Almost 37 Weeks!

This is not one of my official updates, but not much has changed so I thought I would just write a general update and talk some about my birth plan. It's so hard to believe that 9 months have gone by already and it's only 3 weeks until my guess date! 37 weeks is technically full term, so baby Andrew could come almost any time from here on out and be a very healthy little baby boy. I'm so excited to meet him!!

This afternoon we will have our final ultrasound. It's a growth ultrasound that my doctors recommend to all women with gestational diabetes. Basically, they just want to check the estimated size and weight of the baby to prepare them for any potential complications during delivery. I have my reservations about going and have almost canceled the appointment a hundred times, but in the end, we have decided that the more information we have, the better decisions we can make for our son. I think what bothers me is that from the moment I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (way back in week 17 I believe), people have been telling me that I'll be having a huge baby. I'm so sick of hearing it.

Lately, I've been hearing talk from one of my 3 doctors about early induction due to a possibly 'big baby', which upsets me. I can't remember how much I've really talked about this here on the blog, but my hope is to have a natural, unmedicated birth using Hypnobabies self-hypnosis techniques. I realize that induction can be great in certain situations (as can c-sections when they are medically necessary), but I also know that once you get on the intervention train, it's hard to get off. I would rather not start my birthing time with an intervention like early induction.

You may be wondering, what the heck is Hypnobabies?? It's amazing! It's exactly what I was looking for when I got pregnant and started looking into birthing classes and techniques. I have always known that I wanted to have an unmedicated childbirth. For some reason, that simple statement tends to bring out the worst in people. I can't tell you how many of my friends have said things like, "Don't tell me you're going to be one of those stupid people who doesn't get an epidural?" People also have laughed at me and told me that once I start to feel the pain, I'll be begging for meds, etc. Wow. I never expected so much judgment about my decision to do this without medication. After all, women have been doing that for thousands of years and coming out just fine. Still, for some reason, there is a belief in our culture that childbirth has to be this almost traumatic, extremely painful event. I don't believe that at all, which is why I went searching for an alternate attitude.

Hypnobabies is all about the belief that childbirth is a beautiful, natural, and safe process that a woman's body was designed for. George and I signed up for a local six week class that we started back in January, and I feel it is one of the best things I have done for both me and my unborn son. I don't want my birthing time to be a medical procedure full of fear and anxiety. I want it to be a joyful day filled with love and happiness. Through the classes, I learned how to use self-hypnosis techniques to help my body relax and produce a powerful, natural anesthesia that will help me have a painless childbirth. I believe in the techniques 100% after using them now for several months, and I'm actually really excited about my birthing time.

Unfortunately, some people hear me talk about my hopes for a 'painless' childbirth and they immediately become worried about me. They insist on telling me that I'm setting myself up for disappointment and then proceed to tell me all kinds of horror stories about the pain and trauma of childbirth. I honestly don't understand why people can't just be happy for me and trust me to make my own decisions and have my own experience, but such is the way it goes with pregnancy I guess. I simply choose to continue down my own path and let those horror stories fade into the background.

It's my belief that the mind is a very powerful thing. What we believe with all our hearts is more likely to come to pass. If we believe that childbirth is going to be painful and horrible, then it probably will be. If we believe that it will be beautiful and that we can make it through without medication, then that's how it is most likely to go. Of course, nothing is 100% predictable, but I'd rather set myself up for success than for failure or pain.

Our birth plan is to stay at home as long as possible during my early birthing time. We have a doula so hopefully she will be helpful in deciding when it's time to go, especially since we've moved to UNC now, which is a 30 minute drive! When we get to the hospital, we are putting up strings of dim white christmas lights to set a calm mood for my self-hypnosis. I have hypnosis tracks downloaded on my iPod to listen to, and I also just bought a few new CD's on iTunes with ocean sounds and relaxing rain storms and such with calming music just in case I don't want to listen to the hypnosis tracks. Every time I envision my birthing time, I smile because I know it's going to be a joyful and powerful time in my life. I can't believe it's really so close now!!

I have high hopes that the ultrasound today will show that Andrew is measuring normal and healthy. My fear is that if they say he's measuring large, they will try to push an induction instead of letting me try the natural childbirth I've been dreaming of. At first, I was pretty upset about the ultrasound in general, but I am trying to change my attitude and just see it as one last time to see our baby on the screen before we meet him.

Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to talk about Hypnobabies and to just put it out there that even if you have a different view of childbirth, it's never the right thing to judge someone else for their choices - especially when it comes to something so incredibly personal. The best thing to do is just be supportive and loving. Thank you so much to the people in my life like my mom who have been 100% supportive of my choices and my hopes for an unmedicated birth since the beginning. :)