Pregnancy Dreams and Birth Centers

Well, my sister Stef is taking care of my pregnancy dreams for me. I've only had one and it was of breastfeeding the little one. Stef on the other hand has had three now. I think she's somehow psychically connected to the tadpole because her due date is on Stef's birthday 2-11-10. The first dream, she was holding the baby while visiting with some of her friends. She told her friends that this is her grandma over and over. This is very striking to me because I've had these feeling of a connection all along that grandma is channeling through. We are going to name her Didi, loosely based off grandma's name Dolores, everyone called her Dee and Deedee is also a shortened version. Plus grandma's birthday was 2-22, another February connection.

The second dream, Stef was hanging out with our grandpa who just passed away in August. Grandpa told her that he wanted to get a tattoo - which is kind of crazy for our gramps because he didn't have any. When they went to the tattoo parlor, he got a tattoo, I think she said on his arm. Guess what is said? It was my grandma's name "Dolores H". So crazy, these dreams happened two days in a row.

So then tonight Stef told me about a dream she had last night. I was giving birth in a driveway and also laboring in a basement. The driveway she said had a bunch of candles, everyone was lighting them for the birth. This is significant because my other sister Hil had put together these great little baby shower gifts with candles and asked everyone to light them once they find out I am in labor. The basement connection is also meaningful in the fact that I was planning on laboring in my basement room first. This room is very calming to me, it's where I workout, do yoga and meditate. I have a glowing salt rock and incense down there. The funny part is, she mentioned me hanging from a bar and I was telling her that it is good for labor, bringing the baby down. That's interesting, because Dan's chin up bar is in there and sometimes I hang from it to stretch. Hanging from a rope or a bar is a very ancient and primal birthing position. Some cultures still use it and actually the birth center I visited today had a hanging swing / rope to labor from.

This leads me into my visit today. I had to get a different perspective on this whole gestational diabetes situation. I sort of knew about this birth center in south Denver. In the beginning, I was semi-considering it, but it's an hour drive from my home and I wanted something a little closer, just in case. However this weekend, Dan and I decided to go as perspective clients and do the tour and ask questions. I didn't want to necessarily birth there, I just wanted a second opinion on how someplace else viewed gestational diabetes. During the tour, I asked them what they considered high risk, because they will not allow high risk births here. Guess what? They said gestational diabetes first. My heart sank. Yep, apparently, this is a bigger deal than I thought it was. I was a bit crushed, but I was also a bit relieved to find out that maybe I should give my doctor a little more trust. Maybe I'm not just being victimized by the insurance companies wanting money for all these tests.

It's just such a hard balance because no one wants to be labeled. So there you have it. No birth centers for me, they won't even allow a second baby to be birthed there if the first was GD. There is one more place I am going to visit next week. It is in Boulder and the doctor is in network with my insurance. The doctor is the head of a nurse midwives center, which is in the hospital. I'm going to try to get an appointment, show them my file and just say I want a second opinion. If they are of the same opinion that all of these tests and things are necessary and they would do the same, then I will stay with my current doctor. If they treat it differently and advise the numerous bi-weekly tests are not necessary, then I will switch to them. Yes, it will probably be an insurance nightmare, but it would be worth it for peace of mind.

I think the best thing a woman can do is educate herself and seek knowledge. Always feel free to get a second opinion. It's worth it, even if you are wrong in your perspective, as I learned today. That GD is something to be somewhat concerned about. Apparently, there are other places, even free standing birth centers that feel it is too high risk to take on the birth. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm being shoveled in the C-Section room next week by my current provider. I know two women that had GD, used my same doctor, and they both birthed naturally normal sized babies. There is hope, there is just a little more caution used.