May 15 - 21
I'm kinda confused! We had our 2nd baby class on Monday, with a different nurse (every session has a different nurse/lecturer), and when talking about pushing positions, some of the things she talked about were contradictory to what the previous nurse said. Apparently we can push in different positions like squatting, side-laying or hands and knees. But the most common position is on the back with knees drawn up... usually because most women get an epidural so that's the only position they can labor in. So while it mostly clarified it for me, I'm definitely going to be checking with my doctor about it. I mean, it's not like I wanna get all crazy and deliver on the toilet (which was mentioned), but I would just like it if I had options, ya know?
We also did a couple of simple breathing exercises, which constitutes our Lamaze training, which they don't teach anymore. One of the exercises, the support person had to count the number of breaths the preggo normally took in 60 seconds. My result? Seven. Then we were instructed to do the same thing, but to focus on controlling the breathing. My new result was 5. Both were on the lower end of everyone in the room, which means nothing now, but that apparently I'll be better at using breathing as a pain management tool, and she did say that swimmers tend to have better breath control. So I guess I rock at breathing? Go me! It motivates me to not slack off during swimming now and breathe every 2 strokes like I want to. I'll try to keep doing every 4 strokes, with maybe a few every 6 strokes thrown in. Anyway..... Then everyone practiced a few different breathing patterns, which felt weird considering no one was having contractions. I figure I'll just go with the flow when the time comes.
She also went over pain medications they administer, as well as interventions. Although I still want a drug-free birth, I still have all pain meds options on the table... mostly because I want the option to change my mind (I like having options, can you tell?). As for interventions, I'm not as uptight about those as some are, so whatever helps.
Onward, I also consciously experienced Braxton-Hicks for the first time Monday as well. But I think that has more to do with the fact that I was super active and productive all day. The baby has been super super active lately, too. At my appointment next week, I'm going to ask the doctor if she can determine which position the baby is in, because at no point can I tell. I realize that it might still flip-flop, but at that moment, it'd be nice to know and if I get any movements around that time, it might help me decipher whether that poke was a headbutt, a kick, a wave or whatnot. All I know is that I'm now getting some jabs on the left side, and if it's on the lower left side, it HURTS! I have no idea what's down there, but man, it's not fun.
*a few days later*
Okay, definitely having more Braxton-Hicks even without being super active. It doesn't hurt, but sometimes I'll get a really good one going where it's hard to draw a breath. It's just weird.
In nursery news, the dresser got built this week. DH wanted to do it, and so I let him. But he wasn't being very careful when "tapping" in the wooden pegs to the top of the dresser... he tapped a little too hard and one of the pegs slightly cracked the top surface. It's not bad, but I definitely notice it, only because I told him not to use a hammer in the first place (I think I may have said something along the lines of "I told you so", but I can't be sure). We *could* return that part as defective, but we'd have to take it back to Ikea. And as I had to move heaven and earth to get there in the first place, I doubt we'd make a special trip just for that. So we will live with it. But as I said, it's not bad. And the dresser is a lot bigger than I had originally thought! It's nice though... to get something that cheap, you usually don't get very big drawers, and the quality usually isn't too good. This has 6 big drawers, was less than $200, and is surprisingly sturdy. Steal! The best part, I think it has DH a little more on-board with Ikea, which will come in handy next time I get evil plans to outfit our home with Ikea. :)
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