Sense to Save: Other Blog

Last post of the month!

Well wouldn’t ya know, but I posted some sort of nonsense EVERY DAY in November for NaBloPoMo! I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but thankfully because anything goes on this blog, it happened. My main blog? Yeah. Quiet over there. Oh well.

Thanks for reading along.

Pretty sure I’ll be taking blogging maternity leave at some point in December, since my daughter is pretty much guaranteed a December birthday unless she decides to be born, in my apartment, in the next hour. Not likely.

We talk about how my son will get a little sister soon, and he just loves talking about her. He’s young, but I do think he has at least some idea of what will happen. He has friends who have little sisters. He knows what babies are. I think he knows more than I give him credit for sometimes.

I pulled out our pack-n-play this evening, and he immediately said, “Baby!” and he knew that it was like a bed for the baby. And after setting it up, I laid down on my bed to rest. My belly was sticking out, and he came over and kissed it. Geez, Johnny! Melt my heart, why don’t ya.

We’ll see what he thinks when she gets here, but he is such a gentle guy that I think he’ll be ok. He’ll probably be a little disappointed that she can’t sit down and play choo-choos with him at first, but she’ll be able to play with him soon enough. And we can certainly prop her in her bouncy chair nearby so she can watch the choo-choo action!

Wisdom

Shane had his 4 wisdom teeth removed today. Ugh! He handled it really well and seems to be only mildly uncomfortable at this point. We’ve been trying to stay on top of his medication so that it won’t wear out on him. I have found that if you skip a pain pill thinking that you’re ok, it’ll start to ache and you’ll never be able to get back on top of it.

This is the longest stretch he’s had off in awhile (since Thursday) and it feels so nice to just chill out and enjoy our family! It’s kind of like a vacation, in a way. We haven’t spent this much time together at home since Johnny was born.

We’re looking forward to his paternity leave in the near future. This has been such an intense year for Shane’s job and things are finally starting to cool off. It’s been rough on all of us, I think.

Family time is important, ya know!

Hartwood Acres Christmas lights

Tonight, we drove through Hartwood Acres, which is a park in the northern part of the Pittsburgh metro. There are 3.2 miles through the park of Christmas lights, and it was really neat! Johnny seemed to get a kick out of it.

I tried taking pictures but I doubt any of them came out. Anyway, if you live in the area you should go.

Yesterday we went downtown and walked around the Wintergarden at PPG Place and saw some of the adorable gingerbread houses and the Santas from around the world on display. We’ve done that every year we’ve lived here. It was really cold and windy so we didn’t watch people on the ice skating rink outside.

Johnny saw a Santa and he wasn’t really impressed. We didn’t have our camera with us and there wasn’t a photographer for that Santa, so we didn’t have him sit on his lap or anything.

And we were at Walmart today and there was a Santa in the lobby and you could take pictures with him. He was sort of pitiful, as you could see that there was a very rectangular pillow stuffed in front of his shirt. I should have taken my picture with him so I could show you.

Happy birthday, Judah!

I am so excited to share that Karen had her son this morning! YAAAAAAAAY! His name is Judah and he was 8 lbs. 8 oz. Can’t wait to see pics of the little guy!

There was only a span of about 5 hours from the time her water broke to the time he was born. Intense stuff.

Anyway, I’m so excited for her and for what’s in store for her family.

So out of the people I know in the “due soon” club…we have Emily, Jessie and Joanna. I think Emily will be next, and I do believe it’ll be my turn after that.

How might I use Hypnobabies during the birth?

I’ve provided a little overview of each week of Hypnobabies coursework, but how exactly is this going to work when my baby decides to come?

We’ll see what I actually do, but here are some possibilities. And, here’s a cheat sheet that one Hypnobabies educator put together.

When I start feeling regular pressure waves (contractions) or if my water breaks, I will know that the birthing could be coming really soon.

With Johnny’s birth, my water broke ahead of any other signs of birth. It caught me way by surprise and I was a bit frazzled. If a similar scenario happens again, I’ll have a few things I can do to help me focus and shake off the jittery excitement so I can get to work.

So, I’ll eat something, drink something, and go to sleep if it’s nighttime. If it’s daytime, I might eat, drink, and do some last-minute packing or housework to keep busy and see if things continue or if they fizzle out.

While I am doing that, I can play the “Birthing Day Affirmations” track aloud on my iPod dock, laptop, or put on my headphones.

That will help me stay positive and get in the right mental mindset. I’ve listened to this track a few times now, and I really like it for this purpose.

If things are indeed progressing, then I could get comfortable with pillows on my bed and listen to the “Fear Clearing” track. This is one that we were introduced to in week 5, and it helps us address and release any fears or concerns we might have. It’s suggested that we listen to this track in the early birthing time to quell any anxiety or issues, and I think that’s a reasonable idea.

Next, I can see how I feel and whether it seems like I have some time yet before I’ll want to head into the birth center, or if I want to keep focused with birthing prep at home.

I can listen to music (I’m going to put together a few playlists), or if I want to stay with Hypnobabies, I could listen to “Your Special Place” or “Easy, Comfortable Childbirth.” These two tracks were introduced in the first week and are a part of the maintenance schedule, and I really like them both. They’re good for helping you to relax and have positive birthing thoughts.

The “Deepening” track comes recommended at this time, but it’s not one of my favorites so I probably won’t listen to it during birth.

Or, I could put on “Easy first stage” which is a track that isn’t a part of the regular program — it’s to listen to only after 38 weeks. I’ll preview it when I hit that point so I can know what’s on it.

I can cycle through any of those tracks as time progresses to keep me relaxed and focused. I’ll probably listen to something in the car ride to the birth center, too. With headphones, so I won’t distract Shane.

I plan to ignore as many early pressure waves as I can, since I expect those to be extremely mild and I will probably be able to walk and talk through them no trouble. But once I need to consciously relax during them, then I will use my finger-drop technique or “release” cue to put my mental light switch into the “off” position.

You may recall that this position is a conditioned response that I’ve created. It allows me to very quickly reach extreme relaxation, and sensations of pain are reduced or eliminated. If I want to move around, have my eyes open, or talk, I can then move my light switch to the “center” position and still have hypno-anesthesia in the center part of my body. I can move it around and concentrate it where I may need it using my “peace” cue.

I will visualize and tell my body to open, open, open and that I welcome each powerful wave, which brings me that much closer to meeting my daughter.

At this point, I will really just need to see how I’m feeling and what I’m in the mood for hearing. I might want quiet. I might want songs, or something in the Hypnobabies set. I might want Shane or my doula to speak some prompts or simple words of encouragement to me. Hard to say. We’ll roll with it.

There’s also a “pushing your baby out” track that I can listen to aloud once it comes time to push. I’m going to preview that soon as well to get an idea for what’s on it.

I love how there’s a variety of things I can choose to do during the birth. Last time, I felt like I needed to get my body through each contraction, and once things got really intense I had nowhere for my mind to focus. I hadn’t practiced that part, and I hadn’t pre-selected a few things to concentrate on. Now, I’ll have plenty of options.

Like any extreme exertion, childbirth is as much mental work as it is physical. And now I’m going to go all high-school-sport-quote on you: “What the mind can believe, the body can achieve.”