Working with the Soft Tissue of the Pelvis

September 4, 2008 – 9:14 pm

I’m a little bit behind on writing about our Pink Kit work. We’ve done two more sections of the video and we’ve also started the “internal work” - which is done daily until baby comes. I’ll write about that in another post.

In this post I’ll write a bit about one of the video sections - the section on the soft tissue of the pelvis.

I was actually reluctant to write about this at first because when I first watched the video section I had a lot of trouble with it! I could visualize and understand perfectly what they were talking about, but making my body relax was very hard.

This section deals with the “soft parts” of your pelvis - all the tissues and muscle surrounding and attached to your pelvis. There’s actually an amazing amount down there when you sit and actually look at a diagram of it. All tissues and muscles you pretty much take for granted - at least I know that I did!

I had to watch the video section a couple of times, and read in the Companion Guide for the exercises in the soft pelvis section. The Companion Guide just gives handy step-by-step directions to the exercises you see on the video (Essential Preparations gives more in-depth information and background for the video).

It took some practice for me to do the internal technique - The Pelvic Clock. It was something I really had to get for myself since Scott can’t really help me figure out that particular muscle set (though he has helped me a lot through the internal work - which I’ll talk about in its own post!). It just took a lot of concentration for me to realize that I can consciously feel those muscles.

I can see where working with the soft tissue of the pelvis - especially learning to relax it - will help a lot during labor. If that tissue is soft, warm, and relaxed the baby is able to move through much more easily. Tightening those muscles intentionally helps me to feel just how much that “closes me up” and would make it hard for the baby to come down. This is another section I’ll practice through regularly as we count down to to the birth.

I’m really grateful for the Pink Kit and how much it’s helping me learn about my own birthing body, and the skills I’m developing that will help so much when my birthing time comes :)

By Kristen | Posted in Birth, The Pink Kit, Third Trimester | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The Importance of Eating…in pregnancy

September 3, 2008 – 3:56 pm

I firmly believe that excellent nutrition in pregnancy is vital.  If you’ve read any of the articles I’ve written about food you know that :p

I continue to emphasize it in new articles and here in the blog because so many women don’t realize just how important it is.  Of course there are articles all over telling you to eat your veggies and get plenty of whole grains.  But those very same articles give some very bad nutrition information for your pregnancy.

One of the fundamental ways these articles mislead you is by telling you that you really don’t need very much extra food during pregnancy.   You’re not “eating for two” the articles say.  In fact, they claim that at the end of pregnancy you need a mere 300 calories more than when non-pregnant.  And you supposedly don’t even need that at the beginning of your pregnancy!

I’m going to let you know now that this information is wrong - don’t believe it!

I had a horrible day recently.  Let me tell you why.  I normally eat three meals and three snacks every day.  Two of my snacks are made of 2 cups of milk (each snack) and another protein/fat source (like cheese or nuts).   Well we ran out of milk and I wasn’t able to go out and get any.  I missed having just the milk from my snack for a day, and then the next morning.

By lunchtime on the second day I felt horrible.  I felt exhausted, and a little nauseous.  A friend called me shortly after lunch and immediately asked if I felt OK.  I told her no.

As soon as naptime was over that day I took the kids to the store and we got milk.  Since then I’ve made sure milk is available for my snacks - or that I add extra to my snack to make up for the milk I missed.

I felt this bad from missing the protein/fat/minerals/vitamins from just a few snacks.  I was still eating full, big meals - meals packed with nutrition.

But my body and my baby knew they needed more than that.

In pregnancy you are building a human being from scratch! Your body has to continue to support itself and build an incredibly complex life form at the same time.

It’s a modern lie that your body “only” needs 300 extra calories, and that you should use “lowfat” products.  During pregnancy you need to eat.  You need extra protein, fat, vitamins, minerals - everything.  Do eat plenty of veggies and whole grains.  But you should also be sure you’re getting good healthy fats and proteins in your diet.

Be sure you’re eating enough to stay on top of your baby’s rapid growth - and the increased needs of your own body!  Your blood volume expands, your babe is growing, and you need to store some extra “padding” for breastfeeding your baby.

I also personally feel that you should eat meats, eggs, and dairy products during your pregnancy to give your baby the most nutrient dense foods as possible - and to build your own body up for pregnancy and for your birth and postpartum period.

For more information on solid pregnancy nutrition start with my article on pregnancy diet - and do your baby and yourself a favor…ignore the magazines and eat a bountiful, nutrient dense diet.

By Kristen | Posted in Nutrition, Third Trimester | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Birth Fears

August 29, 2008 – 4:07 pm

As I flipped through the current issue of Mothering Magazine I noticed an article on birth fears. I found that ironic because as my own baby’s birth gets closer and closer I’ve been taking the time to examine my own birth fears, and I was planning to share that with you.

It is not an easy subject to think about. In fact, it’s scary to bring fears to light. But I think it’s important for every pregnant woman to do. If you think through your fears and deal with them you regain control. The status of power that a fear holds over you recedes and can even dissolve.

If a fear during pregnancy comes true, or it comes true during birth, it can leave you paralyzed and unable to cope. Working through your fear beforehand can allow you to deal with it should it manifest - or you’ll realize you can put it aside and have a healthy pregnancy and a good birth.

Many women fear things like being unable to handle the pain of labor or not being able to get what they need during labor.

For me I don’t hold these fears quite as much, though they are fears that I had to deal with in my first pregnancy. After working through three births I don’t doubt my body’s ability to give birth. But one of my worries and fears is still “what will I do if this is a long labor” or “what if it is very intense?” And my biggest fear has been the same through all my pregnancies: “what if I need a cesarean section?”

I don’t fear an unnecessary c-section anymore. I feel quite confident that if I have one it will be because my baby and I really and truly need it. But that didn’t stop the paralyzing fear of “what if I need one” from haunting the back of my mind.

If you have birth fears a good book to get is Birthing From Within -it has excellent sections on working through birth fears that I haven’t seen in another book. The same exercises can be used if you have fears about pregnancy (such as “what if I have premature labor”).

The exercises encourage you to really look at your fear, and one of the questions is “if there’s nothing you can do to prevent this situation, how would you like to handle the situation?”

For my own fear I found that question to be really helpful. It was helpful for me to sit down and think “ok, if this really happened, what would I do next?” It took me from a place of being paralyzed by fear - “oh my gosh I can’t imagine what I would do if that happened!” - to a place where I could actively think about what I would do.

Here’s my response, taken from my private journal:

How would I like to handle the situation if my baby and I needed a c-section: With grace. I would like to accept that it is needed. I would like to work hard to heal up well afterwards, and take the time I need to process it. I would also probably want to make sure (and realize) that others didn’t think I was a failure or that I’d failed them (especially Scott). To realize that it is only something that happens to my body, and it will bring my baby into the world to have a chance at life. But I will take the time I need to heal. Physically and emotionally. I would like to keep an overall good attitude about my recovery and love and enjoy my baby. Take things slowly and heal so I can get back to caring for the family.

As you can see my response touches on some raw emotions and worries that I have that go along with the thought of having a c-section (would that make me a failure to my baby, to Scott; how would I deal with healing and be able to care for my family). Other questions in the fear-processes exercises given in Birthing from Within helped me to realize what worried me so much about the thought of a c-section and let it be OK to acknowledge those worries and fears - even if when I write them some of them out they sound silly.

The fact that I have them however, means they’re not “silly” and they need to be looked at and acknowledged. Writing out what I would do if the situation occurred really helped me to realize that even if my baby was born by a cesarean birth I would not be powerless. I could take control of my recovery and I would still be able to love and care for my baby. And it would be ok for me to take the time to process my experience.

Doing this exercise calmed the fear that lurked in my mind. If it comes up again I can now look at that fear and say “I already know I can handle this situation if it arises.” That leaves me free to move on and spend my time thinking about other things - like cleaning the house, talking to my baby, and visualizing how I’d like the birth to go ;)

I also did the exercise with other fears I have, the biggest being “could I handle a long, intense labor?” That one was harder for me and will involve some additional mental preparation in the weeks leading up to my baby’s birth. But just addressing it and realizing that I feel I will be able to do the work, and that I have a good birth team in place to help me in the event my labor is long and/or intense, and that I’m taking the time to learn childbirth skills and do mental preparation… these thoughts comfort me. They take a fear and make it into something managable.

I encourage you to take the time to list your own fears and worries, and look at them - why they bother you, what is it that’s just so scary? And how you could prevent that from happening - or you couldn’t, how would you handle it?

Doing this valuable work allows you to address fear and worry if it should arise again, and it allows you to move on and focus your attention on other things - like your health and childbirth preparation (and all those daydreams of your beautiful baby!)

By Kristen | Posted in Birth, Third Trimester | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Tackling a Tough Room

August 28, 2008 – 4:01 pm

One of my biggest goals has been to get the house organized before the baby comes. I used it as an example in an article on how to set goals because it was something I’ve been working with actively. I’m really pleased to say that most of my organizing is done and I have worked steadily on my goal! Breaking it into small, bite-sized chunks really helped - I was able to stay motivated and it fit into my busy schedule.

I found that most of my rooms were pretty straightforward when I actually started to work on them. Even my upstairs landing - where I kept tossing everything that didn’t go in rooms I organized before it - went pretty quickly under a few days of intense work.

Then I got to our office. And I realized what a tough room really is. We have so much “stuff” that goes in the office. And I do so much work in here. Not only work on my website, but I also keep track of all of our family paperwork, our accounting, and many, many books in different categories.

There’s a lot of computer equipment in the office that either needs to be kept or won’t be parted with. Computer CDs, music CDs, and did I mention books? Office supplies were everywhere and never where I needed them.

I was overwhelmed.

Finding a Starting Point

The first thing I did was figure out what worked in the office and what didn’t work. The places our computers are at work well. I get a very good view of both the front and side yards from my desk, and I’m next to Scott’s desk. I like that in the evenings. I had an inbox system started next to my desk that works well for me.

But other than that pretty much everything was a mess! The files were horrible and they were far away from me. That was not convinient at all because I use the files frequently while I take care of our family’s paperworks and business. There was computer paraphernalia *everywhere*, huge totes in the closet which were mostly empty, and our audio CDs were in the closet which annoyed Scott.

After I figured out just what worked and what didn’t, I was able to pick out a starting point - try and get the files closer to me.

Working out Solutions

Our office space is not terribly big and my desk is really quite small. We’re planning to get me a slightly larger one when our budget allows, but for now it’s not the highest priority. Since I have a small working space I’d been using the closet as part of my work area. Those huge totes that were half-empty served as a surface for me to keep my inbox system on.

Upon looking at our filing cabinet - which is two drawers high with each drawer holding two rows of files - I realized it could fit neatly into the small closet space. We went ahead and moved that. I took the few things out of the big totes and took them outside. Later Scott put them into the shed so we can take them to his mom, who can use them.

Getting this first step done helped me feel a lot better. The next obvious thing was figuring out what to do with all the computer equipment I’d just put on the floor. We already had a drawer unit with some things it. I went through that, cleaning it out, and was able to get most of the computer equipment neatly inside. I liked that because it was all together and all out of sight! Some of the bigger cables and old floppy disk cases (which Scott needs to keep) went to the top of the closet.

Realizing we Needed More

This was the first room I encountered where I realized we would have to make some bigger purchases. I’d purchased a couple of small containers for the kitchen and one for the bathroom after getting done with those - but they were small and a few dollars each (a few dollars made a big difference!)

But the office needed bigger solutions. One will be a slightly larger desk for me (one that actually has a keyboard shelf!!!). But that one can wait. We did need something to go where we’d moved the file cabinet from - because the printer now had no place to go! We decided upon a heavy-duty utility shelf. It’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but it’s very functional and sturdy.

Scott set that up and fit it between the wall and the kids’ “office desk” where they can “work” while I do my work. We were able to fit the printer and scanner onto a shelf with enough room to open the scanner fully. The next shelf comfortably holds all those CDs Scott wanted out of the closet. The top shelf has some tapes and assorted things that just needed storage room.

I was able to get all the computer software CDs gathered up and put into an empty file folder box, which fit well on the bottom shelf along with some paper products. The shelf directly under the printer holds another file box which contains extra, empty files, and has room for some of the children’s supplies as well.

This shelf was a big purchase for us but helped a lot.

All of my cleaning inspired Scott to somewhat clean his desk (I’m not touching it!) He had a wire “in-basket” that I put on top of the file cabinet next to my desk. Then we purchased a small metal shelf (meant to go on an existing shelf or surface). I put that on the file cabinet too.

I found a small, pretty wicker basket at Goodwill to hold cables and small electronic things I use frequently (digital camera and cables, a calculator, webcam, my iPod, etc.) I put that on the little shelf along with a medium sized container to hold my office supplies - tape, stapler, scissors, super glue, etc. I also had a little room on there to put a container for holding pencils and pens.

I put magazines and products I’m currently reviewing in the space under the shelf.

After these few purchases (and finds) I suddenly had an office that was working much better!

The last thing I did was organize our files and books. The files took a long time and a lot of work - I may make another post about working on files! Books I moved and shifted around some and ended up with more room for books than I’d started with.

End Result

The office was the absolute toughest room I encountered. The only room that has come close is the laundry room because it holds such an assortment of stuff (and Scott has things in there that I have no clue what they are and don’t want to mess with them without his help :p).

It was a room where I realized we truly did need to make some purchases, and I had to go to absolute “square 1″ and figure out where to start. Hopefully sharing just how I did that will help you figure out that even if a room looks really tough, it can probably be organized to work effectively.

When I sit down to take care of business or family matters all that I need is within arms reach of me (unless for some reason I actually need all the computer paraphernalia we have in those drawers across the room). I’m able to get my work done much more quickly and efficiently, even with a small space for my office.

This entire experience of organizing the house has been very nice for me because I’ve been able to figure out how make our relatively small home work well for us. There’s some things I still can’t figure out (where are we going to put that china cabinet……) but for the most part I’ve been really pleased with how I’ve been able to make space - and make space that works for our family

By Kristen | Posted in Managing Motherhood | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Creating Room in the Pelvis

August 27, 2008 – 10:35 am

We’ve done the next section of our Pink Kit video.  It actually took us two nights to get through because we started a bit late (both nights!) and were tired.

It was another very interesting lesson, however.  We went through several techniques for creating more room in the pelvis by manipulating the bones of the pelvis themselves.  I was pretty amazed at how I could actually feel the slight movement.

Two movements felt best to me so I’ll talk about those.  The first was the Hip Lift.  A partner needs to help you do this one.  Your partner places one hand on the hip blade, and the other under the sit bone on the same side.  Your partner presses straight down on the hip bone and lifts the sit bone up at the same time.

It was really cool to feel just how much room this created when Scott did it slowly (and gently!)  We tried it with me relaxed and with me tensed up - big difference!!!

The Pink Kit recommends this for a baby who is not coming down, and suggests trying it for a few 3-second intervals, then allowing a few contractions to see what happens.  By doing it on the same side as the baby’s head is pressing (your baby comes into your pelvis at a slightly diagonal angle) you create more room for the baby to move through.

Since my sit bones are closer together I could really feel this.  During all of my labors there has been a point where it feels the baby was just not moving down, though I was ready.  Changing position helped one of them and my midwife doing some work helped the other two - but with pain for me!  I would much rather try the Hip Lift if this baby decides to slow down moving!

The PK encourages you and your partner to both try things so you both get a good understanding of it.  So I tried the Hip Lift on Scott.  Hah!  You can really tell that the female pelvis is meant to birth, and that the birth hormones are making the cartilage in my pelvis more flexible, because trying to do the Hip Lift on Scott was really hard!  I had to push down quite firmly on his hip bone for either of us to feel any movement.  It’s a very interesting thing.

The other movement I liked was a breath movement involving the tail bone.  I placed one finger on my tailbone and focused on breathing and expanding the area below my finger.  I could actually feel my tailbone (which is quite short!) moving out - which in labor would create more room for the baby’s head!  Other breathing exercises in this section helped me understand how to bring breath and relaxation all around my pelvic area to help open it up.

The Bony Pelvis - Movement section is another that I’ll revisit several times before the birth.  In addition to the techniques I mentioned there are quite a few more.  With the observation skills you develop and the awareness you bring forth as you work through the Pink Kit these techniques are really powerful because you’re truly able to feel the ones that help you.  I think I’ll benefit from practicing these and going through the various labor positions regularly as well.

Our next section focuses on the soft pelvis - the muscles and tissues involved in the birth.  Again I find myself looking forward to that.  And next week we begin even more of the PK resources… we’re starting to get closer and closer to our baby’s birth day - very exciting!!

By Kristen | Posted in Birth, The Pink Kit, Third Trimester | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Two backdated Pink Kit posts

August 25, 2008 – 3:41 pm

I did make the entries for the two Pink Kit sessions we’ve done so far that I didn’t get the chance to write about. Things have gotten better since my rough week and I got the PK work written out for you!

I backdated the entries so they show up at the time we did them. You can view them here:

The Bony Pelvis

and here:

Positions for Labor and Birth

By Kristen | Posted in Birth, Random Thoughts, The Pink Kit, Third Trimester | Comments (0)

Every Two Weeks

August 21, 2008 – 3:56 pm

Baby is starting to seem more and more real.  Starting from our appointment last night we’ll be seeing the midwife every two weeks now.  That’s crazy!  How did I get so far along?!  Where have the past few months gone?  Hah!  More on the appointment later.

Anyways, I’ve been scarce lately.  Scott and I have done two Pink Kit sessions which I haven’t written about and I’ve done a lot more reading and observation, starting to explore my own mind for the birth.

But last week I really buckled down and finished the site redesign, so all pages on the website should have the new look and feel now.  It took a good amount of time but I got it done and I’m so relieved.

Then I focused on getting our “school year” schedule made out.  I’ve written about setting a schedule before and I actually do live my own advice!  I think it’s vital for most moms who are working at home, and moms who are managing a growing family or home schooling.  I’m doing all three of those things, though this year I’ll cut some of my work time because my oldest is in first grade and I need to devote a big chunk of time to helping her get off to a good start in reading, writing, and math.  The next few of my years will be like that as I’m helping beginning readers and mathematicians get going ;)

Figuring out a schedule can be quite a lot of work initially and I took my time doing it, considering what needed to be fit into the day for each of us.  I also considered chores and how much the children are doing to help around the house.  I think it’s important for children to have chores, though I still need to do a lot of supervision.  And Brennan, our 3 year old, needs help with his.  But I feel it’s important for them to contribute to their home.

I’ve also gotten all my lesson plans through the end of the year written out, including quite a few things for my mom to do with the children after the baby is born.  That leaves me time to rest and bond with baby and keeps the older kids busy :)  I still need to think of some activities for them to do immediately after the baby is born, in the first few days, which I have scheduled to be a school break for us.

So that’s what has been occupying most of my time during the past week.  I’ve also completely re-organized our files, and like I said above I’ve done a lot of reading and begun to really consider the baby’s birth and process some of my own fears, thoughts, worries, and anticipation (yes, even me, the girl who runs a website on birth, has some fear and worry at the back of her mind).  It’s a process I feel is important.  I like to address any fears I have before a birth and work through them as much as possible.  Then I can go into birth feeling at peace and ready for the work it will bring.

On that note, our midwife appointment last night was a good one.  I got to ask a lot of questions and again, really start looking toward the birth.  Baby sounded good and I am measuring perfectly.  I’ve gained just about 30lbs at this point so I’m thinking I’ll probably get to around 40lbs added by the end of pregnancy.  I’ve always gained about a pound a week in the third trimester.  I feel great.  Tired, but physically feel great, am loving nesting, and my big baby belly :)  Life is good.

Expect those Pink Kit updates soon!

By Kristen | Posted in Birth, Managing Motherhood, The Pink Kit, Third Trimester | Comments (0)

Positions for Labor and Birth

August 19, 2008 – 3:31 pm

We’re continuing on through the Pink Kit video and Essential Preparations book. I’ve enjoyed learning about myself and getting ready for the birth through this.

Our latest section was on positions for labor and birth. This is a really vital topic. Many natural childbirth education courses cover it. The Pink Kit difference is that before we started this section we had a section on the Bony Pelvis. This first section is significant because it gives you a chance to figure out what your own lower pelvis is like - the shape of the bones your baby will come through. After you’ve gotten a feel for that you get to work with many different positions for laboring and birthing - and you can feel which ones open you up the most!

I enjoyed this section of the video. It was great to see so many different positions actually demonstrated and many useful tips were explained. I know I’ll watch this section several more times, especially as the birth gets closer. I’m sure Scott enjoyed it because he got to watch me being silly and trying out all the different positions ;)

Since watching the video I’ve been observing just how “open” my pelvis feels when I am in different positions. It’s interesting because there are positions where I really feel “closed” and know those wouldn’t be good to labor in. And I’ve been able to notice others that I feel good and open in.

I can’t believe how aware I’ve gotten since starting to use the Pink Kit. I really pay attention to my breathing and my body much more. The PK has given me a lot of good basic skills that I can practice in many situations. And again, I’m really glad for the video and the fact I’ll be able to practice with it to really get my skills down before the birth!

We’ll be moving on through more video sections - our next goes again the the bony pelvis, and how you can help make it more open and assist your baby’s descent. I find myself looking forward to learning even more!

By Kristen | Posted in Birth, The Pink Kit, Third Trimester | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Faliure and Frustration

August 15, 2008 – 8:33 am

These are two feelings that mothers feel a whole lot. And there’s not much anybody can say to take them away.

I wish that I could say that I’ve come to a place in my mothering where I’m not effected by feelings of failure but I can’t. In fact, right now I’m dealing with a major one. Feeling like I had a moment of weakness, stress, and frustration. And in that moment I made a choice, which I now think was an idiotic choice. And I’m going to have pay the price for years and years. And it hurts. Especially because it’s something I feel so strongly over, and it involves my children - the ones I’m supposed to be able to protect.

I should be doing another write up on the Pink Kit, because Scott and I worked through another video section the night before last. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it yesterday, and I don’t want to right now. Everything at the forefront of my mind is getting in the way. Fears, feelings of failure, mounting feelings of frustration.

It’s times like this that I find lists helpful. Specific lists of what I need to do to relieve the frustration - usually that is somewhat straightforward. Identify what is frustrating you (a disgusting bathroom, an unfinished project, whining children, etc.), and then identify a solution. Even if it involves several steps, writing them down and beginning to act upon them can ease the frustration.

But feelings of failure are much harder to tackle. They often bring frustration too, because you feel like you can’t deal with the results of your perceived failure. Notice I said “perceived” - you may not have actually failed as you feel you did. But if you feel it, it can be hard to overcome it. No matter what well-meaning friends say to comfort you.

Often this feeling can paralyze you - which is one thing you shouldn’t let it do. And I’m trying not to. Again a list (or a schedule) is helpful, because even as you are feeling bad you can lean on the list or schedule and let it tell you what needs to be done. Even things as simple as eating can get to feel overwhelming so it’s good to rely on routine.

Don’t let your feelings immobilize you and prevent you from living your life and taking care of yourself (and your family). As you lean on simple to-do lists and daily routines you can begin to work through your feelings. Sometimes talking it through with someone does help. You realize that your feelings were unfounded, or the issue is something you can now overcome.

Other times it just takes time to come to peace and acceptance and pick up and start from where you are - not lament the choices you made in the past. All mothers have feelings of failure and guilt at some point.

As for me, I’m not sure how close I can be to peace about this issue, no matter how much I’m able to lie to other people about being ok with it. It’s just something I need to work through and at this point I think it’s going to take a lot of time. I’m grateful for routines that can carry me through the day, and simple things like reading books with them that make my children happy - so I can keep everyone taken care of even while I figure out the hurt inside.

By Kristen | Posted in Managing Motherhood | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

The Bony Pelvis

August 14, 2008 – 3:19 pm

It’s a little intimidating to think about a baby coming through your pelvis. Yet it happens, and it happens pretty efficiently. Understanding just how that occurs is part of any childbirth education class - the Pink Kit just takes it a little further. In our PK session on the structure of the bony pelvis I actually got to get a good feel for the dimensions of my own pelvis.

There are some parts of your pelvis that you just can’t feel - after all, they’re inside of you. But you can feel the outer pelvis, the lowest part, and you can feel some of the top of it.

It was pretty interesting to feel my own unique shape - what the Pink Kit calls “mapping the pelvis” - this is mapping the pelvic outlet. Some midwives and doctors do a similar assessment to determine how much “room” a woman has to let her baby out. This is much better in my opinion because well, it’s a lot easier to figure things out for yourself than having someone else poke around!

I found out that I have a lot of room front to back, but the area between my “sit bones” - side to side - is just about average for me. You measure by seeing if the width of your fist will fit between the sit bones (those two bits of pelvic bone you sit on!) - a fist width is about average. Scott’s fist is a lot wider than mine and he couldn’t fit his.

The video showed drawings of several common shapes (mine was there!) and talked a lot about figuring yours out. It also encouraged partners to figure their own shape out. Scott determined he would not be good at baby having :p Luckily, as the video pointed out, men and women tend to have slightly different pelvic shapes!

Our next section is on how different positions during labor can help you open up for your baby and work with your own body. I’m looking forward to it!

By Kristen | Posted in Birth, The Pink Kit, Third Trimester | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)