Poundage

One of the more ludicrous statements from my new OB was that I should gain no more than one pound a week for the rest of this pregnancy, to ensure that my baby was not too big for a VBAC delivery.

I openly laughed at him. "How does that work?"

"No sweets," he said sternly, "No cookies. No juice...." Etc.

Easy enough. I already don't eat or drink those things!

Fortunately, four days later I was given a better tool than scale stepping: Doctor Brewer's pregnancy diet. (Diet as in food guidelines, not calorie reduction.) This came with our Bradley class. The aim is 80 - 100 grams of protein a day, and check boxes to remind of dairy, grains, different colored vegetables, fruit, etc.

Protein? I love protein! Eggs, meat, whole grains, dairy, these are all good sources of protein, and things I love. Especially eggs. My husband laments our city's restrictions on poultry keeping at least once a week.

At my next appointment, with a different doctor in the same practice, I brought up the weight gain statement and then described the food guidelines I was following. The doctor tried to backpedal on the "one pound a week" bit, cautiously remarked that what I was doing sounded reasonable, but then minutes later said something about "20 pounds for the pregnancy."

Now I'm not exactly sure where I started on the scale, but I'm pretty sure I already passed a 20 pound gain.

What decade are these guys living in? This was a younger doctor too -- I bet he's the same age as I am!

Fortunately, a midwife was the next visit.

VBAC? "Awesome!"

Blood pressure? "Great!"

Weight gain? "Perfect?"

If the baby goes late? She described the monitoring, which is the same as I did with Monkey1. She noted that the "overdue" issue is often a concern over the health of the placenta, as with age it can deteriorate, thus putting the baby at risk.

"But that's all about nutrition!" I spluttered.

"Then you are taking care of it!" she rejoined cheerfully.

We also discussed the hospital's policies for VBAC, mostly the required continuous monitoring, giving me very little leeway to move around. She put the best face on it possible, which doesn't actually make it much easier, but her encouraging attitude was welcome.

So no more doctors for me! It needs to be midwives from here on out.

...

By the way, late last summer, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) released a revision of it VBAC guidelines. Among the many new statements: "Women with a twin pregnancy, an anticipated big baby, with two prior cesareans, and women who do not go into labor at term can still plan a VBAC." So there!