One Month Or So To Go

I'm not sure how midwifery visitations and appointments work elsewhere in Canada, however here in BC most appointments occur at the midwifery clinic. However, during your pregnancy if you are planning a home birth then during week thirty-six you will receive a home visit. I recently found out from my brother and sister-in-law that this is different in Alberta where every appointment with a midwife occurs at home; however, whereas midwifery care is completely funded through our provincial health care, this is not the case in Alberta. Midwifery is a recognized, registered, regulated and legal form of maternity care in Alberta, but unlike BC it isn't covered - which means those who choose this care pay for it themselves. I don't know what the typical going rate is, or if there is a sliding scale, but I have been quoted one figure of $3000.00. So, I suppose if I were paying for maternity care myself I would expect and appreciate that all appointments happened in the comfort of my own home. Thankfully, I live in BC (although more home visits would definitely be preferable although perhaps unrealistic for the midwives with full clinics and calendars).

Since this past week has been my thirty-sixth week of pregnancy and am planning to attempt a home birth, I had our home visit this past Tuesday. In a sense it was the most comfortable and relaxed appointment I've had, at the same time both Luke and I felt like we had to make sure our house was tidy and that both our floors and bathroom were clean. In some odd sense it was as if not only were we going to review different possibilities like where delivery would most likely occur so that the midwife could set up her equipment in a convenient location and of course to review what could arise that would mandate a transfer to the hospital, but also we sort of felt like this was also the moment to prove that we could provide a safe environment for our baby and that our ability to be good parents would be approved. It's a funny perception and one totally based on the opinion of someone else, but it also shows how much we look for approval from society even before the baby is even here. Our suspicions were unfounded though as we really only spent time in our front room and our midwife didn't even use the bathroom.

Probably the most interesting thing that occurred during our visit was our miniature daschund dog's reaction. Our dog, Oscar, can be quite the ornery old man when meeting new people. With Luke and I he's very sweet: likes to cuddle, do pack howls and groom us by liking our legs; yet, when it comes to newcomers he's usually very apprehensive, barks and or growls, and is typically very suspicious. However, he was unusually very quiet and only briefly sniffed around our midwife's ankles before going to sit with Luke. While the three of us were discussing different possibilities for labour I asked what experience she had had at other home births were pets had been present. Her response was that most people ended up putting their pets in a separate room so as to not bother the labouring mother and that dogs in particular could be unpredictable in how they react to mom going through such intensity. This pretty much confirmed it for me as I had told Luke that I did not want Oscar present because I was positive that he would either start to bark or howl along with my groaning, or even worse when either squatting or kneeling through contractions have him come bounding up and tossing me his ball and excitedly thinking that I'm in the perfect position to play fetch (just like he used to do at the beginning of my pregnancy when I'd be knelt over the toilet puking and crying). I'm not sure Oscar will survive me if he's present during my labour. Well, just after asking this question my midwife measured the size of my growing belly (a healthy thirty-five centimetres) and then listened to the heartbeat; with that Oscar began to have a fit! We all burst into laughter - confirmation that Oscar shouldn't be present during my labour and he'd be better off hanging out with my dad down the street.

About half way through the week I noticed that its been getting harder for me to fall asleep. I'm not sure if this is pregnancy related or not because it isn't that my growing belly has become uncomfortable (although I have really begun to feel the weight of it on my back as I walk) or that always sleeping on my side puts a lot of pressure on my hips, its actually all in my feet. It may sound strange, but it's as if my feet have a mind of their own. As soon as I lay down my feet start to tingle. They aren't exactly in pain although they seem to appreciate a good massage. No, it's more like they're wide awake and just want to run. It really is distracting. One night I was up until after 5am, the last couple nights it was 1am, and of course I kept having to get up every hour to go pee. Thankfully, probably due to sheer exhaustion, I finally fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow and I think I only had to get up twice to go pee the entire night! It was amazing. I suppose on a positive note if it is pregnancy related at least I didn't have a crying baby to contend with as well; that will come soon enough - anywhere from now until approximately (but hopefully not this long)  five weeks from now! I really can't believe these last couple weeks are going so quickly!

Probably the highlight of this week was having my belly photo-shoot done. I don't have much to say about this, rather I have pictures to share. But, I would like to say thank you to my friend Krista for coming out, taking all these great pictures and spending the evening with us. It was a treat.