Saturday we learned and practiced the breathing techniques and watched a relaxation video. Steven was so afraid he'd fall asleep. Then the instructor did some guided imagery with us-which i love. I woke up a few minutes after i was supposed to-yep, out cold-i was dreaming about ally driving on a sidewalk. Guided imagery is so powerful...it's what we do in yoga too. I'll be looking for some tapes, well, cds (guess i'm showing my age).
The rest of the class was for the coach. Making sure the coach knows what to look for on mom-where she's holding tension so he can massage it out. Oh, yeah. Well, oh, yeah, until i get annoyed, then i can imagine me yelling, "STOP TOUCHING ME!" :)
The #1 thing i got from Saturday's class was this: what hurts the most is the cervix dilating...NOT the actual baby coming through the vagina!?! What? The latter is waaaaay scarier. I even stopped her and made her clarify. And yes, once the cervix is dilated, you're home free. If you can get that far, you can do it. In fact, it'll be easier to push the baby out because your muscles are not numb from drugs. The epidural can make the actual birth last a lot longer (of course, it'll be longer, but pain free). Anyway, this did not convince me to go drug free, but it made me a hell of a lot less scared. Such a good thing. Especially since fear and pain are correlated.
Sunday was not as productive. Here's where it was confirmed that steven and i are opposites (big surprise). He liked this class better...because it was shorter and he got a chair instead of the floor. I didn't like it as much because there was too much lecture and not enough hands on practice.
Oh, i should tell you how sunday started...with steven making sure he had to go and not ally...WTH? Yes, i want her to know the techniques, too, because let's face it-she'll probably be the one driving me to the hospital. Especially considering steven works an hour away. And about me on the fence about all this "going natural" business. Steven prefers a c-section. First for the convienence of not being scheduled on a gameday, and 2nd, for, um, let's say, "faster vaginal recovery." Uh-huh. Nice, right?
Anyway, sunday we're driving home after what i felt was an unproductive day and i'm talking about how i want to see how far i can go without the epidural and he says (much to my disbelief), "I think you can do it." Wow! What a great coach. He still says it today. I don't know if he's blowing smoke, but i don't care. If he believes in me then i'll have a much better chance.
So, yes, i'm going to try to go as long as possible without the drugs. I'll definitely get them if i end up being induced (pitocin makes contractions harder and meaner) and if i can't go through with it i won't beat myself up about it, but i'm going to try. Now, having said that for the internet world to hear i understand i'll get a few strong reactions...i'll take a few "are you crazy"s, but please, no big time discouragement here. And, of course, if you have any experiences good or bad either way i'd love to hear about it.
Off to do some kegels :)
6 comments:
I really have heard that the baby coming out is a cakewalk. My friend Laura, who had 3 kids all naturally, said it just feels really warm/hot as you're pushing, but it isn't anything like the labor part.
And she is a tiny little thing.
Hmmm I wonder if I can learn the techniques and apply them to the kids to make them calm down too.
Every mom has her own story, but mine is simple...epidural both times and the second time my kiddo popped right out! I was determined to get as far as possible without the epidural with both. If that meant "natural" births, so be it. I made it about six hours in both times. No regrets!
Congrats on the decision Leslie! hat's exactly the approach I came up with. I have been practicing self-hypnosis style relaxation. It's much like meditation. I use my sound spa to "bring me to another place" and I use that since I know I won't have a person to "guide" my thoughts like in guided imagery. I do love that too. I haven't found any tapes/cds of the kind of thing I am looking for so that's why i have reverted to the sound spa. It has rain, ocean waves, rainforest, etc. Plus since I have been using it so much, I think Miley will like it for soothing later. Just my 2 cents. Or whole dollar I guess, but I love going back and forth with ideas with you. Your lamaze class, was it free? If not was it cheap? I am having trouble scheduling free classes around our schedule. Was it a one time class? Thanks lelie.
MMP
Here's my inexperienced thought about a c-section... I have been told it can be more painful of a recovery and have a much longer healing time. Then, of course, if there are issues, you may not have a choice but to have the c-section. Regardless, whatever you choose, I believe you are strong enough to endure whatever comes...
Oh, and one more thing... I'm a little late on commenting on this... I love O'Douls Amber! It has been best "friend!"
Kegels? What are you bored in a meeting?
What a great class. Glad it calmed you down a bit.
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