Labour Options
Yesterday I watched “The Business of Being Born” while chilling out at home. While a lot of the issues brought up in the film don’t apply to me since I’m Canadian, it certainly gave me a lot to think about. What stood out for me: Western women seem to have little confidence in their body’s ability to give birth naturally and man does this apply to me! I am terrified of going into labour and for a very long time I was adamant that I would 100% be getting an epidural if possible. Now, I’m not sure. I feel like I should have faith in myself and my body and in many ways I want to fully experience childbirth. I mean, how empowering would that be!?
I don’t want to get fixated on the idea of how I want my labour to go because who knows what will happen! It’s really one of those situations where there are so many variables, you have little to no control over the outcome. The best I can do is make a list of ideas instead of a plan
- Try everything possible to avoid being induced. I know sometimes it’s unavoidable, but I worry that the intensity of induced contractions will make me want the epidural even more!
- Labour for as long as possible without getting an epidural. If I absolutely can’t handle it, I will have one
- Move around as much as possible. I don’t just want to lie down and take the pain. The hospital has birthing balls, a tub and other options to help with this.
- Avoid an episiotomy. I’m not sure how frequently they do them here, but I’d rather tear TBH.
- Have Ryan be my advocate if I am in no shape to express my opinion.
- Be as informed as possible
- Try to get a private room in postpartum
Some of this may change after our pre-natal classes and hospital tour. What I do know for sure is that I am incredibly grateful that I live in Canada and no matter what I decide, having a baby isn’t going to cost me an arm and a leg. the only thing that will cost us money is the private room but Ryan’s insurance covers that!
I have my first OB apt on May 25th since my family doc doesn’t deliver babies anymore, I’m looking forward to meeting her and seeing what she has to say about my labour options.
My Turn!
Total weight gain: None so far, lost some in the first trimester and gained a bit back but haven’t gone past my pre-pregnancy weight
Maternity clothes? Mostly maternity but I can fit into some regular dresses and tops from before
Stretch marks? Some new ones have appeared in the top of my tummy that are red-purplish and i have faded ones from weight gain over the years
Sleep: Sleep is really difficult. My hips usually end up hurting and it’s hard for me to shift around because of back pain. Also heartburn sucks at night. I usually end up sleeping half sitting up on the couch surrounded by tons of pillows.
Best moment this week: Seeing the Avengers and managing to not get up and pee once through the entire movie
Miss Anything? Being comfortable!
Movement: He’s a very active little guy. Despite all my chub you can usually see my stomach move when he’s really moving.
Food cravings: Anything cold or slushy
Anything making you queasy or sick: Eggs. Yuck!
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: None yet. Just the occasional braxton hicks
Symptoms: Hip/Back pain, swollen feet and hands, exhaustion, peeing every 20 mins…the list goes on
Belly Button in or out? In. I doubt it will pop due to chub.
Wedding rings on or off? I had to stop wearing my wedding ring because of my swollen fingers :(
Happy or Moody most of the time: I am a grumpy beast! I feel a little bad for my husband, although he says that at least I acknowledge when I’m being unreasonable.
Looking forward to: Seeing him for the first time, watching him grow and turn into a little person.
Fingers are yummy!
29 week ultrasound
Everything is looking good! We got to see him suck his thumb and yawn and just be cute in general. I don’t have any pics scanned yet but I will get to that soon.
The tech said he is 3lbs 6oz right now and measuring at 31 weeks! She said she wasn’t going to change my due date because I was dated at my last ultrasound and it’s up to my doctor to decide whether or not to change it. That’s a full 2 weeks! Have any of you experienced this? Will he be early or just huge!?
If that means I’ll meet my baby in 9 weeks, I’m down with that!
Patiently Waiting
Our next ultrasound is tomorrow morning! Yay! I just have to get through a day of work without my hips/back/sides/feet dying on me and we are goood to go.
I still can’t decide what to do about maternity leave. Hairdressing is a very physically demanding job but I only work two days a week so can I really justify taking off so soon? Also I think I’d be super bored!
Hopefully I will have a new photo of baby cakes tomorrow to post. I really can’t wait to see his cute little face again.
Re: Raspberry Leaf Tea
mommymohawk said: Oh really??? I bought some… haven’t tried it yet though. I was told not to start having it till the last month of pregnancy and beyond. So is it not fruity tasting at all then?? Dang…
No it kind of tastes like bitter twigs. I even tried it with honey. I read it’s good for the whole third trimester, to help strengthen the uterus. Apparently the notion that it can bring on labour is not true so that’s good. Either way, I’m not drinking it. Whatever herbal voodoo it may or may not preform isn’t worth how nasty it tastes.
My gorgeous new diaper bag thanks to my mum and dad. <3
It converts into a backpack! Can we say hands free? Yes Please.
To all the mommas to be out there
Becoming a first time mom is terrifying, no matter what age you are! Just remember, it’s your actions that define you as a woman and as a mother, not other people’s opinions or labels. <3 <3
Can you tell I’m bored?
Ryan’s off playing Twilight Imperium with the nerd squad so I’m on tumblr filling out silly surveys and checking out other pregnancy blogs. YAY
1. What’s the fathers name?
Ryan
2. What is your name and how old are you?
Liz, 29
3. How old is the father?
28 turning 29 right around my due date!
4. Are you married, engaged, just boyfriend and girlfriend, or not together?
Married
5. How long have/had you been with the baby’s dad?
5 years
6. Was it planned?
You bet!
7. What day was your baby conceived?
Early October
8. When is your due date?
July 10 2012
9. What do you think your baby will look like (hair color, eye color, etc.)
Hard to say, Ryan has blue eyes and light hair, i have brown eyes and dark hair. could be a mix of anything! He will definitely have curly hair though.Poor kid,
10. Do you plan to do all natural, C-section, or use the drugs?
Give me all the painkillers plz.. Natural birth scares me, but in the end I’ll do what my doc thinks is best for the baby.
11. Is this your first baby?
Yes
12. Do you have a midwife?
No, my family doc delivers babies and is really awesome so we are set.
13. How did your parents react?
They were really excited! It’s their first grandbaby.
14. When did you tell your parents?
I called my mom the day after taking the test and she told my dad who called me when he was done work.
15. How did the father’s parents react and when did you tell them?
They were also really excited.
16. Did you have to consider whether or not to keep it?
Nope, this was 100% planned and expected
17. Do you want to be a mother?
More than anything
18. Are you excited?
Yes, but terrified too. It’s such a big change!
19. What was the first thing you said when you found out?
“Holy Shit, I’m pregnant”
20. What made you think you could be pregnant at first?
We had been trying for a few months and I just had a feeling I was.
21. How did you actually find out you were pregnant?
Peed on a stick at 2 am.
22. Have you had an ultrasound yet?
Yes, on Feb. 15th. My next one is on April 27th
23. Have you heard the heart beat?
Yes at each doctors apt so far. also Ryan can hear the heart through my belly now, it’s really cool
24. Do you know the sex, if so what is it?
It’s a boy!
25. What sex were you hoping for?
Either to be honest, but I was really surprised it was a boy! all my friends/cousins have girls
26. Do you have a girl’s name picked?
don’t need one
27. Boy’s name?
Not telling!
28. Do the names you picked have special meaning/significance?
Maybe? We haven’t decided for sure which one we are choosing yet.
29. Have you started stocking up on supplies?
Mostly just clothes. I’m waiting till after the shower to see what we still need,
30. Have you felt the baby kick?
All the time, he’s incredibly active and lives to kick me in the bladder. He’s kicking right now!
31. When is the baby shower?
May 20th
32. How many weeks/months are you?
27 weeks 5 days
33. What do you look forward to the most?
Meeting him for the first time, holding him in my arms.
34. Are you financially able to care for the baby?
We better be!
35. Do you or the father have jobs?
Yep, he works full time and I’m a part time hairstylist
36. What symptoms have you dealt with since the start of your pregnancy?
Name one and I’ve probably had it. At first the worst was the exhaustion and lack of appetite, now I’m just uncomfortable all the time and have to pee every hour.
37. What have your strongest, and most frequent cravings been?
Fresh grapefruit, popsicles, slurpees, All Dressed Ripple chips
38. Are you scared of miscarriage or still birth?
Not anymore, if I worried about that kind of stuff I’d be a wreck! I’ve had no complications or issues to date so I’m just thinking positive.
39. Do you wear maternity clothes?
Mostly just pants. I can still fir into a lot of my regular shirts and dresses.
40. Have you had to make any major changes in your life?
I quit school, that’s about it.
41. Do you smoke or drink?
I used to have the occasional drink but that’s it. I do miss a good dirty gin martini though. *sigh*
42. Are you taking prenatal vitamins?
Yes
43. Are you going to breastfeed or use formula?
I will try to breastfeed if possible
44. Cloth or disposable diapers?
We are signing up for a diaper service that does cloth.
45. Have you had your glucose test, if so did you pass it?
Yep. No GD for this girl Bring on the carbs
46. Do you regret getting pregnant?
Hellz no!
47. How much weight have you gained?
None so far. I lost about 6 lbs and gained back 4 so I’m around the same as when I started. My doc wanted this though, cuz I’m overweight to begin with.
48. What was your weight before you got pregnant?
Lots?
49. What do you miss?
Sleeping comfortably, drinking green tea, Going dancing
50. Have you felt your baby hiccup?
Yes, he gets them a few times a day!
A few belly progress shots. Am currently 27 Weeks but Ryan is sleeping and I’m too lazy to take a recent photo. I’ll try for week 28 :)
3 more months to go, it’s unreal!
