by time time? I could've sworn that I had fixed that.

note: I don't think that everyone should go medication free. I opted for it because the very thought of needles near my spine makes me shriek out loud, it scares me more than any pain could so hey, there ya go. Besides there are lots of other options from a light touch of laughing gas to acupuncture to morphine (which shouldn't be put in near the birth as the baby will have trouble breathing - but if you have a full night ahead of contractions and can't sleep then by all means go ahead). We're all different.

Can't watch this at work, but will share it with mrs. tr33 later.

She's doing pretty good overall. We're about right in the middle of the 17th week. She's showing now, and is self-conscious about it, but I keep telling her how beautiful she is. She's been having some headaches lately, and general aches and pains and shortness of breath from everything changing in her body.

Just in the past week she's been sensing some movement, not to the point where I can feel it yet, but it's pretty cool when she tells me she feels baby moving around. Apparently baby really likes, or hates, the leg press machine at the gym. Lots of movement then!

She's been eating well, and keeping up her exercise though it has of course changed in intensity. She walks now instead of runs, and lifts lighter weights, only on the machines now - no free weights.

June 26 is the estimated date. We've picked out a few possible names we like - Sophie Rayne for a girl, Rainn David (or just Rain David, can't decide) for a boy.

I never did an epidural(my daughter did, and altho she enjoyed the pain relief, she did not enjoy the experience of actually getting it.)

Myself, I gave birth pretty naturally. A bit of demerol for the first one (he weighed over 9 pounds!) NOTHING for number two (she weighed almost 9) and a bit of Nubain for number three.

I recommend the bit of Nubain. Also, bunnies, don't go to the hospital till ya absolutely have to, as it gives them less time to tamper with you.

Labor does not have to be frightening and scary. Just read up on what to expect, then know the books don't always get it right, but your body does know what to do!

Exactly! Body knows. That's how my paternal gradndmother managed to pop out five at home in the kitchen. (no, seriously in the kitchen! It sounds like monty python and knowing her I bet it was. "Can you be a dear and get that?")

It's very good that mrs. tr33 is exersizing I was way too lazy for that. ;) Also, when your waist kind of vanishes but the bump is still so wee you do feel kind of bad, it gets much better when the bump shows properly!

Spiritual Midwifery. Yeah, I know, it's a goofy hippie book full of bad line drawings and people with terrible names like Sunshine Love but reading it over and over obsessively made all the difference for me between my first labor (24 hours, awful, endless, scary, impatient angry establishment doctor, etc.) and my second labor (18 hours, frankly also kind of awful but not really quite as bad, not scary, nice midwife, not dehydrated, no threats from doctors or nurses, etc.) I did both of mine without any drugs or epidural - and the second one I had no episiotomy, just ripped, which healed right up no trouble, whereas first child, had episiotomy, got infected, led to lengthy horrible gross medical saga which left me believing that episiotomies are the creation of the devil. FWIW, first child was 9 lbs 2.5 oz, second was 10 lbs even.

It's all worth it at the end when you hold the baby. Somehow. Sappy as that sounds. And, you forget labor surprisingly fast. And when it's over, you know, it's OVER. It's a process with a beginning, a middle and an end. It's not like it's going to go on forever. Also, bunnyfire is right - don't go to the hospital until the absolute last possible minute.

Thanks for this thread. I really do think labor and delivery are generally presented as terrible and scary (and people do love to tell their scary stories when they have them), and I really appreciate hearing about the good side, and that you-can-get-through-it message.

Thanks for this thread. I really do think labor and delivery are generally presented as terrible and scary (and people do love to tell their scary stories when they have them), and I really appreciate hearing about the good side, and that you-can-get-through-it message.

I put my two cents in in the other thread, somewhere around #135 or so. I also went natural, I took teh Bradley Method of childbirth (more to my liking, deep breathing as opposed to "hee hee hoo hoo" of Lamaze). My first labor was four hours long, less than two hours in the hospital before delivery. My second labor is when I really got into the Bradley (I got a leak in the amniotic fluid, he was three days overdue, so I spent the whole three hours of labor in the hospital before delivering him). I was so into a "zone" that I could barely whisper to my then husband to get the doctor, as I felt the baby slip past the cervix and into the birth canal. Four or five pushes and my 9 pound 6 ounce second son was born. I felt great! Yeah, I am a lucky one, with such short labors, but I have to thank my genes for that - seems to run in the family. That and wide hips. :^)

I've heard (and seen - egads, Discovery Health is all pushing, all the time) many horror stories, I swear women come up to me on the street with 'em!

I still know deep down that everything will be just fine. And Peanut will stay inside for five more weeks, no more, no less. He knows that the elements of his room are scattered all over my house and we are NOT READY YET.

((pinky.p))

I don't have a choice of drugs - most clinics and hospitals here in Japan don't offer them. You need to choose a clinic that does from the beginning.

Lack of horror stories is a good thing - it's scary enough without them!

(gomi is at 24 weeks now. The kid seems to have seriously strong limbs already. Ouch.)

The Business of Being Born is playing in NY at the moment. I hadn't realized that pitocin was synthetic oxycotin---without the love effects.

Agreed pinky.p, it's odd how labour just plain has to be bad and everyone MUST share their BAD labour stories - is it a martyr thing (in our culture)? The bad story spread spreads fear and that's precisly what women do not need when they're you know, probably a little freaked out already. At 28 weeks I felt like I had swallowed a kitten who was trying to claw her way out of my chest, with daily alien experiences like that we need little fluffy cloud thoughts, not horror stories. It's quite enough to handle all the swelling and puking and poking and suddenly craving crap you never ate before.

I was convinced that I'd be able to handle the birthing just fine for various reasons. For one, all the women in family before me did natural or laughing gas assisted births and they were fine, so why not me? Also, having endometrioses I've been managing a lot of pain for a long time, so I figured I had training in that department. But when I told anyone beforehand, even my man, that "it'll be cake, don't worry" - people would say things like "we'll see when we get there" and even my man would quietly tell me not to get too high of hopes. What the hell? Let a woman be convinced that she'll do just fine if she already IS convinced that she will. Also, I did just fine, thankyouverymuch but when I'm telling people that they'll all switch over to "my birth was terrriblleee" or something. Stop it! Let positive birth experiences be the standard! I am happy birthing machine hear me roar!

Also, I think acid freaking on the kitty 's comment on hypnobirthing is a must read for anyone near their due date. My midwife explained this to me about a month before and it helped me a lot.

I hadn't realized that pitocin was synthetic oxycotin---without the love effects.

You are incorrect. Pitocin is synthetic oxytocin aka "the cuddle hormone". If they were referring to love effects they would mean the feelings that stimulate maternal-infant bonding.

Oxytocin induces contractions as well (obviously - it's why they are giving it). Interestingly, the same hormone is involved in milk letdown (contraction of milk ducts) and male ejaculation (contraction of the seminal vesicles). The latter point is not included in the wikipedia article.

synthetic oxycotin--- i busted out laughing when i saw that.

Oxytocin and its effects are what I meant...isn't cuddling an expression of love?

i use to ask for Xanax when i meant Zantac. it's easy to look like an accidental druggie.

hahaha. Well I've had to correct someone else on the oxycontin/oxytocin mistake, so I was assuming it was an easy one to make, rather than just a typo.