Living Simply… Parenting by Instinct

I visited my family down south earlier this month. I realized this morning I hadn’t blogged about it yet. We stayed with my mom and dad for one week. It was a good visit. Both my sisters came too, my middle sister with her little ones so my boys had playmates, and they played really well together. That Sunday we had a barbecue with all my relatives from both my parents’ families, many of whom had never seen Xander and hadn’t seen Austin for almost two years. We went to the zoo on Thursday with my dad too which was nice. I think the kids were a bit too young for the zoo, my boys seemed to tune it all out after a while; Charity’s little guys seemed more into it. Our new-to-us double stroller got a good workout anyway. The driving part was the worst. Austin got a bit of a bug on Wednesday and threw up a few times. We just figured it was too much sun (after all the temperature from home to my folks is like the difference between early spring and late summer) but when Xander spent the whole trip north to my in-laws throwing up we figured maybe a bug was going around. He was much better the next day but unfortunately, I caught it too. I spent most of the day in my room at my in-laws trying to make sure they didn’t get it. But all in vain, they too caught the bug a few days later. But mysterious illness aside it was a very good trip. 

Today, to put my husband’s mind at ease I agreed to meet with the midwife just once. Well, I’m glad I did. It reassured me with regard to my being drawn to UC. The appointment was about 20 minutes long. She had met me twice before when I had seen her in December for that pregnancy prior to my miscarriage, so she knew my feelings about the "routine" prenatal testing. This time she didn’t even discuss them with me she just filled out the lab requestion forms and handed them to me. I fail to understand why these test are routine. I am not a IV drug user, I’m in a five and a half year monogmous relationship (and have had the STD tests with each of my prior children), I had a rubella booster with my first child, I don’t believe that glucose testing is valid and if the test is positive that treatment improves outcomes, I have had my blood typed with each child and with my D&C (but apparently she cannot just take my word for it) and it would be easier to obtain this information from visiting the adjoining office where the doctor who attended Xander’s birth practices. But what kills me the worst is that I am not given a choice in this matter. I am just expected to turn myself up at the hospital lab with two toddlers in tow when my health care provider orders me to. Does OHIP give her more money for each additional prenatal test ordered? Does she have to provide paperwork to OHIP to keep her licence? And if so why could a waiver from me not suffice?? Truly, this makes me even more sure I do not need a birth attendant who I will continually need to battle with all through my pregnancy and birth for my rights.

Nic has made me agree to one more meeting with her to see if we can come to an agreement (so if we need back up we don’t need the hospital) but I know what will happen, she is too enmeshed in the medical model to truly trust birth I think. She only does about four homebirths a year; most of her practice is hospital based. 

So I am almost 12 weeks, on Wednesday so yay! I don’t anticipate any problems with this pregnancy. I’ve had no spotting and with all five miscarriages I had spotting by this point or earlier. I haven’t had the heart issues I had in first trimester with Xander either so that’s nice. I did not enjoy those three days in hospital and neither did Austin. He was only 15 months old and Daddy had left us three months earlier to go to Hearst a month before we did, so I was his rock. Then I end up in hospital and was there for over 24 hours before my inlaws brought him to see me. That’s around the time he began to suck his thumb. Poor baby. But at least I’ll have this one at home so I won’t upset Xander’s normalcy like I did with Austin.

So Nic is trying to make me go see the midwife. Just once or twice but I’m putting it off. I want to do this one by myself. I’m debating about whether I even want Nic there when the baby’s born. He just gets so upset when I’m in labour, its distracting. Well, I will make up my mind by the time I get back from our little holiday down south. We’re visiting my parents for a week starting on May 1 and coming back on May 9th. It should be fun. I haven’t been that far south since Austin was 1. 

I’m 10 weeks pregnant now! No bleeding and lots of morning sickness. Yay!! Lots of hopefulness here. And some of my favourite people are expecting now too so yay!! All sorts of babies coming.

So far I’ve not seen a midwife. I’m planning a UC but I may see our midwife for some shadow care and to cover my a** in case of transfer. Also, it’ll be nice to call her to come to my house if I decide I want a newborn exam or need stitches or something. 

Wish me luck!!

I make all our bread every week. I make whole wheat bread 3 loaves. I like homemade bread. Well, today I made three whole wheat loaves then I made four white loaves because we are expecting company for Easter and they prefer white. Then my husband starts talking about how fluffy my white bread is and how I "screw" up the whole wheat and why can’t I make loaves like in the supermarket bakery. I tried to tell him about the weight difference in whole wheat and white flour and how the supermarket bakery uses many things most of which I couldn’t procure if I tried and that their ingredients list is as long as my hand. My recipe consists of 6 ingredients. But he keeps going on about the difference and now I’m too mad to eat dinner.