So last we chatted, I was fretting about the possibilities of another kid and our finances and such. Today, not much of that has changed except for the fact that we did move forward with the fertility treatments and are expecting again. Come December 2016 we'll have a 3yo and a newborn. And I'm terrejoyed by that fact. We also ended up with a new car a few months ago because mine refused to hold on any longer. And there have been more household repairs that ate into our plans. And the treatments ended up costing us way more out of pocket than we planned because there was a snafu with our insurance, so we're still waiting on that to be straightened out so that we can get a refund and pay our midwife.
Did I mention that I decided on a home birth this time around? Yes, well, through a confluence of factors, I decided that this kid will be born at home. One day, early in this pregnancy, I was still feeling the effects of the rather severe OHSS that I developed and in conversations with those whom I usually turn to for support, I felt vastly unsupported. That day I called her and went to chat with her. I explained our situation, my feelings, and our finances, and we agreed that she would attend me at home. As in times past, I knew I could trust her and she was totally there for me. So I have come full circle with her in having her attend me in some ways with all of my children: she was my midwife with the twins before we lost them (and after), she was a counselor with Faith, and now she will attend this kid's birth.
Another reason I've decided to have a homebirth is the culmination of not so great hospital visits I've had in these past few years as it relates to my varying maternal experiences. I was extremely dissatisfied with the hospital's ER when I went in with bleeding with the twins. With Faith, the hospital protocols caused me to miss out on immediate skin-to-skin and her first few days of breastfeeding. Then even with the OHSS with this one, even the billing was a bait-and-switch with them putting me in an "observational" extension of the ER overnight, so I was never actually admitted and my bills are higher. With my midwife, what she says she will give me is what I will get and what she says I owe her now won't change later. There's more that could be said about the maternity care systems in this country, but I'll leave that to others who've put in the research time. For me, let's just say that if it came down to hospital or home alone, I'd choose home alone before choosing to birth in a hospital again.
So here we are - pregnancy #4, all due to fertility treatments, and expecting baby #2 to "take home." Nothing's even close to perfect, but the hope of new life continues to shape our God-given destiny.
