Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Babies on the Brain

I usually don't notice the little floating baby anymore..It's been up for so long it's become kind of no big deal and I forget about it most of the time. I noticed it today. HOLY moly. 26 days. 26 days?!?! We could have a baby before that. That's like...not very long at all! I'm super, super excited about it, but I still dont' really feel like it's real. I can't picture myself really having a baby. I know I'm going to have to, but since nothing like this has ever happened before I have nothing to compare it to and nothing to base it against.

When I was a junior in high school I was invited by a lady in my branch to be there when she had her first baby. I was so, so excited. I knew it would be an awesome, amazing, probably even spiritual experience.

It wasn't. At all.

She was super skinny and her baby was too big. She had to have an emergency c-section, and the only things I remember were her being in so much pain and never being able to get comfortable and a whole lot of really gross stuff coming out. But never a baby. I thought seeing the baby come out would make all the other horrible images just go away...But I never saw the baby come out so the horrible images were all I was left with. After that day I was sure I never wanted to have a baby.

I am sure now that I DO want to have a baby...But thinking about me being like her...super uncomfortable and in so much pain...It doesn't make me very excited. I am still planning on doing it natural - hopefully things work out with that- but I haven't taken any classes yet or anything. We signed up for a hypnobabies class that I heard was just awesome, but after paying our deposit the lady called and canceled on us. We were pretty upset. This weekend we're taking a class at the hospital...But it's only 1 day for a few hours. Is that enough time to really teach us everything we need to know? I'm a little worried.

But I guess in the end when you get something this cute to come home with.... it's worth it.

11 comments:

Lani said...

Birth can be beautiful and wonderful! I hope yours will be. Maybe you weren't soliciting advice here, but birth is my passion, so I'm going to go ahead and give you some anyway! I hope you don't mind! :-)

The best pieces of advice I can give for "going natural," are...

1) Water! Get in the shower or the bathtub if you can. It helped me a lot when I labored with my babies. Have your husband spray your back with the hand-sprayer if you feel your contractions in your back.

2) Relax! The best thing you can do during a contraction is to make every effort to relax every other muscle in your body. If you release as much tension as possible, you will feel less pain. And the less you tense your other muscles, the more of your body's energy and resources will be directed to your uterus... which means it can do its job better.

3) Slow, deep breathing! None of the fancy breathing techniques I learned in my Lamaze class helped me... except "slow-paced breathing." You take one deep cleansing breath at the beginning of a contraction and then take slow, long breaths throughout (slowly in your nose and slowly out your mouth) and then another deep cleansing breath at the end of the contraction. This kind of breathing carried me through both my labors.

4) Keep any noise-making low and deep! If you start to scream or whine in a high-pitched way, you are tensing yourself too much. Keep your noises low and deep... groaning and moaning rather than squealing or screeching. Low/deep sounds release tension rather than creating tension. And don't let any nurses tell you to stop making noise. If making noise helps you, DO IT!

5) Hire a doula, if you can. Or at the very least, have a woman you trust present to support you. This will make a HUGE difference.

Okay, I'll shut up now. But feel free to email me if you want any more tips. You know I'm always happy to talk birth and help other women have wonderful birth experiences! :-)

Amy said...

I totally noticed the 26 days thing today too! So exciting! Wow - wish I could help you out! But you're going to be so great. I saw a birth too and it seemed a little scary. But Lani's advice seems great and I'm sure you'll be ok. Make sure Cody gives you a blessing and I'll get up there as quick as I can too when I know you're starting. I hope I can drop everything and come up! I love you and I'm so so so excited for little Chloe!

LynnEl Springer said...

Susie - You'll do fine, everyone does! I agree with Lani - just try to relax every muscle. Have Cody by your head, whispering in your ear different muscles and areas of your body to relax, weird places that you don't normally think of, like your eyebrows, your forehead, your ears, your toes, your ankles, your fingers, your NECK - definitely your neck. Then you just think of what Cody is telling you. When the contraction got too hard to bear, I would shake my head, and then Dad would know he needed to talk a little faster and make me pay attention to him and he would tell me to just listen to him, Listen, Listen, and so I would, and I would make it thru!

Here's the deal. Remember that the contraction only lasts for a short period of time. You can make it thru each one as it comes, and then rest between them. It really helped me to breathe into a lunch paper sack between contractions when I had Noah - it really relaxed me to breathe my own carbon dioxide. I dont' know why, but it helped a ton! Also, it always helped me to take my fingers and move them in a circular motion on each side of my tummy while I was having the contraction, sort of like rubbing an ouch-ee, but using just your fingertips.

Another thing Lani said that is so true - DON'T let the nurses tell you what to do EVER! You get to be in charge this time! YOU TELL THEM what you want and what you will do and when!

We never had a "doula" because Dad was such a GREAT coach. Cody can be too. But if you have one and want one, get a doula. Do they cost $$? I don't know.

When you are in labor, you will know what you want and your body will tell you what you want. Listen to it! I wish I could be there too to help you - but I'll be there shortly afterwards!

And as for the floating baby square on your blog - I thought maybe the baby would be filling the circle by now??? 25 days! WOW! It's OCTOBER!!! :)

derek and michelle said...

you will do great and be a great mother! cant wait to see that little one!

Gena said...

You can totally do it Stacey! I think if I were to do it again, I still wouldn't get an epidural. It kills, but definitely doable, and I felt great afterward (which people say is because I didn't have an epidural). The only thing I'd suggest is learn how to push! We did a class, and they didn't even talk about pushing. My mom was flabbergasted! If ya wanna lesson, I'd be happy to demonstrate! Haha! :) Ps. I saw the picture of the baby before reading it all and thought you had yours!!! I can't wait til you do. She's going to be just beautiful, I know it!

Meeker home said...

Yes, good luck with that. I don't have any advice on natural childbirth seeing as I had a scheduled C-section and never even felt labor pains. But just remember- women have been doing it for centuries. You can too! (And if you decide you want an epidural half way through- that's okay too! We're lucky to live in a time of advanced medicine!)

Jessica Speed said...

I really enjoyed this post. I'm so sorry that you had that experience. Like I said earlier, I didn't even take a class, and things worked out fine. So, this one day class for a few hours, I think, will be plenty. (Good luck with all natural, you can do it)! As for the sling, I've only tired one, but I really really like it. I got it at www.mammasmilk.com and it's adjustable (but they also have non-adjustable) so if you happen to loose or gain weight it'll still work for you and you can share it with Cody. But I've seen others like www.hotslings.com (non-adjustable only) and some gals have gotten them at the mall in a little booth. They're becoming more popular, so you shouldn't have a hard time finding one you like. (Sorry about the extra long post).

tiff snedaker said...

Wow you are so close!! Try to think positively about the birth. I guess I was a little like your experience you talked about the first go round but i wasn't in pain because of modern mediicine :) Good luck - everyone has a different experience so just stay positive and remember that in the end you will be holding a beautiful baby girl!

CHMomma said...

i was nervous too my last trimester. and it was the darndest thing the morning of my induction i was perfectly calm! crazy huh? you freak out for 3 months then they day you go in~total calm.
just keep saying lots of prayers for peace of mind and things will be ok!
i cant believe you're so close! cant wait to meet that sweet baby.

erin said...

i'm just reading this now and you're down to 19! crazy!!!! good luck when she comes! :)

Jo said...

18 days! Hooray! You'll do great Stacey! It's an amazing experience when you meet your little baby for the first time!

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