Surprise Baby

I'm officially 37 weeks today and I've realized that I haven't blogged about this pregnancy at all.  Since I could technically have this baby any day now, I should write about how it's been.  The cute pictures were done by my friend Kelly and I'm so thankful to have them. I am 35 weeks in the pictures.

So let's start at the beginning.  I am a big planner and love to see patterns in most everything. Hailey was born June 14th (due the 13th). A year later I was pregnant with Robert and he was born March 22nd (due the 30th). Hannah was a surprise for us, we weren't planning on having another kid until Nate was done with school but like clock work, I was pregnant shortly after Robert turned a year.  Hannah was born December 16th (due 15th).  There is 21 months between each kid and I love it.

I've always wanted four kids, so when Hannah turned a year, I was ready to become pregnant again.  However, Hannah is our little curve ball and had her first seizure October 2010 and since she was sick and I needed close bonding time with her I nursed her until she was one years old.  We moved into our four bedroom house in February 2011 and I took a pregnancy test on a Wednesday and is was negative.  That was a little sad because I really wanted a fall baby.  Luckily, I retested the following Monday, was positive and made plans to have a big family party for dinner.  I wanted this baby and feel very blessed to be pregnant.  My due date is October 29th.  Hannah and the new baby will be 22 months apart.

I know I was nauseous in the first trimester but I don't remember ever throwing up. With Hailey I had really bad morning sickness (throwing up 2-3 times days during weeks 8 & 9) but since then each pregnancy has been better and better.  I had weird cravings though. I went through a baked potato faze and then followed it was a huge strawberry craving. I had about 2 cups of fresh berries every night.  I don't have strong craving anymore after the strawberries. With Hailey at the end all I wanted was DQ corn dog, onion rings, and a strawberry sundae. With Robert I wanted meat and fruit. With Hannah I ate spaghetti all the time. 

Being pregnant is a lot of fun because the kids are old enough to understand that a baby is coming and share in the excitement.  Hailey thinks that baby is a boy and sometimes in her prayers she said she was thankful for our family that has 3 girls and 3 boys. I've asked Hailey want we should name the baby if it's a girl and she used to say Dance-a-ca. Robert thinks he is pregnant along with me (Hailey did this when I was pregnant with Hannah).  Robert says that the baby is in the back (so it gives him permission to jump on my tummy in his mind). Also since Robert is a boy, his baby is a boy and since I'm a girl, then my baby is a girl.  Yesterday I was shopping with all three kids and Hannah started rubbing and hugging my belly while she was sitting in the cart. It was very cute.

I am a little nervous about how Hannah will be when the new baby comes because I still carry her everywhere.  She is very much attached to me and is very spoiled.  I also carry her everywhere because I have a hard enough time keeping track of Robert that I can't have Hannah run off in a different direction or wait for her to walk when Robert's already in the street. (This is a big problem when we go to dance class because the doors open automatically.) Thankfully, we have Hannah's seizures under control and I no longer fear what I would do if she has a seizure while I'm in labor.

I strongly feel like I can only handle four kids and so this will be my last pregnancy.  It's a tough decision to make but that's want we are planning on until we feel inspired to take a different course. Due to that, I've tried to treasure this experience that I get to grow a baby inside me.  I will miss the close bond that pregnancy brings and I will even miss the feeling the baby move around even though it's tough when the baby's kicking my ribs or makes it difficult to sleep.

I started this pregnancy going to Dr. Cox, who is the same doctor I had with Robert and Hannah. However, we watched a documentary called The Business of Being Born, and I realized that there isn't a reason for me to be in the hospital.  I felt like my time there with Hannah was a waste and I couldn't wait to get out.  I also didn't like that Hannah was taken for several hours for testing in the nursery.  I labor at home until the very end and within an hour of arriving at the hospital, I had Hannah.  I hate being hooked up to an IV and hope that the last hour will go better if I didn't have the IV and annoying people talking to me (like the Resident).  Also, I was following a friend's blog about her experience with an unplanned home birth (her plan was a birth center), and my friend Josie had her last two babies at home.  So, Nathan and I decided that a home birth is want we wanted.

A bonus to our decision (but not the deciding factor) is that this is the first pregnancy not on Medicaid.  I'm on Blue Cross Insurance and pay about $130 a month (which will be increased to $160 in November). Their policy is a $5000 deductible for all maternity care, then we pay 20% of the cost after that. Roughly, we would have paid $7500 for the doctor and hospital for a very normal, uneventful birth. We talked with billing for Dr. Cox (before we decided on a home birth) and just for a vaginal delivery it is $2995 + $1000 for lab work and 1 ultrasound. There is a discount of 20% if the account is paid completely by the 6 week check-up. Then the hospital costs around $5000. I went to Dr. Cox twice (the first time we did a lot of lab work, the second time was the pap exam) and had one ultrasound which ended up being $650 out of pocket. I like Dr. Cox and will go back to him for birth control after the baby is born but it is unbelievable how expensive things are.

I am going to a birth center in Rigby (1 hour away) called Agape.  They have 2 midwives (Michelle and Kathy) and one of the senior interns (Valerie) will graduate in two weeks.  They are the only midwives in the area State Certified and can go into the hospital with you if there is a transfer need. Their Home birth Package is $3,350 which includes 4 postpartum care for me and the baby.  I am renting a tub which is $200 and have to pay for their gas (3 home visits) which is $315.  So their total amount for everything is $3865 and I get a $500 discount if we pay in full by the first appointment. I needed a few supplies for a home birth which ended up costing about $40.  And that's it! The total cost is less then the insurance deductible. That all we have to pay. Agape is trying and is very close to having Medicaid accept them and pay for their services.  Hopefully, once Medicaid goes, the other insurances will go too.

 I've been really happy with the midwives and the care they give me.  I see them a frequently as I would an OB and still have to pee in a cup, check my weight and blood pressure each appointment.  The appointment routine is the same expect the midwives actually take time to get to know me.  Our appointments last between 30min to an hour of just talking.  I've seen Valerie the most and we have talked a lot about the fact I was on Zoloft.  I have been on Zoloft since 2004 and though all the pregnancies.  However, I have had three medical professionals tell me that I should try to get off and Hannah's chiropractor told me Sam-e was a good, safe substitute. I was able to make the switch and am doing fine with it.  Since there was a concern about heart defects (by my family doctor that I only went to because I need my prescription refilled), I ended up having an ultrasound.  I forgot how uncomfortable it was being poked in the belly, laying flat on my back.  It took 40 minutes, I was getting light headed and nauseous. I asked the tech to NOT check the sex of the baby.  I do not want to have out.

I actually enjoy having the sex of the baby a surprise.  One of my parent's friends replied that there are too few good surprises anymore and that's exactly how I feel about it.  I love surprises and the anticipation of it.  Not knowing has helped the pregnancy go by much faster.  It seems like once I knew with the other kids, it was harder to wait for them to come. Nathan on the other hand HATES surprises and really wants to know mainly because it's been difficult to agree on a girl's name and he just doesn't want to worry about it if it's not a girl.

I think it's a boy because of my craving at the beginning.  I think it's a boy because it's a rolly-polly baby like Robert instead of a kicking baby like the girls.  Also both girls were due in the middle of the month and were a day late.  Since I'm due at the end of the month like I was with Robert, I think this baby will also come a week early.  Hailey and Hannah were born on a Wednesday (both due on a Tuesday). Robert was born on Saturday (was due on a Sunday). This baby is due on a Saturday.  I'm thinking Sunday Oct 23rd is a great day to have a baby.  Also, Hailey was born around 3:00pm, Robert at 7:00pm, Hannah was a little after 12:00am so this baby could come in the middle of the night. That would make child care easier if it happened that way.  I know, especially when dealing with kids, everything is random but I love having patterns.  Hailey/Hannah are my Summer/Winter babies and Robert/New Baby are Spring/Fall babies.

So in short, I love being pregnant and this has been the best pregnancy so far. I feel very blessed to have uneventful pregnancies and am able to do a home birth.  I enjoy my midwives and am learning a lot.  I am very thankful for this special surprise I'm carrying.