8 Days Away... and Hypno-Birthing

So while we're in this waiting process, let's talk a little about our birth plans and prep for Baby Boy since we have not documented as much.

With Emilia, we had planned for all-natural labor and delivery. We took hospital birthing classes and hired a doula. We had a few hiccups along the way, like Emilia enjoying the Buddha position and not turning around, but all in all, things fell into place and my labor was considered a "classic textbook" labor for a first birth(says my doula). I loved having a doula and could not have imagined going through labor without a doula. I still highly recommend a doula for those that want to have a natural birth (aka no epidural).

With Baby Boy, we want another all-natural birth as (assuming all normal, no complications) the benefits of natural outweigh the side-effects of using drugs.

We were introduced to the concept of hypno-birthing from a friend that went through it that had an amazingly short labor for the 1st child. While Em's birth was great, it was a good 14-15 hours of active labor. So Ryan did some research. Out of his survey of different friends and acquaintances, he found all positive reviews on hypno-birthing. Most people said learning the techniques really helped with dealing with labor with a high percentage of people having short labors. Long story short... Ryan and I took hypno-birthing classes and practiced the techniques. This time around our plan is to have an all-natural labor and birth using the hypno-birthing method. Instead of hiring a private doula (which still would be really nice to have, but we're trying to cut the cost down), we are going with the hospital volunteer doula.

With a second child, the labor is expected to be shorter by, typically, about 50% than the first child. And hypno-birthing, if done right, can reduce the labor even more. So... let's see. We tend to be more on the analytical approach to things, so, Baby Boy, let's see if the numbers will add up for your birth!

8 days and counting down....