Thursday, April 30, 2009

Carfree birth. Sort of.

We got a request on our last post for more pregnancy news. In thinking back over the year, it does seem that my primary pregancy-as-it-pertains-to-being-carfree thoughts have to do with whining about not biking, about T delays and bad weather. Not a very good track record, is it?

I confess, I had been writing a wonderful carfree baby post in my head for after the birth (estimated due date for the baby is June 9, I'm at 34 weeks now). It was going to be all about how we had a carfree birth by having this baby at home (yes, we are that big of hippies, we really were planning a home birth and have the boxes of birth supplies on our porch to prove it). Of course, such a birth wouldn't have really been car free, because two midwives and a doula would have been driving to us, but still, I was kind of excited about not having to put the kid in a car seat right away.

Unfortunately, our plans have changed, and they will involve more driving. I was just diagnosed with some late-term complications that effect my liver function and can be quite risky for the baby if I don't deliver sooner than later, so instead of that nice home birth, we're looking at labor induction at a hospital in just a couple weeks. It certainly isn't what we had planned, but we're glad to know, glad we're getting excellent medical care, and glad that the risks in terms of outcome for the kiddo are pretty much nonexistent as long as we do what we need to do.

And now for the blog relevant part: we need to figure out hospital transportation. We are blessed to have many wonderful friends who are happy to drive us places every now and then, who'd be happy to get us to the hospital. But this morning, we got it into our heads that maybe we won't drive to the hospital. We'll need to take a lot of stuff, but hey, that's what our Xtracycle is for. If Angela bikes, then she'll be able to come and go easily after the birth to tend to H's needs without having to beg a friend for a ride whenever she needs to get somewhere. I can easily take public transit to get there (it's how I'm getting to prenatal visits anyway), and since it's a pretty early induction, it's not like I'm going to be in labor on the bus.

All of this news is only about 48 hours old, and we still have lots to figure out. We may well just throw our junk in a friends car since that's probably the path of least resistance. But there's something about the idea of getting to the hospital on our terms and our own power, that's really appealing in this situation. It feels a little like taking back a bit of control in a situation where we have none. It would be nice to land at the hospital V-C style, and of course, the thought of a photo of the bike, all loaded up with birth gear including one of those giant "birth balls," may be too exciting to resist. But please, don't worry, we're not going to strap the newborn into the panniers on the Xtracycle to go home. For that, we really will get either a friend, a cab or a zipcar. Though I have to say, some of totcycle newborn biking prototypes look pretty good (before you get hysterical, note the date on his post).

10 comments:

Skye Xyan said...

You ladies are rock solid with the transportation values. And thanks for the pregnancy updates. I hope the early birth goes smoothly. Funny, until I read your Sept post yesterday, I really thought you had an at-home birth the first time. I remember you talking about Angela wandering the streets, nearly naked and oblivious. Did I make that part up?

Sam said...

I'm so impressed!

Sara @ cafemama.com said she rode the bus to the hospital to give birth to her last kid (a boy).

I look forward to reading more.

sara said...

Best of luck!

We were living in NYC when I gave birth to our twins. We went in for what we thought was my last sonogram and was told the fellas needed to come out (35 1/2 weeks)due to some complications. Since we lived 18 blocks from the hospital, we asked if we could please, please go home before the emergency c-section. Our OBGyn gave us the nod but told us that we needed to turn around & come back quickly. We did so-- by city bus.... In the end, healthy boys all around.

Dorea said...

Skye-- You didn't make it up. That part of labor came shortly before we transferred to the hospital due to some complications at home. All went fine, but we were looking forward to actually staying home this time. I just suggested to Angela the other day that we keep having babies until we manage to actually have one at home instead of just preparing for it. I'm not sure she's buying my approach to family planning.

Sara -- Love that you took the bus back to the anxious OB (and that the kids were healthy).

Skye Xyan said...

That is so unfortunate that you've been foiled twice. I vote for the third (or fourth, or fifth) kid, Whatever it takes!

Bus Chick said...

Love it! I bused to and from the hospital to have my daughter. I was induced, too (past due and doctor started pressuring), so there wasn't much drama on the way there. We had a couple of bags, but other than that, it was just like any other ride to my OB's office. As for the way home: The original plan to was to ride with a friend or family member, get a cab, or rent a Zipcar, but I changed my mind after I had her. I wanted our first experience with our daughter to reflect the way we live. It was a beautiful ride.

Congrats, guys! It is very fortunate that this little problem was caught in time and that all will be well with the newest V-C!

P.S. - I think they have birth balls at most hospitals. If not, deflate yours for the Xtracycle ride! :)

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