(Happy mama at almost 6 months) This week we had our monthly visit with our amazing midwife, Shell (see why we are choosing a midwife / homebirth here). Everything is going wonderfully. My weight gain is healthy (weighed in around 145 today), my urine analysis is pristine, my blood pressure is low and healthy, and overall, I feel great. Shell mentioned that I don’t seem to have some of the issues many pregnant women seem to experience (swollen extremities for example). I attribute it to my healthy lifestyle.
We’ve declined the use of any more ultrasounds since the last one we had around 13.5 weeks, and we’re not going to use doppler either (I just don’t completely trust either of those, and unless it’s warranted for something that could be actionable, then I see no reason to use them). We’re going old school and using a fetascope which can be tricky to use in hearing the heartbeat unless you have a practiced person doing it. I bought one on Amazon to use myself, but I’ve yet to find the heartbeat in my attempts. Shell heard our baby’s heartbeat today and it is normal. :)
She also gave me some magic pregnancy tea. I call it magic because anything this woman makes or does is magical for my baby. She’s just so awesome. My instructions are to drink a quart a day. Yum! I can’t wait!
After our appointment, we went to one of my favorite places for lunch, Chakra 4 Herbs. They are organic and have many raw and vegan dishes. I always get a bowl of their (cooked) soup because it’s the best soup in the whole world. Truly. And, then I usually get one of their giant organic wraps that is stuffed with greens, veggies, olives, and raw vegan cheese. On our way out I noticed they had a “breastfeeding friendly” sticker on the door so I had to take a picture of it. They rock!