My Favorite Hypnobirth Video

I've done great with updating my blog every day this month!  I don't always post that I've updated on Facebook, so I suggest that you bookmark my blog and check back if you're interested in reading it without notification.  :)  My URL is http://theminersonline.blogspot.com/

Anyway, on to the topic for the day!  :)  Every night before bed, Arthur and I are practicing our Hypnobirth exercises.  It's crucial that I am able to move into a state of complete relaxation when I start having my early labor contractions.

I find that breathing and relaxing is really easy for me, and so I feel like my Hypnobirth will be successful.  One of the first examples I saw of Hypnobirthing was on YouTube.  I found a really great example of a hospital Hypnobirth when I was first researching it. 

Some of the things that really stood out to me was the fact that she was so far dilated, and she wasn't screaming in pain or on her back.  I also was surprised that she wasn't holding her breath during pushing.  This was really different from all of the stories I had heard of birthing.  How would the baby even move if she wasn't bearing down?  I didn't understand.

Now that I've been through the class, and I understand how breathing can deliver the baby for you, it is something I am really excited for.

The other thing I loved about this example was how alert the baby was after, and how agile the mom is, walking around so freely and not hurting or exhausted.  I will have this!

I decided to share this cool video of my favorite hospital Hypnobirth example.  Let me know what you think!
   

Not Again...

Happy Monday!  Although, today was not too happy.  :(  I think I'm getting sick again.  I had a scratchy throat a bit over the weekend, and last night I woke up at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 AM with so much throat pain that I had to get up and take a Tylenol.

I also ate an orange and drank some water, hoping that it would help me go back to sleep.  I was able to fall back asleep around 4:15 or so, and then I had to wake up again at 5:30 to get ready for the day.  We are out of sugar, so I couldn't make my normal cup of Green Tea with Jasmine.  I still had the tea, but used honey instead.  I guess that's probably better for me anyway, and for my throat.  It just wasn't as sweet as I am used to.

At work, I was feeling pretty good, until around lunchtime.  My congestion is starting to get bad, which tells me this is another standard cold.  I can still breathe out of one nostril... for now.  I was able to leave a bit early today (around 1:00) and I came home and worked for the last few hours of my day.  I fell asleep around 3:30 and woke up when Arthur got home around 6:15.  I felt a bit better at that point.

I'm pretty worried about tomorrow because I have a lot of meetings, from 8AM to 6PM.  It's going to be a very busy day.  I hope I feel ok.  I can't really miss work right now because I don't have any more paid time off.  :(  I am going to try my hardest tonight to rest and not to push myself too hard tomorrow, if I can.

Ok, I have a question for all of the moms out there that have already had a baby.  I am worried about the pain of childbirth, and I struggle to understand how anyone can say "it's not that bad" when talking about their first.  Has anyone who reads my blog had a natural first time childbirth?  I know it's possible, because a lot of the women in my life who are older than me are very confident that it is completely possible with your first.  I have a few options that I am going to research more, such as hypnobirth.  Hypnobirth is a method that is used by midwives to help women mentally get through the process with no pain at all.  I watched a video on it on YouTube.  It seemed very interesting, and I'm willing to try it if I feel I can do it.

I'm open to your comments and suggestions, for a first time mom.  I'm interested to know how many of you had a natural childbirth for your first, and how many of you didn't.  If you didn't, please tell me how your baby reacted to the epidural, because I think that's a big concern.  If the baby comes out asleep, or not able to function, or dies from an epidural, I don't think I would be able to live with myself.  Please help...

How far along:  17 Weeks, 4 Days
How much time left:  22 Weeks, 3 Days

Top two symptoms:  Today because of my cold I had a headache and exhaustion.  I also have really bad congestion and a sore throat.  Not really pregnancy symptoms, but symptoms all the same.

Favorite thing I ate today:  I had my first pickle craving as a pregnant woman.  I ate 3 dill pickle spears.  They were so good!  But they didn't make me feel so good... :(  I'm still craving more.  Ugh!

Mood:  At work this morning, I felt really rushed and stressed.  After I was able to get through all of my meetings, I felt more calm.  I worried about getting sick and possibly missing work... and I can't do that.  I hope that I'm feeling better soon.  My mood when I'm sick is always awful, and I feel bad for Arthur because he has to deal with grumpy and pregnant me.

Worried about:  I worry about making the right decision for my baby with childbirth and managing the pain.  I know I've been through a ton in my short life when it comes to surgeries and handling pain.  I just don't know how I'm going to feel for my first birth and how strong I am going to be with getting through it all.  I know I shouldn't be scared, but I am.

Excited for:  The weekend.  Is that bad, since it's only Monday?  :)

Good Sunday Morning!

I love that it is a 3 day weekend.  I always feel like the weekends are too short.  I think it's because I don't usually do too much, and am pretty lazy.  I like it that way, though... so don't judge me.  :)

Yesterday, Arthur and I slept in until around 11:30 or so.  We played Wii with Mike and hung out for a little bit.  Around 3, we left and went to Buy Buy Baby.  It was pretty cool, but I didn't really see a whole lot I liked.  I think it's because we have a very specific theme in mind for our baby boy.

We are probably going to do his nursery in an "Under the Sea" theme.  I previously joined Pinterest but didn't really use it.  I went back on Thursday night (after we found out that he's a boy) and looked up some fun ideas.

Arthur's favorite theme is a dark brown crib and some cute ocean accessories:

He also likes the wall decoration of these schooling fish:

I'm not too picky, but I'm leaning towards liking the lighter colored wood because to me, it looks less cagey.  :)

I've been pinning some other things, not just room stuff.  I found some cute knit things that would be fun for pictures when he is born.  I just need to learn to knit.  :)

After Buy Buy Baby, we met up with my parents at the mall for a minute so they could pick up Arthur's grill saw.  My dad is redoing his bathroom with one of those walk-in tubs.  I think it's great that he's making an effort to make their house nicer.  He's doing it all himself, but he has asked Arthur to help one weekend when he's free.

At the Mall, Arthur and I went to Gap Kids and I found a really cute hat that was on sale.  I think it's  Christmas hat, but it looks like the 4th of July to me.  Because my due date is July 11th, it will be a perfect little hat for him to wear:

Then, we went to Cheesecake Factory with some friends and my brother.  There was a mixup on the reservation for how many, so Mike and his girlfriend waited for nearly 2 hours for a seat for 2 after we had left.  They still got seated just before 9, so it worked out.   

I ordered the Chicken Bellagio and the Godiva Cheesecake.  Sooooo good!

Arthur and I went to a friends house after dinner and played games.  I was feeling pretty good, so that was appreciated.  Overall, it was a good day.

How far along:  15 Weeks, 3 days
How much time left:  24 Weeks, 4 Days
 
Top two symptoms:  Yesterday my symptoms were slight nausea and a headache later on in the day.  Nothing too bad.  I think they're slowly getting better, which tells me that the 16 week timeframe for my headache going away may be true.  I sure hope so.

Favorite thing I ate today:  I didn't eat much of my dinner because I had Gastric Bypass 10 years ago... so I don't have a lot of room.  So I took it with me and ate some at our friend's house and it was just delicious.  I love that it includes Prosciutto on top, and pesto... two of my favorite things. 

Mood:  My mood yesterday was really good.  Since I found out that I'm having a boy, everything has become happier for me.  I love that.  :)  I did have a few minutes yesterday where I was worried about Mike and his girlfriend getting to eat, and I did have a bit of trouble processing those emotions.  That's one thing about being pregnant that I struggle with, which is not being able to let some things not get to me.  Pregnancy hormones win!

Worried about:  I chatted with a girl last night who was in the group I was with, and she's also pregnant.  She's much farther along that me, 30 weeks or so.  We were talking about different birth methods and whether or not we were going to go natural.  I worry about my pain tolerance, and I struggle to make a solid decision about how I'm going to handle it when the time comes.  I know that I'm going to have intentions of going natural, but I have absolutely no idea how bad it's going to be.  I do plan on pushing myself to stay strong and breathe through the pain... but every time I say that to someone who's been through it, they laugh at me because the know I have no idea how bad it can get.  It doesn't scare me, it feels more like a challenge, which I like.  I am probably over thinking it because I'm not even close to that time yet.  I will have to figure things out soon, I'm sure.  I'm open to advice here!

Excited for:  This might sound weird, but I'm very excited for dinner tonight.  Arthur is making squash and Salmon for dinner from Costco.  There is nothing I love more than salmon!  *drool*

Long Time No Blog!

So sorry for the delay.  I haven't felt like blogging until today this week.  I kept thinking about doing it and every time I did, I got a little bit of anxiety because of how long I've waited to blog.

But, I must forgive and forget, and move on.  Here I am, and here are the updates.

I promised a picture of my new haircut that I got on Saturday.  I have bangs and darker hair:

I also promised a picture of all of the baby stuff I got for Christmas.  I took a picture of all of it, including a few of the things I've collected on my own:

 On Monday of this week I worked from home.  I had a pretty relaxing day getting a few things done for the end of the year.  That night, Arthur and I went to see The Hobbit.  It was pretty good.  I kept waiting for them to meet up with the dragon and Arthur told me that it won't happen until at least the 3rd movie in the series.  Hmm.

After the movie, we went back home.  We watched the ball drop for the new year.  It wasn't very exciting, but it was very nice to not be stressed with going out and doing a bunch of stuff.

The next day we slept in until about 9:30.  I met up with my sister and her family to go to Build a Bear.  It was Adam's birthday present back in November to get a Build a Bear and an outfit.

We met up at the Gateway and ate at the food court for lunch.  Then we went to Build a Bear.  Adam picked a little dog and named him Ruff Ruff.  We got him an NBA outfit and a football outfit.  We dressed him in the NBA outfit:

After Build a Bear, we met up with Jackson and Whit and Leo at the Aquarium.  Jackson loved looking at the fish.  He is so cute, he babbles and talks non-stop.  He also let me hold him a few times, which was awesome.  It was nice to spend time with both my nephews and my niece on my day off.

I had to go back to work on Wednesday, and I've just been getting back into the groove of things.  Mostly, I'm just focusing on getting past these next week or so until I can get back to the doctor and see how my baby is doing.  I'm trying really hard to avoid nausea by eating well and sleeping as much as I can at night.  I still feel pregnant which tells me all is still ok.  :)

How far along:  13 Weeks TODAY!
How much time left:  27 Weeks

Top two symptoms:  Today it was nausea and body aches.  I have been coming home and taking a bath to help with the painful "growing pains".  They are mostly in my upper legs and lower torso.  I read that it's pretty normal for this part of the pregnancy.  Normal doesn't mean that I appreciate it, though.  :)  I tried to keep eating as much as I could today to help with the nausea.  I did a pretty good job. 

Favorite thing I ate today:  I went to Zupa's with my friends from work and I had the mushroom soup with orzo pasta.  It was de-lic-ious.  :)

Mood:  My mood at work was good, I felt like I was able to get everything done today and stay focused.  It got a bit worse after work, which is when I started to go downhill and feel a bit worse. 

Worried about:  My headaches are still there during the day, and I worry about the pain that I'm feeling in my legs and lower torso.  I know it's normal, but it still worries me sometimes.  

Excited for:  I'm looking forward to getting together with my sister, dad and Brielle to celebrate their birthdays.  It's always fun to spend time with my family.  :)