30 Weeks and Birth Preparation

Well, I have now been pregnant for 30 weeks. I know I have been saying all along that time is flying, but now that we are in the 10 week countdown, it has become really real! I have been thinking about this time in my life and preparing mentally for it for years and now that it is so close to happening, I am getting so excited.

Things around here are moving along nicely I guess you could say. I have 400 books I had planned on reading throughout this pregnancy and of course have not. I have started reading a few though. Most importantly my Hypnobirthing book.

Having a natural, intervention-free birth has always been important to me since the time I even thought of having kids. I think this partly comes from the experiences with my mom. All of my siblings except myself were born either at home or at a birthing center and my mom's labors and deliveries were drug-free and midwife led. I guess this has always just seemed normal to me. In addition, as I started getting older and thinking for myself, I began reading about birthing and have often thought about becoming a midwife or doula as a profession. I find the process of birth very special and an amazing process that should be left to happen on it's own.

Soooo....needless to say, this is my plan for Cade's birth. I know I know, "things happen" and I am aware of this and of course if something went wrong, I would protect him first and myself, BUT assuming everything is healthy, I will not be taking any pain medications. I have also wanted to have a home birth as it is where I feel the most comfortable, not to mention, I despise everything about hospitals, but for Chris I compromised. I am using a midwife instead of doctor like I wanted and Cade will be born in a hospital instead of at home like he wanted. Guess it's fair. The hospital he will be born in is supposedly really great and they have a whole birthing center which is completely separate from the rest of the hospital. I have also heard that they are very good at respecting your wishes for the most part as long as you let them know.

I don't plan on going in willy-nilly expecting Cade to walk out without any pain or discomfort. Instead, I have chosen to use a method of pain management called Hypnobirthing. It is a breathing, visualization and relaxation method using many techniques which serve as a sort of self-hypnosis. It doesn't mean that I will be completely out of it and this type of hypnosis is very unlike anything you have seen at the fair or on TV. I will still be very much aware of what is going on and completely conscious, but will work with the contractions to reduce pain and help labor progress. I have been reading about these methods and have now begun practicing daily and plan to include both Chris and my mom in this as well. They will serve as my birth companions and remind me of my breathing and visualizations. I am really excited about this decision and see it as a challenge I will train for and complete!

As far as getting ready for his arrival? We now have a car seat for him! This has been my only little cause of stress for the last month or so because we couldn't bring him home without it, but thanks to Chris' mom and Dad, we now have a car seat! A very safe one at that! We have not put it in the car yet because I have this weird thing about driving around with important things in the car in case the car got hit and it ruined the contents of the car. I know it is weird, but it could happen! We will put it in in a few weeks probably. I also finally ordered the co sleeper he will be sleeping in. It has shipped and should be here next weeks! Another stress relieved. As far as our diapers go, we have 10 of the 20 we need for him. The girls at work threw me a wonderful baby shower last weekend (which I will be posting pictures of when I get them) and all pitched in and bought us 10 diapers. Thanks girls! We also got all kinds of cute clothes, blankets, washcloths and bathrobes. It was so much fun and as soon as I get the photos I will post them.