Braxton Hicks Happenings

I've been awake since 4:30 am. So what does one do at 4:30 am?

 Read peoples' birthing stories of course.

I eat them up. Seriously, I love it.

About an hour into my reading, I felt my very first Braxton Hicks contraction! It was pretty dang cool. No pain- in fact, I would have barely noticed the sensation except my hand happened to be at the top of my belly and I felt my uterus tighten up underneath it.

I got a little excited.

Maybe more excited than a normal person should be.

My body is learning how to contract- good job body!

So, as I'm sitting here feeling this hardening under my hand and smiling from ear to ear I HAD to wake Rico up.

"Honey- I'm having my first Braxton Hicks contraction!"

You can tell he knows his stuff, because even dead asleep he just calmly reached over toward the top of my belly to feel it. In waking him up and fumbling with the covers to get his hand in the right spot, the contraction ended.

I say it to my  class at LEAST once every few days, but "Our bodies are SO amazing!"

I must say, one of my favorite things about pregnancy has been getting to actually feel and experience the things I've been teaching for years. It makes everything so exciting!
I have lots of "Whew- I wasn't lying!" moments.

I've also recently realized how prepared Rico is for this. I asked last night, "Hey, I never asked you, are you ok after watching that water birth in class? Did it freak you out at all?"

"Why would it freak me out?"

"Well, have you seen a birth before?"

He stared at me with that look that says, I'm going to give you a few seconds to realize what you just said was foolish- just in case you want to go ahead and take it back or blame it on pregnancy brain:
"Alli, I'm married to you- I've seen a LOT of births before that."

Oh... Right.

I forget that "normal" people don't talk about the uterus and contractions and interventions and birth plans years before even trying to have a baby (although I recommend it)

"Normal" people don't have to  tell their wives not to use the "p" word (placenta) in conversations with people you just met

"Normal" people don't  buy dvd's about natural labor and  make their husbands watch them years before they even want to start trying. (I wanted to be sure he didn't just understand my reasons for waning a natural labor- but that he felt some of that passion too)

So, yes, it was silly of me to worry about his emotional state after watching what I would label one of the least graphic labors I now remember making him watch.

This man continuously surprises me.

I remember the first time he went on a granola-grunt (a term I just made up to capture the moment of frustration when you hear a story that reinforces all the reasons you are choosing natural methods and you can't say a thing.... Until you are alone with your spouse... Because you don't want to hurt any feelings, or cause some big debate, and frankly, because it isn't any of your business.)

I don't  remember  what story we heard, whether it  was on the news or if it was after I told a story about things kids say in class and the misconceptions they have- but I remember him being SO frustrated and saying, "How do people not know this?!"

I know, it sounds rude- but everyone does it.
You do to.
It's like when you and your spouse agree on, let's say, politics.
You nod politely in public when people say things you think are insane.
You hold your tongue because it's polite.
 You don't start rambling about YOUR opinions, because, again it's none of your business how others make their decisions and why.
You're not the boss of them (Rico has to remind me of this a lot…I think it's the teacher thing)
But THEN you get in the car and let it out with each other. 

You've all been there.
Admit it.
I'm not the ONLY Judgy McJudy out there.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who do the SAME thing when they get in the car after a convo with me.

The first time he started spewing facts and talking about the cycle of intervention I remember stopping him mid sentence to kiss him. Now, years later, I know he is not only prepared for this birth- but he is my strongest ally. There's not much better than knowing you've got a supportive partner.  

So I started my post thankful for my body and contractions... And somehow I ended thankful for my husband and his support.
I'm a lucky girl to have all this to be thankful for  before 7 am.