The Parent Pod Launching Tonight 6pm!

I am so excited to be part of a brand new parent You Tube channel, The Parent Pod launching tonight at 6pm.

The lovely Hayley from Sparkles & Stetchmarks posted on Facebook a couple of months ago asking who would like to be involved in a new collaborative You Tube channel. I really enjoy making videos so was really keen to be part of an online community for parents.

We will be covering a range of topics aimed at parents with children of all ages from birth stories, to toddler life, to the teen years!

 

You can view our trailer below

You can subscribe to our channel here and keep up to date with new videos by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

A story By Dummy..

You were around two weeks old when I first gave you a dummy, from the start you were pretty keen and your journey with dummies began....

They were a huge comfort and helped you get through your short stay in hospital when you were admitted for pyloric stenosis at six weeks old.

 

They of course were one of the things that helped you drift off to sleep and calm you down when you were tired or cranky...

Keeping you happy when out to lunch!

Keeping you calm after dinner at Bluestone

Yep, for almost two years, dummies were a very good friend of yours (and mummy & daddy!)



You made them look cool in your own kinda way!



They helped your patience when mummy made you do a blogging related craft activity!

And kept you company whilst walking on our first family holiday

Even the dummy was chosen over chocolate on  your first Easter!



 

 

 And again this year, your dummy helped comfort you when you spent the night in hospital after a febrile convulsion.

 

For almost two years, dummies were a big part of your life but one day mummy decided it was time for the dummies to go. I knew you would be ok without your dummy, the time was just right. I was aware there might have been difficult times and times I would be tempted to give you a dummy but you were a star!

Its been three months since you had a dummy, you really are a grown up boy!

 

xxx

 

If anyone one would like to hear how and why I got rid of Eliot's dummy be sure to check out my video :)



My Tips For Labour

40 weeks on my due date 24/6/13

Unfortunately labour is one of the things in life which women have absolutely no control over. It can start at anytime and can progress very slowly or quickly. It can go as smoothly as labour possibly can or it can take a turn in the wrong direction.
I was lucky my labour went as smoothly as it possibly could and I'm so thankful I it did. I know it's not the case for everyone.

I thought I would share some tips that I believed helped me during labour. Things that you can do prior to or during the big event.

Pregnancy Yoga
I would highly recommend participating in pregnancy yoga classes. I found it so relaxing and the advice given by my instructor who was also a doula (and pregnant herself) was incredibly helpful. I have no doubts it helped me 'mentally' prepare for labour.  A lot of my tips will stem from the advice I was given from the instructor. We were shown  positions to use ourselves during pregnancy and that could help us cope with labour.
I think it's suitable once you are over 12 weeks.

Birth Plan
I'm sure everybody does one, it's unlikely it'll go exactly how you've written it but do one! From who your birth partner is, to music you want, to pain relief. Include everything! The midwife who delivered Eliot was fantastic and thoroughly read through mine so was fully aware of our wishes. I was lucky that only one thing that didn't go to plan with mine.
Just don't set your heart on it.

Stay Calm
With your first baby you have no idea what to expect and that in itself freaked me out! But I quickly realised there was no point in stressing about it and the advice at yoga definitely helped. Remaining calm during labour also helps with natural pain relief. Stress releases adrenaline which will make the pain worse. I like to think I remained as calm as possible during labour but subconsciously who knows!

Breathe
During yoga we were taught breathing techniques to help relax and advised to use these to breathe through contractions. Deep breaths in through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. I would say keep these up for as long as you can, you go into your own zone and I certainly didn't keep this up but it helps in the early stages.

Stay active
Advice that stuck in my mind from pregnancy yoga was not to lay on my back.  It tends to slow labour down and gravity can't do it's job as well. Being as mobile as possible, walking, bouncing on a birthing ball are good for helping things progress naturally. Obviously how active you can be depends on how your labour progresses.

Pain relief
Think carefully about the pain relief you want. The thought of a needle in my spine totally freaked me out so from the outset I knew if I could cope I did not want an epidural.
From early on in my pregnancy I wanted my labour to be as natural as possible. In the early stages I used a TENs machine and once I was in established labour I used gas and air.
Get all the information, pros and cons of the different types of pain relief available so you can choose the best option/s for you.

Give gas and air a chance
This didn't happen to me but I've heard gas and air can make you feel very sick on the first couple of go's so you don't use it. A midwife told me if you keep going you get past this and can use the benefits of gas and air.
I recommend using it if you require stitches after giving birth too, the local anaesthetic alone didn't  cut it for me!

My two must haves for labour next time would be

•  A birthing ball. I didn't have one at home but would definitely get one.
• Gas and air, it got me through contractions

What are your tips for labour?