I don’t know if this can be considered an update, because I haven’t exactly posted much about my pregnancy since announcing it. 😛
Soooo…basically this is what has happened so far:
- We are planning on a home birth again.
- We had one ultrasound at 22 weeks to determine we are having a third GIRL.
- I had 24/7 nausea and extreme blood sugar issues for the entire first trimester- plus a few weeks- no matter what tricks I had “up my sleeve” to get over it.
- I had a really busy and stressful second trimester due to producing a full-length high school musical (we do things “big” at this school), all while balancing everything else in life.
- Because of my stressful second trimester, I didn’t stay on top of taking my supplements and sticking with my own pregnancy “rules”. At my 28 week appointment my midwife took my blood and before she did I told her my blood was going to suck. I was right. My results SUCKED!
- I am in a ton of sciatic pain. Sometimes I can barely walk and look like I should be using a cane or walker.
- I’m entering the part of my pregnancy where I’m totally addicted to salt…like, I want to eat small spoonfuls of it (which is related to both anemia and adrenal fatigue, which I have both problems).
- This baby is so active it’s like she’s kickboxing in there. Her kicks occur everywhere, so she’s obviously not ready to settle down in a birth position yet. She’ll probably do it at the last minute.
- I have a feeling this is going to be an active and ambitious kid who gets things accomplished, but only at the last minute…like her mom. 🙂
So here I am at 30 weeks, with the threat of not being healthy enough for a home birth and in a lot of sciatic pain. Other than that, I’m feeling pretty good, although last week we experienced a tragic, unexpected death in my family that has, of course, caused me to experience a bit more emotion. I traveled to Texas on a plane this past weekend and I’ve never flown this late in pregnancy. It wasn’t the most comfortable experience, but I made it through. (You may have read on my Facebook and Twitter pages that I had to go through pretty invasive pat downs to avoid the giant radiation machines…and it wasn’t that bad. I suggest that you opt out of those, too.) I’m am totally at peace with her passing, though, knowing she’s in heaven with our Lord!
Back to my bad blood results…
My body NEEDS aggressive supplement therapy during pregnancy. I bled a lot after my first two births because my uterus wouldn’t contract and my blood levels were too low, and if I want things to be different (and safer) third time around, I need to get to work. I have to get my blood counts and hemoglobin levels UP in the next few weeks and keep doing what I can to tone my uterus for labor. I am in “crunch time” between now and this birth to make this baby, birth and post partum period as healthy as possible. I know I’m not alone, too, so if you are pregnant I suggest following these guidelines, too…with the supervision of your midwife or doctor, of course.
Here’s what I’m doing:
- I’m trying to be as consistent with my traditional foods pregnancy diet as possible.
- I’m taking all my regular pregnancy supplements as religiously as possible, doubling up on iron and liver:
- Cod Liver Oil– 4-6 per day
- Juice Plus– 4 per day
- Probiotics– 2-4 per day (plus homemade lacto fermented foods)
- Grassfed Liver Capsules– 6-9 per day (I’m trying to take 3 with every meal.)
- Iron Supplement– 2 capsules per day
- Calcium/Magnesium/Potassium tablets– 2 per day
- B12/Folate lozenge– 1 tablet per day
- Dr. Ron’s specially formulated multi-vitamin– 2 capsules per day
- Red Raspberry Leaf tea– 8-24 ounces daily
- I’m scheduling chiropractic care regularly now that it’s covered by my new temporary insurance plan. Hopefully this will help my sciatic pain and get the baby in the right position if she doesn’t turn head-down soon.
- I’m trying to exercise daily…I was doing really well before my busy season, taking Zumba and Ballet regularly, but now I’m too lazy and BIG to try to take those classes again. I do need to be in shape for labor, though! I’m going to stick with my own yoga/dance stretching and strengthening routines at home, plus taking walks at least 5 days per week.
- I’m looking into more herbs and essential oils to have on hand for labor. More on that later…
- I’m studying up on some wonderful new articles and tutorials at Spinning Babies. I used the information on this site with my last baby to get her head down before birth. I use a lot of their information as a doula, but also for my own pregnancy and birth.
Anyone else out there pregnant? What are the most important things you’re doing right now?
PS: Because it’s my third baby and third natural birth I’m not as worried as before about preparing for the birth. If you are reading this and you are not as experienced, I highly recommend reading and researching a LOT before your birth, and also considering a doula if you haven’t already. For all my recommendations, make sure to check out my “MUST READ” post on Everything I Would Tell My Best Friend About Pregnancy.
Photo by Lindy Rojas
Hi! I am 30 weeks pregnant today, due Aug 7th. This is also my third! 🙂 It sounds like your pregnancy has been as much of an adventure as mine. At 17 weeks I was having pain, they did an ultrasound and found a complete (total) placenta previa. That is one of the most stressful things I have ever been through and I learned a ton. Thankfully I never bleed. I was having issues at 26 weeks again, so they did another ultrasound and found it had completely resolved and now I am clear for a normal delivery. I am not doing a home birth but I will be in a birth center instead of the hospital. I gave birth to my other 2 in the hospital and when I found out I was pregnant again, I knew I didn’t want to go back.
While I enjoyed the post, I am confused about one thing. You say you are taking Cod Liver Oil. I talked to my midwife about taking that, and she urged me not to because of the high vitamin A content in it. She still wanted me to take a fish oil, but just not that one. I am curious why you have decided to? (Know there is no judgement, I don’t think you are bad or anything. It sounds like you have a lot of nutritional concerns that I am not facing, just curious).
Ginelle, thank you so much for your comment and for your GREAT question. Vitamin A toxicity is a common concern that is, according to all that I’ve researched, a total misinterpretation of research. In fact all traditional cultures, known for excellent reproductive health, ate diets extremely high in vitamin A mostly from animal foods like liver, cod liver oil and other organ meats. I highly encourage you to explore the following articles with your midwife because I think there are tremendous benefits to eating foods high in vitamin A during pregnancy. These articles are from the Weston A. Price Foundation, who specialize in research and articles related to traditional diets and health, particularly reproductive health Let me know what you think:
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/vitamins-for-fetal-development-conception-to-birth/#a
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/vitamin-a-for-fetal-development/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/abcs-of-nutrition/vitamin-a-saga/
Oh, and blessings on the rest of your pregnancy and birth!!
I have had 5 home births and am about 17 weeks pregnant with my sixth. My midwife has always had me drink Shepherd’s Purse Tea for several weeks before my due date in order to help prevent bleeding after birth. You might want to look into that. Also, after one of my births, she felt that I was bleeding a little too much and gave me Shepherd’s Purse tincture and it slowed down right away.
Melissa, Thank you so much! I’m totally going to look into it and ask my midwife. I want to be fully prepared!!
…and #6- that’s awesome!!
I was reading about the supplements that you are taking in preparation for a healthy delivery. I was just wondering why you are taking Juice Plus vitamins in addition to Dr. Ron’s multivitamin? I thought it was either or… I am currently breastfeeding my baby and was thinking of buying Dr. Ron’s multivitamin. Do you suggest I continue my prenatal vitamins AND take Dr. Ron’s multivitamin?