Final countdown…….
As I enter the final stages of pregnancy it is with great relief and anticipation. On the one hand I cannot wait to meet this new life Rich and I have created on the other I am not overly looking forward to the birth.
Breastfeeding clinic
Being the good mother to be that I am, I have decided to embrace the concept of breastfeeding my baby and thought the best way to learn more about it was to attend a clinic run by the local hospital.
My first reaction on entering the parentcraft room was how lovely it was to meet other women in the same situation as me. To hear stories of heartburn, swollen ankles and lack of sleep was a joy as it meant I was not alone.
The day started off at 9.30 am with introductions and what we hoped to gain from the session, but was soon interrupted by a late arrival. At this point I would like to say that if I had arrived late I would apologise and slink into a corner but not this lady. The apology was there followed by a demand that a fridge be found for her sandwiches (we all had to bring a lunch), at which point to her credit the instructor stated that the sandwiches would have to wait for the first break as we were already behind.
We were then shown a very bad film, bad from the point of view it was German I think with a voice over, the grainy image reminded me of some very bad porn film, but what was shown amazed and shocked me. It showed a lady who I will call Helga for now, just after she had given birth, the baby had been laid to rest on her chest and Helga and husband were relishing the joy of their newborn.
Within 30-40 minutes this newborn was moving its head to get in a better position and find the nipple to start breastfeeding, once found and with a little help from Helga the baby was off breastfeeding, poetry in motion.
After the film we were talked through the process of ensuring we got the baby in the right position and how the body worked to produce the milk (god our bodies are amazing!!!!)
Last but not least we were given a real life demonstration by a new mum who had brought her baby in to go through her experiences.
It was a real eye opener and I would highly recommend it to any mum whether she was thinking of breastfeeding or not. Although the last question of the day put me off slightly when the instructor was asked “ How long should you breastfeed for?”
Her answer of the “World Health Organisation recommendation of breast feeding for at least 6 months” was not off putting but then she announced that she had breastfed her last child till it was 6 years old. At this point my face crumpled with the thought of a child with a full set of teeth and my natural reaction was to hold my breasts in a protective manner, needless to say I think I will be going with the World Health recommendations.
The joy of dentists !!!
I normally do not mind dentists at all, having had a lot of dental work done as a kid, a quick check up is not a problem, except when you are pregnant. The initial survey of my teeth by the dentist was fine, although I discovered that the baby moves around a lot when I am on my back.
However when I went into the room with the hygienist, things changed. The hygienist said she would clean my teeth without the motorised tools as she had discovered that babies did not like the noise. As she started the baby started to move, unfortunately lying on my back there was not a lot of room for the baby to move.
With the hygienist and assistant happily talking about giving birth I started to feel a little strange and with that I demanded to be sat upright as their talking became muffled and the room started to sway.
The next thing I know I am being given oxygen by the dentist and am horrified at the prospect of passing out at the dentist. I will say if you do not like the dentist this maybe a good way to get out of having your treatment, as not only did they stop treatment they settled me into the waiting room with a nice cup of sugary tea………. The joys of dentists!!!
Free or not so free
My midwife appointments are becoming more and more frequent now with the countdown to the due date. On this appointment I had two for the price of one, I had my midwife and a student midwife. The student midwife checked my blood pressure and urine sample while the midwife went through my notes. Then I was asked to get on the bed, for a check of my tummy.
The student midwife began by palpating my stomach and then announced proudly that my baby was free….. A variety of images ran though my brain at that moment with the thoughts of baby being free so I asked what that meant. The midwife explained that being free meant that the baby had not put its head into the pelvis and that they checked the amount of not being free in fifths.
With her hands on my tummy she announced that baby was not free but in actual fact she could feel 3/5ths of the babies head which meant 2/5ths of the head had moved into my pelvis………. Joy of joy some sign that we are nearing the end.
Lack of Sleep
I thought that the lack of sleep did not kick in until the baby is born, but apparently in my case this is untrue. I seem to be experiencing a lack of sleep like never before. Unfortunately it is not because I am not tired but either because I have chronic heartburn which only materialises once I lay down or that I just cannot sleep.
A quick investigation on the computer has given me many solutions to this problem unfortunately for me none of them seem to have worked. There is the usual Gaviscon, which for me within 40 seconds of taking it heartburn is back. There is the glass of milk, which alleviates symptoms for 10 minutes or so. Then you could try: apples, cucumbers, apple cider vinegar to name but a few, but I have just resigned myself to the fact that some nights I get a great nights sleep and some nights I don’t.
Antenatal Classes
Unfortunately on my first antenatal class my husband was away gallivanting in Canada for his brothers wedding so I did the next best thing and asked my friend Louise to come with me. Now just in case you don’t remember Louise is not an advocate of babies, although she is getting better since she has had a new addition to her family in the way of a puppy.
So off we go to antenatal classes, the first of which focused on normal labour and pain relief. I have to say both of us found it very enlightening and in actual fact it changed my mind on a couple of things. Although when it got to some gory parts I found Louise hiding behind her hand muttering a couple of swear words that cannot be repeated.
One thing that we both agreed on, was this was an ideal class to get young teenage girls onto as it would put them off having a baby altogether.
Add to del.icio.us
Digg this