Pregnancy week 33 update and natural birth preference.
Michelle and I are happy to hear you guys enjoying our 12 minute leg workout. It was a fun workout for us. I love working my legs.
Things are going well over here. We had a pretty busy weekend full of baby related things.
This past Saturday we had our private birthing class. It was a great class. Michelle was present for it as well, as her and Gary are going to be my labor support and coaches. We went with the confident child birth method and had a 3 hour class. I really enjoyed the class. I learned so much and feel even more confident with my choice of doing a natural birth.
On Sunday at the hospital we had more baby classes. First up was infant CPR.
Followed by basic infant and baby care. Another useful class where we learned what happens immediately after birth, how to hold and bathe baby, and how to swaddle. Plus several other basic starting things to help prepare us new parents.
I haven’t talked much about what I plan to do for birth. Today I will be sharing what I hope to happen. Of course I said “hope” to happen as you never know what will happen when the moment comes.
My birth preference for a natural labor.
I am calling birth preference instead of birth plan because I feel “plan” means this way or no way. I tend to be a flexible person so I plan to be flexible with my labor. I have my idea of what I would like but of course will change if needed.
Some things formy Birth Preference:
We desire our labor and delivery to happen naturally, with as few interventions as possible. Â If there is a procedure or test that needs to be performed we would like to be informed before it happens. In the event of an emergency we need to be aware of all options.
I would like to be able to walk around and move as desired.
Reduce of electronic fetal monitoring. Â Use intermittent monitoring.
I would like to be able to use essential oils in the room throughout labor and afterwards.
Use of upright labor positions like squatting and gentle pushing, or whatever position feels right when that moment comes.Â
I would like to do all natural options before considering a c-section.
Skin to skin immediately after labor and allow for breastfeeding before doing anything else.
For any baby test and examinations, parents need to be present and have permission.
No medications. No use of Pitocin or other drugs to induce or speed up labor. Prefer to have no episiotomy.
No to the Vitamin K shot and Hepatitis B vaccine.
Do not wish to receive any pain medication or stool softeners post labor and would like to cope with after pains naturally.
Those are just some things that I am putting on my natural birth preference. I know things could change so I am keeping an open mind and plan to be flexible. By having Gary and Michelle there during the whole thing already puts my mind at ease. I know it is going to be the most painful thing, but I am planning to do my best to stay relaxed and know that my body was made to do this.
I hope to breathe deeply through each contraction, which I am going to refer to them as waves. Seeing them as good thing and not bad 🙂
More nursery highlights. I love the splash of purple in the room with this quilt that my mom made.
Finding ways to get organized in baby M’s closet. I love using clear containers so I can see what is in it!
And love, love, love the TInkerbell quote above her crib.
Make sure to check out my mini nursery video tour here.
Sorry for the low lighting, it was dark out when we took this pictures on Monday morning.
 PREGNANCY WEEK 33 UPDATE:
Current food cravings? Â
Similar to last week. Really all foods are sounding good to me!
Here is what I ate yesterday.
Breakfast bowl – fresh peaches with protein powder chorella coconut oil mush.
Followed by plain black decaf coffee.
Lunch was sauted swiss chard, red cabbage, eggs, anchovies, coconut oil and nutritional yeast.
Snacked on a cinnamon sugar scone that I made for Gary to enjoy as breakfast this week. It’s our gluten-free scone from our purely classic cookbook, it can be made with or without eggs! I flavored it with some cinnamon and sugar. Delicious.
Dinner was mahi mahi, white rice, cauliflower, sautéed argulua, coconut oil, sea salt and a slice of bread.  Michelle and I practiced a new vegan bread recipe that didn’t really come out. But that’s okay as the flavor was great.
Dessert was some raw brownies. Another recipe from our purely classic cookbook. I forgot how much I love those brownies.
Any symptoms?
Similar things as I have mentioned previous weeks.
I am getting a little more gassy a few days. Sleep is hit or miss. Some nights I get good sleep while other nights I toss and turn (well the best I can). Some nights I do get restless leg syndrome. I can’t seem to ever get my legs comfortable. One night Michelle couldn’t sleep because she was having a bad itching outbreak so we texted each other to keep the other twin from being alone.
Dreams are similar to last weeks with just a few random ones. My mood has been great. No mood swings 🙂  Gary’s happy about that.
No swelling so wedding ring is still on and fitting good.
Stretch marks?
Don’t really see so I don’t think so.
Miss anything?
I am still enjoying this stage of pregnancy and grateful everything is going well. And that it’s almost done!
How is your skin?Â
My skin is doing great! No complaints!  Same thoughts as last week.
How is digestion?Â
Digestion is doing great. Bowel movements are okay. I did get one day of constipation. But the next day I was able to have a nice bowel movement. Sorry for the TMI but this stuff is important to me and interesting to me.  I have been trying to increase my water for more than 9 cups to 10 or 11 cups. I am not doing the greatest at remembering to drink more water (getting myself ready for breastfeeding). I again try to just drink water when I am thirsty.
Total weight gain/loss?Â
Belly is bigger so know I gained weight from that which is normal. Overall, I am feeling the same and clothes are fitting the same. I do wear mostly maternity friendly clothing as they are just more comfortable to me.
How is baby M doing?
She is doing great. Kicking away during certain times throughout the day and night. Â I love it when she kicks. Brings a smile to my face.
She is about the size of a pineapple now with being around 4 pounds or so. Â She’s got her own immune system which is pretty cool to know.
My belly is really starting to fill out more. Sometimes I catch myself waddling more. Not too many body aches yet besides when I sit down for a long period of time my lower back starts to hurt. I usually just have to get up and go do something else.
NOW FOR MY PREGNANCY WORKOUTS FROM LAST WEEK:
If you would like more help with pregnancy workouts (pre, during and post) please come check our purely fit pregnancy. Come workout with me every day and I promise to keep you strong and healthy during your pregnancy so you can bounce back afterwards. Â Promise I will keep it fun too.Â
Monday – little yoga
Tuesday – filmed purely training #74 – 12 minute leg butt workout
Wednesday – 20 minute yoga
Thursday – filmed a new club workout – 18 minute bodyweight interval workout
Friday – 20 minute yoga
Saturday – Purely training #64 – leg workout
Sunday – 20 minute yoga
Overall I am still loving my workouts and now yoga! My body is handling working out well. My pace has continued to slow and I do less and less jumping. I haven’t done much extra walking lately but know the last few weeks of being pregnant I will do more. For now, I am taking it day by day and doing what feels right.
I added in more yoga to help with Michelle’s eczema. And really for both of us to learn to slow down more and breathe. I loved the day of workout followed by a day of gentle slow yoga.
What are your thoughts on birth plans or preferences? Did you have one? Why or why not?
How did you handle things immediately after birth with the test and everything involved?
Do you want a natural birth? What helped you the most achieve that?
What are you doing this weekend? Any fun plans?
xo
L
19 comments
the fact that you aren’t going to give your baby the vitamin k shot or hep b vaccine scares me. you’re truly putting your baby’s life at risk.
http://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-for-the-vitamin-k-shot-in-newborns/
Oh I’m so excited for you 😀 I wanted to go the natural route as well, but my baby girl was breech so I had no option but a c-section. It was a bummer at first when we had to schedule it, but she came on her own time anyway and I wouldn’t change anything about the experience.
Enjoy that babymoon and sleeeeeeep as much as you can. Also, a little tidbit: nutritional yeast is great for milk production 😉
I have been following all your pregnancy posts closely as one of my friends is a little behind you with her first! I am far from ready to have children but I appreciate all the research you’ve done for your own birth plan/preference. I think some people just do what is conventional without looking into everything else. Regardless of what decision anyone makes about birthing, it’s important to be educated about it and respect other mothers choices. Your plan looks great and well researched! Thoughts and prayers that everything goes accordingly for delivery 🙂
I’m glad it is all going so well! The quilt looks awesome in there 🙂 It’s a really pretty nursery!
Somewhere in my research, I found something about how waiting a couple of minutes to cut the umbilical cord was good for the baby – and I remembered them saying it was because they got probiotics in those minutes. I couldn’t find that article, but I found a couple of mainstream news articles endorsing it because they get increased amounts of hemoglobin in the 3 minutes after birth and that helps their iron levels be really good (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/11/cord-clamping_n_3581036.html) . I figured you had probably already heard about this with all the research you’ve done, but just in case, I wanted to let you know. 🙂
We both have such similar birth plans, or rather preferences, I so agree that’s a much better name for it! The only other thing I’ve added to mine is delayed cord clamping, fingers crossed we both have the birth we are hoping for! I found my natal hypnotherapy classes really helped me feel more confident about labour and the birth, especially the ability of my husband to support me with the medical staff. Can you believe it’s just over 6 weeks away? So exciting 🙂
Good for you!! I wish you all the best for your natural birth experience. Deep breathing works wonders and I had a friend who had great results with hypno birth. You’ll be in our thoughts and prayers!
I had my first antenatal class last week too and really enjoyed it. I’ve also opted for a natural birth and my birth classes are all about active birth and relaxation – so empowering and instilled me with confidence. Definitely love changing the name up to ‘Birth Preference’. I have an ideal of how I want my labour and birth to go, but I realise that things can go wrong and there is a need to be flexible.
i like the idea of calling it a preference and not a plan! i don’t have a plan at all and am totally just going into it with an open mind. i am not into the natural thing, though, so i definitely will be getting drugs as soon as my wussy wimp self is in enough pain to need them lol.
Awww you’re looking so cute!
I just did my birth preference as well. Kept it simple, short, and left just the most important preferences on in case any time there is confusion. Wondering how it will go over, but mostly standard stuff….and things we can vocally request. My doc even said to me he doesn’t want me on my back, he wants me to move around. Most should, you would think!! As long as you and baby are okay they shouldn’t give you a hard time about some of those request. Are you delivering at a hospital? Not sure about pushing positions. I would prefer to do what felt right, but not sure they will go for it because of how slippery and fast that baby comes out. So plan is to squat and change positions as much as poss right up until it’s time to push..and I asked to start pushing when I got the overwhelming desire, not when they tell me to start so we will see!
So soon!
While I totally get delaying Hep B, I don’t understand why you’re passing on the Vitamin K shot. While yes, the chances are fairly low that there would be a problem, if she did have a bleeding problem as a result of low Vitamin K, the consequences can be severe. Please read this: http://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-for-the-vitamin-k-shot-in-newborns/
You know my preferences are very similar- and I feel lucky that I was able to have a natural birth both times. I think you’re wise to lay it all out up front, but also know that anything can happen. But I do really believe if you want a natural birth, you can have it- the mental piece is huge! So excited for you!!
I love reading these posts and seeing pregnant photos of you! I am trying to get pregnant, and seeing how fit and healthy you look gives me hope I can do the same!
I agree with the importance of the Vitamin K shot. While there seem to be a lot of mommy bloggers that are against them, I found this story to be pretty powerful:
http://cestsibonblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/why-it-happened-the-truth-about-vitamin-k-deficiency-bleeding/
Hey Lori,
I didn’t really have a labor plan but the one piece of advice I found useful was if you breathe at the right time it actually cancels out the contraction pain. It sounds crazy and it took me a few hours to get it right, but once I got it all synced it was awesome.
I also recommend being upright as much as possible, I laughed when they showed me the birth chair until I realised it was a godsend.
It’s a magical experience and I really hope you enjoy it 🙂
xx
Love that it’s a preference and not a plan – you never quite know what’s going to happen when it comes to L&D! I also agree with the above commenters – I would look more into the Vitamin K shot. The potential bleeding is actually REALLY severe. We totally delayed the Hep B shot until later because I don’t know why a newborn needs it but the Vit K is to prevent life-threatening bleeds. Just food for thought 🙂
I love “birth preference” instead of “birth plan”. I’ll be stealing that when I get pregnant.
Stay strong in your choices and know that whatever you do, things will happen the way they are supposed to. For every blog post you read against the vit K shot, there is one supporting it. Decisions about your baby are VERY personal and no one should be telling you what to do. Education is important but guilting/scaring/shaming someone to make a decision just shows their bias and agenda. You are a very smart woman and anyone who thinks you can’t make these decisions on your own obviously hasn’t read this blog for very long.
i can’t wait to hear more about your natural birth experience!
if you want, you should check out one of shawn stevenson’s podcast where he interviews his wife on her natural birth of their son! it was an amazing episode and i learned alot 🙂