38 Weeks and Need to Relax

Hi R.,

Here is a list that I give to my doula clients for some things to help you get through the last few weeks. Hang in there!

1. Bake bread
2. Sleep-in and savor it
3. Walk around the mall. Buy yourself a little gift.
4. Make a belly cast
5. Make a casserole and/or soup and freeze it for after the birth
6. Ask you mom about your birth
7. Write a letter to the baby
8. Buy 3 roses: one already open, one starting to open, and one closed bud. She how they all open in time.
9. Book a housekeeper to come a week or to after the baby is born
10. Get or give yourself a pedicure
11. Go to a brunch buffet
12. Go to a movie by yourself or with a friend
13. Put on music and dance
14. Look at your wedding album
15. Call your best friend (sister, mother, doula) Tell her everything you’re afraid of
16. Draw or paint a self-portrait
17. Stroll through new hope- even on a cold day
18. Turn your face up to the sun
19. Take a swim. If its cold, find an indoor pool- ask for a “try the Y pass” at your local YMCA.
20. Rent a hotel room with your hubby
21. Eat your favorite meal
22. Make a birth music mix
23. Buy a lullaby CD
24. Sing out loud
25. Eat lots of fiber
26. Go food shopping and have some of your favorite things on hand for after the birth
27. Think of your answers for when friends ask “Can I do anything?” “I’d like you to come and clean out my fridge” or “Come make me a Greek salad with chicken and kalamata olives” are perfectly acceptable responses!
28. Spend a little time in nature
29. Watch a comedy
30. Revisit your wedding song and find a song that speaks to your husband in this new phase of life
31. Play a board or card game with your hubby
32. Do a puzzle
33. Walk, draw, or trace a labyrinth
34. Go to a museum
35. Go on youtube and enter “amazing birth”. Enjoy. Check out some animals giving birth too.
36. Build a birth altar
37. Have sex
38. Take a yoga class
39. Cry if you need to cry
40. Drink lots of red raspberry leaf tea
41. Bake oatmeal cookies and have them on hand in case you need to increase your milk supply later on
42. Cut images out of magazines that depict how you envision yourself as a mom. Make a collage.
43. Look at the moon
44. Stretch
45. Invite some girlfriends over. Ask them to make you a birth necklace… each friend speaks out loud something strong, wonderful, loveable about you as she puts her bead on the necklace.

There is also a CD from Hypnobabies called "Baby Come Out!" that might be helpful.

Good Luck,
C.

What do you like to do? Try soothing music. Sit back, kick your feet up and listen to music......even if it's your favorite. Comedies! Get some funny movies, rent them, buy them, doesn't matter, but watch them. Laughter truly is the best medicine. Yoga if you can do it. Meditation, I can't do it, I laugh....buy a little waterfall or get a small aquarium. Dance......if you feel like it, in your living room..........I know what you mean about the big body thing.....I was skinny before I had my first one too, I cried when I fit into my ex-husband pants! I had an 8 pound baby boy! My back hurt for weeks, and I couldn't carry him around from the strain on my back.......You can also try one more thing. Create a happy place in your mind. Sit in the nursery and make a place in your mind. I have a place which is kind of funny, I don't really care for beaches, but when I need to sleep, that's where my mind goes......to the beach, warm sand beneath me, palm tree swaying and the waves hitting the beach......I close my eyes and imagine I'm there....works like a charm . Good luck and hang in there. You'll do great!

1. You are doing great. It is normal to be emotional - everyone is. There is so much unknown.
2. The baby is not ready to come yet - you want him to be ready. All this discomfort is preparing you for a life of always having someone else to consider. You are also being prepared for lack of sleep once the baby comes and needs you to nurse him (best thing ever - it takes a few weeks to figure out - get the lactation consultant to your room all the time while you are in the hospital to help you work on it).
3. Comfort - a long warm bath, lavender oil to smell,
candles along the bathtub,
foot massage from your boyfriend.
Drink more water for the headaches. You are producing 50% more blood - which is mostly water - so you need to be drinking tons. I get up in the morning and just drink 16oz before I have time to think about it.
4. Call up girlfriends to talk every day. Ask about them (I find I feel better when I call someone I know might be feeling lonely or rotten when I am feeling lonely or rotten - it gets me out of my ugh-ness and feels good to help someone else, if simply by asking a few questions and listening). It's too much for any guy to handle all our words and emotional needs - pregnant or not.

I used to sit in the shower with the hot water hitting my back. When sleeping, lay on your side and put a pillow behind you, and one between your legs. Or, if you can afford it how about a pregnancy massage.

My doctor suggested drinking a couple of ounces of castor oil -- she said it gets "everything moving" down there (in your belly.) You can mix it into a smoothie with vanilla ice cream and orange juice or just drink it straight and chase it with something more pleasant. I drank some castor oil, had sex with my husband and IMMEDIATELY went into labor. This was two days before my due date but, it worked for us. Best of luck.

Do something relaxing for you, like get a mani/pedi, something simple, go to a movie. Just keep in mind that amazing little being growing inside of you that needs you to be calm and healthy for him. My first is now 15 months old and it only gets harder once they are out!!! Sleep as much as you can, try a body pillow to lean on or regular pillow between your legs. Have your partner message your back, take a warm bubble bath - not hot. Emotions run high, you can't really help it. Good luck!

You're almost there! Take warm showers or baths, rent some videos, curl up with a good book, and eat some good junk food! That's what I did in my last weeks of pregnancy. I know it's soooooo uncomfortable, I know....but honestly, try and enjoy these last moments of only having yourself to take care of. Soon enough, your world is going to be completely rocked! In a good way! :) But you won't have this time for yourself anymore. If you have the funds, book a massage or a little weekend getaway--not too far from your doctor of course....
Good luck! It's so worth it in the end- as the mother of 2 gorgeous kids, take my word for it!
Lynsey

I second the prenatal massage! Now that your this close they will be able to massage your whole body when in the early trimesters they couldn't massage certain pressure points or places on the feet or hands because it could bring on labor. Try it! maybe it could bring on labor. I have heard that it does. I don't really know 1st hand. I did have a massage around that time and had my son not too long after, but honestly have no idea if the 2 were connected. It wouldn't hurt to try.

A nice warm bath. How bout a prenatal massage? I had severe back pain with all 3 of my pregnancies, my obgyn gave me a prescription for Ambien and also for Flexeril for the back issues. Talk to your ob. Tell them how you are feeling, they can help! But yes, waiting is so hard. By the time I was at 37 weeks with number 3 I was DONE. I had HAD it. I tried EVERYTHING to bring on labor, nothing worked. I was induced!
About the HEADACHE, it could be a sign of preeclampsia, call you doctor! Just remembered you said you had a pounding headache.

You're so close. Just keep your eye on the prize. I know it's easier said than done, but I kept focusing on how much growth and development was going on with the baby. It's hard to remember that when your body feels like it is at its limit. Plus, you're getting more sleep now than you will when your little guy gets here...believe it or not! Take advantage of that.

To sleep better, I suggest using a pregnancy pillow or regular pillows to help support your body. I sleep so much better with the extra cushion and support. You can ask your doctor, but there are probably some sleep aids you could take to help you get a more restful sleep. I know Tylenol PM is on my "safe list."

Do you have access to an indoor pool? When I was huge, floating in a pool was WONDERFUL! I was so buoyant I could not sink - my belly bobbed up like a cork. It took so much pressure off my back I never wanted to get out. A body pillow might help you get more comfortable for sleeping/napping. Drink plenty of fluids and rest up as much as you can. Just a few more weeks to go! You will be just fine.

Hi R.
Congrats on your new little one which will be here soon. That little guy may be just trying to make his appearance.
When do you see your OB? Have you told your OB how you are feeling? Some of what you are saying is typical of labor. Trying to relax is only possible if you are not in labor. To find out you need a check up in my opinion.
The only time sex works to bring on labor is if you don't want it to, and the OB would have told you, months ago. Neither does the ride down bumpy roads or whatever else you have heard. You don't want to go too early but you don't want to be in trouble either. Checking with OB is best, better safe than sorry.
I went to bed at 18 weeks for preterm labor and was thrilled to have made it to 37 wks and 6 days. What symptoms are you waiting for.-- pains 2 minutes apart? With none of my 4 children did I get there? Call the OB to be sure what you are dealing with.
God bless you and help you make good decisions
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