Rubbing, iron, birth plan

I've been asked a lot lately about strangers coming up and touching my belly unsolicited - you know, if it happens and how I handle it. Well, it doesn't happen. There hasn't been a single time when a stranger has come up to me and molested my belly to get to the baby. A few of my co-workers feel me up from time to time, but I don't mind that because I know them and I know they do it because they're excited and we talk about baby stuff outside of them putting their hands on me anyway. But zero strangers, which I like. I think I must give off a "don't touch me" vibe or something.

My iron supplements continue to be a good time. It's just a liquid I have to swallow twice a day, but it sort of tastes like I'm swallowing metal, which I guess I am, sort of. The problem is, though, that I can't take it, or really consume any iron that I want to "count" with any sort of dairy because calcium blocks iron absorption. BUT, I still have to get an adequate amount of calcium. So I try to eat an iron snack and then an hour later a calcium snack and then an hour later an iron snack and an hour after that another calcium snack...and the pattern continues. My midwife wants me to consume more red meat for the iron content, but I don't prefer red meat so that makes it tough to follow through on that request. I used to eat red meat once every three months or so...now I try to get it three times a week - and every time, of course, without any dairy. So it isn't like I can even have something fun, like a cheese burger. I have to have a regular burger and watch everyone else cover their burgers in cheese. I just keep reminding myself that Baby needs iron to be big and strong and healthy and having more of it myself will make delivery and post-delivery healing that much easier. Plus, it isn't even that my iron is dangerously low; Teresa said it's at 31 and they'd like to see me around 33 or 34. So it's not dangerous, but it is low enough that they're encouraging gross things like metal shots and steak for every meal.

And Kelly and I have decided for sure that we're switching our birth plan a bit. Rather than delivering in the birthing center, we're going to deliver at home. We've watched a lot of videos and talked to a lot of women about home births and we're really excited about it. We think it will be a good fit for us. Home is just a more comfortable place in general and everything we've read and heard has said that birth is easier the more comfortable Mom is. The logistics of the whole process will be the same as if we were still going to the birthing center, except that now our midwife will come to us - and she'll bring with her all the necessary supplies, the same things that they have on hand in the birthing center. I really like the idea of not having to go anywhere, of just being comfortable doing my own thing in my own home, and not having to go anywhere afterwards, either.