What daily preparations are you doing for labour? (If any)

[HarderToKidnap]

I'm 34 weeks tomorrow and thinking about what sort of things I need to do to prepare my body and mind for labour. This is DC1 and I am pretty committed to a drug-free home birth, although open minded of course. Are you doing anything specific to prep for the birth and afterwards?

From 34 weeks I am going to:

sit on birth ball twice a day for twenty minutes
do an inversion every day (spinningbabies.com/techniques/the-inversion)
perineal massage every day
listen to hypnobirth CD/practice hypno breathing
yoga DVD twice a week
try and do aqua fit once a week
regular sex

From 36 weeks:

colostrum harvesting
raspberry leaf tea

Anyone else doing anything?

Sorry, link to inversion spinningbabies.com/techniques/the-inversion

With DS I went into labour at 9.30pm Monday night and he was born at 3.30am Weds morning. I wasn't having daytime naps so I went from Sunday night until about Weds lunchtime without sleep, and then of course I was straight into the night feeds. With this pregnancy I am doing hypno birthing every day and RLT but also making sure I have a lunchtime nap just in case I go into labour in the evening again.

Well make sure you relax too. With DS (first), I was told that after 36 weeks to stop focussing too much on labour ie no more reading, keep up any gentle exercise and relax where I could. Definitely take naps

Why are you colustrum harvesting?

Yes naps!! They are already part of daily routine so no changes need to be made there

Colostrum harvesting - I have so much colostrum that if baby comes out with a dreadful tongue tie or something or my nipples fall off then I will be really pissed off that it went all over my tops and down the shower plughole instead of in the freezer where it could be useful. Recently we had a breastfeeding study day at work where we looked at some new research which suggested it is useful in establishing milk supply afterwards. And also I have a sneaking suspicion it will reduce likelihood of going post-42 weeks.

Nothing!..Just resting when possible, this is my 3rd baby & my last delivery was pretty rapid, toying with the idea of a hypnobirthing book/CD..but undecided!..

WTF is colostrum harvesting?

I'm doing absolutely nothing whatsoever bar turning up and shouting for drugs, it's the Doctor and nurses jobs!

Wow-the idea of perenial massage was alarming enough but now I'm supposed to be colostrum harvesting too?!? How on earth....??

Have promised myself a lot of early nights in last couple of weeks this time round. With DC3 I was knackered during labour as my waters broke at 11.45pm, he was born just after 4pm. And I had gone to bed for an early night - he was a week early!

Never heard of colostrum harvesting and I am having my 4th baby and have breastfed them all for 11 months.....

Colostrum harvesting? I was able to get colostrum out from about 12 weeks, plenty of it. I drank gallons of RLT and ended up with an atonic uterus after 17 hours of induced labour. Plenty of sex. I went to 42+2 and managed to breastfeed for the grand total of 7 weeks.

The best thing you can do to prepare for labour is chill out, relax and let your body do what it needs to do when it needs to do it, rather than setting yourself a schedule of things to try and encourage labour. It will happen when it happens.

Well I'm 36 weeks with 3rd DC and so disorganised only just got around to buying car seat let alone think about anything else!

But I was planning on plenty of walking, staying active and trying to relax - had 2 pretty good births so far!

Sorry colostrum harvesting?!!! LOL! Never seen any before baby came along but guess we're all different!

Ginar, do you not have nipple cheese? Look closely.

Ha Ha yuck - no seriously I don't

Not sure I've ever really seen colostrum but maybe that's because I never harvested!!! But managed to breastfeed 2 babes already and plenty of milk.

But I forgot to say that what I am really doing before giving birth is just revelling in my last few weeks of pregnancy this is going to be my last baby and is kind of sad!

Ok, Im only 20 weeks but geeez, I didn't know I had to do any of this stuff. How do i know what Im meant to be doing??!!

I've been panicking cos I haven't even bothered attempted pelvic floor whatsits. I feel like I should be more enthusiastic about the preperations given that this baby is my first but I just can't get motivated.

Eeeek!

wow! if I wasn't a jaded old second-timer, I'd find that list really scary. I'm due in 3 days and my schedule is to sleep every spare second I have and to stare longingly at the Gin bottle ... FWIW I found ignoring anyone who said yelling didn't make the pain go away was the key to a drug-free birth

Pelvic floor exercises. And that's it. In an attempt to ensure that I still have a pelvic floor as it's likely to come in useful somewhere along the way! And am hoping there'll be less to rectify once baby comes along.

Have to say, didn't do much before DDs 1 & 2 either and it all went fine - oh, apart from sorting all of my Christmas cards and shopping before DD2 (she was born 2/12) - I was so proud. But that's probably not what you had in mind....

The births kind of took care of themselves - both very straightforward, happily. I would second lots of rest, except that I've ended up feeling like a beached whale for the preceding 6 weeks each time before, so it's not always easy.

Good luck - but don't overdo it!

PMSL @ Colostrum harvesting...ahahahahaha :D

I don't think I'll be doing anything. I really should be doing something, because I had a shitty labour last time, but I'm just lazy.

Hope you have fun!!

BTW, I wouldn't go overboard with the "colostrum harvesting" too early, as nipple twiddling can lead to the uterus contracting and ultimately labour.

Not much except trying to get prepped for Christmas.

Did more with DS (spinning babies, RLT) but even so ended up with a section at 40+16 after my waters broke at 40+14 and but labour was never established (he was posterior and had the cord wrapped around him so couldn't engage let alone descend).

Am hoping to get some rest after I stop work at 39w so I'd like this one to be a little be late but not too late as edd is 11/12!

Oh and didn't do colostrum harvesting but still managed to breastfed DS sucessfully for 4+ years.

Gosh. Really? Very daunting checklist, OP!

I'm 32 weeks and my plans are ...

pelvic floor exercises
rest
see friends, usual hobbies
write Xmas cards
make a yule log
eat yule log
shop online for cute baby things
feel excited

Oh, and I really want to try that new praline mocha Starbucks is bringing out.

That's about it really from 36 weeks. I'm just going to relax and enjoy not being at work. It'll be my last 'me' time for a while, so I'm keen to make the most of it!

Never heard of this spinning baby thing. Had a scan today and the baby was already lined up and good to go, so fingers crossed he stays put!

Xmasbaby

My list is pretty similar:

Wander round Mamas and Papas for exercise cooing at cute baby items

Allow mess to accumulate in house as a science experiment to see if DH will pull weight when baby appears

Eat lots of expensive lovely food for me baby

I loved the post upthread that said 'turn up and demand drugs'

I'm booked into my midwife led unit and my mum told me I'm bonkers and to take everything on offer, especially an epidural - her eyes misted over a bit

You do know that difficult births can happen to the most 'prepared' women OP?

I think its fab your so organised well done you. I'm doing following:
Resting much as poss
Having as many massages, facials etc as poss
Eating lots of nice foods
Trying get comfy keep getting tummy pains
The massage perinum is making me nervous whenever I think about birth it scares me makes me feel weak and cant breathe decided not think about it too much is that bad?

I'm nearly 37weeks with DC2 - DS was natural no pain relief homebirth too.

Last time I:
continue weekly pregnancy yoga
did pelvic floor exercises when I remembered
pregnancy massage + labour massage pain relief class for DH
yoga birth prep with DH
drank RLT when it didn't make me gag
cooked lots of meals for the freezer
bounced on the ball A LOT
did as many social things as possible

This time:
continue pregnancy yoga
doing pelvic floor exercises when I remember
pregnancy massage + labour massage pain relief class for DH
yoga birth prep with DH
taking RLT tablets
osteopath once a week for SPD
physio once a week for SPD
therapy in anticipation of PND
rest rest rest
buying in ready meals for freezer
going nowhere near the ball

am also WTF at colostrum harvesting....

valbona you're 3 days away from due date and you're still only staring at the gin bottle?!

last pregnancy I got out and about as much as poss this time I'm single parenting half the time while DH works between here and the US and am knackered. My folks had DS last weekend to give me a break and I spent THE WHOLE WEEKEND on my sofa watching True Blood - my body felt amazing after that!

Absolutely nothing. It's gonna hurt like hell regardless, just like the last two, so I'm just sleeping as much as poss.