Induction Acupuncture? Yes please! by Mama to be, Abby Jordan

At my last appointment with Dr. Kate, (January 7) she mentioned that if I was ready by the next time she could start some induction acupuncture. Um. That's scary. I don't think so. I'll just wait patiently for this little peanut to make his/her move. On Monday (Jan 17), I signed up for it.

Let's go back a bit. So far, (January 14) my OB says I'm 60% effaced, almost dilated to 1 and at a -1 station. She said she thinks I'll go full term but to go ahead and prove her wrong if I wanted. At that time, I was fine with waiting. Sounds great, I thought. Stuff is going on but nothing major. Sweet. We have time. And then...I thought my water broke. I think it was pee but I was on the toilet so no big whoop. It just felt different. Scott and I went kind of crazy. It was 8 at night and we thought, "this could be it!" We were so excited. I bounced around on the birth ball, we put everything we needed on the dining room table so we were READY. We put the car seat in the car, looked over some birth positions, etc. Now, where were the contractions? And how come I haven't leaked any more fluid? We decided to get in bed, relax and see what happens. Nothing happened. No contractions, no baby. Nothing like a false alarm to make us realize that we were prepared. There was nothing that we felt like we forgot to do. Wow. We did it, we were as prepared as we could be.

Not only are we ready, but now we WANT the baby to come. Dr. Kate, here I come! We started with an adjustment, which felt great. I was not in a lot of pain but after the adjustment felt even better. Now, off to the acupuncture table. She put needles in the different pressure points that together should help get contractions started. I was thrilled to have an all natural way to get things moving along. I had been having contractions. Lots of them. All the time. I was so curious to see how this would go. I took the time to relax and to visualize giving birth. I visualized such a nice, quiet, beautiful birth. Fingers crossed. Dr. Kate thought mentioned that the baby might start moving or I actually might have contractions during the treatment. The baby definitely started moving but no contractions, until later. That night I had very strong contractions. By strong, I mean my uterus was harder than I had ever felt it. It was keeping me awake a bit. I probably had about 3-5 of these over 4 hours and then eventually fell asleep and still no baby. I'm going to go back either Thursday or Friday and see if we can continue the process. If I still don't have a baby next week, Dr. Kate said that it would be safe to do daily treatments. Oh, man. Let's have this baby already. We're READY!!

My prediction: labor starts tonight (Jan 18) and I have the baby tomorrow. There is a storm and a full moon. Again, we're READY. I could come up with a reason for everyday.

Dr. Kate, Gotta Love, Dr. Kate by Mama to be, Abby Jordan

I have been making my way to Dr. Kate's table about once a week for the last month. It's so amazing. I get there, she starts pressing around and then I realize all the things that hurt, that ache, that have slipped out of place and are so SORE. Today, she tapped up and down my back, I don't think my neck has ever cracked like this before and then my hips and knees! Yikes. I was in bad shape. I went from working on my feet all day everyday to getting caught up on paperwork and getting our website all shaped up for Valentine's Day. I think sitting shifted my hips all around and typing has made one of my shoulders SOOOO sore. After a few minutes with Dr. Kate, I'm feeling so much better. I thought I better get in to see her since I am 37 weeks and 5 days along. I could have the baby this weekend? I need to be aligned as possible so I can really get down to birthin' business.

I'm also scheduling an Acupuncture session for next week. My first one went really well. I had it about 2 months ago and it was extremely relaxing. I did not have any of the ailments that Dr. Kate might treat with Acupuncture (heartburn, anxiety, depression) but the great thing about Acupuncture is the proactive benefits. As Dr. Kate explained in her blog entry it's really about keeping your energy in balance. As of right now, I feel pretty balanced but who couldn't use a little relaxation and some positive energy. The other thing that we might do is start some induction energy. I am terrified of being medically induced (no pitocin for me!) so why not get the ball rolling? We'll see. I'll keep you posted!

So, 37 weeks. That's Full Term!! by Mama to be: Abby Jordan

Tomorrow, I am 37 weeks along and we have not had class for weeks!! We decided I better post some stuff about how things are going.

First of all, I feel like my cute basketball belly is a brand new shape that I can hardly describe. It gets a new angle almost everyday. It was round and sticking straight out. It is now sort of round but has some weird flat, plateau like surfaces that make it feel more like an octagon. I think baby is running out of room. Mama wants to be accommodating for at least another two weeks. Yes, I would like to have the baby sometime after January 16 and would prefer January 23. Does that sound like a naive first time mom to you???

I think I have mentioned this before but I work in retail. So, up until late December 24 I run myself ragged. We had our biggest month of online sales ever. AWESOME! This could not be more exciting for us. I was happy to be up and active through this time in my pregnancy as well. At the end of the day, you could knock me over with a feather but all was good for me and baby. We ate and slept enough and we worked REALLY hard. I'm pumped to see the work ethic this baby is going to have. During the last week or so of the holiday rush I started daydreaming about me and my husband settling in at home for a daylong laboring session and then driving to the hospital for a nice "getaway". The thought of labor and delivery was starting to seem like an amazing escape from my non-stop work reality. What!!??? As I'm waking up from that daydream the "getaway" is seeming less and less vacation and calming like and the fears and anxieties that have always been there are creeping there way back into the reality of giving birth.

Last week, I was talking on the phone, carrying six things and not being careful as I was coming into the house. I slipped on the ice and pretty much landed on my 36 week pregnant belly. I'm pretty sure my arm caught most of the weight but I was terrified! I could not feel any tenderness or soreness on my belly and there did not seem like there was much to worry about. I called my mom to tell her and started bawling!! She convinced me to the call the doctor. My doctor was out and the doctor on call did not want to take any chances. I ended up in Labor and Delivery at The Women's Center on a fetal monitor for 4 hours. I was so scared when it happened and then so relieved and glad we got to listen to the heartbeat instead of staying up all night wondering. Everything looked great. No worries. I'm sure I wouldn't have slept a minute. Scott and I have been calling it our dry run and hope we don't have to rush in this next time but at least we know where we're going and a little more of what to expect.

All in all, I still feel pretty great. Sleeping for more than 2 hours without being in a lot of pain from either having to pee or putting to much weight on a hip is starting to be missed. I know this is part of getting me ready for what's to come and I'm a-okay with it. I think a lot of women end up pretty miserable before they actually go into labor and I'm not there yet. I think baby and I will be together for another few weeks. I'll keep you posted!

Dr. Kate, My Fourth Visit, I Totally Overdid it This Week! by Mama to be, Abby Jordan

I work in retail. I pretty much always have. The Holiday season is a long one. I mainly focus on meeting sales goals, the last big push of the year, what can I do to literally bend over backwards to get those last sales!!! Well, I've never been pregnant for this lovely season before.

In an effort to get the season started off right, we shipped our biggest order ever on the Monday following Thanksgiving. It was a lot of manual and mental labor but I think the main thing that took a toll was the way I managed the lifting, packing carrying etc. Before you get upset, these were 8 lb boxes at the most. I wasn't carrying 50 lb bags of sugar. The weight was manageable for a pregnant lady. It was just that there were 650 of them. To get through it, I took a tylenol and didn't stop until it was over!!

By that evening I knew I had probably pushed some of those tiny little vertebrae out of their comfortable positions. Not to mention my hip was locked up, my knee was shifted in, I was in need of some adjustment love. My appointment was for Friday and by then I was so excited to see Dr. Kate Hansen!!

Have you ever heard of relaxin? It is a hormone your body produces tons of when you are pregnant to "relax" your pelvis into opening up and letting the baby out. It can also have a negative effect by relaxin' your lower back and joints into falling out of place. I figure this and my bending over backwards for sales have a lot to do with why I keep ending up in pain. The good news is, it can be adjusted. The even better news is I can take proactive steps to helping as well. Heard of yoga? Yeah, I almost forgot too. I used to be so good at stretching every night and somehow over the last few months I have really slowed down my efforts. I'm going to really try and pick it up for the home stretch. Overall, bone, joint and muscle wellness. That's my goal for me and for baby! Good luck to me!! ;)

Class #3 Start Asking Questions! by Mama to be, Abby Jordan

Our 3rd Class at Baby Love Birth Services was all about medical intervention and natural techniques that actually might work. Let's just start by saying after watching 2 or 3 videos of women giving birth at class last night, I definitely was trying to give birth in my dreams. I also want everyone to know that I am not afraid of getting some pain relief. I'd like to think I'm pretty tough and can manage the pain but let's face it, I'm no hero and I'm not trying to be. I honestly just want to focus on what's best for baby, so here is how I see it. Getting an epidural off the bat, 5 or less centimeters dilated, will most likely slow down your contractions to the point where the hospital is not comfortable with your progress. They will then most likely administer Pitocin. Pitocin is a drug you get to help you have contractions. Yay! Except they are not really natural contractions. They are harder, longer and more stressful on your baby. You are now on two pretty strong drugs and the hopes of getting up and moving around to help with labor is probably over. You'll be lying in the bed asking if your having contractions and hoping they move along fast enough so you don't have to have a C-section from the pure exhaustion of the experience. I am terrified of having a C-section. I'm not afraid of surgery in general, I'm just afraid I will not bounce back as quickly. I've pretty much heard from my mom my whole life, you'll probably have C-sections. My pelvis was too little and yours probably is too. Who knows? Maybe it is? My whole point in taking these classes and learning the non-medical side of giving birth is to get a little bit a knowledge about how the system works. What I've described above just might be the way it all goes down for us but knowing my options makes me feel better about our birthing experience. Plus!!! Dr. Kate is going to make sure my pelvis is looking good and optimal for delivery. She will also assist and possibly work some magic if we find out our sweet little tiny is breech.

Dr. Kate, My Second Visit, But I've had this pain for years!! by Mama to be, Abby Jordan

I went to my second chiropractic appointment in my life on Monday. It is so enlightening. I was feeling really good and probably would not have made another appointment but I just kept hearing a voice in my head saying, you need to make follow up appointments to make sure things stay in place. So, I did it. I ran in there thinking, I'm already all good, this will be super quick. I was wrong. My little lower discs had started slipping back to where they had been for the last God knows how long so she moved them back into place, again. I then started complaining about all my ailments from childhood through now. The first thing I told her about were how my knees and hips always hurt really badly after a day of standing or other physical activity. I told her the pain had been way less recently and I read it was because of the glucosamine that your body releases during pregnancy. She agreed but checked me anyway. Well, one of my hips needed to be popped. I say popped because that's what I heard. I am not sure what she did but I went through rounds of Xrays, MRI's etc in college because of this darn hip. I can't wait to feel the results. It already feels better but to not have to baby it or pop ibuprofen will be sweet! Another successful visit with Dr. Kate Hansen. Next, we are going to do acupuncture. Can you imagine the things she is going to discover about me then?

Class #2 To Doula or Not To Doula? by Mama to be, Abby Jordan

Our second class at Baby Love Birth Services flew by! Before we knew it, it was over. This class was all about the three stages of labor. I think Scott and I were so enamored by all that was going on that we didn't realize how much time had passed. I just kept leaning over to him and saying, "Write that down!" When is it okay to take a bath? What should I do in between contractions? When should we go to the hospital? I think I was more worried about if he would remember all these things for me. There's so much that goes into what the coach needs to know that I'm worried he is going to be just as scared as me and not remember some of the simple steps and techniques that we learned tonight.

Since becoming pregnant I have never really thought about using a Doula. My main concern has always been about this being an experience for my husband and I to share. I bought him a book on husband coached labor etc. I honestly thought a Doula would get in the way of the experience we were sharing together. As we went through the class last night it dawned on me that not only would a Doula ease my mind but she would really take the pressure off of my husband. She would do all of the guiding and let us focus on each other and the experience. It's funny to me now thinking that she would take away from the experience. We are going to be in a hospital with lots of unfamiliar faces. Bringing along another familiar face could only ease my mind more.

My husband and I still have some talking to do to figure out what is going to be best for us. We are still not quite sure if we are going to have a Doula but I definitely understand the benefits and would recommend at least looking into what a Doula assisted birth might be all about.

OMG! Dr. Kate is AMAZING! My First Chiropractic Visit! by mama to be, Abby Jordan

For as long as I can remember back I have sworn off of chiropractics. I love massages but for some reason I thought the whole back cracking thing was pushing it. I also love yoga and thought, "Listen, I can get myself aligned okay?" Well, turns out I can't. Since I've been pregnant I've been especially lazy with yoga. I have really been doing it on an as needed method to stretch out sore muscles. Last weekend I had taken things too far. My lower back had been sore all week and finally on Saturday it was almost too much to take. I spent Saturday and Sunday alternating heat and ice. It relieved some of the pain but I thought I would check out a Chiropractor. Since I had been taking the Baby Love Birth Classes I knew about Dr. Kate Hansen. She specializes in prenatal care and I thought she'd be perfect for my leap of faith.

Today, I had my very first session with Dr. Kate Hansen. I had an assessment and it turns out my pelvis and my tail bone were not aligned. Can you believe it? I could!! As soon as she made the adjustment I felt a difference. I know I will need more treatments to ensure everything stays all lined up (something else I've always been skeptical of) but it makes sense. Who knows how long I have been off the track? Of course, my bones and muscles are going to try to revert.

I have been pregnant for almost 30 weeks now and I kept thinking that back pain was part of the process. I kept thinking, "I am gaining weight up front and it must be putting pressure on my back ." I really didn't know that you could go through pregnancy (or life) without back pain.

I'm thrilled I finally hung up my misconceptions and tried it out.

Our First Class! Episiotomy, Ice Chips, 12 Pound Baby, Oh My! We're Learning Already! by Mama to be, Abby Jordan

My husband and I attended our first class with Kristi at Baby Love Birth Services and we were thrilled!! Okay, so we weren't sure what to expect. Are there going to be other couples like us? Are people going to judge if we want an epidural? Will it be all home birth this and only ALL natural that? We were, of course, so happy that the other couples in the room were there for what seemed like all the same reasons we were. They wanted facts, stories, answers and scenarios from people who were trained in the field, who have been there and who weren't being influenced by what's best for the business side of having babies. They wanted information about the birth of their child, what happens and how it all works. Personally, I kept looking online for a book or guide to help us get mentally prepared and then I came across these classes. They are perfect for people who, like us, want to be as prepared as possible to make all kinds of decisions on the greatest, most exciting and most adventurous day of our life!

After the first class alone we already feel like we are a step ahead. Did you know that your baby really, truly decides when natural labor starts? A chemical is released from the baby's brain and it starts the process. I had no idea! I thought it was up to these old bones to get things moving. See?! So much more to learn. We can't wait! Thanks, Kristi! See you next class!