Birth Plan & Hypnobirthing

I had decided that when I went into labor and the hospital I didn't want to have an epidural right away. I was always so surprised to hear women say that they immediately requested the epidural, regardless of the level of pain they were in.
When I moved back to Utah I was 6 months pregnant and was reconnecting with a previous doctor. I discussed my options with him and he suggested I look into taking a Hypnobirthing class. He said a lot of his patients liked the class. It was encouraging coming from my doctor, since I wouldn't need to broach the conversation of not using medications right away during labor.

I found that Intermountain Medical offered a lot of classes to choose from, and we were able to get into a Hypnobirthing class. The class was great. Joe came along and we learned all about Hypnobirthing and the importance of knowing what your body is going through during labor. It was a great time for Joe and I to bond even more over the pregnancy, and for him to get very involved.
We met once a week and focused on the book Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method. We watched videos of actual Hypnobirthing experiences, which were pretty amazing. We also learned all about how our bodies respond to labor and the affects of using Pitocin and epidurals.

I definitely recommend taking a birthing class to any newly pregnant mom. I think the classes offer a lot of important information, even if you do just want an epidural right away. It's best to know what your body is going through, and how best you can deal with the struggles that can possibly come during labor. Even though our birth did not happen like I had planned, I'm happy I had all the information from our class.

Nursery Ideas

Before I was pregnant I spent some time looking at nurseries, thinking about what kind of crib I'd like, and how I would decorate things. When I finally became pregnant I didn't think about it. People would ask what I was going to do for the baby's room, and I had no idea. I think I ultimately felt like I couldn't decide on anything until I knew what I was having. There were a few days I would look at some websites that allowed regular people to upload their nurseries. After looking at several pictures I noticed that grey walls were appearing all over the place. People were typically using grey and yellow together, for either a boy or a girl. I was surprised at how much I liked it. I knew I didn't want a pink or a blue room, based on the gender of our child, but I definitely wanted something more than just tan, or green frogs and yellow duckies.
Here are some of the rooms I was really liking:
http://theb-line.blogspot.com/2010/05/baby-ready-nursery-reveal.html
http://bacacreative.blogspot.com/2010/07/zions-room.html
http://gallery.projectnursery.com/projects/743-Hello-Little-One
http://gallery.projectnursery.com/projects/722-Cameron-s-Nursery
http://gallery.projectnursery.com/projects/689-Modern-Gray-Nursery-for-800
http://gallery.projectnursery.com/projects/685-Malone-s-Quirky-Nursery
http://gallery.projectnursery.com/projects/675-Grace-s-Modern-Owl-Nursery
http://gallery.projectnursery.com/projects/658-Nursery-for-Adelaide
I was feeling good about the grey walls, but didn't know what other accent colors I would incorporate.

Choosing a glider, instead of a rocking chair

When I started nursing my baby I used a rocking chair my parents already had. It's a really nice looking wood rocking chair, which seems like it would be perfect for nursing. However, it's wood, so there isn't any padding, and rocking a rocking chair actually takes some effort. I asked around if any family members had a glider I could borrow, because they are so expensive, but no one did. I had to bite the bullet. I justified the expense since I was going to be spending hours in the chair nursing, and then even after nursing we would use it to read stories for nap and bed time.
My husband and I looked all over for a glider and were surprised at how few furniture stores sell them. Of course there are lots to choose from at Babies R Us, and now even at Buy Buy Baby, but I didn't like anything I saw or sat in. Some looked comfortable, but they were deceiving. I spent a lot of time looking at reviews on Target.com, Babiesrus.com and Amazon.com. We ultimately settled on the Dutailier brand because it received high reviews for function and comfort. I didn't know if I wanted to spend the extra money on a reclining option, but I'm glad my husband convinced me to! I love it and have reclined just about every time I'm in the chair!