!
I had to go to the chiropractor this week- my back was all sorts of jacked up. I think when baby dropped, it shifted a lot of my weight around and put strain on my back in some areas that I wasn’t prepared for. Anyways, he fixed me up and I’m feeling much better now!
Another thing that’s been happening a lot this week is that I’ve been having night sweats. Yuck! I’m not really hot at night, but my midwife says that it’s just because of the hormones. Of course, because of this, my sleep hasn’t been the greatest… when you wake up to go to the bathroom and you’re all sticky with sweat… it’s kinda gross.

Only a few more weeks to go!

Leave a comment

Posted by logsdonsbigadventures on October 21, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tags: 37 weeks, big baby, pregnancy

“Bumpdates” Time Hop… weeks 35 and 36

12 Oct

Anyone who read our last set of “bumpdates” knows that we received some news from our ultrasound technician that we might be further along in this pregnancy than we thought. We had to wait until mid-week to meet with our midwife to see what she thought about the results. When we did finally meet with her, she agreed that my due date should be moved up to November 1! She said that they will rarely move a due date from a late ultrasound, but because baby boy was measuring almost three weeks ahead, she said that it was significant enough to warrant a change. She looked at all of my fundal measurements from the all the past appointments I’ve had with her, and I measured about two weeks ahead each time, so she said that the ultrasound measurements mesh with her own. Our technician is also very experienced (over 30 years) and has a reputation for being within one or two ounces in predicting baby’s weight. SO… it looks like we are going to do a little “Time Hop” with our “Bumpdate” weeks.

Week 35 (would be week 32):
Since we didn’t know for sure yet whether we were ahead or right on schedule according to our own calculations, we stuck with the week 32 veggie. This week baby would have been the size of a large jicama (weight wise)- 3.75 pounds and about 16.7 inches long. But we already know that baby boy weighs at least 5 pounds so, in hindsight, this is not so accurate. Since we skipped ahead a few weeks, we missed the cantaloupe and honeydew stage. The major developments right now and over these few weeks that we’re skipping are that his skeleton is hardening, he is becoming less wrinkled and more “filled-out” with fat, he is rapidly gaining weight, his central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are preparing for the outside world.

A honeydew melon would have been the more appropriate size comparison for this picture. At 35 weeks, he should be about 5 and a quarter pounds and over 18 inches long.

A cantaloupe was supposed to represent 34 weeks of pregnancy. We skipped over this pic.

On a side note, I wore this shirt to church and to HEB (our local grocery store), and I got so many comments on it. EVERYONE loved it! It was a total hit!

This week we celebrated two very special birthdays- Trent’s and our friend Amanda’s. Trent had his 36th birthday (Gosh, he’s old ;)). I went up to his school and brought him some cookies to share with his kids and co-workers. We had our birthing class that night, but there were treats there too! We celebrated on Saturday night with dinner and cake at his mom and dad’s. We spent a relaxing evening watching the Aggie game and hanging out with family.

My sister-in-law who is also expecting in early December.

Amanda was celebrating her 30th birthday, and she loves the TV show “Friends” so she had a themed party on Sunday afternoon. We played “Friends” charades and took pics together. Her cake was “Central Perk” themed and they had birthday episodes of Friends playing during the party. It was a fun time and we were glad to be able to celebrate with our friend!

Amanda’s awesome cake

Playing “Friends” charades

We had the chance to celebrate another friend’s birthday, a bit early, on Saturday. We went over to the Steele’s house for some BBQ and cookies and delicious ice cream cake in honor of Richard’s birthday. We had a great time chatting and catching up with these friends. And I got to finally hold their little one-month old, Declan! It’s kind of strange being this pregnant and holding a little newborn. He sat right on top of my bump, like a little shelf. He is still so tiny- weighing just over 8 pounds. I couldn’t help but to think that this will likely be the size of our son when he is born! It was so much fun to hold him… it was good practice for this mommy-to-be!

Some other fun things that happened this week… we got a package from Jedidiah’s uncle Derek! He knows me so well. He got me a bib with this now infamous quote from…

anyone know? Allen Iverson. Yeah, yeah, people are probably thinking that that would not be someone you would want your kid to know about. He’s not a great example or leader, BUT for me, he made me fall in LOVE with basketball! I absolutely loved watching him play, so this made me laugh. I put him next to my A.I. bobblehead and took a snapshot. Thanks Derek! Oh yeah, the tag made me laugh too… for el sessibito (the little sessibo).

This picture was taken several months ago now when I was home over the summer.

In other exciting news, we got ourselves a birthday present with a little help from Best Buy and from my parents and grandparents. We put all of our birthday money (and our refund from our other camera) towards a new, NICE camera. Thankfully it was already on sale- 200 dollars off the normal price, and we were able to use a 10% off coupon for the accident coverage (which in the past, has been well worth it). We bought a Nikon D3200. For me it was an absolute MUST to have a camera by the time Jedidiah came, and now that that date was sooner, it was time to buckle down and order it. Now we have a new toy to play with!

Symptoms this week: well, the dark vertical line that starts to show up late in pregnancy has arrived. It doesn’t go the entire length of my belly, but you can see it on the underside up to my belly button now.
I think I might have forgotten to say this one in past “bumpdates,” but my belly button has officially “popped.”
My pastor this week pointed out that I was walking with a bit more of a “waddle” which could be because I (and several others) think that I’ve “dropped” a bit.
My belly is getting bigger, and now serves as a shelf (classy, right?) for beverages or whatever I’d like to hold (See? multi-purpose…).

Excuse the photo without any make-up. This was an early morning shot!

Week 36:
Baby boy is the size of a head of romaine lettuce today (length), measuring about 6 pounds and more than 18 and a half inches long! Space is getting tight in there! He’s losing some of the vernix and the downy hair that covered most of his body during pregnancy (to protect him from pickling in the amniotic fluid). He is now considered “early term” and we only have a few more weeks to go until he’s “full term!” This week we decided to unveil the change in weeks in picture form, using the pineapple that would have represented 33 weeks and the romaine lettuce which more accurately depicts where I am at 36 weeks.

We had all sorts of things going on this week. Our poor kitty got a big wound that we noticed on Saturday, but not until the vet had already closed. It was about the size of a dime but by Sunday, it had not closed up and in fact had stretched to more the size of a quarter. We decided to keep a close eye on him to make sure that he didn’t start showing any signs of infection and waited until the vet opened on Monday to set up an appointment to take him in (emergency clinics are hella expensive!!!).

This is his wound. You can see the blood pooled up inside.

Our kitty was feral when he was born and is now pretty good with humans, but he sure doesn’t like being caught and contained in the cat carrier. I was nervous about catching him by myself (only because I really only had one shot to get him in before he would have been pretty wary of my intentions), but that part went smoothly. I hated driving to the clinic listening to him cry (I guess this is preparation for motherhood). I kept telling him that I wasn’t being a “mean mommy” but that I was only taking him in for his own good… I don’t think he understood me. Anyways, the vet said what we expected, that he would need stitches to close up the wound. So we left him there overnight for them to clean it that evening and then sedate and stitch him up the next morning. The result… Franken-kitty… just in time for Halloween!

Poor guy had to get a lot of stitches and then had to stay in the house all night so that we could make sure he didn’t eat or drink anything, per the vet’s orders. At first he was freaked out and kept trying to get outside, but then it was like he remembered how much he likes to be inside and have constant attention from either Trent or I. He chilled out and just hung out with us for the rest of the evening.

Tuesday night Trent and I made our way out to our neighbor’s house for National Night Out. It was nice to reconnect with people living on our block after being away for two years. Most of the people haven’t changed and the new ones didn’t come out, but even though we didn’t meet anyone new, it was still a nice time to catch up.

Thursday night we always have our birthing class. This one was on breastfeeding. It is incredible all the stuff we learned about how our bodies interact with our babies’ bodies to give them what they need. It was some really cool stuff!

This weekend was quite eventful. One of Trent’s best friends got married! Beau was one of the groomsmen in our wedding a few years back and this time around Trent got to return the favor and be a groomsman in his. Friday night was the rehearsal. They had their wedding at the small chapel in La Villita in historic downtown San Antonio. Although Trent and I had been to La Villita before, we’d never seen the church. It was very quaint and I loved the feel of it!

After a short rehearsal, we headed to The Cove for some delicious food and time to catch up with Beau and his soon-to-be-wife Karrin. We’d both been to The Cove before but not since they expanded… now it’s huge! The food is just as good though, and we really enjoyed the atmosphere and fellowship.

The middle one is my “root beer”

Saturday was a busy day. We had some friends come in from out of town for another San Antonio wedding. My college roommate Sheena (who was also in our wedding) and her husband Nick were in town from Houston and came to our house for a pre-baby visit. We hadn’t been able to see them last summer when we were back visiting from China, and Sheena doesn’t have Facebook, so we had a LOT to catch up on… China and all the other places we went, baby stuff… LOTS. We had such a great time talking and laughing together and it was so refreshing to my soul to see them! It was such a blessing that they visited. They also brought Jedi some cute gifts.

After Sheena and Nick left, we got ready for the wedding and drove downtown to La Villita. I brought the camera (I did for the groom’s dinner too) to play around with and snapped a bunch of photos while Trent did his thing with the boys. The wedding was beautiful and we were blessed to be a part of such a special day in our friends’ lives!

The reception was nearby at The Vault. Our delicious dinner began with a goat cheese salad, then Trent got the steak dinner and I got the chicken. We always share so we get the best of both worlds! For dessert, there was the most delicious bread pudding!

After dinner, we danced the night away (the DJ had a great mix of 90’s and early 2000’s hip-hop). We were very thankful to be a part of such a wonderful night!

These weeks have been very full, but very blessed. We’re trying to live in the moment as we’re waiting to meet our little guy and enjoy every stage of pregnancy, especially these last few weeks of “just us” time!

Symptoms this week: I’ve been having annoying night sweats most of this week… not sure why, but it hasn’t contributed to me sleeping very well. I’ve been congested with some allergy stuff (although not too bad), and I’ve had some pains down low in my pelvis. Hopefully that means my hips and pelvis are preparing for this sweet baby boy to vacate his current premises! 🙂

1 Comment

Posted by logsdonsbigadventures on October 12, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tags: birthdays, pregnancy, week 35, week 36

SHOWERed with love (part 2)

22 Sep

After a wonderful baby shower in China, we made our way back to the States. We spent one short night in San Antonio, dropping off our excess luggage and saying a quick “hello” to the family, before heading to Minnesota the next morning.

I was born and raised in Minnesota and that is where the vast majority of my family still lives. Every year we try to go there at least twice (usually once during the summer and then a second time during the winter) to visit everyone. This year people were particularly happy to see us, since it had been a full year since we had visited. People were curious to know about China and how our travels had been. I also got to have another baby shower! This time, I was 21 weeks pregnant… just past the half-way point, and at least showing a bit.

This time, my sister, my mom and my Aunt Sandy threw the shower. Whenever we go home, we usually stay at my sister’s house, and she graciously offered it up to be used for the shower. My auntie Sandy lives in Wisconsin but happened to be in town that weekend.

When the day came, Sandy brought some games and her famous brownies (drool), my auntie Barb brought her chicken salad, Deb Barger brought her delicious Andes Mint cookies, and my friend Cassie brought lemon bars. My grandma had cut up tons of apples and brought her tasty marshmallow dip. My sister Christie and my mom had meatballs in the crockpot, a delicious salad and other tasty delicacies laid out for everyone to eat.

As people trickled in, Trent and I greeted them and tried to get some much-needed catch-up time with them. It was hard to be able to talk to everyone… it felt like our wedding… we saw a lot of people at once but it went by so fast that we hardly got to really talk with anyone!

My handsome hubby was rocking his “The Sympathetic Pregnant Husband” shirt and wandering around with the camera taking photos.

We used the same beehive drawing that Catherine had made for my China shower and the same guest book for people to write messages in. As people came, they added their thumb prints and messages and then got food and mingled about for a bit. It was a warm day, but the majority of us ended up outside on the patio (my sister has a lovely backyard).

As always, we had quite the mix of people there… mostly family, church friends, and school friends (from High School and College). After we ate, we did a quick round of introductions and people shared how they knew me. Then the games began!

My aunt Sandy had organized a few games. We began with a baby word scramble. I love these kinds of word games! The second game was based on the game-show, “The Price is Right,” where we had to guess the prices of several baby items and then whoever got the closest to the correct total got a prize. I did astoundingly well (probably only because I had just done my Target gift registry), at least far better than I thought I would do! Then, as part of her gift to me, I got to keep all of the baby stuff she used for the game. Thanks Sandy!

After the game, we were all quite hot and so we migrated inside to where the A/C was (thank God for air conditioning!). Then it was time to open gifts! I passed my camera off to Jamie, who graciously took photos for us, and Trent, Christie, and I sat down on the couch to get down to business! We opened up so many wonderful gifts! It was very cool this time around because we knew that we were having a boy and everyone knew his name would be Jedidiah. This allowed for some more personalized gifts like this beautiful blanket from my auntie Sandy.

We had lots of beautiful hand-made gifts- gorgeous crocheted or knitted blankets, hand-made burp cloths, etc.

We got all sorts of goodies and it was so much fun to open them. It just made meeting Jedi seem all the more real!

Then, before we knew it, the shower was over. People began to leave and we took lots of photos. Trent and I (and baby Jedi) are all very thankful for everyone who came!

A special thank you to my hosts!

My wonderful Auntie Sandy

My dear sister, Christie, who was also pregnant at the time, just passing the 13 week mark!

…and to my photographer(s).

Jamie and Trent both took over camera duties for the afternoon.

Leave a comment

Posted by logsdonsbigadventures on September 22, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tags: 21 weeks, Baby shower, Games, Gifts, Minnesota, pregnancy

“Bumpdates:” weeks 28-29

11 Sep

I’m trying to post my “bumpdates” more often so that they’re not as long! Here are the last two weeks:

Week 28:
Baby boy is almost 15 inches long and weighs two and a quarter pounds. I’ve been using two different websites for my weekly fruit/vegetable size comparisons, and this week I couldn’t use the suggestion on either one. The first one said that Jedidiah is the size of an eggplant (but the other said he was an eggplant weeks ago), whereas the other said he was the size of a Kabocha squash… whatever that is! HEB (our local grocery store) had never heard of them, neither did they carry them.

So… I ended up looking for another fruit or vegetable that doesn’t get used again in the next 12 weeks and I came up with a papaya. It is most likely bigger than my baby really is, but the length is probably pretty accurate, so that’s what I went with! Jedi can open his eyes now (they were fused shut until 27 weeks) and blink. He even has eyelashes! His brain and lungs are continuing to develop and he’s still fattening up for his final appearance!

This week was kind of sad. We went to yet another funeral for one of Trent’s family members (the second funeral since we’ve been back in TX). I was reminded again of how short life is, and how we really need to live every day as if it were our last. Thankfully she was a believer, so we have the assurance that she is in a better place. We were able to see a lot of family members at the funeral, but it was still very sad. Live with no regrets and seek to repair and restore broken relationships… you never know when it might be too late.

In addition to the funeral, one of my closest friends had a miscarriage this week. It feels like it wasn’t long ago that we were celebrating this new life growing inside of her, and now that joy has been replaced by a season of sadness. Again, I was reminded that life is short, but that we should celebrate it while it is here! Life is a gift and a blessing!

This week wasn’t all sad… we had our third baby shower this Saturday! The first one we had was in China right before we left, the second was in Minnesota with my family and friends, and now we’ve had one back home in Texas. 🙂 It was a really nice time to (kind of) catch up with family and friends. I got to meet a few new people that I hadn’t met before- one of Trent’s good childhood friends, Antonio; our friend Beau’s fiance, Karrin; and Trent’s cousin, Maggie, that I’d never before had the chance to meet. We also got to meet a few new kiddos who weren’t born quite yet when we left to return to China last July. We ate lots of food and cake and opened lots of awesome gifts for baby Jedi. Our nephew Cohen was a very good helper when it came to opening presents!

We were able to continue using two very sweet gifts that Catherine made for me for my first baby shower: the beehive for “Baby L” and a special book that she made me for notes and such. Thanks Cat!!!

Our little helper, Cohen!

One of my favorite gifts… “Daddy’s Little Jedi” Be still, my heart!

Another blessing of that day was that our good friends Zach and Heather came. We know Zach and Heather from our time in China and they left only a few months before we did. Lucky for us, most of our closest friends from China live in MN or TX (what are the odds???), and this couple lives just north of Austin in Georgetown. They made the trip down and even took photos of our big day. After the baby shower, they helped clean up (thanks guys) and hung around for a bit of local Mexican food at our favorite local restaurant, Garcia’s. We spent a little time showing them our house and the boys played a bit of guitar together while us girls chatted. It was really nice to have them here!

The delicious ice cream dessert we shared at Garcia’s.

On Sunday we were able to meet up with another friend, Ana, and meet her new husband (lots of things changed while we were away). We went to eat at Chuy’s (can you tell we like to eat Mexican food?!?) and spent the afternoon catching up. Before we left, Ana gave us a gift for sweet Jedidiah since she hadn’t been able to make it to the shower. It was really great to see her!

Symptoms this week:
I have been so much more tired than normal! The first two weeks that Trent was back at school I got up and did my devotions and then, typically, stayed up and tried to make the most of my days. This week though I’ve gone back to bed EVERY morning and slept all the way until my zumba class at 10. I’ve also noticed that I have to pee more (already?!?). I was hoping that it wouldn’t kick in until much closer to the end of pregnancy but I guess my baby likes to push on my bladder.

Week 29:
This week Jedi is the size of a butternut squash! He weighs about 2 and a half pounds and is a bit over 15 inches long. His brain is continuing to develop and so baby boy’s head is growing (hopefully not too big… I still gotta push him out of me!). His bones are continuing to harden and so he needs a lot of calcium in the upcoming days and weeks. His lungs are continuing to prepare for breathing outside of the womb and baby boy’s muscles are getting stronger too.

This week we went for another check-up and I learned that I’ve been having Braxton Hicks contractions. I didn’t have any idea that they were happening, but as my midwife lifted up my shirt to begin the exam, she showed me that my uterine muscles were contracting. I guess I noticed this last week too, but never thought that I was having a contraction! Everything looked fine for baby Jedi and we attended our first birthing class at the NB Family Birth Center right after our appointment. It is fascinating all the things we’re learning about (and I thought I already knew a LOT). Women’s bodies are pretty amazing! We will continue attending natural birthing classes for the next 6 weeks.

This past weekend, we went to Canyon Lake to celebrate the baptisms of two of my good friends, Hallie and Andrea (Dre). A friend of their pastor has a lovely home on the lake that they let us use for the day. We swam and hung out most of the afternoon, and then around 5:00pm, we headed down to the lake. Ken Hicks, their pastor, prayed over them and then we all prayed over them. It was a beautiful time. Then, one by one, they were baptized. In addition to my two friends, Hallie’s oldest two kids were baptized along with a few others (that I didn’t know) from their church.

Baptisms always get me. I can’t help but to cry (and it has nothing to do with me being pregnant). Baptism is such a beautiful celebration of life change; it is a celebration of what Jesus has done in them and for them, and the public declaration of their faith in front of so many others has always been extremely powerful to me. I can only pray that they can share about their baptisms and thereby be a testimony to others of the incredible grace of God.

After the baptisms, we went back up to the house for some food! It was a potluck but they had the grill going too- there were burgers and hot dogs (which I can’t eat) and sausages… so much deliciousness. One good part about being pregnant is that I can EAT without being judged. It’s awesome.

Andrea, Hallie and I

We spent the rest of the evening hanging out and taking some belly pics before heading back home.

We were particularly thankful for the long weekend! Trent had Monday off which gave us an extra day together and it gave him a much-needed break (yes, already) from his crazy life at school. He’s been spending long hours there and so we haven’t seen too much of each other (which is really hard for us because we’re used to doing everything together). This long labor day weekend was a nice reprieve for both of us. We were able to get a lot of small things done around the house, like hanging photos, paintings, artwork, etc. We finally got around to these little things that had been on our to-do lists for a while now.

Another highlight of my week was on Wednesday when Heather (my friend from China) and I went to Dallas (yes, again) to visit our other friend Catherine (also from China) one last time before she heads to North Dakota for her brother’s wedding and then back to China shortly thereafter. We arrived around 1:00pm and thankfully got to see and play with Elijah for a few minutes before we headed out to get lunch. The three of us went to Ernesto’s for lunch and enjoyed chips, queso, delicious Mexican food and great conversation. I love these ladies so much. We’re not just friends, we’re sisters in Christ, and that makes our friendships so much more powerful. I’m really going to miss Catherine when she returns to China, but am super thankful that Heather lives fairly close to us! We spent all afternoon there and then began the trip back. On the way, we stopped in Waco to see Heather’s brother and to interview him for a Bachelorette party game that would be happening this coming weekend. It was nice to meet him. Then we drove back. The rain didn’t start until we were nearly to Heather’s house, but my drive home was basically in a torrential downpour! I went about 30 mph on the highway for nearly an hour because the visibility was so bad. Everyone was just crawling along! It was pretty scary actually, and a bit stressful, but I was thankful that Heather had prayed over me and my car before we left her house. I knew that Trent was praying too. It took me longer than I would have liked to get home, but Jedi and I made it in one piece! So thankful!

Symptoms this week:
Again… SO tired!!! I feel like I could sleep all day! The Braxton Hicks contractions have continued (but they’re nothing to worry about). I’ve also noticed that my balance seems off this week… apparently that’s normal too. Baby is growing and so is my belly, which causes some shifting of my center of gravity. My belly keeps growing bigger and sometimes I forget how big it is. The other day I opened a door and started to walk through, but apparently I hadn’t opened it wide enough because I walked my belly right into it. Ouch! Sorry Jedi!

Leave a comment

Posted by logsdonsbigadventures on September 11, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tags: Baby shower, birthing classes, Garcia's, pregnancy, third trimester

Midwives vs. Hospitals: Our decision

02 Sep

I know that China and America are worlds apart (literally) but their views on birth couldn’t be more different. In China, most births happen by C-section. The doctors there are most comfortable performing this procedure; it is faster and more predictable and so this is how births usually go in China. That’s not to say that you CAN’T have a natural birth there, but it sure isn’t encouraged!

The closer we get to Jedidiah’s arrival, the more time I’ve had to reflect on how I want him to be born. I guess I have always been sort of a “hippie” when it comes to natural things. I am really picky about foods that we eat (non GMO, organic all the way) and about the products that we use (minimal chemicals, etc), so it’s no surprise that when it comes to Jedidiah’s entry into the world, I would choose the more “natural” route (no drugs, minimal intervention, the use of aromatherapy, massage and hydrotherapy for pain relief).

The more I read and learn about midwives, the more I think that they are in an underappreciated profession. These women care deeply about the people they serve. They listen to their preferences and offer the best possible ways to have a healthy pregnancy and birth. They use simple but effective remedies to ease the pain of labor and offer the least intrusive entry into the world.

Now, I should say before I get too far in, that I know many people who have had successful hospital births and who love their Ob GYN, but I also know a fair share of people who have had horrific hospital births, being pushed and even bullied into making decisions that they didn’t really want to make, feeling like they had no other choice and leaving feeling defeated. This post is in no way to belittle the choices of others when it comes to the birth of their child, it is simply to explain our choice for the upcoming birth of our son.

Trent and I toured several birthing centers in and around San Antonio. There is one IN San Antonio, another in Stone Oak and another outside the city limits in New Braunfels. We enjoyed our visits to all three. Each of them had very nice facilities and all of the midwives we spoke with were very kind and helpful. Trent and I would like to have a water birth and all of the facilities offered this as an option and were well-versed in performing them. The more we read about water births, the more convinced we are that we want to have our baby this way. The water has been shown to relax the mother as well as reduce the pain of contractions and labor, and babies who are born in the water still get the benefits of the flora and bacteria in the mother’s birth canal. Water births increase the skin’s elasticity, thereby reducing the chances for tearing. It also increases the release of endorphins while decreasing blood pressure and reducing the release of stress-related hormones (which means that complications are less likely to arise during delivery).

There are other reasons we wanted to choose a birthing center over a hospital birth. Birthing centers are more open to letting mothers eat and drink while they are in labor, they allow women to walk around and allow gravity to assist in the labor process. They intermittently monitor the baby’s heart and don’t attach you to IV’s and machines. Because of this, women are able to give birth in many different positions. They also really encourage the spouse or partner to be a part of the birthing experience. Daddy will be able to be in the tub with me and he can catch our baby as he is born, which is another cool and exciting part that we are looking forward to. Another thing that we like about midwives is that they walk through the pregnancy with you; they get to know you and your preferences. It is much more personal.

Another thing we really wanted was delayed cord clamping. We decided not to do cord blood banking, but instead to let our baby get all of those important stem cells from the umbilical cord before it is cut. Again, this is just our own personal decision.

Another thing we really appreciate about birthing centers over hospitals is that they give us time with our baby after the birth instead of whisking him away for all their necessary testing. They allow an uninterrupted time for bonding as a family before stepping in. They do all the testing right next to us, so we can see everything they are doing (and they explain it as they go), and baby boy will never have to leave our side. There are no required overnight stays, although we are not limited to a specific time frame before leaving (we could stay the night if we so chose).

They also come to our house to check on us within 24-48 hours of leaving the center. This visit is to offer breastfeeding advice and tips as well as to make sure that the transition into home life is going smoothly. They are there to answer any questions as well. I like how personal it all is.

Anyways, after all was said and done, we chose the New Braunfels Family Birth Center as our delivery choice. Like I had mentioned before (in another post), one of my close girlfriends had her last two babies there, the last of which was a water birth. It is also the closest in proximity to our house and the easiest to get to. We felt very comfortable with the midwives there and these midwives also provide the services usually offered by a doula… double whammy! They were also willing to give me a discounted price since I was coming in so late in my pregnancy. Another thing I really appreciate is their later office hours, so that working husbands (like my own) can be there for the prenatal visits and check-ups. This way Trent doesn’t have to take extra time off of work to be there. 🙂

The day that we went for our initial visit and tour, it had already been nearly 7 weeks since we had seen a doctor (because of a lapse in insurance during our move from China to the States). The ladies there knew that I was anxious to know if everything was progressing normally and so they offered to examine me right then and there, no strings attached. “Examine” might be too harsh a word, actually. Their “exam” room, for lack of a better term, is a bedroom, decorated comfortably as if you were at home. I didn’t have to get naked and don a stupid robe lying on a cold, metal tray; rather I lied down on a comfy bed for them to check my blood pressure, uterus and the baby’s heartbeat. Everything measured well and it was a very comfortable, un-intrusive check-up. Leaving that afternoon, I felt so relieved! It was that extra step that made me even more confident in their services and we look forward to continuing to work with them! Another plus for us, is that they are Christians too, so we are coming from similar worldviews and it helps us feel more connected to them.

Now, some of you may be wondering about the cost of midwifery over hospital deliveries. In the end, when all is said and done, they cost about the same. Most insurance companies won’t cover births outside of their “in-network” hospitals, but the research is beginning to show a trend towards birthing centers and the job that midwives do is starting to get more credit and backing from medical and scientific communities. Even without the help of insurance, birthing centers offer an affordable way to give birth to your baby. They put you on a payment plan so that by the time your baby is born, you have already paid for all the necessary services. Many birthing centers also offer discounts for people whose insurance won’t cover births there (which is most of them). They are certainly an option I would encourage looking into!

Leave a comment

Posted by logsdonsbigadventures on September 2, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tags: Birth, Birthing centers, China, hospitals, midwives, New Braunfels Family Birth Center, pregnancy

Logsdon's big adventures!

Tag Archives: pregnancy

Our final “Bumpdate”

“Bumpdate:” week 40

Trying to induce labor… naturally

“Bumpdate:” week 39

“Bumpdate:” week 38

“Bumpdate:” Week 37

“Bumpdates” Time Hop… weeks 35 and 36

SHOWERed with love (part 2)

“Bumpdates:” weeks 28-29

Midwives vs. Hospitals: Our decision

Pages

Archives

Categories