#1 Thing to Practice Beforehand?

Kyrgyz-American Wedding

Hi Ladies,

 For everyone who has gone natural, no matter the method, what is the one thing you are glad you practiced before hand? I have 2 months left and want to really focus everyday on practicing - be it meditation, kegels, squats, pelvic tilts, positive affirmations, breathing, whatever.  Thanks so much!

jencastorri

Being stubborn. I had 19 years of practice when DD1 was born and 22 years of practice when DD2 was born. Im due with LO#3 today so now Ive got an entire 25 years worth of stubborness undern my belt. My point is.....be strong and brave, but most of all be stubborn. I refused to let the pain get the best of me. Im not a relax and meditate kind of woman....just refuse to be beaten by pain. Maybe that makes sense.

kaeti_su

Breathing/relaxing.

nark

kaeti_su:

Breathing/relaxing.

This. Prenatal yoga helped me a lot.

iris427

There's nothing I practiced that really made a difference.  I just did what felt right in the moment.

I had a fast labor though (1st stage was only around 2 hours) so that helped a lot! 

cyprissa

Keeping your vocalizations low! When I started to raise the pitch of my voice, I felt more out of control...like a spiraling feeling and more pain. Sounds crazy but true.

 

utlawgirl

Breathing! Yoga was really helpful for learning to focus on my breath.

sschwege

When I could feel a contraction coming I would start at the top of my body and work my way down making sure every muscle was relaxed.  Then I would start slow breathing and visualization.  During transition I would hum as I was breathing out.  So I guess the number one thing that helped me was practicing relaxing my body and slow breathing/visualization.

I also did a lot of research on different forms of natural pain relief (warm bath, birthing ball, tennis balls on back for counter pressure, rice sock, etc).  You won't know what will help until you are in labor, so make sure that you and your birth partner have a lot of tricks up your sleeve for when the day comes.   

iris427

cyprissa:

Keeping your vocalizations low! When I started to raise the pitch of my voice, I felt more out of control...like a spiraling feeling and more pain. Sounds crazy but true.

 

I agree!  During labor I kept telling myself to keep a low pitch and it helped me stay relaxed.

tokenhoser

I'll see "stubbornness" and raise "self-confidence". I did a lot of reading and just generally really thought I could birth this baby. If you don't believe that, it probably won't work well.

Yoga was also great, both for the birth and for feeling better while pregnant. I spent a lot of time in a modified child's pose and on all fours, and being in good shape helped me have the endurance to hang out where I was most comfortable.

mr+ms

Relaxing every muscle from head to toe deeply & completely. I think that allows your body to do what it needs to do without interference.

MawrtyrB

Sleep and relaxation!

missfire

I did hypnobirthing, so relaxation. But what I think was most useful was learning to relax quickly while holding ice or doing something painful. Also (and don't laugh), learning to "breathe out the poop" during my pregnancy constipation made me more used to relaxing and not tensing up during pelvic pressure.

Kyrgyz-American Wedding

Thanks! This makes me feel more confident. I do think the relaxation and breathing seem to be more key than any physical exercises...