I knew going into this pregnancy that one big thing I wanted to be different between this pregnancy and my first pregnancy was that I wanted the third trimester to be much more relaxing. With Ezra’s pregnancy, there were many things that contributed to stress in the final weeks leading up to his birth: The assumption that … [Read more…]
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…]