Pregnancy

While my main focus for my blog is to focus on Dating/Domestic Violence, I also developed it to share my journey towards becoming Mrs. Colorado and my life journey in general. Well, this post has nothing to do with Dating/Domestic Violence, but about my pregnancy.
I was almost in shock when I found out two weeks after competing in Mrs. Colorado 2012 that I was pregnant. What was even more shocking is that I was only three weeks along when we found out. When I took the test, I was NOT expecting it to come out positive. While it took a while for me to adjust to the idea of having another baby at this time (I was completing my Master's degree and had a two week graduation trip with my mom and friends to the wine country in California planned), I finally realized that I had to just trust God's timing.
My oldest daughter is 8 years old and she is so excited about being a big sister. When people tell you every pregnancy is different, they are not joking. With my oldest, I had no morning sickness (nausea at times, but not sick) but was incredibly tired. Other than that, my pregnancy was pretty easy until the last trimester when I started gaining my pregnancy weight and gained 60 pounds (that's what happens when you crave and eat a box of dried Froot Loops a day, sunflower seeds, and Route 44 Sonic drinks...because I liked the ice). After gaining the weight and working in retail where I was required to stand 10-12 hours a day, my legs would ache at night; however, a nice warm bath and I would be able to go back to sleep. This time, again, I had no morning sickness (a few weeks of nausea, but nothing bad) and actually had a good amount of energy. By the second trimester, I didn't even feel pregnant. About a month and a half ago, I started feeling pregnant. I was having trouble sleeping and for nearly four weeks didn't get more than 3-4 hours of sleep a night because my legs hurt so bad. I suffered from growing pains as a child and that's what it felt like every night when I would get relaxed. Everyone had their opinion of what I should do to ease the pain and get some sleep (most of which I had already tried....warm baths, Tylenol before bed, exercising & stretching, taking magnesium, calcium, eating bananas, etc.). Finally after making a post on Facebook about my pain and sleepless nights, a friend recommended...chiropractor. Why had I not thought of this? One night after sleeping only 45 minutes and crying most of the night, I called and made an appointment with one of our local chiropractors. The next day, I went in and told him about my pain. He knew exactly what was going on and what to do. After an hour session of adjustments and acupuncture, I was feeling much better and that night slept great. He was our (my husband included...because I was keeping him awake) hero. Things have been much better since and I am now at that stage (30 weeks tomorrow) where baby Avery is moving around like crazy and I can just watch my stomach bounce around from her movements.
I had my oldest daughter in less than 6 hours after being admitted to the hospital (went from a 3-10 in less than 6 hours). I had told the doctor I didn't want an epidural and by the time the contractions became so strong I wanted the epidural, it was too late. After having my oldest naturally, I decided I wanted to have Avery naturally as well. After visiting with my chiropractor and mid-wife, I decided that natural was definitely how I wanted to go. I expressed my desire to be able to walk around and get out of bed during labor to my mid-wife and she and I discussed my options. With my oldest, I was required (with a no complications pregnancy & labor) to be hooked to monitors, an IV, and lie in bed the entire time I was in labor. My mid-wife ensured me, that as long as everything was normal and there were no complications, my wishes for labor and delivery would be followed. I will have the ability to walk around, take a warm bath, use a birthing ball, etc. I was not aware that I could request any of this with my oldest and while my doctor then was awesome, I am so happy we decided to see a mid-wife this time around. Our daughter will be born at the hospital, but I will have all the freedoms of having her at home. I decided that I want to deliver as naturally as possible and began looking for child birthing classes. I was referred to Hypnobabies, which is a form of hypnobirthing and after watching some birthing videos of mothers using the system, I purchased it immediately. During my research, I also learned about doulas and found out that the mother of one of my daughter's friends is a certified doula. After visiting with her for an hour on the phone about my pregnancy and delivery expectations, we decided to hire her to be there with us. For those who don't know about doulas, they are there to "mother" the mother. They help the birth partner with techniques to help ease labor, know massage techniques that can be used during contractions (or as I now refer to them because of the hypnobirthing....pressure waves) and birthing positions to ease those pressure waves. I am certified in hypnotherapy and am curious to see how well hypnobirthing works. A good friend of mine, has agreed to be in the room with us to video record my "birthing time" (labor & delivery). If all goes as planned and my birthing time is as easy as it looks in the videos, I plan on becoming certified in hypnobirthing and using my video as promo for it. My friend has laughed and said, "I've not seen you as excited about anything during this pregnancy as you are about labor & delivery". It's kind of funny, because the birthing time is the part of pregnancy that I think most people dread. I am only a week into my 6 week hypnobirthing training, but I am already looking forward to my birthing time and welcoming our new little girl.
I am all about approaching my birthing day holistically. I plan on seeing my chiropractor a couple more times before that day and having a few more prenatal massages. I also plan on continuing my hypnobirthing training and look forward to working more closely with my doula. I will let everyone know how the hypnobirthing works and if I recommend it to others. I remember being terrified about having my oldest daughter, but I am completely at ease and look forward to my birthing day with Avery.
Pregnancy and birthing can be terrifying or joyous, it is up to each of us as mothers to educate ourselves and make up our mind that this is going to be a joyous occasion (even our "birthing time"). I fought it for a long time because I was upset about the timing; however, now I could not be happier and look forward to welcoming our little one to our family. I simply had to change my perspective and put the timing in God's hands and trust that he has a plan for me and our new little one is part of that plan.
For any mother's to be out there who are interested in how the hypnobirthing works, feel free to contact me and I would love to discuss my experience with it, with you.

"Whether your pregnancy was meticulously planned, medically coaxed, or happened by surprise, one thing is certain - your life will never be the same." ~ Catherine Jones