Just a week late
The picture was taken right on time... but it's been sitting on my camera for a week, waiting for me to do something with it. There are actually many photos sitting right now. Waiting to be edited, blogged, printed, etc. It's too much to think about. Anyway, here is week 34. I am actually 35 weeks along now. (Yeay!!)
2 comments:
You look fabulous! Isn't it annoying when the baby drops? Sylvia never did, so when Paul dropped and suddenly I had to pee every 20 minutes (even at night!) I was very, very annoyed. Glad she's moved into a more comfortable spot for the moment.
Good luck going natural (by which I assume you mean without an epidural). I've managed it twice, even with inductions, so it is very possible. Since I'm a know-it-all, I'll tell you what I did that helped me. I hope that doesn't offend you--I'm relating this hoping there'll be something in my experience that'll help you through your labour. And if not, I love talking about this anyway :)
Mostly getting through an un-medicated labour is a matter of mentality--if you think you can deal with the pain, you probably can. Don't make yourself miserable, though. If you find a good non-medicine based pain management strategy, that's great; if you don't, medication's great stuff.
If you have the time (and haven't seen this book), I'd recommend reading "the birth partner" by Peggy Simkin. Although it's intended for the person helping you through labour, I found it useful myself for suggesting pain management techniques, especially different positions for labouring in. I found a birthing ball (one of the big exercise balls you can get at target for $20-$30) very helpful. This time I splurged on my own, stabilised ball and I was very happy with that decision! With Sylvia I just used the one the hospital had and it was completely fine.
This second labour was pretty different than my first in that I moved a lot more. A LOT more. With Sylvia I basically stayed in one position; with Paul I tried about everything--standing, squatting, kneeling, marching in place (which I'm sure looked hilarious, though my husband was nice enough (or smart enough) not to laugh)--I just moved and tried to find positions that felt like they were helping the contraction move the baby through the birth canal. It was painful, but as my nurse kept reminding me when I'd complain, the pain is a signal that my body was doing what it needed to in order to get the baby out. Having that in mind helped me reconcile myself to dealing with it, if that makes sense. I also found it helpful a couple of times during contractions to tell myself the pain wasn't that bad. For whatever reason, that reminder helped.
For me fatigue was the hardest thing to deal with. The pain of a contraction only lasts a minute and then you get a break. If I felt okay between contractions, dealing with the pain was much easier. Moving around helped me stay awake as well, which helped immensely.
I didn't have a birth plan either time I showed up at the hospital, nor did I really discuss my desire to avoid an epidural with the doctor. I think I lucked out in both labours because I had really supportive nurses both times who had good suggestions to help me deal with the pain and who respected my desire to avoid pain meds. I know they aren't all like that, so you should be prepared to ignore nurses who aren't helpful, or even tell them to leave (or have Dallas do it). From what I've seen though, and from what my doctor's said, the nurses who like helping women birth naturally will gravitate toward the women trying to give birth naturally. If you show up and let them know, either through a birth plan or just by telling someone you're interested in alternative birthing (I think that's what it's called--my doctor said ABC) you'll probably be matched with someone helpful. Really, having a good nurse makes a huge difference! I hope you find one you like and can trust.
Whatever happens, I wish you luck and hope baby Daphne arrives soon and is healthy! Take care of yourself!
You're so cute.
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