Hi from the other side of Typhoon Saola! We spent the weekend very sheltered in our corner of Happy Valley but I gather from social media that certain parts of Hong Kong didn't fair so well. I hope you all stayed safe and dry!
This was the week that absolutely FLEW by! There were 3 main focuses of the week which meant that the days literally flew by and I didn't have time to do anything!
First: Final few days of studio clean out - last few pick ups, last clean ups, last few sessions, and a fairly stressful 6 hours on Wednesday watching the desk and staff lockers attempt to leave the studio...
Second: Final few days of work before maternity leave! Tried to squeeze everyone in at least once, sometimes twice between Monday and Thursday.
Third: Noah's school prep! We had orientation on Monday afternoon and were supposed to have day 1 on Friday but the typhoon had other plans.
Life for the next 2 weeks is fairly full on with a pretty active calendar and then everything abruptly stops from September 15th onwards. Hopefully I'll have time to stop and be still for a few hours a day though.
I can't really say much on the training front so we may as well get that out of the way before we get into the other fun stuff like the midwife appointment and how I feel in general...
Training
Super short and brief. As I said - I could not tell you where the week went so I have basically nothing to report. For the first time in a few weeks I averaged 13,000 steps a day this week so that's where most of my moving happened. I had absolutely no time for any strength sessions as I spent most of the week in a studio with no equipment so I did 60min of restorative yoga on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was full studio clean out mode and I didn't have time for anything else. Thursday and Friday were walking days and this weekend was dedicated first to making sure a toddler stayed sane whilst at home and then Sunday was our 7th wedding anniversary so we had some celebrations!
Now that I'm on maternity leave I'm hoping to keep the step count up and get some bodyweight and resistance band sessions in between now and delivery! We'll see what the next few weeks have in store for me though!
Life in General
I had my final midwife appointment on Tuesday which went about as well as it could have gone. I find late stage appointments quite funny, a few weeks ago Baby J was tracking off the charts, now he's tracking weirdly small...Either way, he's the size he is and he'll be born the size he's born at. I had to ask her some pretty vital questions like "can you remind me when I should go to the hospital again?" I'm aware that last time I didn't go into labour naturally so I didn't have a slow progression of contractions to keep track of before the big event. I went from 0-1500% in the span of about 5 minutes once my waters were artificially broken. The midwife gave me very solid advice which I will happily heed: "see how you feel when you have 1min contractions every 10 minutes for 1 hour". If I'm feeling ok she's said I can wait until they're 5 minutes apart, if I'm not feeling so great I can head on in. The only thing she and the OB have both warned me is dilation CAN happen a lot faster the second time around and if I am interested in getting an epidural I can't miss my epidural window. Good to know!
By this stage everyone always starts asking things like: Have you dropped? When do you think you'll deliver? Has the baby engaged? In short - I have no idea. I'm not overly uncomfortable and I'd prefer if he stayed womb side until at least next weekend so next week the focus can be on Noah and school but am also now in a state of mind where I also wouldn't mind if he came a little earlier. I spent Saturday morning of the typhoon weekend in nesting mode: baby J's clothes came out, my nursing wear came out, Noah's clothes were culled/sorted into piles of donate or keep...etc. The nesting instinct definitely makes me want to meet the little one sooner rather than later! Patience Padawan...
Energy levels are definitely still on the lower side. Even if I'd had time to do a weight training session this week I don't think I would have been able to do one. I think my physical and mental state has definitely switched to more yoga and bodyweight strength - it's not like I'd be setting strength PBs now anyway! I'm also being kinder to myself this time, I think, compared to last time. I remember last time being so caught up and continuing to train and continuing to get sessions in because I could. This time I'm much more focused on preserving my energy levels. I'm also more informed this time - I know that the first 6 weeks postnatal life are going to be very physically and emotionally demanding and I'm very happy to just cruise through life until delivery. I have a postnatal sport specific strength and fitness goal that I know is realistic. In the mean time, I'm happy to pop a podcast in and walk, do some bodyweight and resistance band strength, and read a book.
The Birth Plan
I have no smooth segue into this section so we'll just go for it: how is my birth plan coming along? I've basically kept it the same as with Noah except for one large change: No Enotox/Gas and Air. It didn't go well with Noah and I don't wish to repeat the experience. Other than that, all the other stuff stays the same.
- Pain management: No opioids but I won't pretend to be a hero. While I laud and respect everyone who can deliver without an epidural - I'm very open to getting one if I want one.
- For mum: Prefer a vaginal delivery, prefer no episiotomy, active management for placenta delivery.
- For baby: delayed chord clamping, skin on skin immediately after birth, all injections immediately administered, attempt at breastfeeding as soon as possible, no bathing of the baby until we're home
Then the big one: the list of questions Jack has to ask and note the answers to immediately following delivery:
For a vaginal delivery:
Was there any tearing? If so, what degree and how should it be cared for?
Were stitches administered? If so, how many?
Were there any complications we should be aware of?
How can postnatal infections be avoided?
What physiological changes can we expect in the next few weeks?
For a c-section:
What type of incision was made and how should we care for it?
What should I do to promote healing?
Were there any complications we should be aware of?
How can postnatal infections be avoided?
What physiological changes can we expect in the next few weeks?
Yes, these questions need to be asked because not all OBs will openly provide this information but the answers are essential to your recovery. And yes, your birth partner (not you) should ask them and physically write them down (you might have the most intelligent, organised, and composed partner - they will NOT remember these answers though, write them down). You may understand the words coming out of your OBs mouth as you overhear these questions being asked but you're also going to have a brand new, minutes old child on your chest and you are going to be so overwhelmed with a mixture of so many different emotions - you will not retain any information. I have no idea what happened in the labour room in the 90minutes after delivery - I didn't even realise we were in the room that long until I recently looked at the time stamps of photos taken. The emotions following birth are overwhelming, all consuming, and I guarantee you will not retain information. Delegate this portion of the birth experience.
With that - it's time for a bit of yoga before lunch time and then hopefully we can be released back into the world, post T8!
Maybe speak to you all next weekend!
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