Friday
May212010
12 Days to Due Date!
Friday, May 21, 2010 at 6:55AM
I had my 38 week checkup on Wednesday and everything is moving along just swimmingly! Doesn't look like I'm going to go immediately as my cervix is still way posterior and not very dilated. BUT, my little girl has dropped immensely to a +1 station! I knew that was good, but this pic I found online made me even more excited:
source
Although there is an exception to every rule, the general thoughts here are that 1. we already know she'll fit just fine through my pelvis and 2. because she is so low my pushing time should be cut down! Woo hoo!
Am I getting nervous? No, not really. I was nervous for about a day last week, but at the moment I'm just really excited. Up until about four weeks ago (yes, just FOUR) I was planning on an epidural. Natural sounded great, but I just didn't think I could wrap my brain around it enough to really go for it.
And then I started to think about it more and talk to more people and it slowly became, "Well, MAYBE I can do it."
And then I found Hypnobabies. It's offered through the company where I found my doula, but didn't look closely at it thinking, "Oh, those people are nuts. Just give me the drugs."
I had posted a question about natural vs. epidural on one of the online communities I'm a part of (Dooce community) and out of nowhere this person half way across the county who I've never met before sends me a personal message asking if I want her Hypnobirthing book. No payment. Just pass it on when I'm done. And so I say sure, why the hell not - not really thinking that I'd read it.
About a week after I got it, after considering natural more seriously and talking with my doula, I picked up the book. And couldn't put it down. I told my doula this is what I wanted to do and she lent me all her Hypnobirthing CDs (which are possibly the most important part!). I love that there is a TECHNIQUE. The idea of natural scares me when it's just, "Well, let's see how far you get!" But learning a TECHNIQUE I can do.
Technically, you're supposed to do the 10 week class. Well, I didn't have 10 weeks. I had max 4.5 if I went past my due date and minimum 3 if I go when the full moon hits. So, I've been doubling up on listening to these CDs that retrain your brain on how to think about labor and birth, and train you how to go into self hypnosis and hypnosis-induced anesthesia.
Go ahead, think I'm crazy. There are so many reasons other than this to think I'm a little off!
I hesitated mentioning on my blog that I was doing this. First, what if I wuss out and can't do it? And I thought, oh well. Each pregnancy is different and if things happen where a change of plan in necessary than so be it. Second, what if people are overly critical and knock the whole thing? Maybe I should wait until it's all over with. BUT, my readers seem to be pretty damn awesome and supportive. And, if someone wants to think I'm a crazy lady, go ahead. One of my goals is to be honest on here, so that's what I'm doing!
And, if you want to wish me luck, that'd be great!
source
Although there is an exception to every rule, the general thoughts here are that 1. we already know she'll fit just fine through my pelvis and 2. because she is so low my pushing time should be cut down! Woo hoo!
Am I getting nervous? No, not really. I was nervous for about a day last week, but at the moment I'm just really excited. Up until about four weeks ago (yes, just FOUR) I was planning on an epidural. Natural sounded great, but I just didn't think I could wrap my brain around it enough to really go for it.
And then I started to think about it more and talk to more people and it slowly became, "Well, MAYBE I can do it."
And then I found Hypnobabies. It's offered through the company where I found my doula, but didn't look closely at it thinking, "Oh, those people are nuts. Just give me the drugs."
I had posted a question about natural vs. epidural on one of the online communities I'm a part of (Dooce community) and out of nowhere this person half way across the county who I've never met before sends me a personal message asking if I want her Hypnobirthing book. No payment. Just pass it on when I'm done. And so I say sure, why the hell not - not really thinking that I'd read it.
About a week after I got it, after considering natural more seriously and talking with my doula, I picked up the book. And couldn't put it down. I told my doula this is what I wanted to do and she lent me all her Hypnobirthing CDs (which are possibly the most important part!). I love that there is a TECHNIQUE. The idea of natural scares me when it's just, "Well, let's see how far you get!" But learning a TECHNIQUE I can do.
Technically, you're supposed to do the 10 week class. Well, I didn't have 10 weeks. I had max 4.5 if I went past my due date and minimum 3 if I go when the full moon hits. So, I've been doubling up on listening to these CDs that retrain your brain on how to think about labor and birth, and train you how to go into self hypnosis and hypnosis-induced anesthesia.
Go ahead, think I'm crazy. There are so many reasons other than this to think I'm a little off!
I hesitated mentioning on my blog that I was doing this. First, what if I wuss out and can't do it? And I thought, oh well. Each pregnancy is different and if things happen where a change of plan in necessary than so be it. Second, what if people are overly critical and knock the whole thing? Maybe I should wait until it's all over with. BUT, my readers seem to be pretty damn awesome and supportive. And, if someone wants to think I'm a crazy lady, go ahead. One of my goals is to be honest on here, so that's what I'm doing!
And, if you want to wish me luck, that'd be great!
Copyright; 2011, Blahggy. All rights reserved.
Reader Comments (11)
I'm glad you were open and honest about what you want to do. I always think it could be helpful to just one person and that would be worth it.
And I've read several times that not having a plan or not being fully committed to natural is the top reason for deciding late to have an epidural. If you REALLY don't want to have one, what I've read is that you have to go in w/the mindset that you're not going to have one, no matter what.
It makes sense to me b/c I'm sure that once the pain really hits, it's easy to go, "Okay, this is all I can take."
Good luck! I'm really looking forward to seeing how this works for you. Since Nate never turned, I never had the whole cervix check or dropping, etc. (He dropped, of course, but it didn't feel the same since it wasn't his head down.)
Nate sounds like an awesome little guy and like he'll always provide a fresh and unique look at world. He doesn't like to do things traditionally - good for him!
oh my gosh! That is so exciting!!! That book sounds VERY interesting. I'm going to have to make a decision for next time. I HATE the epi, but I'm soooo scared to go without it. Had the epi the first time, labor was great, but afterwards was awful. Then second time around, also had the epi, but it stopped working right before I had to give birth. So THAT was horrifying. I had not prepared myself one bit on how to do it naturally, thankfully I didn't have to push very long. So, anyway, I felt SO much better AFTER birth the second time around. I HATE that huge shot going into my back. To me THAT was the worst part of the whole thing. I was shaking and crying, and having a full on panic attack as they were putting that long tube into my back. Even today I still have weird pains in my back from time to time. So, my advice would be to GO NATURAL if you think you can do it. I'm still not sure if I think I can do the WHOLE labor without anything. I hope to :) Good luck!
Oh, and be sure to have your computer handy immediately after delivery so you can fill us in :)
Congratulations on the baby! Good luck with your decision.
Congrats and good luck! Can't wait to read about your journey as a mom. No baby yet for my husband and I but maybe someday soon... :)
~Anna
All the best luck for you and your baby girl. I mean it with all my heart. Will you keep us posted through it all? (Not WHILE you're giving birth because, well, you'll be doing something else, but I mean afterwards. OK, just take the laptop with you when you go, OK? :D)
Thanks for sharing, Crystal! And, seriously, if you think you might want to go natural next time, this program is AMAZING. As long as you stick to it - reading, listening to the CDs - it's pretty wild how your brain calms down and how it can be retrained. I mean, I haven't gone into labor yet, so we'll see what happens, but it's amazing just how differently I think of birth today vs. about six weeks ago! I will definitely be sharing what happens!
Thank you!
Thanks, Anna! This is kind of the "What would I do if I knew I couldn't fail!"
Of course I will keep everyone posted! And thank you so much for your consistently kind words! You're always so sweet and supportive!
GOOD LUCK!! I was lucky enough to have a natural home birth (without any interventions needed) and it was incredible. Not sure where you are at with the whole birth story thing right now, but if you like graphic come on by :)
My hat is off to any woman that expels a human from her own body - no matter the exact details of how arrives to the outside world. It is all challenging, beautiful, miraculous, sci fi, crazy stuff. I think I'll be back to check out your updates. Found you through Girl In the Room, who I adore.