Anyone TTC #1 and 30 or older?

[Jezika]

Aww your mommy group sounds cool, Kat. Did you find that group after having Alexander? I want to find one, but only met one couple through prenatal classes.

I've had some gentle cramping today. Not sure if I should be measuring them. They don't seem regular. I know it doesn't necessarily mean anything will happen anytime soon but I'm so excited!

 

[MissDoc]

Kat-- Sorry about the hubby overdoing it. Hopefully he's being extra sweet to you now. ;-) And your mommy group sounds pretty neat. I would like to join something like that, but everything I see seems to meet during the work hours, so I'm guessing there aren't working moms in the groups around me. Too bad though, sounds fun! How cute that you all have boys, too. Lol.

Buckeye-- So sorry about your losses. I hope the medicine is just what you need to get that sticky baby very soon!

Star-- Eek, 12 weeks! What a great spot to be in! Congrats on this milestone.

Jezika-- oh my goodness, I would be getting excited too. I know it's just mild cramping, but within a week of your date estimate... that must be promising! How wild to be so close to holding your little Matilda and introducing her to the world outside of the womb.

Angel-- It's nice to hear that your side lying massages are good. I haven't had one yet mostly because the side lying thing hasn't sounded appealing to me, but maybe I'll give it a go! And your little girl will be here soon too! Wow!

AFM, I'll had my hat to the ring of having had an alcoholic parent (do we congregate together, or what? Lol). My mom was/is a raging, aggressive alcoholic (in and out of rehabs and incarceration). But I think those sorts of pasts give us character and even more motivation to be better parents ourselves.

My first trimester seemed to crawl by ever so slowly. This second one is going a tad faster for me since I'm not counting down every little hour and day. Within the past couple of days I have a noticeable bump growing. It mostly looks like I've eaten a lot of cheeseburgers and beer still, but it's always there. This has led my hubby and I to lovingly call our baby boy "the cheeseburger" for now. Lol. Poor kid.

 

[KatO79]

Jezika the health care provider offers it and it's option al. Women here take 6-12 months off for their maternity leave so have time for a group. I assume that once they one by one go back to work we'll not see much of each other if at all. Depends on if any friendships develop. My MIL didn't develop any friendships back when she was in a similiar group some 35 years ago so she doesn't have contact with any of them now. We'll see, I know most here don't make new friendships after college so it's not for sure I'll end up friends with any of them FXed with your cramping!

Thanks MissDoc and as I said women here mostly take 6-12 months leave. Even most very career oriented women take on average 7 months. It's a time you'll never experience again or be able to get back so most choose to sacrifice their career to a degree to bond with their baby.

 

[Fancy_Pants]

Hey there! I'm also 30 and DH just turned 40. I have a 6 year old DSD. DH and I have been together since she was 2 so that's helped to keep my ticking clock from chiming too loudly until now. LOL. That and the 6 years of post secondary I just completed. I'm happy to have found this thread. I get a lot of comments from people insinuating that I've waited "too long" (nice, right?!) but I don't feel like early 30s is that old! DH is a very healthy 40yo so I'm not too worried. I'm glad we waited until the time was right for us to try, but I must say I'm elated to be embarking on our first cycle where we are actively trying. T-minus 2 days util AF is due to hop on her broomstick. Trying not too put too much pressure on everything but also doing a few extra things to get the party started on the right foot (just completed a 3 month cleanse, prenatals, maca root for both of us etc). I've also been temping, charting (including lunar) and am ready with a cupboard full of OPKs and HPTs. Can you tell I'm type A? Anyways, nice to meet you all and good luck to everyone. Happy baby making!

 

[Buckeyegirl86]

Welcome Buckeyegirl! I'm so sorry to hear about your miscarriages. Before we conceived this pregnancy we had been trying 14 months and I had 2 miscarriages as well. My doctor referred us to a specialist who determined that I had low progesterone which was causing miscarriages. I'm sorry to hear about your mutations, but that's great that they can be treated by medications. Have you been able to start treatments yet?

Welcome to our group. We have a lovely group of ladies here. I've been with this group for a very long time (since sometime mid 2015 I think? I can't even remember) and these ladies have been a lifesaver.

I cannot start treatments for my mutations until I do get pregnant. It is so nice to have a group like this. It has been tough to go through this journey alone (besides with the husband of course). It makes going through this easier.

 

[MissDoc]

Kat-- Believe me, I wouldn't hesitate to take that time either if maternity leave was paid or if it made sense in terms of financially caring for our family. I think it's great! It wouldn't even sacrifice my career/profession at all, it would just be untenable (or at the very least very uncomfortable) financially. So alas, no long maternity leave for me. Bummer that there aren't groups that cater to professional women around me. I've even done a little looking, but can't seem to find anything. But who knows, maybe I'll be too tired for all of that anyway. Haha!

Fancy-- Welcome to our group. 30 most certainly is not too long to wait, and is closer to the norm in many parts of the US now as well as other countries. I think it's great that you two followed what was best for you. Sounds like you're very prepared to start your TTC journey off with a bang. I hope it happens very quickly for you!

 

[Jezika]

Kat - Oh yes, I remember you saying a while back about how people don't tend make new friendships in adulthood where you live. How odd. Still, I hope you find something in common with these ladies and stay in touch if just to not feel like the only parent (that's what I'm apprehensive about in my group of friends - other than one not-so-close friend, I'm the only one having a baby right now and I'm scared I'll feel isolated).

MissDoc - sorry to hear about your mum. It IS odd how we all have that in common. I guess it shows how sadly common it is. Btw, I bet second tri fliiiiies by. It totally did for me, and gets way more interesting with feeling movements and less discomfort with no more tiredness and nausea. Make the most of it till the last part of third tri when all the suckie stuff comes back!

Fancy Pants - Welcome! I, too, started trying at age 30 (though this is my first), so I feel ya. I think it's perfect timing for me, though actually you're still a step ahead because I'm just in my third year of postgrad and have three more years to go (or probably more, now that I'll have a kiddo). What's your postgrad in? Also, you sound just like me with the arsenal of TTC stuff. I tried one natural cycle that was BFN 'cause I got my ovulation timing wrong and then stocked up on those badboys. Did the trick, though.

Buckey - I'm glad you joined the group. It's great support for sure, and actually taught me everything I know about TTC and babies, plus just helps me feel less alone in this journey. Also, I'm guessing you have no problems getting pregnant, and that it's just the effects of the mutations that are the problem? If so, hopefully you'll be knocked up before we know it!

AFM - cramping stopped last night and I've had nothing since. I reaaaally wanted baby to come, but I guess I need to accept the fact that it can easily be another two weeks, which I strongly suspect it will be.

 

[Angel5000]

Today I decided I couldn't make it in and stayed home. It was a really rough night for me. I fell asleep around 10pm, woke up at midnight to go to the bathroom. Fell back asleep, woke up around 1:30am with a weird dream and then could not go back to sleep no matter what I tried. I finally started to doze off around 4:30, but my alarm goes off at 5am. I tried to get up and go to work but I realized I probably needed to stay home when I was sitting at the table crying. Just not a good day. What sucks is I feel guilty about taking a day off because I have such limited sick leave. After I went back to bed around 6, I slept until 10, so clearly I needed it. I still don't feel well though, I'm still feeling kind fo sleep deprived, and having sharp pains in my stomach (middle/sides). Not sure what that's about but it's accompanied by nausea. I've got my regular appointment today so I'll mention it to her when I see her.


Kat - I think the change in his behavior had to do with a stroke he had when he was about 50. Despite being told many times by his doctor that he was at high risk of a stroke if he didn't lose weight, keep up with his blood pressure meds, and start taking care of his diabetes (he developed it later in life and then refused to acknowledge it, and completely ignored that he even had diabetes), he didn't do anything. He refused to exercise. When my mom would try to pack him healthy lunches he would go out to eat and have pizza and soda and other junk. If she didn't pack him a lunch he'd tell her it was her fault he couldn't lose weight because she wasn't making him good lunches and thus forced him to eat out (because apparently he was incapable of making his own lunch). He ended up having a pretty big stroke, which never affected his memory or speech (surprising the doctors) but gave him very limited mobility in his left hand, and he has to walk with a cane (though they were surprised he got the ability to walk back at all). He became an angry, bitter, horrible person after that. He was an angry person before (very abusive to my mother and sister long before the stroke, physically and emotionally) but after the stroke he was tried to blame the stroke for his behavior because he couldn't hide it as well around other people so other people were seeing his horrible side. I suspect that's where the change in the affect of the alcohol came from. He also isn't supposed to drink at all because of the diabetes and while he did well for a year or so after the stroke he quit following doctor recommendations and started eating crappy food, drinking again, and gaining weight back.

I've gotten drunk myself several times, especially in college. I totally understand that, and figure kids will be kids and young adults are having fun and learning their limits, etc. Once or twice as an adult I've gotten more drunk than I intended and I always hate it. Plus I don't have the same rebound abilities I had as a college kid and I tend to get sick now and that's never pleasant

I realize now that it sounded like I was being really judgmental in my previous post about drinking and I didn't mean it to sound that way. I think parents need to let loose sometimes, and DH and I have an agreement that shortly after we have baby I am allowed to drink the next several times we do game night at my sister's house (as long as I pump beforehand, and then we can do the test strips or whatever to make sure the next batch is "safe"), and he'll take care of baby because I haven't been able to let loose in a long time (which makes game nights not so much fun when everyone is drinking and I'm still completely sober AND pregnant). I just hate the part when someone gets completely smashed. I think getting happily buzzed is not just okay but a healthy thing for parents to do sometimes.

I'm glad your mommy group seems good! Sounds like a great thing though! I love that you have the option. Unfortunately here even if I wanted to take 6 months off, I don't have the job security (or finances) to do so. I'm only guaranteed my job for up to 12 weeks leave. More importantly, even if I give up my job (which wouldn't be the end of the world but would be really hard to pay our bills on just DH's salary), we'd lose our health insurance because it's through my work. The 12 weeks requires that my job continue my insurance for those 12 weeks but after 12 weeks they are no longer required to pay for me to have insurance. The US is so behind in so many ways.


MissDoc - I've got a great massage therapist so that helps a lot. I've been seeing him for awhile (before pregnancy even) so that helped. It's hard to sometimes find a person who meets your needs and so the massage doesn't feel/seem as good and then it's hard to decide if you didn't like the massage itself or the therapist. But I think mine are definitely worth it!

I'm so sorry to hear you also had an alcoholic parent. Your mom sound exactly like the kind of alcoholic my husbands mom (and grandmother) was. His mom's been sober for awhile now, which is the only reason we have contact with her, and his grandmother passed a couple years ago (he was actually raised by grandmother not mom), but she was very much a raging, aggressive alcohol. Very cruel.

I love that you are calling your LO "the cheeseburger"! That's awesome!


Fancy Pants - Welcome! I also got a lot of "waiting too long" comments from people but I've only been married to DH for 2 years, and I wanted to finish my Masters first so that I could be more financially stable. Welcome to the group! This is a great group of women! I've been with them for a long time Sounds like you are totally prepared for your first cycle! Good luck!! Try not to let yourself stress too much over it as you learn your body you'll find it gets easier (sometimes) to predict. It's great you've been temping already. I tried to learn temping at the same time I was starting TTC and there was a lot of frustration for me. It got so much easier to manage after I mastered the temping and charting thing a few months in!


Buckeye - Ah, got it. Well then hopefully you'll be able to catch it early enough that the treatments will be effective! Are you doing anything specific in your TTC (charting/temping/OPKs/etc) or are you just doing the natural "let it happen" path?


Jezika - aw. Hopefully baby comes soon. I have been doing a lot of reading and found that Red Raspberry Leaf Tea is supposed to be great for helping to prepare the uterus for birth but also supposed to help encourage labor to start if it's near enough to your due date. I have no idea if there's any truth to that at all, but thought I'd throw that out there. I am starting to drink a cup a day and will up that when I'm closer to term. All the research I've done has said it's perfectly safe in 3rd tri and actually supposed to be really good for helping make an easier/shorter labor. I'm hoping it is true anyway.

 

[Jezika]

Angel - sorry to hear about your dad and his refusal to take care of his health. Some of his behavioural antics re: how he treats other people sounds a lot like my dad when we was drinking, and even kind of now.

I've definitely been drinking raspberry leaf tea, though I'm not sure how much I should be drinking. I LOVE that stuff. Did I ever mention how I love the taste or smell of anything that's kind of like powdery or musky? Hard to explain, but the tea tastes like that, as does green tea and... arugula! It drives me crazy. Dry, mouldy smells also drive me crazy, like damp laundry and the smell of old car. Gah, I can't get enough! As in, I actually have to stop smelling those things because it's really frustrating that my desire for them can't be satiated. I know that sounds weird... eek! Same when I brush towards the back of my teeth - it elicits the same kind of feeling. And chewing on ice.

Aaaanyway, apparently nipple stimulation will also bring on labour (but have to do it regularly and for at least half an hour), as well as sex. These are apparently the few things that have research evidence, but plenty of other anecdotal stuff. I also bought evening primrose oil to give that a try.

 

[KatO79]

MissDoc yeah I think here maternity leave is paid leave in most cases. It stinks they don't do the same in the US and give you at least 6 months. Unfortunately here though taking a long maternity leave does have a tendency to set your career back. Even heard recently about some lawyer with her own firm that only took 1 week maternity leave and didn't even tell her clients as she said it would affect her career. She prioritises her career first and how much money she's making. I frankly didn't get why she chose to have a baby Her DH is apparently very career minded as well so I think it's the grandparents that are basically raising the baby now which is such a shame Anyway I think the first 1-1½ months are probably the hardest and after that you're probably more up for social stuff.

Jezika thanks and yeah, it's weird but that's how the culture is My MIL is a pretty good example as all her friends are people she's know for almost her whole life. Although I do think many are still open to friends in college and then stop after that as they "have enough friends" by that time. I was (and still am to a certain degree) a bit socially awkward so had a hard time finding friends as most rejected me off the bat and considered me odd. Totally get how you feel like you'll be isolated being the only one in your group of friends to have a baby, I've heard that many experience losing friends because the childless friends (many of them) don't understand your change in priorites and drift away (only to perhaps get back in contact when they have kids of their own). I hope that doesn't happen for you though! Too bad the cramping stopped although you're probably right, I do think most FTMs go 1-2 weeks over their EDD.

Angel so sorry you had such a crappy night I had lots of those myself, especially during 3rd tri (plus still having them after Alexander came although it's him waking me up for food!). I've heard it's your body preparing you for all those sleepless nights with baby so unfortunately, you may need to get use to it The pains sound odd, definitely ask about those and I hope it isn't anything bad! Ah I see, wow so sorry he was so awful Feel you on the rebound thing! I think especially now having been sober for so many months I'd be quick to get drunk. I envy you that you'll be having nights like that, I still don't feel up to it myself Yeah it sucks they don't give you at least 6 months leave.

 

[Angel5000]

Today was so much better. I'm sore (pelvic pain) but at least I got some decent sleep last night. Yesterday I had my 34 week appointment. Doctor said that once I hit 34 weeks (I have me at 34 weeks as of Monday but they don't have me at 34w until Tomorrow), then I am officially far enough along that if I go into labor they won't stop it. She said she'd prefer me to be 37 weeks but at this point I'm good. Then she also told me that she'll be on vacation the last week of December so she's hoping I DON'T go into labor that week but if I do she has a backup person who'll be available. This terrifies me a little because it's common in my family for babies to be about 2 weeks early and that's exactly when I'd be delivering if Melody follows suit.

As for the side pains, she said it sounded like other types of contractions and not to worry unless it became more regular.


Jezika - Yeah, it sucks. I'm sorry to hear that your dad has similar behaviors to mine. As for the raspberry tea, I wasn't a fan of it before but I've just started drinking it and am kind of liking it (at least with some added honey). I read a couple websites that talk about drinking about 3 cups a day during the last few weeks of pregnancy and something about a strong brew to help actually induce labor but I don't know if that will actually be beneficial or not.

 

[Jezika]

Kat - For some reason I only just paid attention to you avatar and it's brought back so many memories! It's actually making me a bit teary (preg hormones?) because it reminds me of the maternal loveliness in that movie, which I couldn't really relate to as a child, but now remembering it several decades later and being pregnant really makes me connect with it. And now I'm crying!??!

Angel - sounds like I should be drinking way more tea, then. But I'd have to buy a tonne of packs!

 

[Jezika]

Okay, so 'cause my memory sucks and all I seem to remember are the emotions associated with the baby scenes in Dumbo, I looked it up on Youtube (specifically the "Baby Mine" scene) and now I am sobbing!! And I also realized I was traumatized by a lot of kids' movies as a child, including Home Alone (how is it not the most terrifying thing as a child to have your whole family leave you alone, completely forget about you, and have two criminals essentially try to kill you?). Other traumatizing movies for me were My Girl (really!?!?! Child death!!?) and Lion King (oh man... I probably should've had therapy for that one).

Well, now I know why I'm in the mental health field

 

[Xokittycatxo]

Hi ladies!!!! Oh my gosh it's been ages. After my loss in June we didn't even try though for a couple of cycles and I just took a break from all the forums.

Just found out this morning I'm pregnant again and praying this one sticks.

But omg!!! Kat, your beautiful baby!!!! Huge congrats. How are you, how is everything going!?

Angel i can't believe you're nearly due. Time flies. So happy for you both and I'm glad I stopped in 😊

 

[Jezika]

Hi again Kitty, and congrats! Hope it's smooth sailing from now onwards! If you've only had one CP, I think chances are great this will be sticky

 

[KatO79]

Angel glad to hear everything looks good and here's hoping you don't go into labour early!

Jezika yeah I've been usig Dumbo themed avatars the last 3 times. The first one was this one when I was a LTTTC'er:



Then when I got pregnant changed it to this one:



Then when Alexander was born changed it to my current avatar.

I'd never thought about it before but there is a bit of infertility in that movie when Dumbo's mother looks longingly at all the other animals getting babies and she doesn't get a bundle and looks so sad. She does eventually of course though. It is a bit sad though I'll give you that but everyone gets a happy ending in the end Yep I was pretty weepy too during pregnancy. I am still actually. Saw an episode of "Special Victims Unit" where in a scene in court they talk about a study with babies and mothers and how babies react when their mother ignores them. Seeing the baby look so sad when her mother ignored her made me so sad because I felt so sorry for that poor baby that looked so happy before when her mother was showering her with attention now looking so sad and confused and I started to cry. Anyway yeah, I don't think many children's movies traumatised me. Only movies I saw when I was really too young to watch them like "Watership Down" (my parents thought it was just a cute bunny movie and something I'd like - errr not so much) and "Stephen King's It"

kitty so glad to see you back and congrats, H&H 9 months I really hope this is it for you! Thanks, yeah he's super cute, isn't he I'm totally in love Things are going well although I think we need to work on Alexander's technique when he's finished eating and goes off my breast, mostly the left one as he'll often not open his mouth wide enough so his gums grate hard over the nipple which hurts a lot and has made it really sore at this point Thank God for Lansinoh, seems to take the edge off! My DH is still not being super supportive though but still hoping he'll soon stop being an asshat sometimes

 

[star_e]

jezika - you are so close to meeting your LO! can you tell us how you are feeling about it? do you have a birth plan (i don’t really know what that is, i mean i sort of do, but i don’t know what the details are of making one). i have not announced my pg yet. i have a scan tomorrow and if all goes well then i’ll announce. i’ll be 13 weeks this weekend.

kat - how many times a night do you have to feed alexander? has it changed much now from the first week or so?

angel - I’m def going to try out those side massages. i need one really bad! also angel, my heart goes out to you about the rough night with little sleep, pains and nausea. that is really really rough and i totally understand you worried about taking day given the days of sick leave. it can be very difificult to manage. i so hope that you are feeling better and that the pain goes down. and yes, the US is behind in so many ways. wish you had longer than the 12 weeks!

miss doc - glad things are going well this trimester for you! it def must be nice to relax into a bit more.

afm - my nausea has gotten worse for sure. i basically feel icky constantly and have some mild cramps occasionally. i have a scan tomorrow, so hopefully all is well. been feeling bad too b/c i don’t think i drink enough water. i never have drank that much of anything and i know I’m supposed to be drinking more. how much water do you all drink?

a few questions:

when is it okay to start drinking the raspberry leaf tea?

do you all have a birth plan and if so whats on it?

do you recommend any books on birthing? or if you found any type of book helpful does not have to be about birthing, please do share. i’m quite scared of it and know very little about it. i have been too busy lately and have not had a chance to educate myself. and things prob won’t slow down for another long while. but i want to be prepared and have some reading ready.

 

[Jezika]

Kat - I'm glad it's not just me that gets emotional. I'm familiar with those studies where the mums don't respond to their babies via facial expressions (I think we do some of those in the child labs at my uni) and I find it really sad too.

Star - I flip between hoping she comes ASAP (because I can't wait to meet her and am SO uncomfortable) and realizing I shouldn't rush her and it'll happen when it has to and I should make the most of this time before motherhood. As for my birth plan, I'm still not entirely clear on it, but at this point I'm pretty laid back about it. Apparently women with fewer items on their birth plan are generally happier with their births. Something about not setting so many expectations so then you aren't so disappointed/distressed if things don't go how you imagine. Some women don't have birth plans at all and it works really well for them. I think my only stipulations will be to avoid medical interventions unless absolutely medically necessary because baby is in trouble. The only exception is an epidural, which I will decide at the time depending on how I handle any pain. Other things that I feel are important like not rushing my labour, delayed cord clamping, placing baby on my chest straight away and not having baby removed from me after birth are general protocol either at the hospital or with my midwives, so I don't feel I have to be explicit about it. I really do recommend a hypnobirthing course, or at least reading a book on it. I don't necessarily agree with absolutely every principle (e.g., that there is no need to push at all, since baby can easily be "breathed out") but the benefits of relaxation and trusting your body certainly makes a TONNE of sense once you learn about it. It's honestly made me go from being pretty scared of labour to kind of looking forward to it, and certainly ready to accept however it happens.

 

[KatO79]

star the first week it was every 2-3 hours I think and now it's every 3-4 but most of the time he'll wake me after 3 hours. But you count from when you got baby latched on and started eating. So if he starts eating at e.g. 2 AM then his next feed will most likely occur between 5 and 6 AM. Also he takes 30-45 minutes to feed and 30-40 minutes to get him to sleep afterwards. So if I'm lucky I get around 3 hours although it often takes time for me to fall asleep so probably closer to 2. 5 hours sleep. You can do the math if I'm unlucky which gives me around 1-1.5 hours sleep. Bottle feeding would probably be quicker at this point but once he's older and gotten more efficient it'll take 5-10 minutes to feed him - can't wait!

 

[Angel5000]

Jezika - You and me both! Movies in general (Disney included!) were traumatizing! Lion King really messed with me, and actually so did Dumbo. I hated Dumbo. Really hated it but I had no idea why. Looking back I think it's because I couldn't get over how sad it was having Dumbo and his mom separated and then the whole getting teased and made fun of struck too close to home because I was teased pretty harshly for a speech impediment that I had as a child. Lion King was awful though. My sister didn't let her daughter watch it until very recently i think.

is there any kind of "formal" paperwork for a birth plan that your doctor had you do? Or is it you just writing down stuff? I'm so unsure as to what to do with that whole birth plan thing! I'm fairly laid back like you said, but have a few things for sure like I don't want medical intervention unless absolutely medically necessary. And I want to decide at the time if I need an epidural depending on how I'm handling the pain. I don't know what the general rules are about delayed cord clamping, or immediate baby on chest are for my hospital. Did you ask your doctor or did they just tell you these things?


Kitty - congrats!! That's so great!! Keeping FX and praying this is your sticky bean! When do you go in and see the doctor?


Star - Good luck at your scan! So sorry about the nausea though! That is the worst. Do you have anything that helps? I sucked on the Lifesaver brand peppermints and that helped a lot. Especially when I wasn't announcing yet so I didn't want anyone to know I was pregnant/nauseous. I had a lot of cramping up through about 12 weeks-ish. Some of them were really strong and felt worse than AF, I was sure on more than one occassion that I was going to MC because the cramping was so bad. In my case I had some extra blood in the uterus (normal) that my body was reabsorbing and that made it worse, but doctor had said everything was okay.

Water - I drink a ton but I always have. I have a 50oz water bottle I carry around and I drink 2 of those a day. Sometimes more.

Raspberry leaf tea varies by the person you ask. Most research I've found seems to agree that once you're about mid-way into 2nd Tri it's perfectly safe to start with one cup a day. The use in first tri varies depending on the person you ask. If you're worried about MC, I would wait until 2nd tri because of the chance it can cause uterine contractions. I have had cramping a couple times after drinking it (and I'm in 3rd tri) and I know that if I was in 1st tri still I would have been terrified. So I'm glad I waited. Once you're about mid-way 1 cup a day is considered good and then you can start to up it if you want. I've read that during the last bit of 3rd Tri people recommend up to 3 cups a day!


I don't currentl yhave a birth plan and don't know much about what to do with that. I was actually about to ask around here for suggestions!

As for birthing books - I am really loving the hypnobirthing idea. DH and I are going to take a birthing class at the hospital this month (we should have started earlier we just kept forgetting to register). That will alleviate most of my questions I think. I started reading a hyponobirthing book but i had to do a lot of research to find one that I think I would be okay with because some are really anti hospital and anti doctor and I needed one that could meld with my views of doctors & hospitals. I haven't got very far in my book but I also downloaded some hypnobirthing audio that is the guided meditative audio and it's been amazing. I'm listening to it at night before bed and it helps me relax so well! I'm falling asleep in the middle (which many ppl said they did and it was still fine) and sleeping better (at least for the part where I'm still asleep ).