38 (+6) Clinic visit

Getting ever closer and ever more exciting. Everything seems to be normal from the usual tests. I have only gained about 200gms, which I put down to my spaghetti lunch. Looks like Pichan has gone down in weight, and was measuring  2980gms (Or something like that) but we are putting that down to inaccurate scans. Hopefully Pi will weight a good weight at birth, hopefully maybe 3400gms-ish.

I met one of the midwives today. A lady called Ima-something. While I was having the EFM done, she came and spoke with me about the birth plan. This is what I put in, and in red are notes on what they what they may agree on:


最小限に膣試験に保管してください Please keep vaginal exams to a minimum No problems 
分娩中に、私の周り歩きたい。 (必要がない限り継続的電子胎児のモニタ
ーをしたくないでください。) During labour, I want to walk around. (I do not want to have continuous fetal monitoring unless necessary.) Okay.
必要でない限り点滴をしないでください Please do not give an IV unless it’s necessary Apparently, in the delivery room I must get one, but I don't need to have it during labour.
必要でない限り帝王切開をしたくないでください I would like to avoid a cesarean unless necessary. No problems
• 子宮口は１０cmになったら、まず自由に(好きなときに)息みたい
I would like to “labor down” – once I am fully dilated, I would like to only push when I feel the urge at least in the beginning. This is okay, as long as I can do as directed when needed
• 産んですぐ、へその緒を切らずにお腹 [なか] に乗せて、赤ちゃんがおっ
ぱいまで辿り着く [たどりつく] のをみたい
Please don’t cut the umbilical cord straight away but lay the baby on my belly and allow it to find my breast on its own. Unfortunately not on this one.
• 夫が希望したら、へその緒は夫に切って欲しい I would like for my husband to cut the umbilical cord, if he wants to. They thought this was weird, but kind of agreed.
• 産んですぐに授乳 [じゅにゅう] したい、(遅くても、出なくても)３０分
以内に授乳
I would like to start breastfeeding directly after birth – even if it doesn’t come quickly or takes a long time, I would like to try for at least 30 minutes. Unfortunately, they might need to take the baby away, so not really.
縫合が必要な場合は、局所麻酔をしてください Local anesthesia for stitches please Yep.
• 時間を決めないで、赤ちゃんが泣くとき、好きなだけ授乳したい I would like to breastfeed at will and not on any schedule.Yep
• 母乳以外 (糖水・粉ミルク・哺乳瓶)を与えない
Please do not offer the baby anything to drink – only breastfeeding. Okay, but only if they baby is not losing too much weight.
• 完全 [かんぜん] 母子同室 [ぼしどうしつ]（初日から）
I would like for my baby to be in the same room as me from the start. Okay, but she thought I might be very tired so I have the option to give to the nurses when needed.

I had some other things in my birth plan, but I took them out because I already knew the answer is no (Like not delivering on my back, it's the only option at my clinic). I found out that it is no problem to take my birth ball in, and after the birth they show the baby, and then take it away for checks and cleaning before cuddles (boo), but I suppose it can't be helped. They really believe that the way they do it is for the best for the baby, and my Japanese isn't good enough to argue with them. Plus, it seems similar to how things were done in the early 80's when I was born, and most of us turned out fine...ish...

We finally had a tour of the facilities too. The delivery room and labour room (there are three, one nicer more private one, and one big room with two beds and a curtain between. If one books the aroma birth, then you get the more private one, or if there is no one in there then we can use that one. The delivery room is typical clinical looking, with two beds (I am assuming if it is super busy). On the second level is the nursery, nurses station next door and the two 'State rooms' (one is nicer than the other). The big difference being that there is a shower.

 Stateroom

The other rooms are on the 3rd floor. They are simple enough with single beds. The nurse looked at me and thought it might be a bit small. At 179cms I am taller than the average Japanese man, so I suppose it isn;t a big surprise. The showers are shared and time is booked, but it shouldn't be a problem. There are toilets in all the rooms, so it is just the shower.

 regular room

The difference in price is 10000yen a night ($100). If all the regular rooms are full, they give a discount off the staterooms, and if they are full too, then the first night will (unfortunately) be spend in the labour room. Though, I think that almost never happens. She assured me anyway.

Visiting hours suck, even for husbands. 3-8pm on weekdays and Saturdays from 3pm to 8pm, and Sundays and Holidays from 12pm-8pm. I suppose it is just something that we will have to deal with.

I feel quite good about the visit though, and a lot more prepared. It is good to know what to prepare for an take some of the guessing out of it. Now, we just need little Pi to come :D

38 weeks

All is still going well, as far as I can tell.

Still super tired, but getting super excited too. It has occurred to us that this weekend is the last weekend we have before Pichan is due! Exciting times.

I am trying to keep my routine fairly normal up until then. I am still going to Japanese lessons once a week, still trying to walk for an hour everyday (which is really tiring), and still reading as many birth books and blogs that I can. I have now finished Hypnobirthing- which I really quite liked- and am now reading the Bradley method. So far it isn't the best, but even if I only pull a few useful things out of the book, I believe it makes the buying and reading of the book worth it.

We are trying to do a bit of spring cleaning of the cupboards too. We figure otherwise it may be quite a
while. It is a bit of a mamoth tast though. I thought it would take half an hour to to the upstairs cupboard. We worked for 2 hours and it's still not done. I will finish it today though, because Pichan's room is a mess.

Today I am also going to work on making some meditation CD's. I can't seem to find hypnobirthing CD's on itunes, and it is too late to order them from ebay. So looks like I will be listing to the sound of my own voice. I suppose at least it can be tailored to how I want though.

Husband and I have also had the preliminary chat of what I want him to do during labour; so we are almost all systems go!


Week: 38
Baby bump: It's so round and cute, and gets in the way sometimes.
Movement: Lots of movement sometimes- yay!
Complaints: Again, part from being so tired there is nothing worth mentioning.
Maternity clothes/Baby purchases: Nothing new this week...

37 week clinic visit

This appointment was one of the best so far. The reason~ I had a doctor who spoke half in English. I can't tell you what a relief it was to be able to communication semi effectively. I had even painstakingly translated questions out that I needed to know too, which was still useful as there were words he wasn't familiar with (like induce).

Being Saturday morning, it was quite busy in the clinic. After doing the usual (weight- 20gms gain, blood pressure and pee) I went in for the ultrasound. Baby is big now. The scan was measuring over 3000gms this week, which is a 500gm difference from last week. Which means there must have been an error last week and makes me glad that Pi is still growing well as per the textbook. He too, thought that Pi was big, but realised that it is because of Pi's genetics.

I had another cervix exam- closed. Boo. After all the walking that I have been doing too. Needless to say I was quite disappointed, especially as it means that maybe Pi is not baked yet. I have been doing a little bit of research though, and it seems a cervix can go from closed, to full blown labour in a few hours, so at this stage I am not worrying about it.

My Strep B test came back negative. So happy with that. I also asked about what was low with my blood test. Apparently I am low in platelets- the things that clot blood. He said that as long as my blood pressure is normal, then its not a major problem as long as they keep it in mind. Good to know. Luckily, they didn't need more blood this week.

I also asked about how long they will wait until they induce me. I got the impression that they actually don't like to induce (Fantastic!), but after 40 weeks they will keep monitoring and see how the baby is. As long as Pi is healthy, I go the impression that they will let Pi bake until at least 41 weeks. Hopefully Pi decides to show naturally before then though. Hopefully a few days early...

After was the non stress test again; which I was happy that Pi was dancing about as normal.

We completely forgot to ask for the tour, but maybe we will try again this weekend. The appointments are getting a bit more expensive. It was about 4000yen out of pocket this time- and that is including the discount voucher. Perhaps it is all the extra tests that they do...

All in all though, a very successful visit!


****
Oh, that reminds me: On April 1st, 2014 the GST rose to 8%, which means that the price of doctors vistits also rose. Luckily, the city council has also adjusted their vouchers too, so instead of getting 3000yen off per visit, it is now 4000yen off. All I had to do was go back to the town office and trade my left over vouchers for new ones. Super easy.

37 weeks

Getting closer and closer to the due date, or 'guess date' as it should be called. Because I which I have been reading lots of articles on line about natural childbirth, as well as lots of books. So far I have read Ina May's guide to childbirth, the official lamaze guide and I can currently getting through Hypnobirthing. I found Ina May's book really useful, and so far I am also really liking Hypnobirthing. I haven't gotten to the actual relaxation techniques yet, just the ideas behind why it works, and what one needs to do.


I have also been looking up lots on how to dilate the cervix before labour. 37 weeks used to be considered full term, though now 38 weeks is considered full term; and while I don't want to try any at home induction methods yet, I will probably start something from 39 weeks on. After all, I hear that if baby isn't ready, baby won't come. But after the clinic visit and the doctor wanting me to dilate early, I figure a head start won't hurt. Plus, I really don't want to be induced at the clinic and if I can be a few centimeters dilated it might just make the labour all that much quicker.

As for the rest of the pregnancy, Pichan might have dropped. I think Pi is in position now, which makes me happy. It also makes me have a lot less heartburn- thankfully! I have been walking- under doctors orders. While it exhausts me, I think it might be helping a little. I often feel a bit of pressure and if nothing else, hopefully will help to keep baby in a good position and keep me fit. Luckily, now that I am no longer working I can have a nap after- and boy do I need it!


Week: 37
Baby bump: look out- pregnant woman coming through...
Movement: Pi has been moving a bit more this week. Thank goodness~!
Complaints: Apart from being so tired, nothing worth mentioning.
Maternity clothes/Baby purchases: Nothing new this week...

36 week clinic visit.

So, at 36+6 days I had my clinic visit. Usually I go on a Wednesday, but now that I am a 'lady of leisure' on Maternity leave, I can go on Saturdays- which means Husband can come too. The other good reason for not going on Wednesday is that the doctor is a typical Japanese abrupt doctor, and he is an ultrasound specialist; whereas the Saturday doctor is an OBGYN.

The clinic is quite busy on a Saturday, and after the usual tests (I had gained a bit more weight than I would have liked) it took a little bit of waiting for the nurse to check me. They wanted to do another non-stress test this week, so before I saw the doctor I went to the room and was hooked up again with the sensors around my belly. This time Pichan went crazy the whole time I was in there. Dancing about and whatnot. It was also good, as I get loads of braxton hicks (sometimes they come every few minutes for a few hours at a time) and while I was hooked up the machine was also tracking all the contractions. The nurse asked if they are painful- which they aren't. It's hard to describe them. It's a bit like tightening a muscle over and over again, and after a while it might not be painful, but tired and uncomfortable. The test had me a little worried actually, as they put a woman in the 'room' (curtained off area) behind me and I could hear her baby's rhythmic heartbeart, but Pi's was going crazy- 160bpm-180bpm-200bpm-160bpm-200bpm-180bmp and so on. I asked the nurse after and she said not to worry, that it was just because Pi was moving a lot. When they sleep it should be more rhythmic.

After I went for the ultrasound with the doctor. He was concerned that Pi is getting so big. His head, abdomen and legs were all very big. I pointed out that Pi is gaijin (a foreigner) but I think he is a little worried to deliver such a big baby. What had me worried is that Pi's weight is really low for what the 'average' is. Pi was measuring 2570gms at this visit- and I think Pi was 2500gms a week and a half before. Which isn't much weight gain. I will be curious as to the weight this Saturday to see if Pi puts on the amount that a baby should. My fundal height is also quite little, but as I am going by the baby books and not by anything the doctor says, I figure I will wait until the doctor is worried.

The doctor then wanted me to get me in the chair for a cervix dilation check. To his dismay and to mine, my cervix is still completely closed, but as I think Pi has only just dropped down, it isn't that surprising. What was surprising was the test; I wasn't expecting dinner and a movie, but he was up and out of there faster than I would have liked. I can see why some women find them painful. After, he told me that I need to start walking; lots and lots of walking- blah!

The other slightly concerning thing was that my blood test came back with something 'low'. I was on the ultrasound table and doing my pants up at the time so I didn't have my phone. After, he asked me if I bleed a lot if I cut myself, or when I brush my teeth, so Husband and I are figuring it has something to do with iron or something. It meant that I had to have another blood test though- boo!

The bigger reason for me changing my appointment to Saturday was so that Husband could watch the birthing video and we could take the tour. Unfortunately, all the rooms were full, so no tour this week, but maybe next week. As for the video, it was the same one I watched in the clinic information visit. He too was disturbed by it- not because of the birth (we had watched a lot of birthing videos on Youtube before we got 'busy')- but because of how quiet the woman was, and the husband was disturbingly unhelpful too. Still, by him watching it it meant that he is now 'qualified' to be in the delivery room with me. Japanese bureaucracy.