Bun Quest

The vet called.

Walter has sugar in his pee.

Diabetes for sure, question is how bad?

Shots, pills, or just diet.

Poor Walt Teeny Tiny Tabletops, locked in the bathroom away from his mom while he’s sick.

Tear. Sniffle. Sniffle.

Walter (the strikingly large cat, sitting next to our 52 lb. bassett hound Hannah) has been “my” cat since March 2005. Love him! He has always slept next to me, cuddled with me, talked to me (seriously), followed me around like a dog, peed strictly in his litter box….until we went on vacation. When we got back my beloved Walter had peed right out side his litter box…this continued nearly every day, sometimes multiple times a day until last Sunday when I confined him to the bathroom. I feel like an aweful person, keeping my Waltonomous all couped up in the bathroom. I’m keeping him there pending the results of his urinalysis  (due in tomorrow). Have you ever smelled cat pee or spent 2 days steam cleaning your carpets while 6+ months pregnant?!?!  I also plugged in one of those Feliway plug in’s in the bathroom. Other than that please comment with suggestions for “behavior modification” in cat’s who pee where they shouldn’t! I’m not ok with giving him away, so if we can’t change his behavior he’s living all 9 of his lives in the bathroom (j/k…kinda).

Here’s the belly.

I’m too embarassed to take pictures of my feet/hands as they may be used as floatation devices in case of emergency.

Thanks Mom (genetically speaking) for my “cheeky” new stretch marks! Those who dare to break into song with stirring renditions of Baby Got Back will be summarily executed.

I have the cusp of an outie.  My belly itches (yes, yes, I know, I know, I’ve been bathing it in lotion for a long time now). I get little pains around/under my belly button…we all know what that means.

So I’ve been thinking a lot about my wish for an unmedicated labor/birth and the requisite fear that comes with it. So I asked myself, why am I scared (just a little, of course). This is why…

Because labor and birth are the one exception to the rule of pain. The rule of pain being, Pain = Something is abnormal.

We are taught from a young age (and rightfully so) that pain is your body’s way of signaling that something is not occurring as it should. All of our autonomic functions (breathing, heart beating, digestion…all those fun things that your body just knows how to do) occur with out pain if they are happening correctly. Even if you narrow it down to ‘things exiting your body’, it doesn’t hurt (even if you are puking).

Labor and birth is the opposite. While, yes, your body knows what to do and most often will do it, the “normal” process causes pain (see Genesis for complete explaination). The goal for me will be to get myself out of the mind set that pain = something being “wrong” and into the mind set that pain = normal.

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Also, the doula that’s teaching our birth class, pointed out that the definition of labor is work. There are lots of jobs that cause pain because of the physical exertion involved, like construction work, heavy lifting etc. When you see someone working, or even working out and they are in obvious pain…is it your first response to stick a needle in their spine and numb them up? Hell no, why? Because you recognize that they need full use of their body to expeditiously achieve their goal. I’ve been mulling this over, and honestly, I think she has a point. Hard work can be painful, but pushing (not literally) through the pain can mean you reach your goal more quickly.

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This is my official disclaimer. I really, really, really want an unmedicated labor and birth. I’ve taken every step I know to take to help accomplish this goal. We’ve hired a doula, a midwife, paid a lot for a 9 week long birth class, and picked the most supportive hospital out there. However, I know that there are circumstances that are beyond my ultimate control, breech positioning, extreme fetal distress in labor, shoulder dysplasia, etc. The most important thing is that Julia and I both make it out of this healthy.  I believe that having an unmedicated birth/labor is a personal choice and to each their own! This is not my quest for fame and glory,  and I don’t think that women who have a medicated birth/labor are wrecklessy endangering their children or any of that crap. And if the time comes and I’m flat on my back, numb from the waist down and laughing my baby out…birth is birth and it’s an experience I’ll feel extremely blessed to have had! But, if I’m getting my abdomen/other major organ cut open and loaded up with anesthesia, I might be little pissed (j/k…kinda).

I did my one hour glucose tolerance screening test on Thursday. Results are back. Blood sugar was 67. Definately no gestational diabetes! In fact that seems pretty low to me, but the midwife is not concerned. However, they did discover that my iron count is low at 10.08 (reference range of 11.7 – 15) and the midwife would like me to take iron supplements. Ugh.

The side view…

The front view…

Now, behold the almost outtie!

It’s been awhile, but don’t worry it’s not you, it’s me. I went on vacation for a couple weeks and totally lost my inner discipline to write. So, my bad. Anyway, because I’ve missed so much and have so much to tell y’all, I’m just going to make a list.

Things I did while not blogging…

1. Passed the 24 week mark! Yay!!!

2. Gained 26.1 lbs (over pre-preggo weight, which makes me a whopping 124.1)

3. Attended our first birth class.

4. Flew without having a panic attack.

5. Am about to lose my “innie.” (don’t be skerd, I’ll post a pic)

6. My bump drew enough attention at LAX to get me into to disabled/stroller security line. (Hell yeah!)

7. Survived an earthquake.