I'm in the final stretch! Actually wonder if I might not be in early labor as I'm sitting here writing this post (probably only wishful thinking but who knows?!) with some looming mid back pain that isn't exactly that bad but it's there, and it's messing with my concentration. I've been experiencing some Braxton Hicks the last few weeks already so any contraction could also only just be one of those. Agghh first time pregnancies are so confusing! I mean, I've done my research and know every possible sign of labor( you might say I'm obsessed) but still find myself wondering about every little thing. Earlier I had a light cramp and for sure went into a total new mom craze just to realize that I was only a bit gassy and the position I was in was not really, how would you say, gas friendly?

Enough about the weird TMI things. I decided to write this post about things I'm doing to prepare myself for labor so that after the birth I can come back to this post and give my honest opinions about it all.

Mental Preparation

There's a lot of fear around the unknown of what happens to our bodies during pregnancy and labor. The more fear that we have, the more we become anxious and the more stress hormones are released, thus making labor, in itself, more painful.For this reason I decided to educate myself as much as I can. I've been watching home birth videos, hospital birth videos and basically anything I could handle. I've done way more antenatal classes than I think is normal and the suggested videos on my YouTube has now become x rated. I'm now expecting a three day labor and the most intense pain ever. I feel that when expecting the worst and accepting it ( aka no fear) you can only be pleasantly surprised if labor is different than expected.

Physical preparation

 

Nutritional Preparation

 I've been drinking one cup of Raspberry Leaf tea every day since week 32 and ever since week 37 I've been drinking it at least 3 times per day. I buy the loose leaves and prefer to let it cool down before I drink it. Ive also added Motherwort herb to my raspberry leaf tea since week 38, but can I just give out a warning that motherwort is probably the most bitter tasting thing I've ever tasted.

Studies have also shown that dates makes your body produce the same hormones you produce when in labor or breastfeeding. It is apparently really good at preparing you for labor. So I've been eating about 6 dates per day since I read the study, which was at about 36 weeks. This is either with my soaked oats in the morning for breakfast, a date-o-raid snack or just munching on them during the day.

 

Spiritual Preparation

Our mind is a very powerful tool in pain management. Through specific mantras and sayings, we can decrease our pain. Here is my favorite 3 labor mantras.


I would love to know what you have done or are doing to prepare for labor.

xx