33 weeks

This week is the Larry Bird(33) week.

Kona is doing great but is helping to contribute to my lack of sleep. We have a bell on him and lock him in our room at night to make sure he doesnt lick his boo-boo. Everytime we hear the bell we wake up to make sure he isnt getting into trouble. He is going to the doc today to just double check his boo-boo since he has been trying to lick it more and more.

Our baby class over the weekend was good and bad at the same time. It gave us a ton of information on labor signs, when to call the doc, what to expect when getting at the hospital, etc.
The parts I found bad was that there is such a focus on medicated labor. We did one breathing exercise but then most of the other time was spent talking about epidurals. No one really knows what labor is going to be like for the first time but to not give us things to work with like positions to try or relaxation techniques to use was a little disappointing. I am glad I have been going to yoga since that has put a huge stress on breathing and different positions that I can definitely use during labor. A friend of mine, who I ride bikes with and is also a midwife, suggested reading the "Easing Labor Pain: the complete guide to a more comfortable and rewarding birth" by Adrienne B. Lieberman. I finished that yesterday which is what I will refer to again in a few weeks if I cant find a class to give me what I was looking for. That book gave a lot of information of pros and cons to everything. Something I thought the baby class would have been like. It is just sad that people are always looking for the quick pill popping route to everything. In the class they said one should to get to 4 centimeters before an epidural can be given and then there is the pushing phase that one has to endure so not completely pain free. I had also inquired about how long after birth should one wait to exercise and she said 6 weeks since it will have been so long. I of course had to mention that I was still running since I was thinking I would only be out of commission due to needing sleep more than anything for a few weeks.

Here is an excerpt from the book, "Aerobic exercise may even make your labor shorter and less painful. An American study published recently in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology reported that women who continued running or aerobic dancing during pregnancy enjoyed labors about 30 percent shorter than women who stopped exercising. Women who maintained a regular exercise program also required less labor stimulation and fewer epidurals, episiotomies, and cesarean deliveries. An Italian study in the same journal examined women having their second or third babies who pedaled on stationary bicycles three times a week for 30 minutes beginning around the fifth month of pregnancy. The bicyclists maintained higher endorphin levels during labor. Accordingly, they reported less pain than a matching group of sedentary women."

Happy news, My friend Patti gave birth last week to Jayden. She was able to make it 36 weeks which is great since she has been on and off bed rest her entire pregnancy. They sound like they are doing awesome.