Granola

I have been informed lately that I am kind of granola. And while I was a little bit surprised to hear that I had earned that title, I am not the least offended. I guess I had it coming . . . I do own two pair of Birkenstocks (and even call them Birks), went thru a phase where I was making the bread for our family (That was a pretty short phase because John didn't like making sandwiches from it . . . you had to cut really thick slices or it would fall apart.), and now the kicker . . . we're having a homebirth!

To me having a homebirth is not that abnormal. My mom had the last four of us (I am one of seven) at home and my sister has had all five of her children at home, and with the same midwife I will be using. But I can see how homebirth would be foreign to people with no prior experience with it, and how it would be the final straw toward being "granola" or "crunchy."

FYI, I prefer the title "granola" over "crunchy."

You have to remember that despite having an almost-two year old, this will be my first labor and birth, as Sophia was born via C-section. I didn't even have any Braxton-Hicks during my pregnancy with her, and she was born a day shy of 39 weeks. My family has a tendancy to go late, so I figure with a due date of July 20th I'll be happy if the kid pops out by the first week in August. So we aren't just going for a VBAC, but an HBAC (H stands for home).

Now John and I have finally started preparations for the birth of Libby baby #2. And to that end we are going super-granola and taking Hypnobirthing classes. John insists that he is going to learn to hypnotize me with a dangling crystal amulet, but really that is not what it's all about.

The point is to learn to allow yourself to relax so deeply that your body can do what it is made to do, and to minimize fear of the process because angst really can slow things down and complicate birth.

So we go off to class every Tuesday night for five weeks, to learn to help me relax. And that is hard work for me, because my mind tends to be everywhere, buzzing all the time like a crazy hummingbird on crack that won't quit. Especially if I am trying to NOT think. Especially at the end of the first class, when we all curled up on our own giant beanbags (even the spouses) and listened to our instructor (who sounds like a female Kip from Napoleon Dynamite) read a relaxation exercise aloud and the guy next to me snored the whole time. Thank goodness Snoring Man and his wife weren't there this past week, so I actually succeeded in my attempt at super-relaxation.

What's up next in our homebirth adventure? I'm sure all you non-granola people are just a little bit curious, right? Pretty soon we need to order our birthing kit online . . . whatever the heck is in a birthing kit. And the birthing tub is already reserved thru our midwife, so that should be delivered a week or so before my due date. Then we just have to rig up adaptors from our shower to a garden hose so we can fill it in our bedroom when I go into labor. And then pray that our 1873 house is sturdy enough that a laboring mama and tub won't go crashing thru the floor.

That's it from granola-land for now. But be sure not to touch me on the shoulder when you see me. She-Kip says that from now on a touch on the shoulder is going to be one of my triggers to help me cue to relax ever deeper. Heaven forbid I get a touch on the shoulder when driving!