The Party's Started...

So I started having this weird pressure way down low in my abdomen this afternoon, right before we left for our last hypnobirthing class. It would come and go, and when I tried to get off the couch, it was so strong it was hard to stand up straight. "Maybe this is the baby finally turning!" I thought. When we got to our class, I told our practitioner that the baby hadn't yet gone head down, at least to my knowledge. "Although I've had this pressure--oops, it's happening again!" She came over and poked and prodded and said, "Honey, that's a contraction." Then she got all excited. "But do you see what you did?" she asked. "You've trained yourself to feel pressure and not pain!" That's one of the major points of hypnobirthing, and the one thing I was worried I wouldn't be able to do, and she was right--it never really hurt, it was just...pressure. Pushing. Somewhat stronger pushing now and then, but pressurey-pushing nonetheless. Now, I know that it's going to get a LOT more intense than that, but I'm on the right path anyway, and that's encouraging.

It's been 5 and a half hours since my first one, and I've been getting them on and off ever since. For a while they were coming very quickly, every two or three minutes, but would only last for 15-30 seconds, and the intensity never got any stronger. At one point I had one last for about 4 minutes with varying strength, but it went away, and after a leisurely stroll through Target looking for a stopwatch (which, go figure, they don't sell) they went away. But since we've been home (and I've been packing my labor bag) they've started to come back a little.

The bummer, though, is that the baby still hasn't flipped! Our practitioner did a hypno-script with me at class that is meant to help the baby turn, and she said it should work within 12 hours, and to spend a good half hour or so in the "polar bear" position (a sort of hunkered-down squat that helps disengage the baby from whatever position it's in so it can turn) to help it along. So now that the labor bag is packed (all I need to get is the stopwatch and the scrapbooking paper that I want to get the baby's foot/hand prints on) I'm off to get ready for bed and "hunker down." Turn baby, turn!!

Almost done!

Well, we finally got the furniture for the nursery, and this weekend we painted the rom--it's beautiful! All that's left is to assemble the crib and put up the border. It already looks so precious; I'm so happy with the furniture we chose, and the new bedding is fantastic, too. The walls are a light green and light blue, and it looks so happy and inviting!

Next week I have two baby showers--our small group is hosting one for us, and then my "big" one with everyone else is that Saturday. I can't wait. I love parties, and I'll admit it, I love gifts. Especially when they're for a specific thing, like for my baby! And the guest list is HUGE--I think a total of around 40 people! Egads! I'm just glad the baby's room will be done by then so we have a place to put everything. We're having the big shower here, so it'll be a lot easier to get everything put away; were it somewhere else I just know we'd end up bringing everything in from the car and sticking it in the living room, where it would stay until the baby came. :) Maybe this means I'll actually have everything organized and ready to go by the time s/he makes an appearance!

Out Of It

So I suddenly realized that it's been forever since I blogged on either of my sites. I've been so out of it lately; please forgive me, all 5 or so of you that regularly read it. :) Quick update: as of Tuesday I will be 35 weeks, and as of today I have hit the big 2-0-0. Yes, that's 200 pounds--nearly 70 gained since April. Egads. Today Dan picks up the nursery furniture, and yesterday we finally cleaned out the room completely so that painting can commence. I've been trying to walk at least two laps around the lake every morning, although I didn't go yesterday because my feet were just too dang sore--it's really sad when you wake up and they still hurt from the day before. Twice last week I fell asleep while practicing my hypnobirth, and both times I was only about 4 hours into my day--and I never take naps, much less before noon! I'm in a bit of a daze most of the time, at least that's what it feels like--I'm not, like sitting around staring at the walls, but I'm not exactly exerting a whole lot of mental energy, either. I did, however, manage to get pretty much caught up in my pregnancy journal, so that was a huge accomplishment, and I also got most of my Christmas card envelopes addressed, which is a huge load off my mind. Some Christmas shopping is done, thank heavens--doing the whole walk-the-mall thing is getting less and less enjoyable (since walking = waddling and a whole lot of sitting every time I find a bench)--and I think I'll try to do the rest online so I don't have to go out anymore.

The baby is moving like mad--kicked so hard the other day I nearly dropped the glass of water I was resting on my belly. I just sit and stare at my stomach at night, which is when the baby seems most active--it's incredible to watch. But honestly, I'm done with the whole pregnancy thing. I'm over it. I'm ready to move on. I know I've said that before, but I really mean it now. I've run out of clothes that fit, for the most part--I have about a week's worth of shirts, plus about three pairs of pants or shorts--and I'm so tired of waking up in pain: leg cramps, back spasms, sore feet, weird aches I can't even explain. Enough! Let's get on with it already! The second Dan finishes his finals I'm doing every single one of those home remedies that supposedly put you into labor. It's time to get this show on the road and move on to motherhood.

All Warm and Fuzzy Inside...

I'm folding laundry and flipping around on TV and I came across Bob Ross' "The Joy of Painting." I absolutely LOVE this show. Part of it is that I just love watching visual artists create. It gives me a tingly feeling inside when a line of paint suddenly turns into a tree, or a few swipes with the broad brush turns a blank canvas into a winter scene with a blanket of snow on the ground.

But most of the reason why I love the show is because Bob is just the calmest, most peaceful person I've ever seen. His voice is so soothing, and his manner so disarming. The best part is how supportive he is of his viewers who may be following along and creating their own masterpiece. "Why don't we just drop a little evergreen in here? I'm gonna put mine right in this corner...but you can put yours wherever you want. It's your painting, and whatever you do is going to be perfect." All said in a voice so soft and relaxed that you almost have to turn up the volume just to hear him clearly. It's hypnotizing, honestly; I found myself gaping at the TV through half-closed eyes and a t-shirt in my hands waiting to be folded. I'm actually considering looking for his videos to bring to the hospital with me--I think they'd relax me even more than my hypnobirth CD. Wonder if he's on DVD...

Hiccups, the sequel

So these hiccups just keep coming, which is still tremendously annoying, but the baby is so big now that my belly actually moves when s/he has them. So now it's kinda cool, because it looks like my belly has a pulse or something. :)

Oh, and now I can actually press my fingers around my belly and find the butt (I'm hoping it's the butt, at least, or else the baby's positioned to come out feet first, which isn't good), and when I push it moves away--or sometimes pushes back. It's awesome--it's like playing with the kid before it's even born!

It's all about how you look at it...

Went to the mall last night for the first time in forever, and the place was decked out for Christmas already. It didn't hit me, until I saw all those shiny decorations and heard Christmas music in some of the stores, that it's actually The Holiday Season. For the last six months I've been looking ahead to this time of year, not just because it's my favorite season, but because it's the season when our baby comes. And then it hit me that THE BABY IS COMING. In, like, less than 2 months now.

I'm still really excited at the idea of having this baby. But I also realized the other day that I've been doing something somewhat detrimental during all my hypnobirthing practice. Much of the practice involves visualization: visualize your muscles relaxing, visualize your baby moving into the proper birthing position, visualize your birth the way you want it to be. Well, whenever I get to the exercises where I'm visualizing myself, I've been doing it from the perspective of watching myself from the outside, and not actually pretending that it's happening directly to me. All my visualizations of how I'll breath through the surges, how I'll act during labor, what I'll do during delivery, are suddenly MUCH SCARIER when visualized from a first person perspective.

A human being is going to come out of MY body. Wow.

I'm still excited, but I almost feel as though I'm starting over in all my hypnobirthing exercise. There's a whole new dynamic involved now.

Guess I better go practice....