That's complete bullshizzle. That's not even what I'm doing in the pictures. And no, it's not yoga either. That was yesterday's prep class on pushing (this one is when you push on all fours...may try it...). But there's actually another technique besides your classic mother's-face-becoming-beet-red-and-hemorrhoid-explosion-down-there method. This one is more breathe in, then as you shoot out concentrated air from a teeny tiny hole you make with your lips, you suck in your tummy, imagine your uterus getting crammed up under your rib cage as the midwife repeats "Démoulez! Démoulez! Démoulez!" which means "remove from the mould" (like when you turn out a cake). I can't help myself from thinking of cake when she says that. I'm sure on the actual day I most likely will NOT be thinking of cake. This method seems to be much easier on the rectal area, so I'll be trying this first. And if all else fails, then...I'll have to resort to some good ol' pushing.
As I went to bed last night, I said to myself, tomorrow is December 23rd, Baby's due date is exactly one month away, when you wake up in the morning, you have to be mentally ready no matter what, because she could come out any day now!
Why all this pressure on myself? Because I want to try a drug-free birth...one Daddy at our prep class asked me yesterday why I would want that. I thought to myself, "Yeah why on EARTH!!?" but I told him if my mom can do it, if my grandma can do it, well then I have to atleast try! My mother did it 3 times, both my grandmothers combined 8 times, my great grandmothers combined 15 times (and one had twins hello?!). I could atleast try once.
But these are actually all really tough women now that I think of it... He probably thought, "Bad reason." R. said he wouldn't be disappointed in me even if I resorted to taking the epidural --- that a boy!
Something else I learned yesterday in class: birthing is of course easier when baby's head first (great! That's my case!), and with his back to the left (that is not my case!). Because babies turn clockwise when they come out, and so if Baby has his back to the right that means she has to rotate almost a full circle to have her back on the left to come out. That means longer and more painful because Baby will be pressing on your spine rather than your tummy. This is one of the reasons why they tell you to sleep on your left side throughout pregnancy, but nobody told me this! They just kept saying it's better on the left side because you don't crush some huge vein or something. If they would have told me this, I would have done it!
One last thing that I learned: if the placenta is not 100% whole when it comes out, midwife's gonna be ramming her hand up in there, and by there I mean the uterus, to find that little missing piece. Of course, if it's a small piece just a bit of gas for the mother, and if it's a huge chunk, they'll get the anesthesiologist to come.
Am I really going to try that drug free birth?
Hmmm...decisions decisions.