The Humpty Dance

Happy baby Hump day! A few related things:

The Humpty Dance...

This picture of a mama posted on The Skeptical Mother facebook page makes me so incredibly happy. After I posted that I wanted to bring a hip hop play list with me to my birth, and twerk through my contractions haha (jokingly), and then having nay sayers tell me I wouldn't even have time for music during my labor, let alone dancing or singing (they DO realize me and my baby are FOSSES right?! haha), this photo was perfectly timed and posted after I needed some positive, music loving, dancing mamas to back up my desire to bring in my baby with music and dance. Its about the love and light-heartedness, ESPECIALLY during the challenges that are to be expected with birth. What's the use in fear-mongering? Its about loving and supporting each other as women, and not telling someone they can't have fun- even if child birth might not be the first thing you think of when you think, "Fun Times!" haha. I'm excited for the experience, discomforts, challenges, stresses, blood, shit, and all that is childbirth, I feel that its about celebrating and embracing this amazing right of passage, and welcoming a new life in with love, and not fear, or negativity. I've been mentally preparing myself for this experience, and have been visualizing the pain and hardships that may feel overwhelming as something larger than me, and to release and accept (humor is part of this for me), rather than stress or fear them.

The Skeptical Mother, is a great page. All of her posts are wonderful in regards to childbirth, motherhood, and all related, super positive, strengthening and beautiful... Seeing this laboring woman move and dance through her contractions fills me with so much love, so cute! And of course I am not thinking that I will be pulling out a choreographed jazz routine once I go into transition (though I might want to listen to The Time Warp and dance like a transvestite), but I do know that for me, there will definitely be some Fosse hips circling, jazz hands moving, and perhaps from jazzy shoulders helping through the contractions. There is no way in heck that this body (or this baby) will let me sit or lay still in silence during labor. Dance it out girl!

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall....

So earlier this week, on my walk back from lunch I totally fell down. It was completely embarrassing, but luckily I caught myself in my hands, and only slightly scraped one of my knees - belly was safe. This center of gravity thing is constantly changing, and now that I can't see my feet when I walk, I especially need to slow down and not trip over myself or cracks in the pavement, because that is not fun, or flattering. Haha. Totally sucked.

And my favorite, is my big, growing belly hump!

She is getting bigger than ever, and moving so much stronger. Those arms and legs are really dancing in there! I've been woken up by her a few times now, not really "kicking," as much as it feels like she's slowly, and strongly, pushing out! A leg, an arm, like morning stretches, rather than rapid or violent kicks. Sometimes she'll give me a quick poke or nudge, and usually that makes me gasp haha, but mostly it feels like she's practicing her hatha flow routines in there.

Speaking of yoga, its been so wonderful to have the free classes at the birth center. I feel like they have been the glue holding together my body, mind, and soul through all these changes, while I continue through my work weeks and the hot texas summer. I've already started to think about some small gift ideas to give to Cat for all of her encouragement and wonderful energy and instruction in her classes. Really, I don't think I can even begin to express how much the yoga offered at AABC means to me. Every birthing woman's medical bill should have free yoga included for wellness! So thankful for the birth center. I can't say it enough.

And speaking of awesome free love for mamas, I just ordered my free breast pump, an electric medela advanced that my insurance covers 100%. One of the gals in my centering group mentioned that her insurance offered this for her, so I finally called my own to see if mine did too, and they do. So awesome. All the help we can get! Finally getting all the pieces together in preparation, just a few more things to cross off our list...