Baby Updates and Doula Thoughts

I had drinks (well, the others had wine and I had some fruity mocktail concoction so as not to feel left out) with a doula/EMT/wife of an Eastern Orthodox priest last night (the Dana was there too - yay!). She was awesome! I loved talking to her about birth plans and delivery options and just things that they know about.

We discussed some of the things that some hospital delivery methods do that counteract the natural urges and instincts of the baby. She was telling me that if they didn't take the baby away to clean it up (and put something hard and intrusive into its mouth to swab and suction it) right away, but rather laid it on the mom's chest, that it would eventually find its way over to the breast and would likely begin to nurse on its own (resulting in far less frustration for many women who - quite rightly - face quite a challenge getting a good position and latch when we've taken most of the natural elements out of this process). There were a few more details that were awesome, too, but I'll spare those of you who would rather not hear about nipple changes and such, though, I would have to take time here to insist that a woman's body is a natural and beautiful thing - as is breastfeeding - so that no one is allowed to be squeamish about this. I do, however, understand if you'd prefer not to read about it on my blog. :o)

At any rate, I'm not up for a home birth or anything (in fact, I'm probably going to hell since I've made fun of many of them that have been featured on TLC and such), but I am very seriously considering having a doula so that we can talk about these things and plan for them. We'll see.

She did recommend a couple of books I'm going to check out:

Dr. Jack Newman's The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers

(which, hilariously, was published as something like Dr. Newman's Guide to Breastfeeding in Canada - we Americans like the dramatic titles, I suppose)

and

Ina May Gaskin's Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

Anybody read these? What did you think?

Anyway, the original impetus for this post was supposed to be a little developmental update. As of this week (week 22), baby is about a pound and nearly eight inches (crown to rump), or about the size of a small doll. Last week, she was about the length of a large banana! She has eyebrows and eyelashes and hair on her head, too (though apparently it has no pigment so it is bright white). She can now hear my voice, as well as all the other sounds going on in my body (heartbeat, digestion, blood movement, etc.). She has developed the sense of touch, and can even grab onto the umbilical cord if she wants. And even though she has fused eyelids, she is starting to be able to perceive light and dark, so according to What to Expect, I could shine a flashlight on my tummy and she may be able to see it.

I can definitely feel her moving around now, but it's rarely repetitious movements, so if I'm not paying attention, I miss the fleeting little motions and sensations. However, we were still in bed yesterday morning and I could feel some pretty solid movements, so I checked to see if I could feel them from outside my belly. I thought perhaps I could, so I grabbed Coleman's hand and put it in the area where I had just felt her. She kicked or bumped again, so I asked if he felt it. He said he thought so, especially when I pointed out where it would have been. However, right after that, she did it again, in the same spot and with the same intensity as she had just done it. She almost never does that! It was as if she knew her daddy needed some confirmation, so she gave us an encore, just to make sure he knew she was there. Okay, so I'm probably giving her way too much credit, but it was pretty fantastic, especially since Coleman had to get on a plane later that day and won't see us for another three weeks.

I hope you're all well. Let us hear from you!