Week 23 - Speck's Birth Team

After 6 doula interviews, 3 OB's, and one trip to the birth center, we now officially can announce Speck's "Birth Team".

Team Captain: Mom - my job is to carry Speck around for 9 months, meet his feeding demands, take good care of my body and manage all of the other parts of the team. And lets not forget about labor & delivery!

Coach: Dad - Erik's job is to keep Mom happy and well supported. Dad helps Mom with important decisions, information gathering, resource management, and moral support.

Doula: Miranda Cacek - Miranda is our #1 resource for information. We're very happy to be adding her to our team and think she is well qualified to assist Mom & Dad leading up to and at the birth. Miranda has attended over 50 births as a Doula, has three children of her own, and is also a prenatal massage specialist. As our Doula, Miranda will help us to create a birth plan, be prepared in the event that we aren't able to stick with the plan, and will support us in sticking to the plan and making educated decisions when things get hot & heavy. She has been a wealth of knowledge and information, providing me with a great reading list, resources for diaper info, yoga classes, childbirth education, etc. I'm very happy that we will be having someone there who understands the physiological, emotional, and spiritual elements of birth. I am confident that her knowledge and support will increase our odds of giving birth the way my body is made to. And yes, that last name is Czech.

Midwife: Nichol Chesser - The Center for Midwifery at the University of Colorado Hospital has four midwives who handle clinic appointments, on call, and labor & delivery. Nichol will be our primary provider but depending on when Speck decides it is time to enter the world, one of her colleagues may be the lucky woman to actually catch our little boy. All of the midwives at the center are Certified Nurse Midwives, which in Colorado means that they are (1) a RN, (2) hold a Masters degree or higher, and (3) have experience with labor and delivery. The Midwife can do everything but cut--to me this is ideal. Obstetricians have been trained first as surgeons and as such, their first inclinations tend to be control through surgery and medical interventions. I think that by having the person calling all the shots be someone who can do anything BUT cut, we are more likely to see Speck be given every chance possible for a natural birth.

Playing Field: The Birth Center at University of Colorado Hospital’s Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion -The birth center is part of a mega medical complex located about 30 minutes from our house. The Birth Center itself is a little bit unique in that it is actually located INSIDE the hospital, which means that should something come up where an OB is required, we're already there (no stressful relocating). And being a University hospital, the technology there is cutting edge if we need it. The labor and delivery rooms are designed to be comforting and soothing, and even have hot tubs to help relax and soothe labor pains. And the feature that makes me laugh, they have dial up internet!

Other Medical Professionals - As I said above, being as the Center is actually located inside of a hospital, all of the amenities and resources that we might need are on hand.

We get the impression that some of our family might still be feeling a little unsure of our decisions to use a midwife & doula rather than a more "conventional" OB. I hope that anyone who reads this will take the time to look at the links and information I've provided. We've put a lot of time and energy into these choices and I feel we're on the path to creating a birth that is right for my body and our baby.

Week 20 - Doctor Update & Other Stuff

I've added a new feature to the blog site with a link to the preggo book I am currently reading. I figure I can keep it updated as I start on new books, and that way anyone interested in reading with me can join in.

This week I started reading "The Birth Book" by William Sears. It was recommended by almost all of the doulas that I met with last week and has been pretty informative. I was surprised that I was able to plow through half of it just this morning. The more I learn, the more I find myself leaning toward natural birth. I always had this notion about birth, that avoiding drugs and wanting to go natural was some sort of woo-woo, earthy hippy thing or something. But from what I'm learning, I think it's better for mother and baby to have babies the way that your body is made to have babies. Of course I understand that sometimes medical intervention is needed, but I'm starting to see that too often medicine is used for convenience and that it actually can cause complications.

On that note, I did see a new doctor this week (because doctor #2 was just too hard to get an appointment with). But I've decided that since I'm already in flux with my care and not really bonded with any one care giver, I should do some research and shop around. I've got an interview with a midwife center this week that I'm pretty excited about. They do deliveries at a birthing center, but it is very close to the University Hospital which I find reassuring. I might also decide to meet with one other midwifery, just for comparison.

I am scheduled for my ultrasound (through doctor #3) on December 8th. I'm really looking forward to another glimpse at Speck and will only cancel the ultrasound if some other care giver can get me in sooner!

Another exciting advancement this week is that Speck's movements are getting stronger. Erik can now feel many of the kicks (if he can make himself sit still long enough to wait for them to happen), and I can even see the skin on my stomach bouncing around with the baby.