37 Weeks and counting

Boy things seem to be picking up steam. I woke up the morning of 37 weeks and felt a whole new kind of pregnant.

Last week I finished work. My coworkers threw me a surprise waffle party in our kitchen pantry and they gave me a very nice diaper bag. It felt strange to leave work, especially knowing that unlike most I won't be returning. A new chapter begins.

Last week I also passed my driving test! So glad it's over, I think I literally slipped that in just in the nick of time. As now I'm not feeling at all with it enough to be taking a test. Although I am now surprisingly a lot more comfortable driving (freeway driving not included).

We had our Bay Area baby shower on Sunday, which included guys. We had a very casual barbeque in the outside area of our apartment complex. Unfortunately it was a very windy day and we eventually moved into the apartment. It was a lot of fun to see everyone, possible for the last time before baby comes. Of course we bought way too much food and now have an abundance of hot dogs and burgers in our freezer. Which is not exactly what i'm craving to eat right now.

What I am craving is some wholesome nutritious food. I've had a long bought of sweetness cravings but I am now wanting cleansing foods. I believe my body is getting into cleansing mode. I'm on my second day of diarrhea, which is supposed to be a sign of an encroaching labor. And it's not the type of upset stomach diarrhea, it almost feels more like when you get butterflies. I read somewhere that it could mean baby is coming in the next week... I see my midwives tomorrow and hopefully they'll have some insight.

Things are definitely shifting. I'm getting a lot of "you look ready to pop" type of comments. And honestly, looking at the mirror, I can't fathom my belly getting much bigger. This baby is done, the timer is about to go off.

A good friend of mine from Hong Kong is arriving shortly and staying with us till Monday. It will be great to have some company and help nesting, but I sure hope baby waits till after she leaves!

I am all at once in total disbelief, it feels like "showtime". After all the months of prep, it's time for opening night, you've done all you can do. I don't know why I'm relating birth to theatre right now, it's just what seems right. I used to do dance and theatre way back in the day and it kinda feels that way. It's that feeling right before the curtains go up. You've just gotta get on stage and give it all you got. Ready or not, it's showtime.

Pregnancy Photos

I'm so happy that we went to take some professional pregnancy photos. I felt a bit guilty at first with all the other costs of the birth and baby stuff. But now I am so grateful that we did do it. Here are a few of my favorites I wanted to share. Our photographer was Emily Payne, you can check her out here.

Time is a ticking!

We are at 35 and a half weeks. Leaving less than a month left now till D-Day!

So much has been going on... We moved! It was super exhausting packing and unpacking (still unpacking). Love our new apartment and getting acquainted with our new neighborhood and city - What's up Oakland!

We also started our home birthing classes every Monday, and we're already half way through. The class has been a great place to meet other couples going the home birth route. There's a real sense of community and normalcy. I think the class has been especially beneficial for R, to be able to relate to the other guys, and not feel like he is totally out of his comfort zone. There are other guys doing this too! And Jane Austin again, is just awesome. She is able to talk about it all, this week we went into some detail about pooping during labor, and she makes the subject funny, real and OK. Like you know what, it's really not a big deal. She's just able to really speak about all aspects of birth, the partner work, all of it and make it accessible and digestible without feeling overwhelmed. I truly feel blessed to be able to take her prenatal classes and this birthing class.

I've been doing my driving lessons and take my test next Monday! EEK! Wish me luck!

We took pregnancy pictures over the weekend and it was a wonderful thing to do to celebrate the pregnancy. It was pricey but I'm so glad we splurged on this as I will treasure the photos forever. I highly recommend doing something for yourself to celebrate your pregnancy. Especially at this stage when you start feeling whale like and new aches and pains are developing everywhere. Do something to feel beautiful! Be the star of the show for a bit! I will share some of our photos soon.

Things are winding down at work. There are mixed feelings of relief and a tinge of fear. Don't know when I'll work again, no income... it's a bit scary! But I'm very lucky I have a husband who is willing to work his butt off to support me and baby. We'll be on a tight budget, but we'll be OK.

One of the mamas in my prenatal group had her baby. Boy was that a reality check. Then over the weekend I think part of my mucus plug came out... Well I think it was. Spoke to the midwife. Things are fine and nothing to worry about. But things are changing, I sort of instinctively know that things are shifting in my body as it gets ready for birth. The pressure on my pelvis is increasing. I feel mild cramping around the lower part of my uterus. And sometimes baby is just moving all about I think he/she's ready to stretch those limbs!

Quote

From the book Birthing from Within:

Netsilik Eskimo Birth

"She brings her child into the world while on her knees and alone, without help. If it is winter, she allows the child to glide down into a small hollow in the snow on the platform itself. No skin lining is placed in the hollow for the child, which falls straight into the snow."

–Rasmussen, An Antrholopologist, 1931

8 Months!

Last month at work!

I'm half way through week 32. But just realized last night that I am now in my 8th month! Same thing happened in month 7, thought I was still 6 months for about 2 weeks into the 7th month! Time's passing too quickly to keep track of how far along I am. All I know is that April 22nd is no longer a dot on the horizon but a large visible object coming my way!

With the looming due date fast approaching, I'm realizing that I have to get a lot of stuff done before that date, preferably 2 weeks before that date, in case someone decides to show a little early.

I'm not even talking about setting up a nursery. We actually aren't going to have a nursery (for now). But here's a list of yoginimama's to-do-list:

1. Move into new apartment and nest
2. Finish pregnancy scrapbook (number of pages completed to date: 2)
3. Finish a freelance project - illustrating and designing a children's book
4. Get my driver's license

It's only 4 things. 4 HUGE things. It actually makes me want to laugh. Just when I think I've taken my procrastination to new heights, I outdo myself. 

We all know that stress is no good for big pregnant mamas, so besides getting all this done it's kind of imperative I do it all with a cool, even head on my shoulders. If I do manage to accomplish each thing on that list before this baby arrives I will be pretty damn impressed with myself. I have to say.

The myth of 8 hours!

I've always felt like I'm one of those people that need 8 hours sleep. I just don't function as well with anything less. So one of the things I'm not looking forward to is the lack of sleep heading my way. Although I'll say this past week has proven that getting a full night's rest is already a thing of the past. I'm way more uncomfortable in whatever position I find myself in. Baby's kicks are getting more intense. And those 3, 4 sometimes 5 times to get up to pee don't help much either.

I haven't studied yoga nidra, the yoga of sleep. But I know that in yoga the idea goes that it's not so much the amount of rest you get but the quality of rest you get. It teaches a kind of conscious rest, not sleep, but takes you in to a deep sense of relaxation. It reminds me a bit of Bikram yoga classes, where in the last sequence of poses, you lie in a mini savasana for 20 seconds in between the poses. I used to love the practice of allowing yourself to fully let go and rest. I know I'll be needing that skill to rest in between contractions too. 

Anyway, I stumbled upon a BBC article about the myth of the 8 hour sleep. It may be that we don't really need that big of a chunk of sleep after all. Hurray! Before the 1600s people had 2 sleeps, the first one soon after dusk. Then they'd get up and do some stuff before sleeping a second sleep. This was the absolute norm.

 "For most of evolution we slept a certain way," says sleep psychologist Gregg Jacobs. "Waking up during the night is part of normal human physiology."

I do realize I won't be getting up just once, but several times. I do feel that a lot of tiredness that comes into play from a lack of sleep is the stress involved from not sleeping. I know that if I can't fall asleep or I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep I stress out. And the more stressed and frustrated you become the harder it is to sleep.

I know that I will need good stress management, flexibility and probably a whole lot of grace to get me through those first months of motherhood (and beyond).

I would love to hear from other mamas, what they recommend for getting rest and for making the most out of the rest that you do get. If you're out there, let me know!

Not so fun decisions

This week, we had our second session of group prenatal meeting. The main topic of the day was GBS or Group B Strep. I have maybe heard of Group B Strep, but honestly think I associated it with strep throat. Well it has nothing to do with your throat. No, GBS is a bacteria that lives in the gut. And 30% of women carry it in the viginal and rectal areas. Which poses no health issues to the women, but if you have a baby, the baby can get infected and there's a small chance the baby will get very ill and maybe even die.

The standard CDC and ACOG recommends screening all pregnant women at 35-37 weeks and that if she should test positive, for her to receive intravenous antibiotics during labor and delivery.

Our midwives are giving us the option to choose for ourselves how we want to tackle the situation. It's up to us if we even want to get screened. The main issue at hand is that receiving antibiotics during labor poses it's own risks as well. And so they really are letting us weigh the risks ourselves.

The problem with the baby being exposed to antibiotics is that there is bacteria that can become antibiotic resistant which poses issues for the baby later down the road, which can also be very serious. If I test positive there chances of passing it on to my baby are actually quite small (0.5%). But of course any risk is still a risk. Check this article I found which covers some of the things we spoke about at our meeting.

We talked about the different scenarios and options we had. And basically there's no right answer. The cycle of GBS life is about 4-5weeks which is why they test at 35-37 weeks. And that still doesn't mean you'll necessarily be a carrier at birth. One option is to test a little earlier and try to take measures to eliminate the GBS through diet. Although this is considered very alternative and there aren't many studies to back it up. But they did suggest eating fermented food, healthy bacteria and cutting back on carbs as GBS loves sugar.

The midwives are also able to lessen the dosage of antibiotics. Instead of being administered the dosage every 4 hours during the entire labor, they can give you one dosage within 4 hours of your delivery.

Let me just say that there is so much about this I'm not even touching on. But for me to attempt to explain it would be totally butchery of the subject. I highly recommend speaking to your healthcare provider about it and also doing your own research as well. It seems to be a hotly debated issue in the medical world.

I haven't yet decided which route to take, though I'm leaning towards what they called "a middle path". I'll let you know where we land.

Check out this article for more info.