Hypno - What???

As I have mentioned before Matt and I have decided that we would prefer an all natural, no drugs birth. It didn't start out to be about the drugs and how they affect our baby, it started out that I am afraid to lose control and the idea of being drugged and not being able to feel things scares me to death. At first Matt thought I was a little crazy and said that it is my body and my decision so he would support me all the way...I am not sure that his mind has changed (he has always thought me to be a little crazy), but he has been the most supportive husband and I could not ask for anything more. So my journey began researching and and talking to friends and my Dr about what was right for me. My Dr's office introduced me to Corrinna (a Doula that works with my OBGYN) and we talked for close to 45 minutes about options I had and also introduced me to the idea of Hypnobirthing. The theory behind Hypnobirthing is that a woman's body is designed to give birth and focuses on helping her to relax and work with her body and baby. It focuses on training your body to reach a deep level of relaxation through breathing, visualization, and light touch massage techniques. Once I did some more research on Hypnobirthing, I realized that this is the route that I wanted to take. So Matt and I started taking classes to learn the different techniques. We went to orientation a couple weeks ago and then this last Saturday we had our first class. Each of the 5 classes are 2 1/2 hours long and we will spend them learning and practicing techniques to help me reach deep relaxation. During the class we watched a couple videos and after one that showed a very peaceful birth, Matt said, "that is the birth I want for you". It has been so interesting learning how to put myself into a deep relaxation...I am no where close to being able to do it, but it seems to get a little better every time we do our homework. Each night we put on some soft music and through light touch massage and reading of a script Matt tries to help me find my place of deep relaxation. I can say one thing...it really helps me to fall asleep! :)