Thank Goodness for Mom!

   Yesterday was kind of a rough day. I had been feeling like it was Henry's last chance to come out naturally, without being induced, since we have our 41-week Dr. appt today and my OB isn't keen on letting him stay inside much longer. I agreed to go to the hospital to do a non-stress test at 41 weeks to see if everything's okay with him. If it is she'll let him stay until 42 weeks, and if it isn't then we'll have to discuss our options. I wanted to avoid this scenario altogether and have my baby already! I also reeeeally want to avoid being induced with Pitocin, because I had convinced myself that the gentle Hypnobirthing I've been working for may not happen if my body is overridden by Pitocin. I've been avoiding thinking through a Pitocin scenario because I believe that if you focus on what you don't want, you'll bring it about anyway because you've put so much energy into it. However, Jeff and I both want Henry's birth to be a really positive experience (obviously), and Jeff was concerned that if I only have one possibility for a positive scenario in my mind, everything else would be a disappointment. So I spent a while during the day trying to visualize many scenarios that still ended with me holding my baby in my arms and feeling happy and satisfied with the experience. There's even an affirmation I learned in Hypnobirthing that I used to repeat to myself that goes: I am prepared for whatever turn my birthing takes. I had since forgotten that affirmation, so I reminded myself, tried to actually believe it and let it stop some of my worrying, but I still felt kind of discouraged and even a bit depressed.
   Luckily, my mom was in Salt Lake for the day (my parents live in Logan) and offered to come down and distract us for the evening. Most of the time I decline such kind offers from anyone besides Jeff because I don't want to put them out, but lately I've been taking people up on anything they're willing to do for me because I need it and I really appreciate it. So my mom came down and took us out to eat at Brick Oven, where I had a good time (and tried to ignore all of the tiny babies that I kept seeing because it just made me want to cry), and then went with us to the mall where we walked around and looked at nice things. My mom got me some mint truffles (which are my favorite) and walked around with us until I was tired and ready to go home. Jeff remembered to thank my mom before I did, and we took turns thanking her profusely for coming down to Provo, taking us to dinner, and spending time with us. My mom just said that for a couple of hours I forgot that I was uncomfortably pregnant, so it was worth it. :) I would have to agree. It was really nice to have a distraction for a few hours and be reminded that I'm loved and cared about by my mom. Thank you, mom! You're so great!!