Prenatal Care Wishlist

Last Updated on March 12, 2016 by Jenny Pena

Part 2 of Our Prenatal Care.

In the first part I shared some things we did for our prenatal care and preparations for birth and pospartum. (Read part 1 here.)

Here I list our prenatal care wish list. These are either things I did not do because I was not aware of them yet, or I did not have a chance to since Jasmin was born at 37 weeks and fast!

Bible Verses

At 36 weeks pregnant, a week before Jasmin’s birth, I was going through the bible and looking for verses online to give me strength and encouragement during those last weeks of pregnancy and to prepare to give birth. My plan was to post them up around my home so I can always see them. Since we were planning a home birth they would help me during labor to stay focused and remember God’s promises. It would have been great to do this! Now I know for next time to put many of these verses in the bathroom since that’s where I ended up laboring and birthing Jasmin!

Breastfeeding support group and diet

During Jasmin’s first few weeks of life she experienced tremendous colic. Poor baby. I didn’t realize until we’ll into her first month that it was due to my diet. At that point I was vegan but the veggies I was eating were cruciferous, yikes! Beans and bread were also a culprit. I ended up going raw vegan for 3 months. Within the first week she had little to no colic and she began sleeping through the night! Of course not all babies experience the same issues. I do feel that if I would have attended Breastfeeding groups beforehand I would have been exposed to this information. Mommas our diets can affect our babies! Also just learning little things like proper nursing positions and lactation help are great to know especially with first babies.

Essential oils

I can say so much about essential oils! Specifically Young Living essential oils! These are magnificent gifts from God. I’m grateful to have been blessed with all this knowledge about these life savers. I do wish I could have known about these during pregnancy for itchy skin, heartburn, perineum prep, and other discomforts. Also during labor would have helped me stay focused and maybe would not have torn. Postpartum would have helped me heal and recover easier and helped Jasmin transition into this world peacefully. We’ll. ow we have them and I will not leave the house without them. Please check out my other posts on essential oils or visit www.heavenlytreasure.net/essentialoils. Feel free to contact me with any questions or if you need help getting started with essential oils!

Hypnobirthing or orgasmic birthing

I did hear about hypnobirthing and orgasmic birthing during pregnancy. For some reason I was not drawn enough to get the books or attend classes. I think I was already overloaded with all this birthing choices that I just didn’t get the time to do this. I definitely want to look more into these options and prepare if we do have more children. I have heard many momma’s experiences that have loved these type of births. I have also met some educators in my area such as Debra Geymayr at Prenatal Plus Yoga Studio

Baby-wearing classes

Baby wearing saves the day every time! Either baby is fussy, needs a nap or you need your hand free while holding baby, wearing them is a must! Check your area for local baby wearing mommas and ask around to see which carriers fits your budget and needs. I did not get the hang of our wrap and did not realize I did not have the best one for us for too long. We should have taken a class or gone to a group during pregnancy to get practice and tips preparation for Jasmin. Now we have 2 carriers, a wrap and a mei tei, we do do go anywhere without at least one of these. They are so much easier than taking the stroller everywhere and Jasmin chills out and I’m still very comfortable. These are especially helpful when I need to nurse her and help her fall asleep. Plus it’s fun, they are beautiful and our baby wearing friends we met along the way are awesome.

Belly cast

We were planning on getting a belly cast but, again, Jasmin came fast! So now I know for next time to do it before 37 weeks. There are women who will do this for you for a small fee and they will even paint it! I’m a bit on the crafty side so I think we would have purchased a kit or bought the supplies and made it a celebration!

Blessingway

I had not heard about a blessingway until I read about it in Birthing from Within. I did not consider it nor did I think of it until Jasmin was almost one year blossomed. So we had a baby shower, which was fun, but now I realize that a blessingway would have been a beautiful way to enjoy a blessed celebration with my girlfriends and mommas. We could have done the belly cast together, prayed together, and made a more sacred time out of it. This is definitely on my list for next time.