From the First Laidy…
Where did the time go? It seems like I just posted that I was “knocked up” and now I am about to pop! The last 39 weeks have been awesome and I cannot wait to meet our little one! I just want to know if it’s a boy who will be climbing anything/everything and lifting heavy things or a little girl, who I’m sure will take on some of the heavy lifting and climbing, but hopefully want to do her hair and nails too! 🙂
I want to share what this whole experience has been like for me and what I did to keep myself sane, in shape, and most important, happy! First I feel extremely blessed with how my pregnancy has turned out! I never got sick and for the most part kept doing what I do on a normal every day basis. Before getting pregnant I worked 50ish hours on my feet, worked out twice a week, got a massage and acupuncture once a month, saw thechiropractor once a week, and took my juice plus everyday. I am still doing all of this except the working out thing, which is now more like once a week… and when I do I am still lifting and swinging!
The “Pregnant Kettlebell Complex” at 30 weeks!
I passed on the pre-natal vitamins and went with Juice Plus, Cod Liver Oil and a iron supplement (from whole foods). I also started to introduce a B-complex and Isotonix OPC-3 based on Ryan’s recommendations after I was dealing with some back pain. I have noticed that I have a lot more energy and the pain went away! I always take them in the morning before breakfast which is usually a cup of Ezekial or sprouted grain/flax cereal and a little whole milk (raw when we can smuggle it). I’ve also been doing raspberry leaf tea at night in the hopes that it strengthens my uterus, among other benefits.
As far as skin care, I’ve been using coconut oil to keep my skin supple. My belly is definitely out there at the moment but stretch-mark-free:). The uses of coconut oil for mom and baby require a separate post altogether. Stay tuned!
As far as education, the books that I liked the best were: Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth (a great break-down on the birthing process as told by well-respected midwife, Ina May Gaskin, Thanks Lynn!), Baby Wise (sleep training, Thanks Rick!) and Baby Bargains (compares every friggen baby product known to man kind and lets you know which is the best for your money, Thanks Gina!).
Reading is great, but we also wanted some practice. My midwife gave me Kaeli Sutton’s name. Kaeli is a Duola, a massage therapist, and yoga instructor who teaches a unique birthing class to help prepare couples for what lies ahead. We took three semi private classes with her and I think it’s the best thing Ryan and I could have done! We feel as confident and ready as we can to get this whole birth thing under way. She taught us about the different stages of labor and what the mother goes through, breathing techniques, and different positions for the mother to labor in to help manage the contractions.
We hope to stay at home as long as possible while I labor and then go to the Alternative Birthing Center at Women and Infants. Who knows what will happen? One of the take-home messages from working with Kaeli was that this is my birth! Come back to the breath during challenging moments and ultimately do what I feel is best for me and the baby! So no matter what happens, I hope to walk away feeling like I did my best and I (or we) was the one making the decisions.
I also want to say thank you to everyone for all of the well wishes and kind words! It means so much to us to have you all in our lives! We will keep you posted!
DISCLAIMER!
Our legal department has advised me to make the following statement: do not try this at home! All of the pictures and videos seen above were conducted by trained professionals in a controlled setting. None of the moves done during my pregnancy were “first attempts” and therefore I do not find them to be irresponsible. That being said, I do not recommend rope climbing, turkish getups, or swinging from anything while pregnant if you do not have experience doing these activities before you got pregnant. Please be smart, but you can still have fun!
