July 22, 2015 I’m 35 weeks pregnant today. Last night, we attended the 2nd week of our two-week “childbirth refresher” course at the hospital where we will be having Little Brother. Another mom asked a question about catheter procedure during epidurals and spinals, and I almost gasped. Just like that I remembered that the night … [Read more…]
A lot of the work of birthing can be done during pregnancy – especially the emotional work. Take the time to consider your fears or anxiety about birth and work through those. This is especially important for first time mamas and mamas planning a VBAC. … As midwife and Russian birth pioneer Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova says … [Read more…]
When I was pregnant with my second child and planning a TOLAC, I had a lunch meeting with my birth doula and her backup doula. The three of us met for lunch and we were talking about things I should pack for the hospital. The backup mentioned that the hospital rooms never have enough pillows, … [Read more…]
When I was pregnant with Ezra, I bought two adult coloring books (of butterflies and flowers) to color in the last few weeks of his pregnancy. They sat, unused, for nearly 4 years in our game cupboard, when all of the sudden, when watching him color, I remembered that I had them. I got them … [Read more…]
Deep breathing and relaxation are very important skills to cultivate for life in general, but doubly so when preparing for birth. My first therapist, a LCSW, introduced me to guided imagery relaxation techniques in 2009. At the time I was very leery of anything that remotely seemed like hypnosis for religious reasons. Over the past … [Read more…]
If you have followed my blog over the years, you know that I struggle with perfectionism, longing for control, obsessive thinking, and trying too hard. I’m a proactive doer. Type A, if you will. Having an unplanned cesarean birth did much to expose this part of me that often gets me into big trouble – … [Read more…]
As I write this I am one day short of 23 weeks pregnant. Over the past three weeks I’ve felt very discouraged. I’m already dealing with so many pregnancy nuisances – heartburn, rib pain, indigestion, constipation, lower back pain, symphysis pubis pain, and fatigue. I was really hoping I would get further into pregnancy before hitting the … [Read more…]
Written on April 30, 2015 23 Weeks, 1 day Last week I realized that I didn’t remember what the pain felt like. I know it was bad and there was screaming, but it’s a blur, and I have no physiological memory of it. All that changed last night. I had a nightmare. I was at … [Read more…]
When I moved to NC in 2013, one of the first things I did (before we even moved) was start Googling to try to find resources to prepare for a VBAC in preparation for the birth of our next child. I was hopeful that, when the time came for us to have another, my birth experience … [Read more…]
Optimal fetal positioning is a hot buzzword in the natural birthing world, especially when it comes to VBAC. So what is it all about, and why does it matter? More importantly, what does the scientific research say? My Story I remember lying there on the operating table when they came back and told me my first … [Read more…]