M & I have been to a couple of learning sessions in the past week to improve our skills as parents. First was a breastfeeding workshop by Interior Health – 2 hours in an evening about the benefits and strategies for effective breastfeeding. Much of what the public health nurse shared was familiar: breastfeeding is …
Some of the physical changes with pregnancy make me laugh. The first one that struck me was restless leg syndrome. When I heard about this at first (advertised through drug companies on TV), I thought it was a classic case of over-medicalizing normal conditions. I could not imagine that anyone would experience their legs as …
To keep myself calm and stress-free, I’ve found that cultivating a certain sense of entitlement is helpful. For example, I am consistently late for my Monday night yoga class. Previously I was working, arriving home at 5, which didn’t give enough time to eat and get to class by 6. Now, life just happens – …
A new thought: good to dwell on all the aspects of birth I’m looking forward to. Here are a few. The love and support of my husband Being in our home The coziness of birthing in October Our great midwife and her support Our wonderful doula and her support Stocking the house with great food …
Sunday started slowly but built up pace as we moved through the day. Particularly after dinner, as we kept motoring through tasks until almost 10:00 at night. I found it quite challenging to relax and be okay with a slower pace during the day, as we had ambitious and necessary plans to get a lot …
One of the biggest things we still need to figure out before baby comes is sleeping arrangements. Simple question – complex calculations. We were given a free crib a while ago, but it didn’t seem appealing – and wouldn’t fit in our bedroom. Some of the considerations we’re going through include: 1) Our sleeping preferences. …
I just finished reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, and want to start my own! Her initial realization was that she wasn’t as happy as she could or should be, and she wanted to get happy now – for its own benefit, and so she would have a happiness reserve to fall back on …
In a combination of coincidence and good planning, a whole stack of movies I requested at the library have become available in the past week. So, as part of my work/prep/relaxation/just because time, I’ve been watching a lot more videos than usual. You are only permitted to take out 2 adult popular films at a …
Early in our pregnancy our midwife lent us a copy of The Pink Kit – a New Zealand resource developed for pregnant women and their partners to prepare for birth. It’s different from any other birth prep I’ve seen in that it examines the physical processes of birth and the individual anatomy of each woman, …
It’s 4:27 in the morning and I”m awake. I woke up more like 3:45 and have been trying to get myself to sleep again, but no good. Sleep is sometimes a bit dull – close my eyes, lie there doing nothing – while being awake I can read, surf the internet, have something to drink …