Hypnobirthing

Tonight Tyler and I went to our second Hypnobirthing class, and I'm really excited to be bringing my baby into the world in this way. What better way is there to welcome a new person into the world than in a calm happy environment where the focus is on letting things happen the way our bodies were made to do them and then loving and bonding with that baby? I'm feeling very opinionated on the subject, because our bodies were designed to bring souls into the world. Our Father in Heaven designed a perfect system, and just like with other things He designed for us, if we trust Him and the plan he came up with, things will work out. He blesses us with an understanding of medicine so that if something isn't working the way it should because of sickness, injury, or some condition that was unforseen, we have the ability to handle the situation. However, if things are in working order, why interfere? That is the question on my mind. Why not trust our bodies which were created by someone with a perfect knowledge of what needs to happen to ensure more spirits receive bodies? Why not put it in His hands just as we should with all other endeavors in our lives?

Here are some interesting facts I've learned that lead me to feel so amazed at our bodies and excited about hypnobirthing:
- Just like with other mammals, when birth takes place in a calm, relaxed situation, our bodies release endorphins.
- Endorphins are not only a natural relaxant but a natural "pain killer" which is 200 times stronger than morphine
- The uterus is one of the most toned muscles in body, and it does it all by its self without you even noticing (most of the time... I notice when I have practice contractions haha)
- Babies born where pain killers and other drugs haven't been used are more alert, and calm upon entering the world.

There are so many more things but in order to tell you about them correctly I'd need to get out my book so I don't say something wrong. :) I am sure some people will think I'm crazy to go this way because this is my first so obviously I'm naive, but I really believe that the more we understand about how our bodies work, and trust them, the better things work, and the better the experience. I've never witnessed someone who had an epidural (and I've obviously never experienced it), but from what I've heard, I don't want to feel out of it and not in control. I don't want my baby to feel out of it because of what drugs make it to him through me. I want to be alert and in charge of what is happening. I want to feel confident and at peace. I want to be fully aware of what is going on, and able to really enjoy that moment when my baby is out and the put him up on my chest for me to hold. Call me crazy if you think I am, I'm not trying to offend anyone who feels differently, but this is how I feel, and I'm excited about it.

For more information visit:
http://www.hypnobirthing.com/

Ultrasound Scans

About 9 weeks ago, Tyler and I got to watch an ultrasound of our baby. That was when we found out that he's a boy, and we were also in the process of moving. Because of how crazy things were, I never got to scan in my ultrasound print outs to share with you. Well, here they are. :) He's so cute!First of all, I enlarged them but then they didn't fit in the blog so if you want, you should be able to click on them and open them in another tab to get a better look. Secondly, I realize these pictures aren't very easy to tell what you're looking at unless you're just really good or you've looked at a few before, so I'll give you kinda a play by play. Above on the left we see his boy parts. If you look closely there is an arrow pointing to his unit. Above the arrown is what I can't only imagine to be his umbilical cord with his leg behind his unit stretched out to the left. The picture above on the right is a profile of his face, with his nose pointing left in the middle of the picture and his mouth just underneath.Alright these are both pictures of his legs. The nurse was trying to get a good look at his boy parts and whatever else she needed to know and he wasn't cooperating very well. On the left his bum is in the bottom right and his feet are up in the top left. I'm guessing the circle by his knees is his umbilical cord again, who knows. Then on the right you can tell a little better that his bum is on the right and his legs go out to the left. Tyler thinks he looks like he's sliding into first base, so he obviously takes after his father and he'll be a natural baseball player. :)
Now the Nurse was trying to get a good look at his face for us. He was being very camera shy. She said he had his face hidden in my back the whole time and she was doing some tricky stuff to try to get a look at it. On the left you can kinda tell that is his face, but it is pretty blurry. ON the right we've got kinda a profile of him in the fetal position haha. He has his hand up on his head with his arm covering his face. I think it's cute, even though he was being difficult.
And finally, this is another look at his boy parts. I don't really understand this picture... I think it is supposed to be looking up between his legs, but I don't really know. All I know is that right in the middle there is an arrow pointing to what is supposed to be his boy parts.

So there you have it. We're having a boy!! And... He's a lot bigger than that now. He kicks me in the ribs now. Only on the right side though. He seems to favor that side of my body, I feel lopsided. Happy New Year!

29 Weeks

Today I'm 29 weeks pregnant! I'm in my 3rd trimester and it feels kinda weird to think about the fact that I'm in the final stretch! I haven't posted any pictures of my pregnancy belly because I usually just feel fat. Well... it's not so much that I always feel fat as it is that when I take pictures they don't seem to look pregnant. Well I decided to take a picture today and I think it turned out alright, so here I am at 29 weeks!
Also, Here's a picture of our Christmas Eve scene. It was so fun to have our own Christmas tree and stockings.
Notice the neat tree topper haha. We didn't have one and one of my ornaments just happened to work, it's kinda small but I kinda like it. Anyway, I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and that you have a very fun New Year's Eve tonight! Happy New Year!!!