I am less then 10 weeks away from my due date and I feel like time is flying! Especially with the holidays it makes time go by so fast, which is exciting and nerve wracking. Since my last update I have decided on a birth plan, which I have started to read up on, and I have been fighting a really bad cold.
I was going to do an update at 30 weeks, but I had already had a cold for a week at this point and the pictures I was taking were just not looking so great. I had read that it is easier for you to get sick when pregnant, but this cold was ridiculous! It has taken me almost two weeks to feel back to normal.
I have been forcing myself to do nothing except stay home. Luckily I work from home so that wasn’t an issue, but even taking the dogs for a walk made me regress and I would just feel sicker the next day. Being pregnant and sick is no joke. I am so tired of sitting on the couch at this point; I can’t wait to get back into my normal routine.
Other than being sick, I have been reading up a lot on natural childbirth. Yes, I want to try and give birth naturally. Some people think I am crazy (my husband being one of them) and others think I will be able to do it no problem. I am not one of those women who is saying no drugs no matter what, natural birth is honestly just something I want to try and just allow my body to do what it was meant to and if gets to be too much for me then I will be getting an epidural.
When I tell a lot of people this there first response is “okay so you will get the epidural.” A word of advice for those people who say these things, this is not a comforting thought for someone who wants to try and go natural. This makes me want to go natural even more just to prove people wrong and that is not the goal of my birth; my goal is to have the birth I want to have. So, if someone says they are going to try and have a natural birth please try and refrain from saying that.
The books I have been reading are teaching me about active labor and pain management techniques. I really like the idea of active birth. The walking and moving around into different positions and letting gravity do some of the work sounds very appealing to me. The hospital I will be giving birth at actually has all of the things a woman would need to have an active natural birth, not all hospitals are like this so I feel lucky to have found one.
I have already talked with my doctor about how she feels about a woman giving birth in a nontraditional position and instead be standing, squatting or laying on their side. She is very open to all of this and has experienced it before. At this point I am feeling confident about my birth plan and I do not feel nervous or scared. This is what I was meant to do and so I am ready to just do it.
However, I know birth plans change especially since this is my first child and I will not feel upset with myself if I choose drugs or if anything else does not go according to plan. This is birth after all; no one knows what their birth will be like whether it is the first child or the fifth.
Other then reading up on natural labor everything is pretty much the same since my last blog. I am still staying active, eating healthy and getting kicked like crazy from the inside. She has started to get into positions that are NOT comfortable like in the hip and ends up almost in my back it seems like sometimes. It still is crazy every time I feel huge movements, I don’t think it will ever get old.
My hips have really started to hurt when I am standing all day. I decorated for Christmas all day one Saturday and that night my legs and hips just ached, but my decorating got done and I even got some presents wrapped! I started sleeping with a pillow in between my legs, which really helps. It is exciting knowing that my body is preparing for birth by opening up my hips more and loosening up those ligaments.
I have started to put lists together for my hospital bag, things I will need once I get home and a list of healthy freezer meals and other healthy snacks I want to prepare a couple weeks before my due date so I will have food ready to go.
Our birthing class is in a few weeks and on top of that my husband will be taking a daddy boot camp class with his brother in law, my sister is due 11 weeks after I am. After this class I feel like the count down will be on! At the moment I feel ready, that will most likely change once I hit 37 weeks : )
Changes I am experiencing:
Aversions: Don't have any anymore, can finally eat Mexican food again!
Cravings: None
Mood: Tired
Weight gain: 19 lbs total so far
Sleep: Sleeping well, but waking up super early! Currently typing this at 5am on a Sunday : (
Things I eat a lot of right now: Still eating a lot of quesadillas because they are quick and easy. Overall tired of food and eating in general.
Other: Hip pain and I can't breathe!