Pregnancy week 28 brought the start of our month-long Hypnobabies birthing class! You might remember me mentioning our choice to go with Hypnobabies back in week 22. After evaluating all the choices and feeling committed to an unmedicated birth with minimal intervention, we signed up for Hypnobabies.
The first class completely cemented for me why I made the choice to pursue Hypnobabies over conventional hospital birthing classes. Rather than summarizing, Hypnobabies focuses purely on preparing women for unmedicated, “natural” childbirth.
Each class takes you through a lesson/focus, and is interspersed with self-hypnosis technique practice at both the beginning and end of class. You then slowly build on the technique at home throughout the week while listening to affirmations and practicing the hypnosis scripts with your birthing partner.
I think the thing I love most is how the curriculum focuses on “rebranding” birth, for lack of better description. Prior to giving birth, most women have ever only known what they’ve seen in the media, which is not positive or empowering. I love that even though I’m nervous and a little scared, my excitement and confidence is growing every day, and I feel like that’s such a big part of it.
I wish I could be that confident in all areas…
Food
I let a little loose in weeks 27-28. Not awful, but definitely indulged in quite a bit of peanut butter, carbs and extra helpings at meals. It all centered around my doctor’s concern that I haven’t really gained a ton of weight this pregnancy — which is somewhat of a complicated issue. But needless to say it sent me into somewhat of a panic/guilt extra eating mode, which turns out was totally unnecessary. She’s definitely a petite baby, but more than healthy and doing perfectly.
Homemade English Muffins
When I got pregnant, I was coming off a huge training cycle and the holidays. Training for HOA had packed 5+ pounds of muscle/fat onto my frame, and since I was training so much, I was rewarding my hard work by eating whatever and however much I wanted, especially during the holidays.
After finding out I was pregnant, I immediately scaled back my training significantly, and received assistance from Charlie with optimizing my nutrition. Having worked with really active pregnant women before, he told me I would lose weight/fat and some muscle initially. And I did. From weeks 6 to 14, I lost around 9 lbs. I’m now sitting roughly 10-11 lbs above that 14 week weight (Charlie’s overall goal for term is 18-25 lbs), but only around 2-3 above the 6 week weight, which my provider is using to estimate my gain.
So the obvious concern was that she wasn’t growing enough. So they did another ultrasound, measured and found that she is just fine. I shouldn’t have doubted myself. I eat really well, around 2,000-2,200 calories of mostly Paleo meals and snacks a day. It is not easy — it’s a ton of food, and I never find myself hungry.
My amazing husband and constant cook.
Both Neil and Charlie were constantly reassuring, but it’s amazing that the moment someone questions you regarding the safety and care of your kid, even in utero, it sends you into a tailspin of self-doubt. I know this isn’t the end of this happening, so I just need to grow a thicker skin and stand up for myself. Quality and nutrition over junk calories and quantity!
Thoughts
Going into this, I assumed all the decisions we’d make would be fairly typical or average. We planned to eat healthy, exercise, get plenty of sleep and keep stress levels manageable. We went into the birth planning experience with an open mind, and ended up choosing to plan* for an unmedicated birth through Hypnobabies. We hope to exclusively breastfeed until she starts to wean.
These are all things I figured were fairly average, but at various points have been met with question or side-eye by at least one or more people we’ve told. While I won’t say some comments are hurtful or it’s not frustrating, the other part of me is grateful — not only for such a wide range of opinions and option but our ability to discuss and question them as well.
And just because I like to end these posts on a not-to-serious note, here’s what I read in week 28. Gotta keep things interesting right?
*Planning knowing that anything could happen and in the end, we just want a healthy baby.
If you like zombie novels, one of my friends actually wrote a pretty good one that’s cheap on Amazon. It’s called “When the Dead” by Michelle Kilmer.
RE: weight, interesting to hear how different providers approach weight different. I also lost weight during the first trimester and really only gained it back by the point where you are now. I’ve now gained 10 kilos overall. My doctor has never said anything about weight, and every time I’ve initiated a conversation, she says I’m doing just fine. Maybe it’s the different starting points?
If you know the hospital where you’re giving birth, I’d suggest at least doing a tour of the birthing unit. We mostly found our hospital class informative for letting us know how procedures run at the hospital. We also met nurses and other support staff. It’s nice to know how both normal births and interventions work at our particular place, just to give a mental image. So, that’s my plug — not to replace hynobirthing at all but as a supplement if you like to be able to visualize how an event might go.
Now that we’ve secured daycare (boy will that be a post), the last big appointment I have to make is the hospital tour, which I definitely want to do. My husband works at the hospital, but I’ve never seen the unit (it was totally redesigned/remodeled two years ago, so I’m excited for this part, as I think it will make a difference in my relaxation level.
We’re also doing separate breastfeeding and CPR classes. July is going to FLY by.
Glad you found daycare! We think we’ve found it, but I won’t breathe easy there until we’re all registered and paid up. She said to wait until after the baby’s birth to take care of that.
Yes, the hospital tour made me feel so much better too. I can completely visualize the room. I hope I’m in there soon!
Even without a bunch of classes, my June has flown by. I’ve done a lot of nesting, cleaning, sorting, etc. Still more to do, but I remind myself that I’ll still have time after baby comes. I got the most important parts done. I think each of us has to find our own way to be ready and prepared.