Öhrn Life Management

I got to see my baby for the first time today. What a joy!  S/he was as active as I could feel the other evening.  But s/he was doing aerobics, rather than yoga.

I did not just do any ultrasound, as I am a bit weary about possible negative side effects of ultrasound may have. This was the kind of ultrasound that you can do between week 12 and 13+6  to check for signs of chromosome changes.

I was a bit nervous of course. Not that I know what we would do if the test showed a sad result. I do not really want to think such thoughts unless I have to. Don’t want to worry unnecessarily.

Luckily enough, the doctor said that the baby looked very healthy moving so much. So healthy that he could not ever measure the neck in a proper way, since the baby was not lying still for long enough…

So I have to come back another day, before week the end of week 14.

Dear child,

I hope you didn’t mind us having a peek at you today. I was so happy to see you and your strong arms and legs kicking around. And your beautiful heart beating so steadily.

My whole body is changing to accommodate my baby. As I am finally growing more on the front, rather than to the sides, I find this easier and easier to accept.

As my little belly that has just popped out to say hello and I showed it proudly to my dear friend today. She claims it just looks like gas. How can something so beautiful look like gas?!

Actually, she’s right. There is a lot of gas in there too. And some very soft muscles.

I have been working hard to get my core back into shape since my son left a big void in my belly two years ago. Countless are the plank and boat poses I have suffered through. Still, this time around it is already in week 12 clearly visible that I am pregnant. And gassy.

Dear child,

You don’t look like gas. But I can’t really tell where you start and the gas ends. I hope you feel safe in there, surrounded by my gassy belly. A bit like Nike Air, gently cushioning you every step that I take.

I stretched out in bed last night, relaxed and sank a little deeper into my mattress. Everything became quiet. Except my baby. Like a pulsating heart, with it’s own rhythm, s/he was doing some slumber summer salts deep inside of me. Or was it a sun salutation I could sense?

It was the first time I could feel him/her tumbling around in there. What a joyous feeling.

I had to move my leg out of the aircon’s way, and as my body came to a still I could not feel the internal yoga asanas anymore. I was lying there so still so still asking my baby to keep on moving, but no more. Maybe s/he was in savasana.

Dear child,

I am so happy to feel you move. Your confident pulsating rhythm resonated throughout my soul. Feel free to jump around as much as you like. Enjoy the space around you that is still at this point. When you come out, I will take you to yoga classes where we can stretch out together. I hope you will enjoy yoga as much as the rest of your family.

During pregnancy most women have very vivid and often weird dreams. So do I. But last night was different: it was the most wonderful dream. A perfect dream birth.

I was so relaxed, my whole body was soft and as the dream started I was at the second stage of delivery: just about to meet my baby. My baby was in breach, but that did not matter. I just relaxed and let my body and my baby do the work. I was breathing my baby out.

I will keep the memory of this dream vivid and alive and use it when I visualize how the birth will be. I hope this is a dream that will come true.

Dear child,

Did you feel how effortlessly you joined the world in that dream? I will remember that feeling when you are about to join us in this world. Relaxing and releasing, letting our bodies work together without my mind interfering.