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Saturday, December 25, 2010

Pirate Spawn at six weeks.

I am six weeks pregnant today by my calculations (or should I say, by the calculations of the apps I'm using on my phone).

I still have 34 weeks to go...ugh! Which is 238 days...double ugh!

I'm starting my seventh week of pregnancy, and the embryo that will henceforth be dubbed "Pirate Spawn" looks like an alien with a tail and a large head with nostrils and lips and eyes. It has a beating heart (!) and is developing it's liver, kidneys, etc. It has developed it's placenta and amniotic sac, and the placenta is burrowing into my uterine wall to leech the oxygen and nutrients from my bloodstream.

So basically it's my very own sweet pea-sized parasite.

Oh, and did you know that up to 50% of pregnant women get hemorrhoids? Yep, that's right. If you thought pregnancy was all glowing skin and and content mama, you thought wrong. We all thought wrong. We were lied to. Damn you, society!!

So far, the worst of my symptoms is lethargy and occasional cramping in my leg due to a lot of the blood in my body making a beeline for my womb. Also, ever since my mom told me to drink lots of milk, that's all I want.

Watched a fascinating documentary the other night called "The Business of Being Born". It takes harder look quality of maternal care in this great nation of ours, and gives it a poor score. Here are a couple of things states in the documentary:

The United States has the second worst newborn death rate in the developed world.

The U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among all industrialized countries.

Since 1996 the Cesarean section rate has risen 46%.

The documentary also explores the benefits of natural births assisted by midwives. After watching that, I am seriously considering it. I am fortunate that my health insurance will cover that...the trouble is trying to find a birthing center or a midwife via the website. I guess I'll just have to talk to the doctor when I see him on Monday.

Merry Christmas, all!

1 comment:

Monica said...

Ahh don't blieve everything you read/watch! Yea part of being pregnant totally sucks but the cool/weird stuff come later. Like feeling your little parasite move, kicj you in the ribs from the inside, and roll over.

Your mom is right, lots of vitamin D (you don't want to have dental problems after spawn is born). I got sick taking with prenatal vitamins so I took children's chewables. Something better than nothing.

And the rise in Cesarean I believe is due to doctors and mothers "picking" what day their child will be born and not leaving it the Mother Nature vs necessity.