Secrets ways to go into labor now!

Secrets ways to go into labor now!

Being a licensed massage therapist and specializing in pregnancy massage I’ve had quite a few clients that will do anything and everything to go into labor! From just being uncomfortably whale-like, to having an induction scheduled the next week, to your mom is in town for only 2 weeks. Whatever the reason, women want baby to come now, now, NOW! The things I will list aren’t guaranteed to put you into labor, but it does work for many women! Also keep in mind that your baby will usually come when he is ready. That being said, you can prepare your body and get any sluggish signals the boot so you will have your new baby in your arms sooner, rather than later!

*Please note that you should consult your doctor/midwife before doing any of these.

 

Eat your way to a quicker, easier labor!
                First things first, what to start eating at 37 weeks to get your uterus ready!

       One of the most important things is to make sure you aren’t constipated. You need to eat lots and lots of fiber. Veggies and oatmeal are my favorite way

      Raspberry leaf tea: If you aren’t already, drink 2-3 mugs a day (Should be safe to drink anytime)

 Herbs and spices; thyme, basil, and oregano. Try and use fresh if you can

     Pineapple: eat every single day! Best eaten fresh and raw, even chew on the core or put it in a smoothie.

    Dates: Start eating at 36 weeks. 96% of the women who ate dates went into labor on their own. (study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology )

 

 

     Black licorice: Try to get the natural kind - it contains more licorice and usually less sugar. Like castor oil, some people claim that the slightly laxative effect can cause cramps in the bowel which lead to contractions.

       Spicy foods: When you are really ready for baby to come, a lot of women eat Chinese food and spicy foods.

Next up it’s your partners job to help. What got baby in there can get baby out! Make sure to have your doctor’s permission.

Nipple stimulation - A study out of Britain showed breast stimulation worked as well as Pitocin induced childbirth. The optimal amount was 15 minutes on and 45 minutes off for up to 4 hours.

Sperm - If you feel up to sex, this is a good start towards getting ready for labor. The sperm helps soften and dilate the cervix. Lifting your hips afterwards also helps

Other methods:

o   Dancing- Swing those hips baby!

o   My favorite pregnant dance I’ve seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS_zkvTMdUM

o   Walking, swinging, bumpy car ride, bouncing on birth ball, squatting, galloping, anything that makes you move!  Please don’t exhaust yourself though, labor is tiring enough!

o   Clary sage essential oil: Rub on your belly and on the insides of your ankles. Use only pure oils

o   Castor oil: there is some debating on this one, but I personally believe it can’t hurt to try. I did this with my second and worked like a charm. I drank it mixed in a chocolate shake and could barely taste it!  FYI-It will clean you out. If you don’t want to drink it, try a castor-oil pack.

o   Relaxation exercises - Try some relaxing music and just lie back or even join a meditation class. (Worrying too much about going into labor can STOP it! So don’t stress, your baby will come when he/she is ready!)

I saved the best for last:

˃   Get a massage! Many massage therapists know the labor inducing massage points. I have developed my own special Kick-Start-Labor massage that includes acupressure, reflexology, and relaxation techniques. I have even had clients go into labor on my table! I am also a doula, so know what to expect with labor and delivery and I sometimes give advice if clients ask.

˃   Acupuncture: look up acupressure points to induce labor online or go to a licensed acupuncturist. They use tiny needles, so no need to worry.

My personal feelings are that you need to try doing as much as you can, because you never know what will send you over the edge and into labor. If you try every single thing and nothing works. Take a bath and relax, baby will come out when ready.

Jennifer Anderson LMT

TachiMassage.com

Facebook.com/tachimassage  
 

Preschool!

Olivia is 4 yrs old and started her official preschool today! I loved going shopping and having her choose her own school supplies. Its really incredible to think she will be in kindergarten next year! Time is flying way too fast.

She loves learning and is very quick to pick things up. She knows her alphabet and all the letter sounds. She can count up to 15 in a row, but sometimes likes to skip around :) This school year we are working on starting to read!! Her biggest problem is recognizing the lower case letters. I'm also working on getting her to sit still during reading time. She is really, really active and wants to always be doing something or running around... It keeps us on our toes!

My favorite thing is seeing her learn and grow into such an amazing little person.

Why its ok to have treats while on a diet...

Ok, I am a chocolate lover. You have no idea how much I love chocolate, and all sugar for that matter. So going on a diet is really hard for me. I will even steal candy from a baby if it gets too close. ;)

I started a diet last week with basic foods. Fresh fruit and salads, whole grain bread sandwiches, stuff like that. No meat except fish. No sugar except honey and raw organic turbinado or agave. I'm trying to get rid of my bloat (and hopefully lose a few lbs) before my friend Nadia's wedding on July 20th. I start out each day with fresh squeezed lemonade with organic maple syrup and some cayenne pepper in it. That really helps to kick start my metabolism. Then I take flax seed pills and Slim n Sassy.  I have 5 small meals throughout the day. Throughout the day I drink a TON of water. I always add a drop of lemon or grapefruit essential oil because I don't like the taste of water.

For my fitness I run/walk every day at least 5 days a week. I take my two little girls in my jogging stroller. I have a C25k app that tells me when to run and when to walk. I'm on week 4 right now and it just kicked my butt today.  After a 5 minute warm up it had me run 3 minutes walk 90 seconds then run 5 minutes, in a repeating pattern. Now my route that I take is a little over 2 miles and part of it is downhill then uphill. I have to confess, sometimes I pause my app when I'm going uphill so I don't have to run up! But really I do love it and I love running outside with my two little angels.

Now for the title. I allow myself to have some treats in the evening 2 hours after my last meal. Usually its just herbal tea, sometimes its coconut oil popcorn. Lately I've been having a hard time sticking with this whole diet. So last night I made some *gasp* no-bake cookies! It is actually on my diet, believe it or not. I used turbinado sugar and agave, and didn't use as much peanut butter. Plus the oats are healthy for you! The reason its ok to have treats while on a diet is this; If I didn't have a treat sometimes I'd just go out the McDonalds and get a large chocolate Oreo shake and fries. But the knowledge that a couple of cookies can tide my cravings over is all the willpower I need! Now I can hand out M&M's to my potty training daughter without stealing any of them. Go me!

What dieting and exercise tips have worked well for you in the past? Leave them in the comments!

Poem

This is a poem I started years ago but never really liked, then I revised it and I like it much better now! Any suggestions on the title?


Time passes slowly,
steady as an old oak tree
writing, hoping, praying
The wise old oak has seen many pass & fail
But all I've seen today is failure
...will I join them?
Or can I be good enough
The old oak ponders as well
Waiting, wondering, anticipating
Smiling as if confident
My heart stops to hear the news...
Yes! Breathe comes back to my body
The strong old oak winks as I pass by

-JSA

Ways to help induce labor

Ok, so I've had a lot of friends who are pregnant and cant wait to have their baby... I've emailed this info to a bunch of people, but I figure I should just blog about it so its more readily available. I got this article when I was pregnant with my last and I've edited it a lot from my own experiences. Plus I added some things.
*Warning, this contains TMI for some people...

Induce Labor Naturally

 

1. Acupressure - There are pressure points in the shoulder well, webbing between thumb and forefinger, heel and small of back.

2. Massage - Find a massage therapist qualified to work with pregnant women. Many will know various points to massage to induce labor. (I have a specific program for inducing labor that includes acupressure and reflexology. Look up Tachi Massage on Facebook)

3. Basil - Throw some in your cooking. (Just a hint, all the edible things take a long time to work, but if you do most of them every day they will work. I’d start eating them from week 36-37 on)

4. Black/Blue Cohosh - Taken in tea form is a common way to induce labor. Some midwives use it even during labor to increase slow contractions. I'd recommend research first.

5. Bath! - Taking a bath can really help with slow labor, it can also stop Braxton hicks if you can’t tell if it’s real labor or not.

6. Bouncing on birth/exercise ball - Spreading your legs as well as the moving up and down can help the baby move down. (I loved using my birth ball during labor as well!)

7. Bumpy car ride - Sometimes the baby just needs a bit of a jiggle!

8. Castor oil - Statistically speaking it only works on 65-75% of women and causes lovely things like diarrhea. The theory is that the cramps in the bowel set off contractions. Opinion is still out on whether castor oil causes babies to pass meconium in the womb but a) most women using castor oil are overdue and b) babies that are overdue are more likely to pass meconium so you do the math! (Personally my first baby had meconium and my second baby didn’t… with the second one I used Castor oil and with the first I didn’t! If you really, really want to go into labor, do this! )Hint: mix it with a chocolate shake and it doesn't taste as bad!

9. Chinese food - Not sure why, but some people have claimed this works well. Worth a try!

10. Clary Sage essential oil - Make sure to use a pure essential oil. DoTerra or Young Living are the best. Rub on your belly and the side of your heels.

11. Dancing - Pole dancing might be a bit much! But if you get in there and swing your hips around a lot, there's a chance baby might think about coming out. (dancing can move the baby down, look up youtube videos of pregnant women dancing, Awesome)

12. Eggplant - Many people swear by eggplant parmesan.

13. Evening primrose oil - Can be taken orally from 35 weeks and used internally (good idea to do this at night and use a panty liner) from 38 weeks. It's meant to soften the cervix so that even if you do get induced, the doctor may be able to break your waters and not need any further intervention to bring on labor.

14. Galloping - Many women claim that imitating a horse can help start labor.

15. Squats - Doing a few of these each day often helps to move the baby down and into position.

16. Golden seal - Taken in tablet form is easiest.

17. Kneeling on all fours - A friend of a friend was told to do this. Swing the hips back and forth. Her waters broke just a few minutes later. Coincidence? Maybe!

18. Licorice - Try to get the natural kind - it contains more licorice and usually less sugar. Like castor oil, some people claim that the slightly laxative effect can cause cramps in the bowel which lead to contractions. (I started eating licorice everyday starting at week 37)

19. Mandarin oil on heels - Had a friend recommend this, but worth a try!

20. Balsamic Vinegar - Add a dash to your salad. Definitely won't hurt to try!

21. Motherwort - Taken in tea or pill form.

*Warning: TMI

22. Nipple stimulation - A study out of Britain showed breast stimulation worked as well as pitocin induced childbirth. The optimal amount was 15 minutes on and 45 minutes off for up to 4 hours. (Thanks Megan for the info!)

23. Sperm - If you feel up to sex, this is a good start towards getting ready for labor. The sperm helps soften and dilate the cervix.

24. Orgasm - Orgasms cause contractions, which is part of what feels so good. That's why many women enjoy orgasms more during pregnancy!

25. Pineapple - Best taken fresh and raw. Statistically speaking, the chemicals which pineapple contain, which are said to start labor aren't very high. So that means about 5-7 pineapples should put you into labor!

26. Quinine - Not quite sure how it works but I've read that it is used in various countries - either pill or liquid form.

27. Raspberry leaf - Taken either as a tea or pill. Start at about 34 weeks - opinion is divided as to whether it will start labor, but it definitely strengthens the uterus, leading to a (hopefully) shorter labor, because each contraction can achieve more. (I took this every week I was pregnant. It helps shorten labor! Its really good for you)

28. Relaxation exercises - Try some relaxing music and just lie back or even join a meditation class. (Worrying too much about going into labor can STOP it! So don’t stress, your baby will come when he/she is ready!)

29. Oregano - Throw some in your cooking! Also a good idea to take Oregano oil pills before a meal. (When I had slow labor I put some oregano and basil in my bath and it sped my labor as soon as I got out!)

30.Spicy food - A very well known labor starter! The reason it works may be because of the upset it causes to the digestive system which then upsets the uterus.

31. Deep Breathing excersises – Breath in to the count of 4 and exhale through mouth to 8 counts. Picture baby descending like an elevator.

32. Squaw Vine - Old remedy. Not sure how well it works.

33. Stretch and sweep of membranes - Your midwife or doctor can perform this simple procedure. A finger is inserted into the cervix and a gentle 'sweep' of the finger slightly separates the uterus wall and amniotic sac, sometimes leading to labor within hours or days. Some women say it's an easy, painless procedure, others claim it can be very painful. How well it works can also depend on if you are very far dilated or not.

34. Swimming - Relaxed swimming can help bring out the baby - both the water and the movement help.

35. Swinging on a swing - Similar to a bumpy car ride but probably a bit easier on mum.

36. Thyme Tea - Worth a try!

37. Visualization exercises - Many women swear by these. Try making a recording of yourself talking about the baby moving down, preparing to be born etc or just imagine it in your head.

38. Walking - The bumping up and down can help the baby move into the birth canal. In fact, this is one of the few ways that most doctors agree on for starting labor.

39. Walking up/down stairs - More bumping up and down! The further lifting of the legs can help with moving the baby if walking doesn't seem to.

40. Yoga - Many places offer special classes for all stages of pregnancy.