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The Truth About Your Diet During Pregnancy

One of the assumptions I made about pregnancy prior to becoming pregnant is I’d have a diet-related Get out of Jail Free card.  I knew that there are certain foods it’s best to avoid, but I thought at least I’d have a free pass to eat, well, not quite as much as I wanted, but to feel a bit more guilt-free about evening ice cream binges. That turned out not to be the case at all.  First off, the whole “eating for two” thing isn’t true.  At most, you should eat for one and a quarter.  In addition to that, … Continue reading →

Why I Have A Doula

We’ve written a little bit before about doulas on the site, but we’ve never been able to share personal experiences with one until now.  Back when I first found out I was pregnant, I wanted a midwife but couldn’t find one.  I thought at least I might be able to find a doula, because that would be better than nothing.  I wanted someone, other than my at-times too logical husband, who would definitely be all on my side during labor. It took me a while, and I actually ended up finding a midwife first, but I was able to find … Continue reading →

What Is A Doula?

You may have heard one or more people talking about using the services of a doula during and after childbirth. If you are wondering what a doula is, you have come to the right place. Today I am going to offer a brief explanation of what doulas do, so that you can decide whether you would like to find one to help you out. A doula is a trained professional who provides useful information as well as physical and emotional support for a pregnant woman during and for some period of time after the birth of the baby. There are … Continue reading →

How to Mentally Take Control of Your Labor Pain

Have you ever wondered why a person will cringe at the thought of a vaccination, but will gladly let someone put a piercing gun to their lobes for a new pair of earrings? Some people hate going to the dentist, but have no problem putting on a pair of rollers blades and burning down the bike path like they have jets on their skates. Pain is relative, and our experience with pain has more to do with our understanding of it than the physical amount of it. Sometimes all we need to endure pain is a sense of purpose and … Continue reading →

Favorite Pregnancy Themed Movies

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Here is a list of some of my favorite movies featuring pregnancy: Fools Rush In I’m a sucker for dramatic child birth scenes in movies, and I know I’m not the only one! When Salma Hayek goes into labor on the bridge in the pouring rain, Matthew Perry yells, “but we’re on a dam!” as though that mattered! Every time she screams, he screams with her and his face is priceless. I always tear up when they cuddle their new baby girl together for the first time. Knocked Up I love how this movie brought up all the awkward issues … Continue reading →

Music, Love and Labor

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The first time I fell in love, I was sitting in a pile of overstuffed pillows underneath my dorm room loft. My husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, had watched a movie with me on my tiny TV and the credits had long since rolled. The pillow pile, a college budget attempt at a sofa, was our favorite spot. I threw on a CD, and while our favorite song played, I realized, “this is it… this is where I belong.” That song would be played again in front of all our friends and family while we danced for … Continue reading →

Spinal Headache

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Let’s add spinal headaches to the list of reasons I am so glad I didn’t get the epidural. One of my favorite shows to watch is Bringing Home Baby on TLC. The other morning there were back to back episodes that featured women who both ended up with a spinal headache for the first week or so after giving birth. I cringed as these new moms confined themselves to bed in agony. They relied on their husbands to do most of the baby care, struggling to sit up when they needed to breastfeed, and one mom even resorted to using … Continue reading →

My Experience With Natural Childbirth, Part 1

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People are always shocked to hear that I had my son without any pain medication. Even the nurses who cared for me were surprised when I turned it down. My doctor made a remark about not remembering the last time he did a non-medicated delivery. Am I really that rare? To me, choosing not to use pain medication was an easy decision for many reasons. 1. I preferred to be fully alert during the entire process. 2. I did not want to risk being subjected to any side effects. 3. I did not want to expose my son to such … Continue reading →

My Experience With Natural Childbirth, Part 2

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There are many different ways to cope with the pain of childbirth. When it comes to a drug free birth, you have your choice of Lamaze, the Bradley Method, acupuncture, hypnosis, yoga, meditation, walking, massage, taking a bath or shower, or distracting yourself. I largely credit my ability to cope with the pain of childbirth to two things: prayer and the Bradley Method. I had taken a childbirth class through the hospital that loosely followed the Lamaze method, focusing on patterned breathing and relaxation. A few weeks before I gave birth to my son, however, we enjoyed dinner and conversation … Continue reading →

My Experience With Natural Childbirth, Part 3

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“What was it really like?” That was the question I was asking all my girlfriends who’d gone before me. I learned that woman have such a wide variety of experiences, even between their own children. No labor and delivery is quite the same as the next. Each one is unique. Some women made me a little nervous with their stories of 48 hour labors and 4th degree tearing. Fortunately, my story is not so traumatic. That is why I’m sharing my childbirth story: if one woman can take a breath and relax after reading this, I’ve done my job. I’m … Continue reading →