10… 9… 8…
According to my official countdown clock Esther and I are 10 days away from the “official” due date. So any time the baby wants to show up, we are as ready as we can be. We have bags packed with everything we need, ready to go, and our hypnobirthing routines practiced.
Esther has been having contractions, they have been getting more intense. So we know that things are now moving.
Tomorrow we have another OB appointment, so we will report back on anything of interest.
Filed under Pregnancy by Jered | Comment (1)Sticky Fingers
Jered and I were out and about running errands today when we decided to stop by our local book shop and take a break to read a few magazines and have a cuppa joe (decaf, of course). While we were sitting in the cafe perusing magazines and books, two fathers and their two young children (both in strollers) rolled up to the cafe to get a snack. One of the children was a little girl who couldn’t have been older than 3 or 4. I just happened to look at her as I saw her take a lollipop from one of the shelves and place it next to her leg in the stroller. Her father looked back at her and asked her what she wanted for a snack and she nervously answered him. Once his back was turned again I saw her take the lollipop and place it behind her back in the stroller and sit back so that her dad couldn’t see that she had taken it. This little girl clearly had experience taking things as she knew just where to put the lollipop and how to hide it from her dad.
About 5 minutes later the childrens’ mothers met up with the fathers at the cafe. The little girl’s mother asked the girl to come and help her hold her drink as she maneuvered a younger child in a baby carrier. I was shocked as I saw the little girl scoot her self in her stroller so that she didn’t have to get up (and so that her lollipop would remain hidden behind her back) to help her mother.
This incident shocked me on a couple of different levels- I realize that children don’t have an adult understanding of how the world works and that this episode of “sticky fingers” is nothing that out of the ordinary, but it gave me pause. This little girl knew she was doing something wrong- she knew she needed to hide the fact that she had taken the lollipop, and yet she still decided to take it. She never asked her father for the lollipop, just quietly took it off the shelf and hid it away. Where did she learn to do this? Somewhere along the line she had to have learned that stealing was not okay (thus the hiding), but on the flip side of that she also learned that she could do things that were not okay.
Without boring you all too much, my dissertation topic focuses pretty heavily on moral development and the role that parents and families play in shaping childrens’ values, beliefs and behaviors. This little girl managed to bring up all sorts of new questions related to my dissertation, but more importantly, related to the new role Jered and I will be taking on as parents. How will we communicate our own values and beliefs to our child in a way that translates beyond a simple recitation of rules of what people should and should not do? How would we handle this same situation with our son or daughter? Needless to say, we had a lot of interesting conversation fodder the rest of the afternoon. Becoming a parent is a terrifying thing!
Baby Uni is due two weeks from today- I have been having some mild contractions on and off, but we are pretty sure that the baby will be hanging in there for at least a week or so more. We managed to get quite a bit done this weekend around the house, and we were also able to get quite a bit of relaxing in! We are so excited to finally meet this baby- as crazy as this whole parenthood thing is bound to be, we can’t help but feel ready to start our lives as a little family of three!
Filed under Pregnancy by esther | Comment (0)The Uni Hotline
Yesterday we finished our hypnobirthing classes. We have been meeting with our instructor over the past three weeks at our house and have learned quite a bit. It feels good to have completed the classes and have all of the materials we need to practice for Uni’s big day. This week is also a pretty big deal as I’m now considered full term. It’s so hard to believe that the baby is going to be here in three weeks or so! The first and second trimesters seemed to go by really quickly, but the third trimester has felt very long. I think, in the beginning when my belly was still small it was easier to go about my day without thinking so constantly about the baby. Now, that just isn’t possible- while I am still feeling great, there just is no missing the big belly and the constant moving around in there.
Now that we’ve completed all of the classes we’re going to take and I’ve finished up my semester (I successfully defended my proposal on Monday- woohoo!) we are starting to get into serious baby mode. We have packed the hospital bag, washed the baby clothes, come up with a plan for how I will call Jered if I go into labor when he’s at work and all sorts of great stuff. Which brings us to the Uni Hotline… just how are we going to let everyone know when Uni is finally here? Well, we’ve thought of that too!
Earlier in the pregnancy we did a post about Pinger- a service that we plan to use to help us let everyone know that Uni has arrived. We plan to use Pinger to help us get the news out quickly to everyone who is interested in knowing when Uni has arrived and whether Uni is a boy or a girl. If you are interested in being one of the first to know, please leave your cell phone number (it has to be a cell phone) in the contact form below. When Uni is born we will use Pinger to record a message and Pinger will send everyone a text message with a number to call. Once you call that number you will hear the recorded message and- voila! You will be one of the first to hear about Uni’s arrival!
9 months pregnant
Today I had another doctor’s appointment, marking the first of my weekly appointments and the beginning of the ninth month of pregnancy! All is well with me and the baby, and I had my Group Beta Strep test done today (piece of cake). I will find out next week if I am positive or not. We’re hoping that I’m negative- if I’m positive I have to have IV antibiotics during labor and I would have to go to the hospital a little sooner than if I don’t have it. You may be wondering why going to the hospital sooner would be something we want to avoid- well, through the hypnobirthing classes we are taking we hope to labor at home as long as possible. The longer we wait to go to the hospital (within reason, of course) the more likely we are to be able to do the med-free birth we want comfortably and at our own pace. So cross your fingers that I’m GBS negative!
At the appointment today I went over our birth plan/preference sheet with the midwife. She was very open to everything we included on it and said that nothing we are asking for is unreasonable. What is this mysterious birth preference sheet that we’ve mentioned a few times? Well, our midwife and our hypnobirthing instructor have described it as a way to communicate our preferences about labor and delivery to our caregivers at the hospital. Apparently, in the midst of labor there is quite a bit going on, and having preferences written down ahead of time can be useful! I don’t really see this preference sheet as set in stone as I’m aware that anything can happen in labor, however, I’ve been reassured by our midwife and our OB that if my pregnancy is any indication of what my labor will be like I have every reason to believe that our wishes for a natural and med free birth can be met. In case you are curious, here are a few bullet points from our birth plan.
- The birth environment is very important to us. For that reason we ask that the lights be kept dim, noise be avoided and the door closed for privacy. We would like for all entering the room to enter as quietly as possible.
- We are attempting to have a natural birth, which we believe to be birth without medical and/or chemical intervention. We do understand that there are procedures that may be necessary. Except in the case of an extreme emergency, we ask that we be given the opportunity to accept or refuse any procedure. We also request that the least invasive or restricting versions of procedures (i.e. walking epidural, external monitor) be used.
- We plan to handle pain with relaxation, massage, and water.
- We are aware of our pain relief options and ask that you not offer chemical pain relief (IV medications, epidural, spinal)
- We plan to bring our own birthing ball to use during labor.
- If induction becomes necessary, we ask that non-chemical induction methods be tried before chemical methods. If chemical methods do become necessary, we prefer to use the cervical cream before trying pitocin.
- I would like to push at my own pace- breathing the baby down using the hypnobirthing method.
- We prefer to not have an episiotomy.
- Jered would like to announce the sex of the baby and cut the umbilical cord once it has stopped pulsing (after 3-5 minutes)
- After the birth, we wish to nurse our baby immediately.
- If Cesarean becomes necessary, I would like to be conscious, Jered would like to be present at all times and we still prefer that our child be nursed immediately
So that’s our birth “plan” as of now. We have a separate sheet for our preferences in the nursery- it’s much shorter and includes things like who can come in to see the baby while the routine nursery stuff is going on. In addition to crafting our birth plan we’ve also been busy packing our bag for the hospital. It was really an easy job- one change of clothes for me, one for Jered, a coming home outfit for the baby, a few diapers, some chapstick (apparently my lips could get dry during labor), some change for the vending machines, our camera and video camera, and a list of people to call when Uni makes his or her grand debut.
For those of you who believe in Old Wives’ Tales… Uni’s heart rate was just a pumping today- the midwife stayed in the room for about 10 straight minutes while Uni rumbled around. All the moving around had Uni’s heart rate up near 180!!! That’s the high end of normal, so the midwife told me to sit back for 10 minutes and rest to see if we could get the baby to calm down. Even after a 10 minute rest Uni was still busy bouncing around, but the heartrate went down to the high 150’s. Uni’s baseline heartrate has been in the low 150’s- so our appointment must have coincided with Uni’s hour on the inter-uterine treadmill! The wives’ tales say that heart rates above 140 indicate your baby is a girl- I guess we’ll find out soon enough- less than one month to go!
Just for fun- I leave you with a picture of Jered and I blowing out the candles at our baby shower last month.
(that bunny is hanging from my mom’s chandelier, not coming out of my head, fear not!)
And now… proof that our little bun in the oven is, indeed, nearing its birthday!
Hypnobirthing Part I
Last night was our first hypnobirthing class. Our instructor came to our house around 6:30 and brought us all sorts of reading materials, cds, dvds and other fun stuff. After quick introductions we got down to the business of learning all about hypnobirthing. Our instructor is an RN and teaches both hypnobirthing and traditional Lamaze courses so she brought us materials from all of the birth education classes she teaches. We went over different birth preferences (e.g. intermittent vs. constant fetal monitoring) and what they mean for the labor and delivery process. She encouraged us to make a birth preference/plan sheet and have it ready to take with us to the hospital.
We did a candle relaxation/visualization exercise that was very relaxing, and learned all about how the body works best when it’s completely relaxed during the birthing process. For homework this week we have a dvd to watch of various hypnobirthing couples and their experiences with labor and delivery. We also practiced two labor positions (from the handout we received at our B.A.B.I.E.S. class) while Jered did a guided relaxation exercise with me.
My favorite part of the lesson was the individualized attention we received- she emphasized that we have to find positions and ways of relaxing that work best for us and that we have to practice them daily. She brought us two cds with birth affirmations (essentially these are a way of positively reframing the birth experience into something manageable and do-able) and relaxation exercises to listen to. I like the hypnobirthing approach as it emphasizes that birth is a natural process that our bodies are made to do. It encourages confidence and relaxation rather than focusing on risk, fear and tension. So far Jered and I are both very impressed.
Possibly one of the most helpful parts of the evening was when she showed us how to use an excercise ball to get into a position where my belly can actually lean forward. We have a sheet with various labor positions on them, but these are merely drawings and my spatially inept mind can’t really make sense of what they look like in “real life.” By leaning forward the baby is encouraged to move into a more favorable position for birth. Right now the baby is head down, but its arms and legs are facing to my left- according to our instructor we want the baby’s arms and legs pointing to my right side. This position makes for a simpler and less painful birth and one of the ways to try and get the baby to move into this position is by sitting with my big ol’ belly leaning forward (easier said than done!).
After 3 hours of hypnobirthing class I’m already glad that we chose to do this on top of the other class we took. The things we are learning are giving us great insight into how to work with our caregivers at the hospital to maximize the chance of a natural, med-free birth. You can learn more about hypnobirthing if you’re interested, or send Jered or me an e-mail if you have any questions on what we’ve learned so far!
Filed under Pregnancy by esther | Comment (0)Hippobirthing
The third person voice in this post is because Jered and Esther are writing this jointly. Generally the paragraphs that sound better are written by Esther, the ones that appear to be written by someone with a basic grasp of English are written by Jered. You have been warned.
Friday was our 34 week doctor’s appointment- our second appointment at the new practice we’ve switched to. We met with the nurse midwife for the first time and were incredibly impressed with how the appointment went. Part of the reason we switched practices was because we were having a very normal pregnancy and were treated as though we did not exist. Our experience at the new practice has been completely different. First, there are only two practitioners- the OB and the nurse midwife. Both of whom seem very nice and caring. They both have taken time to talk to us about our pregnancy and answered all of the questions we had, another reason for switching practices.
After introducing ourselves to the Nurse Midwife, Darleen, Esther explained our thoughts on a med-free birth if possible. Darleen immediately jumped in and started telling us about hypnobirthing (which Grammy J Benoit later misheard as “hippo-birthing”. Thanks, Grammy J). Jered started to giggle, not at the concept of hypnobirthing, but the fact that Esther had been talking about hypnobirthing from early on in the pregnancy. Darleen has had two couples who have used the techniques, both effectively, and she gave us a website and book to research.
The rest of the appointment was routine, although Esther and baby are measuring about two weeks ahead. It was nice to be comforted by Darleen, who said that doctors, nurses and the like generally over estimate baby’s size and weight in women who are under 5′ 5″ (Esther is 5′ 4″) and women who have a standard or short sized torso (which Esther also has). So all in all, the measurements maybe off a little, but the baby is still on track.
Jered and I decided to do a bit more research into this hippo-birthing process and went over to our local book store to see what materials were out there. We found the book our midwife had recommended and decided to go ahead and buy it after browsing it and finding that this method of natural childbirth is one that is very congruent with our thoughts and feelings about pregnancy and childbirth. We have been reading the book all weekend and decided to try and contact one of the local hypnobirthing instructors. We were not sure we would be able to do the class in hypnobirthing as it usually takes 5 sessions- but we got an e-mail back from the instructor today and she is willing to teach it to us in 2-3 sessions
The Hypnobirthing book, Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method
We are excited about the hypnobirthing classes and the tools they will give us as we try to have an un-medicated birth. We are getting ready for the baby to get here and are surprised at how quickly time has gone and time continues to go by as we get closer and closer to B-Day!
Filed under Dad's View, Doctor's Office, Pregnancy by esther | Comments (3)Dad’s Baby Purchases
This is my first video post. You may be asking yourself, but who was the voice of Lamb Chop in the first two episodes of The Lamb Chop Show? Not me.
I’m not sure how video is going to work if you are subscribed by email, so please visit the website: http://baby.b3noit.com/pregnancy/dads-baby-purchases/
Basically, Esther and I have been making purchases to get ready for the baby. First it was some baby clothes, with much thanks to Esther’s Aunt Pat. We also ordered the super snazzy Flip Video, it is a super simple to use video camera, and how we are going to share moving pictures of the baby with everyone.
The DadGear bag was the best buy of the lot, in my opinion. Now I feel like I can take the baby out by myself. That combined with the DadGear Vest, I’m a dad ready for when the little one gets here.
Filed under Buying for Baby, Dad's View by Jered | Comment (0)