If a painless birth is what makes a Hypnobabies mom a success then, I’d have to consider myself a failure…and I don’t. I used this program and my birth was not pain free but I feel that I was a “success”.

Many Factors are at Work

There is an awful lot that affects us as we’re birthing and while many of us may be able to completely comfortable, some of us may not be able to fully get there…

• we don’t know what our babies are doing to work their little-selves out
• maybe they don’t drop for a long time
• maybe their position is unusual
• maybe our bodies react in an unusual manner
• We all birth differently!

I would have LOVED to have had a pain-free birth!

I meditated on it, I did my home-play faithfully, I listened to my affirmations once, twice, sometimes three times a day! I went above and beyond what is prescribed in the home-play. If anyone was open to having a pain-free birth, it was me! (:

When the waves started I started my hypnosis, my doula came over and took me through the scripts, my husband worked on the cues with me…you get the idea.

• I was able to rest more
• I was able to relax
• I went into my birthing time TOTALLY unafraid
• I bonded with my husband
• I used my peace cues until the very end

I looked at the entire process differently, I lived by the mantra, “I accept whatever my birthing time brings me.” but, I did not have a painless birth. 

Does this mean that I failed? Nope!

If being comfortable is the only thing we look at when assessing if Hypnobabies “works” or not, I feel it’s really limiting. The fact that I went into my birthing time confident and fearless is absolutely enough to have made the program worth it for me and yet I received many more benefits than just this alone.

- Mandy  Click here to read her whole birth story and see the other benefits she had

May was a good month, my main focus was

May is for Meals!

Here are my goal updates for May.

• I met my goal of 24 books for the year – I am up to 27 and increased my goal for the year to 40.   But I am marking this as completed in my mind. 

• Cook healthy homemade meals 3 times a week –YAY, I even did 4 or 5 times some weeks in May.  This last week with Rob out of town I did 2, but I am sure I averaged at least 3 times a week!
• Be active participant in my 3 book clubs – I went to 3 this month!
• Get Contacts for T1 – Done!

Summer Goals?

I have been enjoying the series at Inspired Birth Pro, she talks about setting summer goals.

My summer doesn’t start until the end of June, because that is when the boys get out of school, then they have a week of volunteering at the Cub Scout Day Camp which is busier then school – so for me summer starts in July.

So here are the goals I want to focus on in June!

June Goals

BIRTH

• Share Induction Video Far and Wide – Schedule Tweets and Blog Posts about it.
• Online Classes – KNO – I could maybe finish this Birth Options class by July.  I want to do at least 2 more sections of it.

HEALTH

• walk 4 times a week –
• Make a Weekly Meal Plan – I am running out of steam and ideas for this – but want to keep doing it.
• Eat as a Family 3 times a week.  – I want to maintain our momentum on this.

HOUSE

• Keep the Kitchen Table CLEAN! – Keep this up too – I think this is closely linked with above goals.

FAMILY

• Go on 3 dates a month –
• Be active participant in my 3 book clubs
• Go on a Hike Each Month –

SPIRITUAL

• Pray and read scriptures as a family every day.  – Maybe start doing this at dinner time?
• Family Home Evening (family night/planning and game) Every Week. T1 was complaining we didn’t have “real lessons” so I have been stepping it up with that.
• Be on time to church each week – Yes, still doing good with this!
• Study Scriptures Daily –
• Pray Daily –

PERSONAL

• Organize the new TV Entertainment Center
• Clean out the office
• Create a new shoe system for the house (the boys shoes are getting to stinky to keep in the family room.)
• Organize the jackets and make a new system for that! – With it getting warmer, we can certainly cut down to 2 jackets hanging for each adult and 1 for each kid!

KIDS

• Support T1 as he earns his Eagle Scout – He is doing good.  He has talked with the principal.  He just needs to decide what he wants to do and get it approved!
• Volunteer 50 hours a school year at boys school – I am up to 35 hours – I don’t know if I will make it to 50 this school year, but will certainly do as much as I can this last month.
• Help Thing 2 earn his Webelo and Arrow of Light – He should earn this in June!  He has everything done.

Maybe this is too many?

It worked so well last month with just focusing on Meals.  But some of these goals are just habits I want to continue on.

So my Main Goals will be

• Meals/Table/Scripture and Prayer

• Online Class

BIRTH WORKERS

• OB’s response to Unnecesarean Blog
• What do you think of when you hear Midwife?
• Free Doulaing, when is it OK?  I have done quite a few births for free, but am choosy about it as well.
• Communication Skills for Birth Workers – some great points!

BIRTH

• Tips for affording the birth you want.
• Did you have an un-planned cesarean?  Share your experience
• Inductions and cesareans
• Does a good birth happen because of chance or choice?
• What Makes Hypnobabies Special?
• Traumatic Birth: why it happens and resources for recovery
• Feelings about an Un-expected pregnancy
• Eating Placenta After Birth to stop Bleeding? I love the insights by a midwife into this practice.

Enjoy Surfin’!

Visit other surfers for more Sunday Surfing: One Rich Mother, Karen’s Healthy Lifestyle, Becoming Crunchy, Adventures of a Thrifty Mama, Touchstonez, The New Mommy Files, Fabulous Mama Chronicles, Blacktating, Adventures in Mommyhood, Greener Cleaning Mums, Child Organics, I Thought I knew Mama, Monkey Butt Junction, Motherhood Moments, Wife, Mom And More, Mama and Baby Love, Gems of Delight, Enjoy Birth, Breastfeeding Moms Unite, Domesticated Women, This Adventure Life, Maman A Droit, Hobo Mama and Baby Dust Diaries.

I usually post my goals on Mondays, but I got a little off schedule.  But that is OK because I accomplished my goals last week!  So this is a goal/organizing post.   Join  the 52 weeks of organizing at Organizing Junkie!

I had another week where I

• cooked meals
• we ate together
• sitting at our CLEAN table!

How did I do it?

To actually make meals happen:

• Meal planning is really helpful
• The key to making it happen for me, is to cook or assemble in the morning.
• When I wait til 4 or 5 to start, I don’t have the time or energy to make it happen.

To keep the table clean:

• Taking pictures seems to be the main key! I have posted a gallery of all of my pictures from the week below.  It may be a little boring, because they pretty much are just a fairly clean table.   So instead, here is an example of before and after picture.

The table this morning - before I "took my picture"

I knew I wanted to be able to post a clean table picture for today – so I cleaned it  (only took about 5 minutes, because I have been doing it morning and night for over a week) and then I took my “official picture”

"Clean"

• If the boys are not home when I clean it, I make piles and put them in their laundry baskets.  So they know where to find things and they bring their things up to put away with their laundry.
• If they are home, I ask them to clear their things from the table.
• It amazes me that I find 4-10 pens or pencils on the table every day. 

I am kind of scared to do it without taking pictures.  Will I lose my MoJo if I don’t????

What is it about documenting my work that motivates me?

Do any of you have a similar quirk?

I just learned that the FDA is seizing birth tubs and threatening to destroy them, because

They claim they are unregistered medical equipment, but they are not providing a way or means to get them registered.

Really?  This pretty green tub is a medical DEVICE???

At the Childbirth Today blog they said,

I also realize that many of a woman’s options and choices in pregnancy and childbirth are under attack.

And therefore since one arm of the U.S. government believes that pregnancy is an illness and birth is a medical event and anything that is used during this time is considered a device that needs to be approved by the FDA, what is the next option/choice to go?

Maybe Beds?

• Maybe beds would be the next to go.  I am joking, but why not?  Are they approved medical equipment?
• Maybe toilets?  I know a lot of birthing moms like to sit on them.
• Maybe Birth Balls – I know of hospitals that refuse to let moms sit on them.

What do you think?

Do you think it is OK the FDA is using their time and money to seize birth tubs?

Here is a great post by Bellies and Babies with more information.

Angie from www.doulaville.com has won the Brest Friend Travel Pillow.

I downloaded a new plugin, which automatically picks the winner. Much more high tech then me asking one of my boys to pick a number 1-66.

So Angie I have e-mailed you, please send me your address so I can send you the pillow.

I have another great give away planned for June!

Here are my thoughts as a Hypnobabies instructor and as a Hypno-Doula of over 30 of my students:

My first response is No! But I think in reality:

It depends on how you define success!

I say something like this in the first class:

• The purpose of Hypnobabies is not to have a pain free birth
• It is to have the best and most comfortable birth possible
• Each birth is different and you and your baby together will create your experience
• the birth location you choose, your baby’s positioning, different interventions – there are so many things that work together in creating your birth experience
• You will learn the information you need to make the best choices for YOU and your baby
• You will learn and develop tools to help you every step of the way.

If a mom takes this attitude and is flexible and makes the best choices for her during her birth and is supported in those choices she will hopefully feel successful.

A different definition of success:

However, there are some moms who get hung up on the comfort part.

I think it may be possible that some moms search out Hypnobabies because they are so afraid of the pain and that becomes their main focus, birth being comfortable. Which I know it CAN be, but moms would benefit to focus on the bigger picture.  Because birth has so many facets to it, it is very limiting to focus on only one part.

These Moms may feel they have failed if they have discomfort.  I try to reassure them, there is NO WAY to fail, but they have their own perceptions and create their reality.

Moms need to start asking these questions,

• Did Hypnobabies help you during your pregnancy?
• Did Hypnobabies help you during your birth?

If the answer is yes, then you were successful with it! 

I will have 2 follow up posts with Moms and their insights about being successful with Hypnobabies during their births.

This looks like a great way to help a child and it is only for 2 weeks!

Click here to learn more about the Fresh Air Fund.

A thoughtful reader of my blog, sent me an e-mail letting me know about this recall.  I am happy to pass it on!

ducduc llc is recalling about 330 fixed-side cribs. The bottom rails on the crib sides can separate from the sides when the mattress is in the lowest position, causing the spindles to separate and the mattress to drop. This poses fall and entrapment hazards for young children.

The manufacturer has received five reports of separated rails. No injuries were reported.

This recall includes ducduc fixed-side cribs with the model names and item codes ending in 2009, 2010 and 2011 listed below. The name”ducduc” and the item code can be found on a label located on the mattress panel.

 

Click here to find out more information!

PREGNANCY

• Keep your Pants On!  Refusing routine vaginal exams can be a great idea.

Awesome posts to communicate clearly with care providers – must read series!

• Part 1 – Talking with care providers
• Part 2 – Good hospital questions
• Part 3 – Great examples of good and bad conversations

BIRTH

• Labor Coping Scale instead of Pain Scale
• Can a hospital kick you out if you don’t follow “policies”?
• Being quiet during pushing – a good thing?
• Awesome VBA2C from nurses point of view.

PARENTING

• Not fun to think about, but important to do.  Make a will.
• Feed your baby in the bathtub – tip to make clean up easier
• Reality of life with a newborn – what you are doing is important!

Visit other surfers for more Sunday Surfing: One Rich Mother, Karen’s Healthy Lifestyle, Becoming Crunchy, Adventures of a Thrifty Mama, Touchstonez, The New Mommy Files, Fabulous Mama Chronicles, Blacktating, Adventures in Mommyhood, Greener Cleaning Mums, Child Organics, I Thought I knew Mama, Monkey Butt Junction, Motherhood Moments, Wife, Mom And More, Mama and Baby Love, Gems of Delight, Enjoy Birth, Breastfeeding Moms Unite, Domesticated Women, This Adventure Life, Maman A Droit, Hobo Mama and Baby Dust Diaries.