so hypnotiq

Today marks my 30th week of pregnancy (!) so we are definitely on the downhill slide to our little alien's arrival. Here are the latest photos of my expanding waistline:

Last night Mikey and I had our first hypnobirthing class, which definitely made moohoo's upcoming due date feel even more real. Hypnobirth uses focused breathing and imagery exercises to make birth a more relaxed, natural, and positive experience. There's evidence to show that when a woman's stress level goes up, her labor will go on longer because the body's reaction is to slow contractions' strength and frequency. By employing some of the hypnobirth techniques, labor can supposedly be shortened and made much less painful. I am certainly crossing my fingers that this will be the case!!

Overall I am continuing to feel pretty healthy and good, although lumbar and sciatic pain have pretty much become normal parts of my day. I wake up frequently at night to find that whatever side I am sleeping on has gone numb, and just trying to roll over to get more comfortable is a painful experience. I've been stretching frequently, using a heating pad, enjoying massages from Mikey, and generally trying to stay active... but nothing seems to provide more than very temporary relief. My midwife has recommended that if I do not see improvement before my next appointment (in a week), I should go see a chiropractor to look into other forms of treatment. I'm crossing my fingers that I don't have another 10 weeks of constant pain to look forward to... but I'm not sure how optimistic I am considering that all of the following activities have left me in a near-paralyzed state: leisurely walks; 1 string of candlepin bowling; climbing a flight of stairs; standing up too quickly; sitting for too long... pretty much anything can do it! Other than feeling sleepy and achy, though, I think my body has adjusted to pregnancy pretty well... and I only have to get through another 70 days or so before being rewarded for all my hard work! :)

Seems like this post has been kind of a downer, filled with all of my complaints... allow me to share a funny moment from our hypnobirth class that should lighten the mood: during the guided imagery exercise, one of our fellow classmates became so relaxed that he let one rip right in the middle of our "rainbow relaxation" experience. Definitely made it difficult to continue concentrating on being enveloped in "the violet mist of relaxation," but certainly made the drive home with Mikey more hilarious.