Preggers!

Okay how many of you already knew because all I can talk about lately is birth? But yes, we are very blessed and happy and grateful and tired, and are now ready to share that we are expecting Kiddo #2 in late September. I have been blessed so far with a fairly easy pregnancy, no barfing (please don't hate me) just queasiness, fatigue, and dizziness. And odd food aversions and cravings. Robert was "bunny" for a long time because all I wanted to eat was nectarines and leaves. This one is some sort of marathon runner, because I've been sucking down Gatorade (which helps with the dizziness) and potatoes. Seriously I have been eating baked potatoes for breakfast. They re-warm in the microwave fairly well, and there's good nutrition in the skins. And of course they make an excellent vehicle for butter and salt.

We are working with a midwife this time, and WOW what a difference. I get an HOUR to see her at each appointment. I actually have THREE midwives, a lead, an assistant, and a student (named Susannah! A good omen.) I can text any of them when I am concerned about something and they answer me as soon as they can (no dice if they are at a birth or sleeping after a birth of course but there are THREE of them so one of them is bound to be awake). We are probably going to birth at their birth center, hopefully in one of their huge, gorgeous birth tubs - like a really big bath tubs. Good luck to them getting me back out of that thing after nine months of no hot baths. Well it won't be hot but still. And if the God forbid happens, which it won't, they stick me in an ambulance and come with me to a great hospital five minutes away. My OB in Cali was a very good man and all, but this is just a totally different model and I like it way better.

So speaking of God forbid, and let me preface this with the fact that protoperson and I are just fine, I managed to scare the foo out of my already nervous mother this weekend by passing out at the farmer's market. Oops. I felt cruddy so I sat down on the ground, which is good because I didn't fall. But apparently I passed out with my eyes open, which is really freaky looking, and my poor mother (who is a little old lady who probably figured at 37 her youngest child was done scaring her) thought I was dead. So I woke up with Mom yelling my name, thinking, "Why is Mom yelling? I'm trying to take a nap. Wait, I'm outside. Who's that other lady leaning over me? Why are all these people looking at me? Huh. This is weird." The paramedics were very nice, my nurse in the ER was a hoot, and the doctor was very reassuring. We got an ultrasound to check the baby (when she said protoperson was fine I was so relieved that I cried and she had to ask me to stop jiggling my stomach - oops. Well, she's an ER doc, she's seen worse than a few tears.) and my Mom got to see the little critter, who waved at her, as if to say "Hi Grandma! See, I'm fine!"

And now I have already taken an ambulance to that very same hospital, and I can tell you they do good work. I'm fine now, it was just a nasty intestinal something or other which cleared up in a few hours. If I wasn't preggers I probably would have just gone home.

In less dramatic news, I'm signed up for the peer counselor training at the Oregon Nursing Mother's Counsel. I'm so excited! What a great outlet for my lactivism - a blog and a volunteer activity might be enough to keep me from babbling about breastfeeding at random parties and doctors' appointments. Well, maybe not, but anyway it's good to put abundant enthusiasm to productive use. I'm sure I'll blog about it after it starts. They've already sent me homework! Hee hee. I have boobjuice homework. A lactonerd's dream!

Much love and happy boobjuicing!
Suzi