Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Climbing pregnant: Week 39

Rock Climbing
Yee-Haw! I'm officially feeling very pregnant. I went climbing in the gym yesterday and it felt great. Each climb is very slow. I have to swing my body side to side to be able to see the foot holds, actually place my foot on it and then shift my weight in order to go up. It's like hula dancing. For the first time I'm not psyched to make it to the top of the route because it means lowering down. I really don't like the lowering part. My harness squeezes my belly and its uncomfortable. Baby is fine, I'm not like cutting myself or anything. It's just uncomfortable. I had to yell down to Doug, my climbing partner, to lower me faster...I'm sure I sounded impatient and demanding. I'm so lucky to have him. He doesn't care. He cares that I'm climbing, and that's it. He doesn't mind that I can barely get up a climb, or that I don't let him fall while I'm belaying. Thank you Doug for being so supportive!
L-Day
The big day is coming soon. I'm both nervous and excited. I'm trying not to count down the days. A watched kettle never boils.
I'm reading a pile of labor books to help myself prepare. But everyday that I climb I'm thinking more and more about transferring those thoughts and methods to my labor. When I get a little pumped I focus on my breath and imagine myself in the middle of a really hard contraction and I think about opening and relaxing. Climbing is still climbing of course and can't really compare to labor but I believe any kind of mental preparation I can have increases my success of having a natural birth.
Tomorrow is my birthday and I've been waiting until that has passed to start doing "Let's get this show on the road" activities. I plan to take a long walk every day (and climbing of course) following my bday until my son is born. I just don't want to share my birthday with my offspring.
To think, I'll get to meet him in the next couple weeks. It's so exciting!