The Birds

I really hate doing posts full of random information. But I haven't been consistent enough in my blogging, so when I finally get around to writing a post, there are a billion different things that have happened that are "blog worthy"! I know that if I don't just go ahead and put them all in one post, they will get forgotten.

So, to start things off...The hubs felt our little baby move for the first time this past Sunday. It was two weeks past the time that he felt Bug move, so he was pretty anxious for those kicks to get strong enough. And, although they were strong enough for a while, we have quite the elusive baby!

We also had our first visit with our midwife. The visit was originally scheduled for last week, but the midwife had another client that was having a baby! It was actually the fourth time she has been to our home, so we didn't really have to get acquainted, but it was a nice "first" visit. I have asked for no vaginal exams, so I didn't have to worry about that. Basically, we just talked about how I envision myself giving birth. (And we talked about the state mandatory PKU test that I will have to get county information for, before the baby comes. It's the only real test that is required by law, so I can't exactly refuse it, like I am doing with all the other stuff!) Oh, and I know I picked the right midwife, because she let me do the pee stick test (glucose, protein, ketones, etc.) all on my own. There was ABSOLUTELY nothing degrading about her visit at all. I always hated my visits with the OB during my pregnancy with Bug. I would have to strip down and lay a giant paper towel over my lap. Then expose my most private parts while my feet were in stirrups. I would have to pee in a cup, then hand it off to some stranger through the little window in the bathroom. I would be subjected to all kinds of questioning, not comfortable conversation, within the 5 or so minutes that the doc was actually by my side. I was weighed, squeezed, poked and prodded while at the OB's office. None of that happened in my home with my midwife. Ok, well...I was prodded a little bit while she felt for fundal height and fetal position (apparently, I sit in squishy and comfy seats too often, because I currently have a posterior kiddo!!!) But it was done on my own couch, and I was fully clothed. That makes a big difference!

As you can see, I am extremely happy to be having a non-medicalized birth (and pregnancy) experience this time around. It's exactly what I wanted last time, but I didn't know enough to actually get it! (As I have learned, if you do home birth in Ohio, you are kind of in this secret underground world. It was a bit difficult for me to get into it all!) But, no matter how much I want to have an unassisted childbirth, I will admit that it is nice to have a friendly person watching out for you and your baby!

Also, I have been DYING to hear the baby's heartbeat. You know, to confirm that this whole pregnancy isn't just in my head. (Sometimes my irrational self thinks that!) But, we don't want to use any ultrasound device, including a doppler. So, my midwife used her fetascope, and she was able to pick up a very faint "vibrating" sound that was the baby's heartbeat. But, because of the baby's posterior position, it was difficult to find and hear. So, I still haven't heard the heartbeat. I guess I'll hear it once the baby's born...but I really want to hear it while I'm pregnant still!!

And now for the story about the birds. (I'm sure you all have been wondering why the title of this post is The Birds, and I'm just now mentioning birds.) In the corner of our small deck, we have an open, half empty bag of potting soil. The other day, I thought I saw a small bird fly into the bag. I told the hubby, "There's a bird in that bag!" So, he and Bug went out to investigate. They got really close, and I was beginning to wonder if the bird hadn't really flown into the bag. Bug was the closest and as the hubs leaned over the bag to peer inside of it, a bird burst out of the bag into full flight! (I really think the bird hit Bug in the chest on its way out, because nearly every time since then, when I mention "the bird" Bug hits his chest while saying, "Birrr".) It was very exciting to have the bird fly out, but it scared poor Bug. He refuses to get too close to the bag now!

A day or two later, I went out and looked in the bag. I was NOT expecting a bird to be in there, I was just curious about why a bird was in there before. But, to my surprise, a bird flew out once I got really close. Once the bird was out, I looked into the bag. It was full of leaves and twigs and pine needles. That bird was building a nest in our bag of dirt!!! I couldn't figure out what kind of bird it was, because I was always seeing it while it was in flying away at full speed. I knew it was small and brownish. I guessed it was either a brown creeper or a tufted titmouse.

Finally, yesterday (too chilly to go out or have the door open), I was sitting on the floor at an angle that allowed me to see the bag of soil. And I finally saw the birds while they were sitting still!!! I successfully identified the birds as........HOUSE WRENS!

I am excited about the learning opportunity that this could be for Bug, but I don't want to cause any harm to the birds (especially the babies, when they hatch). But it has been very uplifting to me, to have song birds nesting in my bag of dirt!