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!

BONUS! Breastfeeding Class! by Mama to be: Abby Jordan

To start off our bonus class we learned that 2 out of 5 couples from our class had their babies. OMG! I was completely freaked out for the first 15 minutes of class. Both of them had premature emergency c-sections. I just kept saying, "We're not ready!" Let's just keep this in mind baby, mommy and daddy could use a few more weeks and you need to keep baking. :)

Instead of waiting until after the baby is here the brilliant ladies at Baby Love Birth Services threw an extra class at the end of the 6 weeks. We were invited back for a night to learn about breastfeeding. It's rewards and a lot about it's challenges. There are so, so many schools of thought on what's right. Binkies, no binkies, nipple confusion, supplementing bottles, when dad can take part, formula every now and then is that cool?, etc.

The first thing we watched was a video of a baby put skin to skin on it's mommy right after birth. The baby bobbed it's head and scooted it's way to her nipple. Animal like instincts. Isn't that amazing??

We also learned that newborn bellies are the size of tiny marbles. They don't need to eat a lot at first. They might get on for about 10 minutes and that might be all they need. We learned about cluster feeding, latching and nursing cues. We learned why it was so important to keep your baby with you in the hospital all night so you don't miss their feeding cues. This is a crucial part of getting the breastfeeding foundation set down between you and your baby. I have always heard to send them to the nursery so you can get a good night's rest before you go home with baby. It turns out, if you want to breastfeed, you really shouldn't do that.

There are so many little tips and tricks that you can learn about before you have a sweet little tiny peanut relying on you for food. I was so thankful that they added this bonus class to our 6 week course. We feel like knowing a few things before everything hits us will be great.

Next up, we will taking the Sanity Series. Why doesn't every parent take this class?? Seriously! They go through breastfeeding and any problems, complications, what's working, is it safe?, etc. Babywearing, did you know that colic symptoms don't even exist in some cultures? It's called the 4th trimester and you learn all about how wearing your baby and keeping them close reminds them of the womb. They can't help but be content. The last thing, which I'm sure we will learn so much more, is learning how to turn on our babies calming reflex. I CAN'T WAIT!

Okay, I guess I am ready for that sweet little tiny peanut to get here.

Class #6 Ready, Set, Baby! by Mama to be, Abby Jordan

We had our final class of the 6 week session at Baby Love Birth Services this week. This was the okay you have had the pregnancy talks, the labor training and now you are going to get the baby.

You've worked so hard to get baby here and all you want to do is squeeze it and cuddle it and kiss, kiss and kiss it. Sure people are still down around where the baby came out checking in on things, maybe sewing things up (ouch) but you have your baby. The pain has subsided and you have your baby.

This was another class where I kept turning to Scott saying, "write that down!". There was a lot I didn't know about what happens after you have the baby and what your options are. I've heard of immediate skin-to-skin contact and definitely wanted that to happen. We've also talked about Scott cutting the cord. This is another thing I had no idea about. Instead of the doctor clamping the cord right away so dad can cut it, she can wait until it stops pulsating. This continues to give baby tons of oxygenated blood and nutrients for a few more minutes. At that time she can clamp and dad can cut. Now, you can have the sweet little baby up by your face loving it up. Who would ever want that to end? So, if requested there should really be no reason that baby can't stay there for the next hour while they give he/she an Apgar score once or twice and perform a couple other tests. They

don't have to whisk him/her away right away and poke and prod the sweet little peanut just yet. This will also give you the opportunity to breast feed within the first 15 or 20 minutes of life which could be one of the biggest favors you ever do for your child.

So, once that baby is born our plan is for it to come directly to my naked abdomen or chest for comforting and body temp regulation. Not having the cord clamped immediately but waiting for it to stop pulsating, breastfeeding as soon as possible and then to have some very tender first moments as a family with our brand new baby.

I talked to my doctor about all of this and she said it was possible and that the nurses were all very familiar with all of these practices. She also did not hesitate to say, if there is any trauma while the baby is being born this all may have to pushed aside so they can work on baby. We get it, but this is our ideal situation.

We also had graduation this week complete with a hospital bed cake. Barbie is on a birth ball and Ken is coaching her. They are not cake, just decoration.

Pregnancy Massage, Oh Baby!! by Mama to be, Abby Jordan

So, I've told you about Kristi and the Baby Love Birth Services classes, the amazing Dr. Kate Hansen from Essentials Chiropractics where the classes are taught but allow me to introduce you to Cat. Cat is the licensed massage therapist at Essentials Chiropractics. Don't just wait until your pregnant to see her, she does way too good of a job.

After my 4th adjustment I had a pregnancy massage appointment. Yay!!! In an effort to have overall bone, joint and muscle wellness this just makes sense, right? Well, it does. Dr. Kate Hansen talked to Cat about what she had adjusted and where she felt the tight muscles and then Cat came in and went to town. I feel like I was on the table for a good four hours. It was not that long but everything she did and touched felt purposeful. Each of her techniques and procedures had a point and it wasn't just about making me feel good. There was more to it. We talked about what Dr. Kate had done, relaxin taking it's toll on me, where my problem areas were, had been, and might be in the future. She took care of me and I wish I was still lying there.

As you know from the, "I overdid it blog" I am not always the best at letting pregnancy restrict some of the things I normally do. I'm not the type of person to let people take over and do everything for me because I am growing a baby. I would never compromise the health of our baby. The way I look at it, women have been doing all sorts of things during pregnancy for years. As long as I have the baby in mind when I make my daily limit decisions, I should be just fine.

I did not know anything about Baby Love Birth Services or Essentials Chiropractics for the first 24 or so weeks of pregnancy. Now, I really don't know where I would be without them. I might be wearing a baby brace from the doctors office but my tailbone would be still be out of whack. I wouldn't know that back pain is a normal part of pregnancy but also can be alleviated. I would be showing up at the hospital ready to be the best patient they have ever seen, and REALLY crossing my fingers that the nurses constantly refer to my birth chart and guide me through labor accordingly!!

Class #5 Delivery Rehearsal, OMG! by Mama to be, Abby Jordan

On the way to class tonight my husband and I remembered that we would be continuing our labor "dry" run and rehearsing the birth. To be honest, I wasn't very excited for more simulated contractions!! And what would a labor rehearsal be like?? All I can say is, I wish we were rehearsing this every week from now until the big day.

Scott and I were able to work through each situation. My controlling self was able to hear how Scott would answer the nurse when she went through the motions of trying to get things "moving" along. For the most part, he did such a great job. He kept telling her that while we are open to the procedures she was suggesting, we will be switching positions and doing our own thing for now. Great job, honey! I'm so glad we got to practice!

The other thing we really focused on in class was our birth plan. It was great to hear Kristi say that no matter what you put on your birth plan, things will most likely change. I have heard this from so many people, including my doctor. That was definitely reassuring.

After going through the first 5 classes I feel like we have a really good idea of what our ideal birth would be. We are excited to put a birth plan together and to have a guide to follow on the big day. Even with all this preparation I still really have no idea how things are going to go, how I am going to feel or what our baby is going to need through all of this. It is so important to me that my husband and I are on the same page with our vision of the perfect birth but that we might need to take some detours along the way.

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.

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.

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!