new year (with a birth in it!)

i think this video clip from the little new year's eve party we went to is so funny! kind of shows how things have changed for those of us with young children... babysitter on new year's eve- forget it! enough energy to stay up til midnight- no way! our kids were half out of their minds being up until after 9 and it was very entertaining ;-) elisha had a blast dancing for everyone with his friend claire (who is 2 weeks older than he is). andrew and i were startled from our sleep at midnight as kids in the neighborhood did fireworks and yelled- i think in our sleep we wished each other a happy new year ;-)

i have resolved to take a brisk walk everyday at least throughout this pregnancy in hopes that it will help get this little girl in the optimal position for birth- i've heard it work for others... at the very least it will get me in shape for labor, which as i have gotten well into this second half of pregnancy, has become more of a reality. my doula (sweet pam- who was also my doula the first time) was reminding me of how worry is the work of pregnancy-- you address all your fears and concerns then so during labor and those first weeks w/ a new baby you can just do what you have to do. i have had moments of fear and dread when thinking that this labor could be similar to my last, but thankfully i can feel that i am working through those and getting back to the realization that whatever it winds up being- i'll deal with it then. it will be one(or a few ;-( day(s) out of my life and with every breath a prayer, i will make it to the other side. but, you better believe that i am praying now that this baby will have her head positioned well, that my pelvis will cooperate, and that she won't be tongue-tied--- basically that labor and nursing will be normal at least, if not easy, which would be nice

** if you happen to be pregnant and interested in what positioning has to do w/ labor http://www.spinningbabies.com/ is a fascinating website w/ tons of info. a lot of c-sections are performed b/c a baby has it's head turned the wrong way... it makes the part headed out of the birth canal much bigger, so people think they have CPD (too small of a pelvis to birth) when really if the baby were turned the right way it would've worked out just fine. our lifestyle leads to this-- instead squatting in fields and walking upright most of the day we spend our time in the bucket seats of our cars and in recliners. just thought it might be of some interest to some out there--- if i hadn't learned how elisha being in posterior position made birth difficult/impossible? for us, i would just think i had too small of a pelvis to birth any baby and i would not be attempting a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean).