Home birth or not to Home birth?

So... It's been a while since I last updated our blog and a lot has happened since my last post. Here's a list of all the fun things we have been doing this month:

Mike and Pat at the British Museum

1. Mike's Dad (Pat) came to visit for 2 weeks. We went to London, the North Sea, a Brewery tour, and countless other places that were awesome. We also made it through with only 2 of the 3 of us getting a stomach bug. Woo Hoo!!!
2. Brian the Dog took a plane from Baltimore, Maryland all the way to London, England. Our dog has been to more places then some people I know. He is now living with us in England and loving the yard. It took us 6 months to properly get him here with all the red tape that the UK has.  Luckily, to bring him back will be a piece of cake compared to that.

Katie and Brian at the North Sea

3. Katie is wrapping up teaching yoga this week. Last class is on Friday until after the baby comes. 37 weeks exactly!

***DISCLAIMER - IF YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT BIRTH THIS MAY UPSET YOU - REMEMBER ITS OUR BLOG AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ PAST THIS POINT***

4. And finally.... looks like we will be looking very seriously into having a Home birth to welcome our little G into our family. We've decided against the US system (not that there is anything wrong with it) but the base midwifes said that they wouldn't be able to accommodate us in some simple things during birth (ie. changing positions, nutrition, calming music and lighting - things that we see as basic needs for birth).  Since our pregnancy has been normal and non-exciting across the board we feel that there is no need for intervention right off the bat. (we don't live our lives thinking.. What if?!?! - If we did we probably wouldn't be living in England)  So the British system offered some alternatives that suited us better. But with everything we will need to compromise.

Our first choice is Home birth. Today we had a sonogram to determine if this was possible and luckily IT IS!!! The baby is head down and laying toward the left which means she won't have to turn and make labor longer for mom. Her weight is normal and all her measurements are coming up Rainbows. With home birth we will use everything we learned through Hypnobirthing and yoga to deliver the baby into a calm and stress less house hold. We would rent a birthing pool ( 80% of home births in the UK are done in a pool) and we are prepared to have Mike be the birthing companion (he is the companion no matter what anyway). The midwives (2) will come to us and help us through the entire process in the comfort of our own home. The compromise - If someone else goes into labor at home before me then we will have to go to the hospital. So the we have to pack our bags anyway and find a sitter for Brian. - If something happens we will be transferred to the local hospital.

Our second choice is The Rosie Hospital. I love the name of this hospital! It's in Cambridge and just sounds strong to me. At this British hospital we will be cared for by midwives rather than OB's. They have 2 separate floors - one for high risk (OB care) and one for regular (Midwives).  If you are low risk you will always be seen by a Midwife (I think because OB's are expensive and the health care here is free to the public). And they will help you through birth. The Hospital has pools for birthing (total plus!!!) and they are used to letting the mom's do what they need to do to have the baby. So eating, drinking, soft lighting, music, birth balls, stools and beds are all included.  They also have the drugs, if you need them. The compromise - Your partner (Mike) can only stay with you as long as your in active labor. You do not get your own room after having the baby (they do let you stay with your baby as long as you need for bonding) but if you stay over night and your not in active labor then your partner will have to go home and come back the next day. Luckily, if you do not get an epidural and you and baby are fine they usually discharge you the same day. (Because they have local midwives that come to your house to check on you and baby).

Fun fact - In the UK, women get 6 Months (not weeks) paid maternity leave!

So the pros and cons are on the table. We've planned everything out but plans are meant to be broken. Right now we are living in the moment and staying positive.  Living by our mantra - Do what you want!

Details to follow....

Virtual Baby Shower!

On September 10th my Mom, Sharon, Mandy, Sue and Anjel threw us a virtual baby shower. Your probably thinking what is that?!? I was as well. I wasn't sure exactly how it would work out but with Mike and David's powers combined they made the virtual connection from the UK to Maryland. And then my Dad joined in from New York. 

It was crazy! Who knew that technology could bring us into this new age where we can have parties right over the computer screen. Or in our case the TV screen! In case your interested in something similar we used Skype group chat at first but was having a hard time keeping the connection good so we switched to Google Plus Hang out! Remember there are a ton of free sites to do video chat and now you can keep in touch with people that you never thought was possible.

Love technology! 

Shakespeare country!

Shakespeare's grave

Did you know: That there are some that believe that Shakespeare didn't write all those great plays that we all learned about in school? People like Mark Twain, etc believe that Shakespeare was a businessman and that he just took the credit of another's work. And if that is true, then everything we learned in school about him was a lie! Dun dun dun....  

On the way to the theatre

Never the less... Shakespeare country is just beautiful! Included in our journey is Stratford-upon-Avon. This is where Shakespeare was born, lived (moved to London), then came back to retire and die. We also hit the Cotswolds. A part of English countryside with some cute and sleepy towns.  All this about 2 hours from our house in Ely.

Tourism is a #1 money maker in England. And the Shakespeare countryside doesn't disappoint with tourist prices and lots to see and do. You can go to all the 5 places where Shakespeare and his family lived. But it's extra to see his grave in the church. We even went to the theatre to see a Shakespeare play and we had to get the tickets 3 months out. But it's all worth it! 

Ghost cat!

Further south (like 15 minutes away) is the Cotswolds! This area is a rich and beautiful secluded countryside. Lots of little towns that were once famous because of the wool trade. The sheep are still there but the business has dried up a bit. We ran into a couple other tourists in Stow-on-the-Wold that were following the same tour book that we follow. (BTW - if I didn't recommend it before, the Rick Steves' Europe guide books are awesome!) We also had an encounter of the haunted kind at Chipping Camden. 

Chipping Camden Cemetery - where ghost cat lives

As we approached the church (complete with cemetery) I read a story in the book about this cat that used to great parishioners before service. Well that cat passed away in 1980 and they buried him by the door of the church. We were touring the church just as service started so we scooted out into the cemetery to look around and what did we find. A weird cemetery cat! Hanging out and very friendly. A decedent, maybe. A ghost, more likely. =)