The Plan: The pain, the doctor and the doula.

Women have been having babies without pain medication for hundreds, thousands, of years. My plan is to respect the power of Mother Nature and push out T-Nuts without any pain medication.

The worst pain I have ever felt thus far in my life was when I broke my leg on Christmas Eve of 2007. I was at Metro V in Dublin, Ohio, working out with my trainer Chris Wieland. Chris was my trainer in college and I like to get my ass kicked by him every time I get the chance. He's the best. I could go on about Chris but I have a blog entry to write... :)

I was running stairs; 9 floors, 18 flights. I was being timed so on my way back down I decide to start skipping steps. Yes, running DOWNstairs two steps at a time. The likelihood of injury was high enough. In a matter of umpteenth of seconds, I felt my ankle roll, heard the bone snap, and felt the wave of nausea. The pain rushed in like a tsunami. Before, I'd been in pain during races, lifting heavy weights, and as I ripped my oar through the water rowing in college. I like pain. Isn't that at least part of the reason we push ourselves? There's got to be some psychological addiction to pain. That was nothing compared to the pain I was experiencing now.

I stood on the landing between floors 4 and 5 on one foot, unable to speak, my breath literally forced out of my lungs. I actually tried to tell myself I could walk it off and tried. The pain was too great and my eyes swelled up with tears. Hopping to the top of the fourth floor stairs, I was humbled to sit down. About 2 minutes later, I hear Chris calling up, "What are you doing?" I managed to call back with breaths in between, "I. Rolled. My. Ankle." My mom ran up to help me (she was my partner in our workout) and I got down the stairs.

By the time I sat in Chris' office, my whole foot had some pretty severe edema and was turning dark purple and red. Holding back tears was a chore but I knew I could breath through it. Breathing helped the pulsating surges of pain.

I understand labor will be quite different than breaking a bone but that's the best comparasion I have.  

For lunch yesterday, I met with Kim, a friend and doula. Kim would come to my kickboxing classes when I taught at Longmont Recreation Center. We discussed some things about what a doula does and how the services can help.

Following my lunch with Kim, I had my 22 week doctor's appointment. I measured at 22 weeks as well. T-nuts' heart beat measured at a strong 142bpm. Dr. Amy Johnson, just Amy as she likes her patients to call her, is my doctor at Full Circle Health. LOVE AMY! I love her and her philosophy on that labor should be as natural as possible if that's what the mother wants. I want to experience the birth process as it is intended. However if Amy thinks we are in danger, undoubtedly I open to a method she thinks is appropriate. I won't be that crazy woman who has been in labor for 15 hours but refuses to get an epidural because I didn't want one in my birth plan. If I need an epidural to relax and focus, so be it.

Amy asked about my plan during my appointment. I said I plan to go natural but I know that anything can happen so I'm open to that possibility as well. Since I am choosing natural, she suggested getting a doula and using a TENS Unit instead of narcotics for pain. I said that sounded great!

In other baby news, T-Nuts has another nickname. Tron. My stepdad has begun calling him Tron. We love it. Jason said we should just name him Tron. I had to hold up the hand on that one. A legal name of Tron Zook? Whew! It's plenty for a nickname.

Baby Z is moving around a lot and sometimes when I teach kickboxing, I feel some pressure. Not bad just some. Amy said to get an over-the-shoulder belly belt for when I teach. I agree but just not sure how it'll fit under my workout wear. This'll be interesting.

Ta-ta for now...next appointment is April 11th when I get to do my GLUCOSE TEST! Blech.... :)