Hmmmm... what to blog about...

Long post warning!

What a slacker I've been! It's been almost 9 weeks since I last posted to this blog. Oopsie.

I guess you could say that not a lot has been going on around here... We have between 5-9 weeks left before we will likely meet our little one for the first time. The thought of officially becoming a mother is very scary, exciting, and incomprehensible all at the same time. But mostly exciting. :)

It seems that lately all I do day in, day out, is research (Jared can attest to that!). I'm always researching something. First it was natural childbirth (something I am very excited about and am quite determined to achieve through Hypnobabies - read more on that below) - then I researched about co-sleeping (or bed sharing), the pros and cons, and thought, Yep, I can see the benefits in that. Done deal. Then I decided I needed to write a birth plan, especially since I will be specifically wanting no medication while giving birth. I looked for birth plan examples online, which made me realize a decision we would have to make if we had a boy... should we circumcise or not? Which, of course, led to weeks and weeks of more research on that topic. After plenty of research, it was quite clear what my choice would be -- I made a firm decision and moved onward to my next research topic. Lately, I've been researching cloth diapering. I know a couple of people who cloth diaper, so I have them to thank for making me aware of this fun, money-saving option. I haven't been researching about cloth diapering in general as much as I have been researching which cloth diapers to buy (reviews on YouTube have been the most useful). I think a lot of people don't realize how convenient cloth diapering has become in the last 10 years or so. It's actually quite addictive once you get into it - there are way too many cute cloth diapers to choose from out there in Cloth Diaper Land. And yes, the initial investment is a little pricey (between $300-600 depending on the diapers you choose, but can be as little as $50-$75 if you choose prefolds or flats with covers) but it beats spending $40-$80 or more each month on disposables from birth to potty training (totaling at least $800+ by the time the baby is potty trained). And I should be able to use most of them again with our next baby, which will save us double the money, then triple with the next baby, and so on! Anyway, I've been slowly working on getting my cloth diaper stash completed and I'm pretty sure I've finally finished (whew) - let's just hope I can hold back from buying anymore. It seems like I find an even cuter, better cloth diaper every day. I will have to post pictures and reviews once we start using them. Anyway, somewhere along the line I created a baby registry, and realized I really don't need much. Co-sleeping, breastfeeding, and cloth diapering = no crib stuff needed (for now), no bottles or formula, no disposable diapers or wipes... etc. Of course, we need a car seat (we will be getting one pretty soon from what I understand) but all of the other things are really just for fun, not really necessary. So I feel pretty prepared... except for the lack of car seat, of course.

Now for Hypnobabies. My sister (I hope she doesn't mind me linking to her most recent birth story here - part 1 & part 2) gave birth to her baby Lucy at home, in the tub, with a midwife, without any pain medication whatsoever, using Hypnobabies. Because she had such a positive experience, I decided to (yes, again) research natural childbirth - the pros and cons, and the pain management options that were available. I've ultimately decided that I will give birth in the hospital, (at least for this first one), with a midwife, without any medication, IVs, or continuous monitoring (intermittent monitoring is fine) - using Hypnobabies to help me manage the pain and stay relaxed through the process. I read some amazing books that I highly recommend (thank you to Shari for lending most of them to me!) -- Ina May's Guide To Childbirth, Your Best Birth, The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, Spiritual Midwifery, etc. There are so many benefits to natural childbirth that I feel really good about my decision to go for it. I know some people may think I'm crazy, but I figure billions of women have managed to do it before me, so why can't I? In fact, I've heard from more than a few people that it's actually not nearly as bad as they expected it to be. I'm not necessarily expecting it to be pain-free, but I do think it'll be manageable. Here's a birth story on YouTube that I found pretty encouraging, if anyone is interested in listening (it's kind of long, but I like it) -

( Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 )



I'm actually pretty excited to experience it 100% and be fully aware of everything that is going on during the process. I just hope there aren't any complications that will lead to being induced, or to an epidural or c-section. But the most important thing is that the baby is okay, so if it's necessary for the baby's survival, then of course I will be more than happy to do what is needed.

Some videos on Hypnobabies, including births using Hypnobabies, for those who are interested:



This is Hypnobirthing, which is a little different from Hypnobabies but the same idea:

Part 1:


Part 2:


Another news report on Hypnobirthing:


That's all I have to post for today -- I'll try to keep you all updated as time goes on and our due date gets closer!