Thanks to a suggestion from a fellow mommy blogger (also a doula and hypnobabies instructor) I am now trying to map my belly in order to see where this critter is. The website is fascinating but at the same time the whole belly mapping is really overwhelming. So I've been carrying around this piece of paper and making marks on it and little notes. I really really hope she is in the right position but the fact that I'm feeling body parts across my belly button (that are not shoulders) makes me a little nervous. So time for visualizing her in the right position and doing all my other hypnobabies techniques to move her. I'm not going to freak myself out because she might still be moving and finding her spot. And for all I know she is in the correct position and I just can't figure out the difference between the body parts.
On friday we have our birth rehearsal. I'm not totally sure what that will entail but I am excited to prep myself a bit more and get as comfortable as I can with everything. I want to go into this birth with confidence and not a bit of fear so that I can have the best birth for me and the baby. Blake and both moms will be there too so it will be good for them to get more comfortable with all the terms we use and ideas that we have for this birth.
So last night we started the Perineal Massage. I know this is a really personal topic but since I had never heard of it before I figured I would talk about it. I feel like there are so many little things during pregnancy that people never mention cause they are too personal but the way I see it the more you know the less you fear. My friend who used Hypnobabies was the one who told me about this so at least when it came up in my classes I was prepared and had a little knowledge. The idea is basically to lube up the perineum (skin between the anus and vagina) so that you don't tear during birth. This is a really basic article about it but if you google it you can see videos too but its not rocket science so its pretty easy to do.
http://www.birthingnaturally.net/cn/technique/perineal.html
Unfortunately I can't quite bend my body to do it, I mean I can if I try but its uncomfortable so Blake gets the honors. I think a huge part of being pregnant and sharing it with your husband is letting go of any modesty that you have. Not that I was ever a super modest person but I think in order to get super comfortable you have to. At least this is my experience. I always joke that he will never be able to look at me the same but lets be honest, he's a guy and he will forget all the gross things that have happened during this time and hopefully only take them as beautiful natural things that happen during pregnancy. Right???
Anyways so back to the massage. I don't know if it actually works, I've read testimonials that say it helped but the way I see it, it can't really hurt. I guess during birth you can have the birth assistant doing the massage as well, using a compress with olive oil. According to my doula she thinks that is a very effective way to avoid tearing. I'm sure I will never look at olive oil the same way but we'll see if it works........
Here's my suggestion. lol Go for it during the pregnancy. But my midwife had informed me that she prefers to avoid the "massage" during the birth. It can inflame the skin, and inflamed skin doesn't stretch. warm compresses and perineal support are also excellent ways to avoid tears. =)
ReplyDeletemy husband was never into helping me with the massage during pregnancy. I found that during a hot shower, if I squatted in the tub I could reach myself enough to do it.
Oh and I meant to also say, don't stress over her position. =) The belly lift can help with a posterior baby during your birthing time (as you learned I'm sure). I crawled around on hands and knees a lot during the end of my pregnancies to help avoid a posterior positioned baby. That and putting pillows behind my back so I wouldn't sit in a curved position.
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