Far Above Rubies

My world is a changin!!!

{ 11:18, 2006-Jun-27 } { Posted in Ramblings } { 5 comments } { Link }

Well, it's been a good long time since I've blogged!

Things in the Miller household have changed dramatically since my last post....

We're PREGNANT!!!!!! Miller baby #4 is due around the middle of February. Funnily enough, I had just given away a ton of baby stuff including a changing table, baby swing, a Bumbo seat, a sling, and much more including a huge bag of baby clothing.
No matter...baby clothes are pretty easy to come by and I did want some newer things anyway. Plus, the sling is only on loan...those are priceless!

We'd been hoping for a year now to get pregnant, but I have very irregular cycles due to Polycyctic ovary disease so we were never able to chart and predict. We just went on our merry business, hoping one would stick!

The family went to a BBQ on Saturday afternoon, standard fare of hotdogs and hamburgers, potato salad, chips, and cake. Then, late that night, I felt sick to my stomach, and initially though something I had eaten disagreed with me, but no one else felt sick, so it got me to wondering...hmmmm? I realized I had not had a period since early May (not in itself unusual) and I'd been having slight crapming in my pelvis when I stood up. But I was trying not to get too excited because I'd done this before...projecting my wishful thinking! I decided to wait til the end of June, and if I still had no period, I'd get a pg test.

Well, turns out I hate waiting. I figured, by the end of June I'm not going to be MORE or LESS pregnant than I am right now. But I had no money, so I did at least have to wai til Monday to go to the Pregnancy Center in town (they give free pg tests). I was a little disconcerted about walking into that place because this is one of those liberal type counseling places that pushed abortion referrals. I'd seen the outlines of each type of abortion procedure on their website when I was looking for the address, and it really made me sick. But I just kept in the front of my mind what I was there for.

The lady who took my information and did my test, Amelle, was very nice, and seemed surprised that I was indeed married and WANTED to be pregnant. I gave her the pee sample, she dropped some in the test, and said, "Wow, I've never seen the test line appear BEFORE the control line!" I said, "And that means..." She said, "You're definitely pregnant!"

My knees shook and I sterted to laugh this giddy slightly hysterical kind of laugh. She seemed very touched and gave me a big hug, then reached into a cabinet and gave me a knit pair of white and yellow baby booties displayed in a plastic corsage box.

I had gone alone. I figured, if the test was negative, I wanted to drive home and be disappointed in solitude before telling Chas. But now I could hardly stand the amount of time it took to get home, and I sat there in my van, giggling hysterically and weeping!

I got home, went inside, and managed to look kind of somber and sad and sat down in front of my husband. He looked bummed and said, "Oh, honey, you're not." I took his hand, and in his palm I put the pregnancy test. He looked down, blinked, and gasped, "Oh honey!!!" He was so excited!

So, come February, we'll be a family of 6!

I had decided long before this pregnancy that I did not want to have any more babies in the hospital. I found my last experience with having Charlie to be less than great. I was treated like an idiot, beginning with the nurse who asked me, "Are you really in labor?" as I sat in the wheelchair my husband took me up in, writhing in agony from a contraction. I was not allowed to move around or make use of the whirlpool, but made to lay down and have a fetal monitor strapped to me the whole time. I had a crabby nurse who talked down to me. After Charlie came out, he weighed almost 10 pounds and they forced formula on him because his blood sugar was a little below normal. This, I found out later, was totally unnecessary, as he would have stabilized just fine within a few hours and some nursing. Then there was the 3 AM blood draw. They tell you to sleep then send people in at 3 AM to poke you with a needle!!! Oh, and I can't forget the nurse who came in and declared she needed to check me for hemmorhoids. There's no mistaking hemmorhoids, and if I had them, I'd have known it!

Now, for a scared first time mom, a hospital experience may be reassuring, but when I was in for my 3rd, I found it tedious to sit through all the "education" they force you to sit through in order to be released. I know how to change a diaper. I know how to breastfeed. I know how to spot jaundice. Just get me out of here!!!!

And don't even get me started on the BILL, which we are still paying. $12 for a stool softener!

The one thing I can really say I enjoyed about my last hospital stay was being able to order anything I wanted to eat whenever I wanted it, and did I ORDER!!! We made sure first that meals were included in the room price, and I ordered something to eat every few hours I was so ravenous.

I hit a snag, though, realizing that there are no midwives in Grand junction who attend homebirths. I really love Janet, the midwife who delivered all 3 of my boys, but she would not be able to help me this time. Mesa Midwives gave me the number of a midwife about 70 miles away who does homebirthing. Get this....a MALE midwife! I'm meeting with him sometime next week when he's in town for a patient's delivery for an interview.

I was a little dismayed that I had not managed to lose more weight before becoming pregnant again. As it stands, I'm 50 pounds overweight, so I am going to have to really try hard to watch what I eat this time and exercize better. I gained far too much weight with Charlie and ended up 217 pounds at delivery time. Ain't gonna happen this time. I'm 180 now and determined not to gain more than 20 pounds.

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Congratulations!

{ 12:10, 2006-Jun-28 } { Posted by HSBFrontPorch }
Can't wait to hear about your interview with the MALE midwife... Hmmm....
~Nancy
Senior Editor

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{ 01:11, 2006-Jun-28 } { Posted by jenna }
Congratulations!! That's so awesome! :)

Congratulations!!

{ 01:29, 2006-Jun-28 } { Posted by homeschoolblogger.com/Stephanie10 }
Shannon, how totally wonderful! I met Bill, back when I was pregnant with #4, and he really seems nice. Lots of women use him and you know, most OBs are men, so it's not like a male attendant is really that strange. I hope you have a good interview. Make sure your husband is there, too, to give his impression. Take care!

Congratulations!

{ 06:34, 2006-Jun-28 } { Posted by BuzyMumof3sons }
I pray your pregnancy is truly blessed and am looking forward to your updates on how you are feeling! I praying the Lord blesses us with our 4th in the future as well!

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{ 10:20, 2006-Jul-1 } { Posted by KSC }
Congratulations! I also have Polycystic ovaries and am trying to conceive. Did you take any drugs to help you out, or did it just happen?