33w1d. I have moments of extreme tiredness, shortness of breath and faintness. Usually these occur within a few hours of waking up. I seem to be a night owl lately. Otherwise, I feel well and my mood has been really good. A few weeks ago I had been easily irritated and cranky- now I seem back to my calm 2nd trimester self. Thank goodness! I have noticed that DH is sleeping lighter now. Every move I make has him checking to see if I am okay. I finally told him about it today since he has complained of not getting enough sleep. I like him protective but I don’t want him sleepy all the time!!
My 3 hour GTT and complete blood count/ anemia test came back fine. Yeah! I was still sleeping when the nurse called, so I didn’t ask for the numbers. I am happy to be healthy!
I finally finished my first M&M character on Brendan’s wall. I did Yellow first. He came out rather well- I am pleased. He took longer than I thought and the black outlining was much harder than I had anticipated (we had to go buy smaller, better brushes) but I am much more confident that the painting will be a success. I plan on starting on Red today- it is amazing how anxious I am to complete his nursery!
I did what I consider to be my first bit of nesting a couple of days ago. Totally out of character for me, I washed all of our couch and chair cushions and scrubbed the parts I couldn’t throw into the washer! We’ve owned this couch for about 7 years and we even bought it used- never before have I had such a mad desire to clean them up!! I just couldn’t imagine laying my precious little newborn down on them when they were so in need of a good cleaning! It was tough getting the cushion padding back into the covers too! Darrell was a big help with that!
We had our 2nd labor class last night! It was a lot of fun. Lots of floor practice. I am amazed and pleased at how serious Darrell took the practice- but he did crack me up big time once. During the "contractions" I would squeeze one fist tightly to simulate the pain I was trying to ignore and relax with and our instructor would whisper out loud reminders of what we should be doing, thinking, etc. So during this one contraction (the women were all relaxing on their sides on the floor) she said, "Focal point, Positive message" which was a cue to me to think of my peaceful image and for DH to tell me something nice. Well, my DH lovingly whispers, "Focal point... positive message" in my ear!!! I cracked up so hard!! I never knew when that contraction was over I laughed so hard- of course, still tightly clenching my fist! It was soo funny!
I was particularly happy with all the labor positions and massaging/ touching techniques we tried out. Sooo helpful if we manage to go drug-free. I am glad our booklet has pictures of them all! The positions that I think will work best for me are:
Sitting backwards in a chair with my head on a pillow
Sitting backwards in a chair in the shower
Sitting back to back with Darrell
Laying on my side
Laying in front of Darrell, leaning back on him
Slow dancing
Standing with my back against Darrell
Rocking in a rocking chair
On my hands and knees
Walking
Sitting & leaning over a table
Sitting on the toilet
Sitting up in bed and rocking back and forth
I have discovered that I am a kinesthetic person in terms of what relaxes me (meaning that things like touch and dim lighting and soft pillows comfort me more, as opposed to an auditory or visual person) Oddly enough, I prefer the massaging of one place for awhile before moving on to another place over massaging large areas at once. For example, massaging my forehead then moving to the eyebrows (which is very relaxing…LOL) is better than flitting from place to place on my face and then going back to the same places later. I guess I need time to concentrate and relax with each small part or else I get irritated. The massaging & relaxation techniques that I really enjoyed were:
Concentrating on relaxing one body part at a time (on my own)
Deep massage of the feet, hands, back, legs, arms, neck and face
Light belly massage
Light feathery stroking (effleurage) of belly, arms, legs and back
Counterpressure on my lower back with a small wooden device we fondly call Smedley
Hips squeeze
Deep “cleansing” breathing
“Ah-hee, Ah-hee, Ah-hee, Ah-hoo” pattern (slower than I thought and with less blowing than the typical, comical “Hee, Hee, Hee, Hooo” you see on tv
Light music and dim lighting
Cool cloths on forehead
I have to admit that I am leaning towards trying natural childbirth now. I didn’t quite like how many side effects an epidural can have, even if it doesn’t pass to the baby as much as other drugs (slowed heartbeats for mom & baby, itching, nausea/ vomiting, shaking, lower blood pressure, headache, fever). Nor do I like that epidurals often lead to slower labors, pitocin use, catheters, c-sections and longer pushing stages. If I can in any way bear the contractions I am going to try. Unless I get induced… LOL. Then all bets are off! If nothing else, I can minimize the time where I risk more high-tech approaches and complications.
We did learn one thing that I don’t like- no video cameras in the LDR rooms- just your postpartum room. I had wanted to film the birth, but I will settle for just newborn moments. And for the record (probably TMI for this diary…) I am more scared of embarrassing myself by farting or pooping while pushing than I am of the pain itself- silly, I know- but there it is. I am considering a home-enema before going to the hospital.
