Hypnobabies Review

While helping me to create a birth plan, my doula suggested I consider hypnosis as part of my pain management plan. She said the Hypnobabies course was ... I don't recall the word: I think she said the course was the only birth hypnosis class that DONA accepts for continuing education credit, or something along those lines, but that I should look at a bunch of different classes and pick what works for me.

I did a bunch of reading and decided the HB was right for me. I can't remember why, but I think it was at least partly because the course helps to teach you to do hypnosis while being up and moving around. The others focused on hypnosis and delivery in the on your back position as far as I could tell.

So, I went to the HB website, put out about USD$200 for the self study course and overnight shipping, and started studying away. This review is just based on my experience with my purchase: I didn't get any free stuff from the good folks at HB.

As the stalwart readers who made it through our birth story know, I did rely on the HB CDs during labor, especially some of the middle part that was long and sometimes painful. By the time I had the epidural, I had kind of given up and had figured I was going off for a surgical birth anyway, so I wasn't really trying anymore.

During labor, it was great to have had that training in managing how my brain processed the feelings of labor, and for that I'm very thankful.

However, what was especially great for me, and the main reason I'd recommend the HB course to any pregnant lady I meet is the Pregnancy Affirmations recording. I am normally a person who worries. Sometimes I literally lose sleep while worrying about stuff: ironically, I will lie awake worrying at night about oversleeping and missing a flight. Somehow missing a flight is an earth-shattering catastrophe in my mind. I worry about money, my family, my health, my family's health.. etc.

That affirmation CD helped me be the most relaxed, happy pregnant lady you'd ever want to see. I figured pretty much everything was normal and healthy. During my slightly hilarious prenatal class at the birth center, everyone else always seemed so nervous. I'm guessing it's because I had repeating over and over in my iPod that everything's fine and wonderful.

I loved how useful the CDs were for me. What I didn't love:

• the name Hypnobabies. Who came up with that? I was embarrassed to talk about it. I kept picturing zombie babies. Weird.
• the book that came along with the CDs which purported to be the only prenatal class one would need. Most of it focused on preparing for birth, which was great, but I felt like when the author veered out into other topics, their far out man started showing. The author has some pretty wacky ideas about prenatal health: grain of salt here readers! And it was desperately badly edited: spelling and grammatical errors as far as the eye could see.

It just occurred to me that I've not posted about my prenatal class, the one I had to endure every other Wednesday afternoon in order to give birth there. And then get kicked out anyway. I must share that with you all at some point.

Has anyone else tried self hypnosis for birth or anything else? Any thoughts on the difference between hypnosis and mediation? I've never been clear on what distinguishes them.

Didn't you have a baby? In which I make a lot of links

You'd be forgiven for thinking that I was pregnant, had a wild and wacky birth experience and then the baby went *poof* and disappeared, considering how little I suddenly have to say.

To be sure, here's a picture of her Royal Cuteness, Piranha Princess here. She's somehow caused time to advance extremely quickly and will be three months old very shortly.

Well, the issue is really just that I'm so busy being blissed out with her, working my job that I love, and looking for a new job in the Vancouver/Lower Mainland area for next year, that little time is left for the niceties of keeping folks up to date, beyond the tweeting and postings to Flickr that I try to maintain.

I should note that I'm meeting some awesome new people on Twitter - many in the Vancouver area, and some rather far away. But all have interesting things to say.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming

The Working Mama

The working mama, or why this blog hasn't been updated in a long time.

The last update was Sept 11. I think that was right before the Grandpas arrived. We had a great time and I got my September plugged duct (there has also been an October plugged duct but let's not get ahead of ourselves...)

We did loads of touristy things, ate loads and then they went home. The above photo was of me and Em sitting on a double decker tour bus with the Grandpas on their first full day in DC. Then I went back to work. My first day back was tough but I didn't cry. Alex was awesome - he texted me loads of photos of Emily. I've been posting my favourites to my flickr collection of Emily photos.

Day two was actually better because we finally took my friend's advice and took Emily to an ENT to have her tongue tie evaluated. He clipped it on the spot and she immediately started nursing better. I have a whole post or two burbling around inside me about the incompetent boob I had for a lactation consultant who didn't think her tongue tie was the problem. Anyway, she's nursing so much better now! Then I went to work and it was ok.

Working during the day and nursing during the evening and overnight has been going well, but it's been exhausting. When I do have some free time, or the energy to balance my netbook on my knees while feeding Em, I'm applying for IT consulting and support jobs in the Vancouver BC area.

I seem to be getting a plugged duct about monthly, not sure why. It's always on the left, where I have less supply and Em prefers to nurse off the right: which came first, the supply or the preference, I'm not sure.

But at any rate, if you know anyone in the Vancouver area looking for a brilliant and charismatic communicator geek, tell them to drop me a line! I'm normally a lot more modest, but I'm in job search mode and I figure it's time to (temporarily) throw modesty out the window!