Could labor day be the day of labor for me?!
Could I be that lucky? Could it be meant to be that I would go into labor on labor day? That was the wish (spoiler, it didn’t happen). Even though this is my second baby and even though I know that few things will affect when a baby decides to be born, I have many wishes for days I would like him to come and also days I would prefer for him not to come. Will a membrane sweep do the trick? Should I eat more evening primrose at this point? Acupuncture: actually helpful or just hippy dippy nonsense? And how to overcome the fear of having a baby on 9/11. All the thoughts from the days leading up to labor for me, Sofie Woods, founder of Swede Wellness and proud mother of two.
As I navigate the very well travelled yet unpredictable road of pregnancy, I find myself obsessing over one particular thing. A day to be specific. A famous one. 9/11. A wish to not have our baby be born on 9/11. I don’t think this thought truly hit me until about one month ago when we got closer to the actual due date. I have always had in mind that I would not like a baby around Christmas. Too much celebration already that takes the attention away and already gift overload frenzy to compete with. No, I want my childrens day to be special and theirs and only theirs. And then came the realization that our baby boy could be born on one of the most famous dates in modern history. So how to deal with this type of obsession. Cause I can assure you, there are many more obsessions to come if you are expecting a baby! I do not have great answers to this but I do have what I have done myself and maybe, just maybe this can be of help for someone else.
Worry is a waste of imagination is one of my favorite quotes and something that helps me find steady ground at times of unease. Said by Walt Disney it is so simple yet so hard. Why worry about something that has not yet happened? Or something you have no control over? Are there not better ways to use your mind, creativity and imagination? Yes, yes and absolutely yes there are! It’s just how to get there though. In my specific case I have tried not to talk about this fear with too many people and instead tried to focus on other dates that I want to envision him to be born on. I have said things like “the 8th would be great cause March 8th is when his sister was born” or “9/9 would be swell, easy to remember”. Trying to put other dates out into the universe.
Always look on the bright side of life is another cheesy quote from Life of Brian that I try to live by. How can you spin your worry into something good or positive? In this specific scenario I would say we are in great need of good things happening on this date to balance out all the negativity around it.
Pregnancy during covid has been different one can say. Just to list a few things that are worth noting:
My husband could not join appointments for the first few months and was not able to go to any ultrasounds this time around.
Every appointment I have to wear a mask.
They check my temperature every time I go to see the midwife.
I leave the building right after my appointment and call them from the car to make my next one.
They have made nitrous gas not allowed at the moment so I can not use that as pain reduction medication.
I am only allowed to have 1 support person for labor and no one else can come and visit at the hospital.
Pregnancy during covid has also been very normal.
I was nauseous for the whole first trimester pretty much.
Second trimester was great and full of energy and movement.
Third trimester I started feeling like a hippo and the scale did not help with the confident level.
The worry and anxiety about labor and pain was still there.
Also the worry about not having enough love to go around with two babies and a husband. (Something I found was nothing I needed to worry about as my heart just simply doubled in size when baby 2 arrived)
And then there was labor…. The road to recovery has started for me as I gave birth to a strong and healthy baby boy on Sunday September 13th. Lucky enough to only have 5h of pre-labor and 30min of active labor, it still came with a flabby belly as a result and now I am on the journey to healing and getting re-accustomed with my body and it’s new shapes and forms. I did have a natural birth but not because I am against drugs or an epidural, just because I wanted the queen size bed option at the hospital. And this is just partially a joke believe it or not. After seeing Phil sleep on a small little uncomfortable couch last time I wanted us both to be able to sleep in the same bed this time around. Priorities I guess ;)
