In this age of excess and  self indulgence the new idea of a “babymoon” has arrived.  A Babymoon is basically a trip away to reconnect, relax, reflect and plan before the arrival of the new baby.  Similar to the “honeymoon” where a couple takes time to enjoy each other and their new commitment to marriage.

Well, give us an excuse to travel and we will jump on the chance!

To The Pool, Four Seasons Style

Justin and I went on our first babymoon before Stella was born to the beautiful Tofino on Vancouver Island.  It was a fantastic getaway and a great time for us to just concentrate on each other and spend a little quality time together before Stella arrived.  Our last trip together alone for what will likely be a very long time.

Daddy and Stella heading to the Pool

So in keeping with tradition we took another babymoon with Stella a couple of weekends ago.  We just went up to Whistler and spent a few nights relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.  Stella loved the pool and we let her watch “Finding Nemo” which was the highlight of the weekend.

In preparation for the arrival of a new baby it’s always important to not only prepare for the baby in all areas:  physically and mentally as I mentioned in my previous posts; and making sure you have all the things you may need for when baby arrives (let’s face it folks, all you REALLY need is a car seat and some diapers and maybe a blanket or two…but I know, we all buy and collect an entire room full of things we think we need).  But I do feel that having a little down time to just think about ourselves and those close to us is a really big part of preparing before the baby comes.

Whistler Dinner

A well rested and connected husband and wife will make for wonderful mommy and daddy.  And we hope that this second babymoon with Stella gave her some of her last “only child” time that will give her the confidence and security to be a very loving and caring big sister (we know she will).

I am 37 weeks today.  I’ve had a bit of a spurt of energy over the past few days and the baby seems to have quieted down a bit.  All signs that we both are preparing for his or her arrival.

As I continue to think of new posts to my “travel” blog when I’m not “traveling”, I keep thinking of how similar preparing for and traveling is a lot like being pregnant and having children…you never know when your plans are going to go awry and you have to be adaptable and flexible.

Good news…we found out today that the baby is in fact not breech!  It was a great relief as we were quite concerned.  First and foremost for the safety of the baby and myself.  I have to admit I was scared to death to have to consider the thought of having a c-section.  I was really panicking about being “cut open” and having surgery.  I know that it happens all the time but I was fearful of the possibility.

Thankfully this little bump in our plans didn’t throw things off too much but rather made us focus even more on the upcoming birth and actually made me even more excited about the new little baby that’s about to join our family.

The tech who did my ultrasound wanted to tell me so badly if it were a boy or a girl but I asked her not to.  We still want to be surprised.  I was tempted though!

Baby Lee #2 Giving us the Thumbs Up

The little one is quite active and seems like he/she will be just as funny and full of life as Stella.  He/She even gave me a “thumbs up” which was a little sign I believe that everything is going to be just fine.

So having a baby and raising children are really just one big adventure and we all have to adjust/adapt and make due with what we have some times…just like on the road.

So I had big plans to blog about all the physical preparation I try to do in preparation for labor and delivery to find out yesterday that the baby might be breech (my midwife is 95% sure and the signs I’ve been having, kicking in the spinal cord and shortness of breath all indicate she’s right).  I won’t be able to get a full confirmation through an ultrasound until late next week due to the Easter holiday here in Canada.   So it was recommended we start doing some things to try to get the baby to move now.

Some techniques include:

Lying on an ironing boarded tilted against the couch for 20 mins, 2 times a day…I’ve started this and it has made me incredibly dizzy but boy does my back feel nice when I am doing it.

Putting ice or frozen peas on my belly where we think  the baby’s head is to make the baby want to “move” away from the cold.

Shine a light “where the light don’t shine” to give the baby “a lighted path and direction” of where to go (this one was shared with me last night by some girlfriends…at least it made for a good laugh)

Hand stands (yes, pregnant, but it was only recommended to do this in a swimming pool)

Talking to the baby and telling him to move.

Massaging the baby into the position he is supposed to be in.

Visualizing the baby in the correct position.

Acupuncture

Chiropractic procedures

And a few others…

We are optimistic that the baby will still flip (I am 34 weeks now) and will be doing a lot to try to get him/her to flip.

What I was going to blog about today though was all the physical preparation you have to do to get ready for labor and delivery.  While your body naturally prepares for labour and delivery I do believe there are some things you can do physically to help.

I believe that you must be strong physically to birth a baby.  That doesn’t mean you should be running 5 miles a day every day but you should at a minimum take a good 20-30 min walk (up and down hill and stairs) every day.  You need cardiovascular endurance for labor and strength in your legs for pushing.

I also recommend a lot of squats and climbing stairs.  I did a lot of this last pregnancy and our house is full of stairs I have to run up and down every day so I think that helped.  However, if you are breech, squats are not recommended so I won’t be doing any of these until we know the little one has turned.

Swimming is an amazing way to prepare as well.  I’m not a huge swimmer but I know a lot of women who swam during their pregnancy and loved it.  The feeling of lightness and ability to just float is a very nice thing, especially when you are HUGELY pregnant.

Food…yes, everyone thinks we pregnant mommies get to pig out on ice cream and pickles as it is our right and that’s what we “should be eating…”  Well, I can’t say enough about trying to eat as healthy and wholesome food as possible when you are pregnant.  You are creating another human being and your body is going through a ton of changes.  You have to feed your body good “fuel” to run it.  That doesn’t mean never having a yummy ice cream or burger.  Some would actually say both are fantastic for you when you are pregnant for the calcium and iron you’d find in these.  But all things in moderation.

If you want to avoid bloating, avoid salty foods and drink a lot of water.

Which is the last thing that is soo important in pregnancy (and all the time for that matter) is to drink TONS of water.  Worried about amniotic fluid being low, drink water.  Tired all the time, drink more water, I bet you’ll feel better.

A lot of people might not agree with me and say pregnancy is a time to sit on the couch and eat bon-bons but I disagree.  If you are strong and healthy going into pregnancy and throughout your pregnancy  you will birth a healthy baby and also bounce back quicker so you can be a good mother.

So it’s off to try to get this baby to turn.  Wish us luck as I am incredibly discouraged right now but trying to stay focused on the task at hand, having a healthy baby!

Yesterday I spent the day with Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa and her husband Gurushabd.  I took part in one day of a four day intensive Kundalini yoga training course at Semperviva here in Vancouver.

It was an incredible day (starting with a morning meditation at 5:30 AM and going until 3:45 PM with some serious discussions, meditations and Kundalini yoga).  The reason I went was to prepare mentally for labour and delivery of our new baby.

Gurmukh has become my “yogi guru” over the past few years and I have tried to take any opportunity I can to attend workshops with her here in Vancouver or go to her studio, Golden Bridge, in Los Angeles when I’m there.  I am not a very religious person but her teachings and Kundalini yoga itself is very spiritual.

The teachings of kundalini go back to the origins of yoga over 2000 years ago which is spritual, with the phsycial results being a by-product of the spritual journey of yoga.  It’s interesting because as a westerner I always did yoga for the physical side of it.  Kundalini teaches you to seek happiness and to let go of pain and suffering.

Through various meditations and what you might call “intense calisthenics” (think of pressing your palms together above your head while seated and holding them there for for 11 mins…not so easy or doing squats for 8 minutes while chanting).  Through these calisthenics you are condtioning your mind to push thru the pain.  If you can overcome the pain and turn off your mind which is stopping you in the first place, you can do anything.  You can push past any pain life may throw at you.  And then become truely happy and some may say “enlightened.”

I started doing Kundalini yoga when I moved to Vancouver and it was an amazing tool to help me deal with the pain and heartbreak of losing my mother.  Through my practice with Gloria at Semperviva I started becoming interested in Gurmukh and her teachings.  I also became familiar with her passion and teachings in natural childbirth and prenatal preparation.  She has a fantastic book I recommend to any newly expecting mother, Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful: Experience the Natural Power of Pregnancy and Birth with Kundalini Yoga and Meditation.

Before I even got pregnant with Stella I attended a workshop with Gurmukh and her teachings put me on the road to a successful natural childbirth and happy baby with Stella.

While yesterdays’ workshop was not focused on labour preparation it was a fantastic reminder to me that I have all the physical power in the world to birth this baby I’m carrying.  I just have to continue to strengthen my mind in preparation.

A few tips about natural birth for all those mothers or soon to be mothers or maybe some day will be mothers…

You are equipped with all the physical tools you will ever need to birth a baby.  Women have been doing it for many many years.  We women were made to have babies.  It is our soul purpose on this earth (all my feminist friends please do not get up in arms…I know we have a ton of other reasons for being here but biolgically speaking, this is our purpose..to procreate, carry a baby and deliver the baby into the world and then nurture it to adulthood).

Our bodies have been conditioned and primed our entire lives to give birth.  We have all the tools we need to birth a baby.  What we some times lack is the confidence in our bodies and the mental capacity to push thru the “pain” of delivery.

Somewhere over time we’ve lost that ability or perhaps forgotten our given strengths as women.  I don’t remember the birth of Stella as a painful experience.  Yes there was pain but there was always this mental strength that told me that the pain (labor) would deliver me a beautiful healthy baby.

It’s the same in Kundalini yoga, the pain of the meditations still the mind and deliver us to a better clearer place.

I would recommend kundalini yoga to anyone who is fearful of labor and delivery but who would like to have a natural childbirth.

My last piece of advice that I give to anyone who asks me about natural childbirth is that you can do anything for 60 seconds.  That’s how long a contraction is.  There’s a beginning, middle and an end to each contraction.  Just like a bell curve.  There are no surprises on that front (yes, your body may not always cooperate and their can be complications but generally speaking, labour is very rhythmic).  If you can focus on those 60 seconds and getting thru them and take each contraction as it comes forgetting the last one and not thinking about the next one, you will be just fine.  As labor progresses they will come faster and more intensely but YOU WILL get a break between each contraction.  Focus on the end game, a beautiful healthy baby and you will be succesful.  Push thru the pain.

I hope my one day with Gurmukh and her wonderful blessings will give me the mental strength to have natural childbirth again but also the ability to be flexible and adjust to whatever may happen with our upcoming birth.

Writing this post has really helped me prepare even further for our upcoming “labour journey.”

As I close I want to share with you my favorite song from Kundalini yoga.  It’s a wonderful lullaby to sing to your baby each night and one that I often have used to calm Stella as she heard it sung to her even inutero.

“May the long time sun shine upon you.

All Love surround You.

And the pure light within you, guide your way one

Guide your way on, Guide Your Way On….

Sat Nam”

One of the hardest things during this pregnancy has been coming up with a name for our new little one.

With Stella we had always had that name.  A name we both liked for a very long time, even before we even thought about getting pregnant.  She has 2 middle names as I had always wanted to give her a strong and not incredibly common first name, Stella; James as a middle name to be a little different and as a namesake for her Daddy (Justin’s middle name is James); and we gave her a 2nd middle name, Elaine, as my mother had passed away 2 years before and we wanted to honor her by giving Stella her name.

It all just came together pretty easily.  Of course we went to the hospital with a girls name all picked out and had NO clue what we were going to do if it were a boy.  And I had fully expected the baby to be a boy…lucky for us it turned out to be our lovely Stella.

So how do I compete with that name?

We are at a complete loss for a name.  And we are concentrating on boys names as we are OK with some of the girl names we’ve come up with.

Viivian, Sloan or Pacha . . . or some combo of these.

It’s the possible boy names that have stumped us again….CAN YOU HELP!  If you have any suggestions or want to vote post your vote here or shoot us a suggestion.

If we don’t come up with something the poor child (if it is a boy) will be named Mortimer…Justin’s favorite.  I only hope he’s just kidding.

spencer
keanu
quinn
cash
finley
fletcher macleod
chase mccartney
carter
hudson
aidan
Bennett
Brody
Chance
Ferguson
Graham
Harley
jack
jackson
max
lennon
Luongo