Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Preparation

Twenty-five weeks now and feeling good!  Acupuncture along with all the spring sunlight and new growth has really helped me regain my energy.  Feeling more vibrant, I am getting out and being more active.  Hoping to go for a night of camping with a hike thrown in the next day.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate with our plans. Will be nice to be immersed in nature. Feel like I should take advantage of the time I have because soon I will have to put a lot of my outdoor activities on hiatus for a bit.  Hopefully my sensitive pregnant body can handle sleeping on a therm-a-rest.  Since it is car camping, I plan on bringing a nice amount of pillows.

These last few months I have been really striving to take care of my growing body and nurture all of the changes that have been happening.  One of the things I have treated myself to is a monthly prenatal massage.  I can't stress enough to all the pregnant ladies out there how wonderful it is to take care of yourself and baby in this way. You are reducing your stress level, training your muscles to let go of tension, and increasing blood and oxygen flow, which carries more nutrition to your baby. Even if you are not pregnant, I think it a wise choice to get a massage at least seasonally. Getting the blood and oxygen flowing helps remove toxins out of your body tissue, plus all the other various benefits it has to offer.  

A little over a month ago I began to experience sciatic nerve pain.  What a literal pain in my arse.  I immediately began to research what I could do to make this go away and found that it is one of the possible unpleasantries that come with pregnancy due to pressure from the baby and/or all the new weight bearing down on my back and pelvis.  I found certain yoga poses that gently stretch the piriformis muscle, which the sciatic nerve runs through.  I found a little relief by doing that.  Being on my feet while I worked wasn't helping me at all and would bring more pain at the end of the day.  Eventually I decided to make an appointment with a prenatal chiropractor.  I learned that prenatal chiropractic work does more than just manages pain, that the pelvic structure is directly related to the uterine ligaments and muscles.  Gentle adjustments to position the pelvis will allow for an optimal birth.  My pain and discomfort has diminished  and I continue to get work done in order to perfect my sacral alignment.  Once my bones are in balance I will be able to stop treatment until I get closer to my "guess date" and go back to make sure everything is in order for my birthing experience.  Studies have shown with prenatal chiropractic work that women have shorter labor times and less back pain during labor.  I will have to let you know how that works out for me.

Another way that I have been achieving balance in my life has been through prenatal yoga practice.  I had been using the "Shiva Rea's Prenatal Yoga" dvd until I started taking classes a couple of weeks ago at the West Asheville Yoga studio on Tuesdays.  In fact, I just finished a class and I feel invigorated.  I really enjoy being around the energy of other pregnant ladies that are on the same journey I am, making our bodies strong and ready for the birthing process ahead of us.  How blessed we are to be creating life within us.

I am now on my second lesson of five in the Hypnobabies Home Study Course.  It includes a workbook, birth partners guide booklet, quick reference booklet for labor, and 12 advanced hypnosis scripts along with daily affirmations on CD. The goal is to have a safe, unmedicated and comfortable birthing.  The workbook includes information on nutrition, comfort in pregnancy, birthing plans, optimal fetal positioning, breastfeeding, etc.  Right now I am learning how to enter self-hypnosis, deepen that state and begin creating hypno-anesthesia. So far, I am really enjoying the course and all that it is providing me.  Just one more way I am able to prepare myself positively for my upcoming birthing experience.

Well, I should stop blogging and finish preparing for our camping trip to Hot Springs tomorrow.  Going to *cross my fingers* and envision good weather for the next few days.