Pregnancy round 2: The final countdown

So I do believe I had planned to write a blog for each trimester of this pregnancy… now here we are… with only days/weeks to go until my “due date” and I thought I better bang out any final thoughts on this pregnancy before I am officially post-natal!

How time runs away from us!

Fortunately the second half of pregnancy has been very kind to me, I am very blessed to have straight-forward and comfortable pregnancies.

If you’d like to read my previous pregnancy blogs you can find them in the links below:

First pregnancy: First trimester

First pregnancy: Last trimesters

First pregnancy birth story

Second pregnancy: First trimester

A summary of how the second half of pregnancy has been going…

The ups

  • Sleeping mostly well, just a few extra toilet breaks and rolls side-side during the night
  • No injuries or pain (touch wood!)
  • Loving and embracing all the wonderful body changes… I am so fascinated by how veiny my breasts and tummy are and that I have already started producing colostrum
  • The alien-like dance moves that happen inside my tummy

The downs

  • Good ol’ reflux will not be missed once baby comes… I can’t wait to eat after 5pm and still be able to lie horizontal by 9pm!
  • Vagina stabs. They are so much more intense this time around. Apparently baby is trying to “burrow” it’s way down into the birth canal. How’s that for a wonderful description?!
  • Shortness of breath. If I walk up stairs, speak more than a few sentences in a row or just eat too much food… I am a huffing and puffing mess!

Exercise

Fortunately I have been able to continue with light-moderate activity through this entire pregnancy without any pain or issues, which is wonderful.

I am doing a combination of walking, pregnancy yoga and my Pregnancy Posse workouts.

I also do pelvic floor exercises every day!

I do the occasional spin bike or gym session if I have the time and am feeling energetic.

I also carry a toddler up/down stairs, wrestle him on the change table, run after him for some giggles and push him around on his bike. I am convinced this is keeping me much fitter this time round!

Doing my week 37 Pregnancy Posse workout

Life with 2…

This is by far the strangest part. I (kind of) know what to expect this time. I know that this little human already has a face and preset genetics and his/her own personality.

It’s so surreal!

First time round I didn’t know what to expect and I couldn’t really imagine how life with a baby might look. However this time I’ve been there, done that. It’s a strange feeling.

I can’t wait to see how Massi adapts to being a big brother.

I can’t wait to see how life will be with a second child and what learnings I will carry forward with me from my first experience.

Birth thoughts…

I started this pregnancy with an extremely strong focus on wanting to achieve a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean). Not in a healthy, relaxed way. More in a determined, stubborn, “I want what I want and I won’t budge” sorta way.

Each to their own, but the above attitude definitely isn’t one that serves me well.

Halfway through my pregnancy I’m not sure what came over me, but I decided to “let go”.

To free myself of the pressure I was putting on me to have to have a natural birth.

To let go of the fear that I may possibly never ever have one. And that is OK.

Thank god I decided to chill a little bit, because I am in such a wonderful head space now.

Fortunately everything has been tracking well with this pregnancy and all signs are pointing towards a VBAC, or a term I do prefer using is TOLAC- Trial of labour after caesarean.

I am in a calm head space where I am excited and curious and prepared for a vaginal delivery, but am also very calm and prepared for a C-section if that’s the way it all ends up heading.

I had a wonderful C-section with Massi. I recovered really well and I don’t have any trauma from this day, so I’m not sure why I was putting so much pressure on this birth to have to be different.

So whilst I am trying all I can to set myself up for a spontaneous onset of labour and a good delivery… I have removed the pressure, the fear and the expectations.

Birth prep…

  • Weekly yoga to help open up my hips and pelvis, but more importantly help me refine my mental focus and breathing techniques
  • Listening to a wide variety of podcasts
  • Reading Marie Mongan’s Hypnobirth book
  • Listening to the Hypnobirth sound tracks (I’ll admit… nowhere near as much as I thought I would though!)
  • Revisiting Juju Sundin’s active birth skills
  • In the final few weeks: acupuncture and drinking raspberry leaf tea

My toolkit for labour and birth

This time I have packed…

  • Essential oils and a handkerchief to sniff them to help me relax
  • TENs machine
  • Spikey ball for massage
  • Stress ball

I’m open to the experience and will utilise what I need when I need it but I anticipate I may rely on the following techniques…

  • Rocking and swaying
  • Forward leaning over a ball/the bed
  • The shower
  • Birth mantras such as “Ignore it until you can’t”, “Labour is a healthy pain” and “Every birth will hit a wall”
  • Breathing techniques- specifically counting with the inhale and exhale as I find this very powerful

So there you have it… the second half of my second pregnancy summed up in a nutshell! Looking forward to sharing with you all once bubba number two arrives earthside!

xo Physio Laura

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