Week 36: Almost done, mommy!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 36

The countdown to your sweet lil' womb hi-jacker's eviction is closing in!

In fetal developments: most of the bones (soft skull aside) in their little body are now completely hardened, providing a solid structure from which they can now make their grand debut into the world.

In physical fitness news: your mini-champ's muscle tone is improving, and you’ll be impressed by their steel-like Ulnar grasp (a newborn reflex that occurs if you lay your finger in their palm).

Understanding Your Newborn

Despite being structurally ready for the real world, your baby and all humans are rather under-developed compared to most other mammals when they're born.

Not only will it take a newborn nearly a year to start walk, but they lack control over their muscles to the degree they can't control their eye's ability to focus on objects.

It will take your newborn nearly three months to gain control over their vision. This only makes the world even more confusing and frightening than it would otherwise be.

Infants cannot sit up or reach for a desired object, they're pretty much trapped inside their own helpless confused bodies. No wonder all they do is sleep and cry!

To top it all off, your sweet lil' sucker won't be able to properly hold up their own suddenly heavy bobble-head, as their neck muscles had little work to do when they were floating in amniotic fluid and being pressed upright by the snug muscular walls of your womb.

Your Newborn's World

When a newborn is first born, their world changes - from their snug womb-studio where they were cuddled constantly in a warm, relatively quiet, softly lit, simple moist little world, to a world that's jarringly bright and full of complex noisy creatures who grab at their body as they're handed from person to person.

So, it's no surprise that your newborn feels safest and happiest when they're snuggled against the warmth of your body hearing your familiar heartbeat and voice, as they take in the soothing scent of your skin.

First-time mothers are often surprised by how much their infant cries to be held and breastfed... but it makes sense if you think about it.

An infant has no idea that they're living in a safe modern world. For all they know, just behind the bassinet lurks a wild hungry creature (as there were before we had houses) waiting for the moment when they're alone and completely helpless against an attacker.

An infant is pure survival instinct because they have no ability to fend for themselves yet. They must rely on their mother to protect and nourish them - so mother's arms and breast = the safest happiest place in the universe.

The out-dated (and rather cruel) practice of crying it out (aka CIO aka training your infant not to cry when they're left alone) causes serious emotional distress that negatively impacts their brain development as chronically elevated stress hormones (that are released by extensive crying) can cause structural changes in their brain that have been correlated with learning and behavioral disorders.

Trust us, newborns could care less about their clothes, nurseries, toys, diapers, swings and such. All they want is to snuggle up against mama's warm body and breastfeed, while her scent and voice remind them of everything that's most familiar from their days in your womb.

And how's mom doing?

Hey mama, are you big, warm, pee-tastic, tired, and feeling just a bit anxious?The more you understand about labor, the more competent you'll feel as you're laboring - especially if it's your first time. The more competent you feel, the less fear you'll experience, and less fear = less pain.

Welcome to week 36!

To assuage your worries here are a few clear indications of when you're going into real labor:

• Runny loose stools/diarrhea

• Loss of mucous plug aka "bloody show"

• Contractions are consistent and grow in intensity

• Your water breaks

You can have diarrhea without going into labor and your water probably won't break. If it does break, it'll feel like a sudden gush of unexpected pee just ran down your leg.

Ain't pregnancy just the classiest thing ever?

Pain Management

Regardless of whether you opt for an epidural, you'll still have to experience the majority of your labor without pain-numbing medication, which means you need to be prepared to deal with the pain of contractions.

NO FEAR + NO STRESS = LESS PAIN

Clear your schedule for the next few weeks of anything that could anger or upset you. If you're stuck in a negative living situation, minimize contact with hurtful people, write in a journal to vent, and generally draw your attention inward to focus on finding a peaceful and clear state of mind.

Keep your labor environment free of people who upset or irritate you in any way - this includes pushy hospital staff. The more upset you are, the more labor will hurt.

Reject your fear. Fear elicits a stronger pain response because adrenaline causes your muscles and blood vessels to constrict, counteracting your best relaxation efforts.

If you're afraid of the pain of labor right now, don't be.

It's a manageable pain if you understand why you're experiencing it and realize just what an intense and important thing your body is doing.

The more you understand about your labor, the more competent you'll feel as you're laboring - especially if it's your first time. The more competent you feel, the less fear you'll experience, and less fear = less pain.

RELAX, BREATH, VISUALIZE and COUNT

Imagine each contraction as your uterine muscles squeezing your baby slowly down towards the birth canal (it's actually more of a sliding wave motion down your uterus).

Relax into each contraction by pressing your lips gently together and exhaling slowly - making that horse-raspberry-fart sound as your lips vibrate.

As you're exhaling imagine your entire birth canal and vagina opening up slowly, loosening and stretching. Loose and open.

Breathe deeply: inhale slowly through your nose and out your mouth as you accept the hard muscular work your uterus is doing.

Breathing feeds your straining uterine muscles precious fuel (oxygenated blood) giving them the energy to do their work properly, while releasing tension as your vessels dilate.

Count how many seconds your contractions last to better anticipate the duration and intensity of the next one.

GET INTO HOT WATER

Hot (not scalding!) water is your best friend during labor because it helps relax your muscles and increases their overall flexibility, which in turn relaxes you as the pain lessens in response to muscle relaxation.

Stand and stretch out against the shower wall as hot water pounds your back.

Take warm baths if the contractions allow you to relax enough to sit through them.

Water births are gaining popularity because they're such an effective low risk pain management option. Progressive hospitals and most birthing centers offer birthing pools.

ACCEPT YOUR INNER CAVEWOMAN

As your contractions mount in intensity and frequency, relaxing and breathing like an exasperated horse may no longer effectively release the emotional tension that comes with each contraction.

Let the groans, moans, and growls come. The work you're doing is primal in the purest sense of the word.

Think about it: human labor existed long before language, the pain and tension is your primal brain and body interacting - accept that and don't worry about what others think.

On the other hand, you may have some ninja-like pain tolerance that allows you to remain silent and accept the work with little more than tiny growls as you bear down to push your child out.

Each woman's reaction to labor is unique - at least in the sense that no one can predict how it'll go beforehand, but if you prepare yourself and eradicate fear, stress, and tension from your labor environment, you will experience less pain.

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