Beating the Clock and a Lifetime of Negative Influence

I think I may have made it...I might have beat the clock.

The last month has been the busiest of the year for me. Transitioning from squash to tennis season, finishing up with my classes, grading and writing comments, dealing with dorm drama, and doing everything yearbook has consumed every Buzz-free minute. Once I got most of the schoolwork done, the housework began: cleaning the fridge, emptying the baby's room to be painted, transferring Buzz's clothes from the changing table to his dresser in his big-boy room, washing baby clothes and putting them away, putting the Pack N' Play together, putting the co-sleeper together, washing the fabric on the baby car seat, organizing closets and sorting through clutter, and vacuuming obsessively since a new shedding season has begun.

Not that I'm "done" with any thing really, but I could have the baby tomorrow and I wouldn't freak out. Phew.

I had my 37-week appointment last Friday, and it was a big deal for me because my blood pressure was still good. It was at 37 weeks with Buzz that it started climbing and all the interventions began. That felt good.

On Wednesday, I went to a Hypnobirthing refresher course, which was wonderful. I listened to two women's recent birth stories, enjoyed hypnosis, and practiced the breathing methods. Overall, I feel very relaxed and calm about what's to come. I'm even looking forward to being up during crazy hours at night because I'm so convinced that breastfeeding will be a completely different experience after having the chance to bond with this baby immediately after birth.

My entire attitude towards this birth has been a procedure in coming to terms with my frustration over Buzz's birth and unlearning everything I've absorbed about labor and birthing my entire life. It's so amazing how birth is seen in this culture, as though there's this great conspiracy to make women dread the most incredible experience nature has bestowed upon them. Just today I considered watching an episode of "One Born Every Minute," since my sister-in-law recommended it to me, but all it took was the info on the cable guide to tell me that it was the opposite of what I needed. The description of the episode was something like, "Mother faces horrific complications." I just checked the website out, and here's an actual description of a recent episode: "A first time mom tries to joke her way through labor, but her delivery has the last laugh; two teenagers cram for the test of parenthood as they say goodbye to their childhood; a loving couple conquers the dreaded needle only to face a gut wrenching C-Section." And to really drive the point home, all you have to do is see the website's flashing graphics of hysterial women. It's CRAZY that this is what we're supposed to anticipate!!

If you're really interested, take a look at a hypnobirth on youtube, and you'll see what I mean. But calm, peaceful, serene births don't make for good tv or movies, I suppose.