Getting ready for birth

[strawberrykiki]

I hope it’s okay I wanted to make a thread about just birth. What are you guys doing to prepare? I’ve been listening to the birth hour podcast to get an idea of how things might go. Has anyone hired a doula? I thought about it but I’m not sure. I don’t know how MH would feel about it.

[k]

The only thing I’m doing right now is reading birth stories (love them), and squats. Around 36 weeks I’ll start evening primrose oil and red raspberry leaf tea. I have no idea if they truly help, but I took them last pregnancy and had no tears with my 9 lb baby whereas I tore without them first pregnancy with an 8 lb babe.

[strawberrykiki]

k I’m willing to try anything to avoid tearing. I’m guessing you drink the tea lol what about the primrose oil? Do you apply it downstairs? 🤔

[k]

Oct 4, 2018 9:18:51 GMT -6 strawberrykiki said:

k I’m willing to try anything to avoid tearing. I’m guessing you drink the tea lol what about the primrose oil? Do you apply it downstairs? 🤔

Yep- drink the tea and I think it’s supposed to be more effective if you actually insert the EPO, but I just took the pills by mouth.

[notagoddess]

I hired a doula the first time around and it was a good experience. I had intense 5-1-1 labor within 30 minutes of it starting, but it still took 14 hours to get to 4cm when they would admit me. This was overnight and I feel like the doula's support during this time was priceless. A couple of hours after that, I got an epidural and I'm not sure if it's in my head, but I thought maybe she was a little disappointed? IDK. But since I was immobilized and not in pain, her support was less important at that point. I had a fever that was affecting the baby's heart rate and she had to be delivered via forceps because pushing for a long period of time was a no-go. The doula took amazing pictures of the birth and right after, and she helped with breastfeeding in a postpartum visit.

That being said we are not hiring her again. It's too expensive and we have way more costs already having one. But I'm glad she was there with me -- it allowed my husband to sleep for a few hours and it was reassuring having someone experienced there.

I haven't thought of the birth that much yet, except for some sadness that I won't have the doula again. I don't plan to take any herbs or anything. I do plan to stay active through the end, if I can. I'm a little thrown off by the possibility of an induction if this baby continues to be growth restricted.

[dashook]

I have been reading birth stories and finally picked up a copy of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, which I always wanted to read. I might see if I can borrow my friend's hypnobirthing book again too because I loved reading it before having DD. Closer to the birth I also will start watching birth videos. I find the books, stories, and videos really empowering even though I am so unlikely to ever have an unmedicated birth (with both of my others I have been induced due to HBP at term, and with DS I was GBS+ too, meaning I have eleventy IV's in me). I can't imagine this next birth going forward without similar heavy interventions.

Physically, I'm keeping up with yoga and once I am officially done with work I am going to start incorporating a lot more walking into my routine (provided my shitty BP med side effects don't prevent it). It's probably about time to start dedicating 5 minutes to kegels at least twice a day, and another 5-10 minutes every morning to squats.

When I get to about 33/34 weeks I will start having red raspberry leaf tea and eating dates. Normally I wouldn't do this until 36 weeks but there is a better than average chance I will be induced a bit early because of the blood pressure.

[thelittleredm]

Um. So. I haven't prepared whatsoever with this one.

With my first, I binged birth stories, good and bad. And my mom and I attended a series of birthing classes at the hospital. Yes, a lot of the info was a repeat of what I'd read online and in books already but they had a lot of good info about the hospital's rules and what not. Plus, it was a good time to just get away and have a set "date" night with my mom because we always grabbed dinner afterward. We also used the doula services the hospital offered and I am SO thankful we did that! Honestly, my doula was a fucking rock star.

With the second, we hired a doula through an outside doula group. H complains we wasted money because DS2 came about 10 minutes after getting the hospital and the doula didn't make the birth but honestly, she was so helpful before and afterward. And she took a bunch of pictures for us so we could just soak up DS2 and his newness.

I honestly have no idea if we'll get a doula this time. I'd like to but if this labor is as fast or faster than DS2's, I don't see the point Lol Plus, we're really trying to save money and my mom and H are both really great birth support team members anyway.

ETA: I religiously took Evening Primrose Oil and drank Red Raspberry leaf tea with both previous pregnancies. Religiously. I'd also heard things about eating dates but I can't stand the texture of them so I bought date balls instead and I have no idea if they really helped at all with DS2 but whatever Lol They were tasty so I'm going to say they helped.

[redhead610]

Nothing really. Packing a hospital bag? Making sure I have good snacks for after because the hospital food is so awful. I don't think I did a whole lot for ds2 either!

[cch]

Honestly haven’t done much to prepare for this birth yet. Do kegels count? With DD I didn’t do much either besides read birth stories and a ton of ‘what to pack in the hospital bag’ lists. I haven’t looked into red raspberry leaf tea but since so many of the BTDT moms used it in their previous pregnancies I guess I should!

[hrh]

I did the hospital class with my first and lamaze. Both were helpful and informative. I am the type to prefer to know everything I can before going into an unknown experience as it helps me feel more in control. That said, I also go with the flow because much of it is not in my control!

This is my third rodeo. I don't need the classes, and I've spent so much time reading on these boards over the years that I feel like I advocate really well for myself where it counts with L&D. I love these boards for shared knowledge and hope anything I contribute can help someone.

I didn't do raspberry tea or anything. If I am overdue a third time, I will walk a lot.

We will likely have more discussions and threads closer we get, hospital bag lists etc. 😊 So exciting!

[CharlieB]

So far, I’m doing a lot of nothing. Now that I have my energy back, I would like to dip my toe into yoga again. I definitely need to get more active so that I’m in a good physical place for labor. And, as all of the coughing from the last month has taught me, I really need to remember the kegels. As with DS, I’ll start bouncing on a yoga ball when the time gets closer to help move him down.

[k]

Oct 6, 2018 22:21:36 GMT -6 CharlieB said:

So far, I’m doing a lot of nothing. Now that I have my energy back, I would like to dip my toe into yoga again. I definitely need to get more active so that I’m in a good physical place for labor. And, as all of the coughing from the last month has taught me, I really need to remember the kegels. As with DS, I’ll start bouncing on a yoga ball when the time gets closer to help move him down.

Oh I do the exercise ball bouncing too! for the last month I’ll switch out my chair at work for an exercise ball.

[wildflowers]

I am trying to commit myself to a daily yoga practice for the rest of my pregnancy. I also plan to really clean up my eating again in the third trimester. Anyone have any streaming or YouTube yoga suggestions?

[thelittleredm]

wildflowers, I love this yoga instructor's videos! I have no idea if she has a prenatal video because I haven't checked, but she's my favorite when I'm not pregnant Lol www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene

[strawberrykiki]

I would like to do yoga. I can barely tie my shoes so I’m not sure how it might go lol

[notagoddess]

strawberrykiki, do you have any prenatal classes near you? They are so great if you don't have a regular yoga practice. You can do a lot of the moves at home once you get the hang of it.

[strawberrykiki]

notagoddess I looked but I only see regular yoga. I’ve done regular yoga before not pregnant but I’ve got a whole different body now haha

[notagoddess]

Oct 10, 2018 8:34:08 GMT -6 strawberrykiki said:

notagoddess I looked but I only see regular yoga. I’ve done regular yoga before not pregnant but I’ve got a whole different body now haha

Ah that's too bad. A lot of the studios near me offer a prenatal class once or twice a week. Not regular gyms or the Y but dedicated studios. But I live in an urban area with a lot of options.

I'm doing regular yoga with this body but I've done it for years now and I didn't feel comfortable with it for my first pregnancy. I'd try a prenatal DVD or streaming class.

[strawberrykiki]

notagoddess I found a place that does classes on Saturday. It’s a little bit of a drive but not too bad. Might be worth checking it out.

[Foxy]

I haven't done much to prepare. I keep telling myself I have lots of time but Sat is third tri! 😅 um.. I should probably do something!!!