Carrie, this reminds me so much of the time when I was waiting for my first daughter to arrive, and I basically made it my full-time job to prep for a smooth delivery. Let me tell you, it PAYED OFF! I had the most beautiful birth in the world, with really no pain, just pressure. Keep up the incredible work, it will pay off for you, I know. I am so excited to hear how it goes!
I am not pregnant & don’t plan to be anytime soon, but watching your videos and how positive you are through your pregnancy has me feeling empowered and excited to do that one day too ❤️ I am so excited for you guys to welcome baby girl! 💕
10000% get all the snacks! I’m in Canada and did a hospital birth for baby one (husband was fed though!) and homebirth for baby 2 (snacks were obviously super accessible being at home). You are doing so many things to educate yourself and prepare your mind and body for the transformative experience that is birth! If there’s anything I could recommend it is preparing for postpartum. That is something I didn’t really do for my first & learned for our second. Things like having meals on hand, how to navigator visitors, boundaries, comfort measures for healing, how will you ensure you get rest, nourishment and hydration (two incredibly important things, among others, for breastfeeding), etc etc. There’s so many layers to welcoming a baby into the world! You and Alex are a great team and remember - your body was built to birth! Wishing you a beautiful experience filled with love and support. Your baby girl will be here soon ❤
As a longtime viewer I’m so excited for yourself and Alex (and the pets) for your new adventure. I became a first-time mum just this week as well so experiencing a similar timeline to yourself has been educational. I wish I’d done a “prep mentally for labour” course like you’re suggesting just to understand all the different components that could happen. All the very best with the arrival of your baby girl, you have plenty of support surrounding you.
I have a 5 month old and delivered 3 weeks early and had a positive experience. You’re doing so many good things to prepare and I’m so excited for you! For me, I really focused on welcoming progress mentally whenever I felt it. It was a practice i got myself into as more symptoms came towards end of pregnancy and then when in labor. I found myself feeling like anytime I came to a new sensation I would just allow it freely to come up to me and greet me. I would often be explaining to my nurse what I was feeling and she would guide me in knowing that was xyz and a good progress sign. I loved it cause even when something random or small was happening it all was showing me that I was moving along which feels really good mentally.
Carrie, an old wise lady passed on some wise advice re freezing plums..simply wash and put in plastic bags in the freezer..no need to cook, cut or dice beforehand. Easy peasy .Such an exciting time..before you know it you’ll be holding your beautiful daughter in your arms.
Carrie, wishing you the best for labor and delivery ❤ it’s truly an amazing and transformative experience! It’s so empowering- I’m in awe of what our bodies can do! Trust the process. You and Alex are going to be such great parents. Having a child is the greatest gift in the world. ❤
Perineal massage 👍👍👍 highly recommend (i did 10 minutes a day,after warm shower) Gave birth to our 2nd baby 8 weeks ago,baby boy was 4,5kg (9 pounds) and i did NOT have any stitches,ZERO TEAR 🎉👍🥳🙏 (first son was 3,5kg,also ZERO tearing...) Perinelal massage is not the most pleasant thing,but DANG,it realy realy realy helps 👍👍👍 YOU GOT THIS,GIRL. ❤ Sending lots of love from czech republic ❤❤❤
I remember you’re a cobbler fan …how about some plumb cobbler?!? 😋. Your nursery is adorable and so well organized. You are going to be an amazing Mommma! Wishing you the best!
Wishing you the best! Not much longer now ❤ Advice: Take in every moment. It all happens so quickly. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself to rest too. Enjoy every second with your little one. The newborn stage doesn’t last forever
I love that you have brought us along in your journey of this pregnancy...its soo beautiful and look soo glowing and beautiful while being pregnant (and not also) everything's coming along just fine...cant wait for more content ❤ 💐
Just a positive little testimony for all the birth prep- it’s sooo worth it! I did the red raspberry leaf tea and dates, diaphragmatic breathing and pelvic floor pt to heal from past birth and did Christian hypnobirthing and my labor was incredibly peaceful and honestly easy. I only had an hour of active labor before my daughter was born in the tub so I really think the red raspberry leaf tea helped me to have strong effective contractions. You’re doing wonderfully with your prep and should feel so proud and know you’ve done well 🤍 best of best wishes and hopes for a lovely birth experience to you and little girl!
I had and epidural with my first and it went very smooth and didn’t feel much of the pain other than early on contractions. My second son.. I showed up at 7cm dialated and was in line for epidural but there was an emergency patient going into c section next to me so the anesthesiologist went to them. So I had no choice but to deliver naturally. It was SOMETHING!! 😵💫 The way our bodies expel these babies naturally is insane!!! Your body pushed for you. You cannot control it!! Once the delivery is over the reality sets in. The feelings set in. The breast feeding challenge is REAL. It will feel like overwhelm but it at the same time is miraculous!!!! Don’t feel bad about formula. Do what you can!!
Hey Carrie - sending all the positive vibes your way for a magical birth. You are in the BEST hands with Renee, she is incredible. The greatest thing about labour is you finally get to meet baby girl 😊
My tip for you is to listen to your body. You were made to give birth. Your body knows what to do. When I gave birth to my daughter, I followed the nurse’s advice on when to push. If I had pushed when I felt I should push, she would have come out much quicker. Also, the best tip I received was to relax your face muscles (ask your husband to remind you of this), that way you won’t break any capillaries in your face. 💓
Carrie, I am so excited for you guys!! What a wonderful time this is! Our little Lola Lou turned 1 on January 12th! Her birth was the most magical day of my life! I wanted to re-do it over and over again! One of my favorite postpartum things were the silver nipple covers! Honestly believe they saved my nipples! Also, one thing that I had wished someone told me more about was safe co-sleeping! I never thought we would do that but it just happened so I always recommend reading up on the safe sleep seven on La Leche League for soem great information! Soak up these last few weeks alone with Alex as a party of 2. 😊 Sending all the good vibes and love to you, Alex, and that sweet babe. ❤
If you don’t have time to make jam right now, just wash, pit and freeze the plums. You can thaw them out and make jam out of them later that way when you have more time in the winter.
Hey lovely, I have a 10 month old and had a positive birth experience. You are so far doing all my preparation tips! 1 suggestion for while in labour is the essential oil clary sage, if your contractions slow, which mine did after arriving at hospital and getting too comfortable in the bath, just put some clary sage on a flannel and smell it. For me, it brought my contractions back in full force and help progress my labour x
Best of luck for the birth of your Bub. Both my boys were that easy. 2.5 hour births each from start to finish. You are doing all the prep. You are positive and ready. Do you have a few frozen meals prepped for after bubs is born. They are a godsend as you'll both be tired. Sending positive vibes from Auckland.
Best wishes for the perfect birth for you. I had three children 30+ years ago. I LOVE giving birth and found it to be the true essence of life, bringing wee babies into the world. I was lucky to have a 6 hr birth, 2 hr birth then 45 min birth. So all pretty quick, from first twinge to baby in my arms. Thinking of you both as you begin a new chapter in life. Enjoy these last few weeks as a couple because that ceases to be when you become a "family" and have a wee bubba to think about and plan around. Good luck Carrie and Alex 💕💕
My two children are in their 50s now and were born before the Internet. I only had a book to read 📚 I like the idea that you have a designated midwife in New Zealand as that did not happen in 1970! No Ultrasound either so had no idea of sex etc., My husband was not allowed in the birthing room, which I know would have been so helpful for me. I ended up with forceps and an episiotomy for my first baby, but fortunately for me my second baby arrived when epidurals had become available on the NHS. Carrie I wish you a calm, happy and positive birth and look forward to following your journey. ❤❤
I love listening to all of the things that you are doing to prepare! It sounds like your midwife has you doing all of the things that my Midwife had me do, and let me tell you, I had the most amazing birth experience! Who really knows how much of that Was due to the primrose oil, tea, dates, etc., but I have to think that they played a role! I started doing them all when I was given the greenlight and by the time I got to the nipple stimulation stage (in case you’re told to try this too!), about 10 seconds in, my water broke! I was able to labor at home until nearly 8 cm before going to meet our Midwife at the birthing suite. I was too nervous to do a homebirth with my first one, but it was just the most amazing, incredible, empowering experience! Baby boy was born after about six pushes in a Jacuzzi tub! I can’t wait to hear about how magical your birth experience is too! You’re going to be an incredible mom!
I love how out of breath you are. It reminds me of when i was pregnant 😭🥰 its so hard to talk! You did well recording this video talking. All the best mama, not long now x
I love watching this video because you remind me just a few weeks ago ❤ I don’t know if your midwife told you but it is also recommend to do perineal massages everyday, it could prevent you tears during childbirth 😊 I really hope everything will go well and I wish you an easy and healthy labor just like mine ❤
Best hack is to have a salt lamp in the nursery or wherever you’ll change baby at night. It gives off just enough light but doesn’t startle everyone fully awake
My advice is to get the epidural lol. Unfortunately, my epidural didn't last long (I had a fast labour), but when it did work... it was glorious!! GLORIOUS. You can still feel your legs (for some reason I thought I wouldn't be able to haha). If you want to go natural, that's obviously fine. Your body will do what it needs to do, and it will all be worth it, I promise. But if you want to take drugs, don't let anyone make you feel bad about it. People take drugs for everything. When was the last time you heard of someone getting a wisdom tooth pulled without drugs? Or trying hypnotherapy for an unmedicated medical procedure? It's ridiculous that society pressures women to suffer when they don't have to suffer. Just my two cents!
Your doing great Carrie I have 4 children Olivia who is now 52 Sean 51 Maeve 44 and Michael 40,Now I am Granny to 3 beautiful boys Charlie 14 Henry 12 and Daniel who was 1 year old on Christmas day and I'm loving minding them when there parents like to take a little break So Carrie I will think of you in my prayers and of course the new Daddy who will be encouraging you a long Best wishes from me in Ireland
I nearly had a heart attack (kidding) as I overlooked that one important word: preparing and thought -labor-. When the time comes, you’ll do fine as you both eat healthy and live a healthy lifestyle! I just had TCBY (w/ pickles;) in honor of the baby. Of course I’m kidding, again.
I have had 4 babies all were so different but I think staying home as long as you can is a good idea and the best way to get baby going is to walk a lot and ummmmmmmmmm do the jiggy hahaha also breathing and moving right up until birth sitting lying down isn't always good so don't be afraid to get comfortable for you
Another thing I learned for our babies is to leave the umbilical cord uncut for as long as possible so bub gets enough blood flow but we do tend to sway toward more natural living due to our genetics all my babies are very healthy though
Carrie, this reminds me so much of the time when I was waiting for my first daughter to arrive, and I basically made it my full-time job to prep for a smooth delivery. Let me tell you, it PAYED OFF! I had the most beautiful birth in the world, with really no pain, just pressure. Keep up the incredible work, it will pay off for you, I know. I am so excited to hear how it goes!
Love that! Thank you for sharing this with me. 🌻
I am not pregnant & don’t plan to be anytime soon, but watching your videos and how positive you are through your pregnancy has me feeling empowered and excited to do that one day too ❤️ I am so excited for you guys to welcome baby girl! 💕
Aw wow that is awesome. I’m so glad it made you feel that way. Thank you for this!
Congratulations on the birth of your baby I hope you are feeling well and strong. And everyone is happy and healthy. ❤
why was i losing it when you said "...it doesn't really energize me! it relaxes me!" lol relatable! who is energized after a bath?!
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter ❤carnt wait to see your new video so we can all see her 😊
10000% get all the snacks! I’m in Canada and did a hospital birth for baby one (husband was fed though!) and homebirth for baby 2 (snacks were obviously super accessible being at home). You are doing so many things to educate yourself and prepare your mind and body for the transformative experience that is birth! If there’s anything I could recommend it is preparing for postpartum. That is something I didn’t really do for my first & learned for our second. Things like having meals on hand, how to navigator visitors, boundaries, comfort measures for healing, how will you ensure you get rest, nourishment and hydration (two incredibly important things, among others, for breastfeeding), etc etc. There’s so many layers to welcoming a baby into the world! You and Alex are a great team and remember - your body was built to birth! Wishing you a beautiful experience filled with love and support. Your baby girl will be here soon ❤
As a longtime viewer I’m so excited for yourself and Alex (and the pets) for your new adventure. I became a first-time mum just this week as well so experiencing a similar timeline to yourself has been educational.
I wish I’d done a “prep mentally for labour” course like you’re suggesting just to understand all the different components that could happen.
All the very best with the arrival of your baby girl, you have plenty of support surrounding you.
I have a 5 month old and delivered 3 weeks early and had a positive experience. You’re doing so many good things to prepare and I’m so excited for you! For me, I really focused on welcoming progress mentally whenever I felt it. It was a practice i got myself into as more symptoms came towards end of pregnancy and then when in labor. I found myself feeling like anytime I came to a new sensation I would just allow it freely to come up to me and greet me. I would often be explaining to my nurse what I was feeling and she would guide me in knowing that was xyz and a good progress sign. I loved it cause even when something random or small was happening it all was showing me that I was moving along which feels really good mentally.
Carrie, an old wise lady passed on some wise advice re freezing plums..simply wash and put in plastic bags in the freezer..no need to cook, cut or dice beforehand. Easy peasy .Such an exciting time..before you know it you’ll be holding your beautiful daughter in your arms.
Carrie, wishing you the best for labor and delivery ❤ it’s truly an amazing and transformative experience! It’s so empowering- I’m in awe of what our bodies can do! Trust the process. You and Alex are going to be such great parents. Having a child is the greatest gift in the world. ❤
Perineal massage 👍👍👍 highly recommend (i did 10 minutes a day,after warm shower)
Gave birth to our 2nd baby 8 weeks ago,baby boy was 4,5kg (9 pounds) and i did NOT have any stitches,ZERO TEAR 🎉👍🥳🙏 (first son was 3,5kg,also ZERO tearing...)
Perinelal massage is not the most pleasant thing,but DANG,it realy realy realy helps 👍👍👍
YOU GOT THIS,GIRL. ❤
Sending lots of love from czech republic ❤❤❤
I remember you’re a cobbler fan …how about some plumb cobbler?!? 😋. Your nursery is adorable and so well organized. You are going to be an amazing Mommma! Wishing you the best!
Wishing you the best! Not much longer now ❤
Advice: Take in every moment. It all happens so quickly.
Be kind to yourself and allow yourself to rest too.
Enjoy every second with your little one. The newborn stage doesn’t last forever
I love that you have brought us along in your journey of this pregnancy...its soo beautiful and look soo glowing and beautiful while being pregnant (and not also) everything's coming along just fine...cant wait for more content ❤ 💐
Just a positive little testimony for all the birth prep- it’s sooo worth it! I did the red raspberry leaf tea and dates, diaphragmatic breathing and pelvic floor pt to heal from past birth and did Christian hypnobirthing and my labor was incredibly peaceful and honestly easy. I only had an hour of active labor before my daughter was born in the tub so I really think the red raspberry leaf tea helped me to have strong effective contractions. You’re doing wonderfully with your prep and should feel so proud and know you’ve done well 🤍 best of best wishes and hopes for a lovely birth experience to you and little girl!
I had and epidural with my first and it went very smooth and didn’t feel much of the pain other than early on contractions.
My second son.. I showed up at 7cm dialated and was in line for epidural but there was an emergency patient going into c section next to me so the anesthesiologist went to them. So I had no choice but to deliver naturally. It was SOMETHING!! 😵💫 The way our bodies expel these babies naturally is insane!!! Your body pushed for you. You cannot control it!!
Once the delivery is over the reality sets in. The feelings set in. The breast feeding challenge is REAL. It will feel like overwhelm but it at the same time is miraculous!!!! Don’t feel bad about formula. Do what you can!!
Hey Carrie - sending all the positive vibes your way for a magical birth. You are in the BEST hands with Renee, she is incredible. The greatest thing about labour is you finally get to meet baby girl 😊
My tip for you is to listen to your body. You were made to give birth. Your body knows what to do. When I gave birth to my daughter, I followed the nurse’s advice on when to push. If I had pushed when I felt I should push, she would have come out much quicker. Also, the best tip I received was to relax your face muscles (ask your husband to remind you of this), that way you won’t break any capillaries in your face. 💓
Carrie, I am so excited for you guys!! What a wonderful time this is! Our little Lola Lou turned 1 on January 12th! Her birth was the most magical day of my life! I wanted to re-do it over and over again! One of my favorite postpartum things were the silver nipple covers! Honestly believe they saved my nipples! Also, one thing that I had wished someone told me more about was safe co-sleeping! I never thought we would do that but it just happened so I always recommend reading up on the safe sleep seven on La Leche League for soem great information!
Soak up these last few weeks alone with Alex as a party of 2. 😊
Sending all the good vibes and love to you, Alex, and that sweet babe. ❤
If you don’t have time to make jam right now, just wash, pit and freeze the plums. You can thaw them out and make jam out of them later that way when you have more time in the winter.
Hey lovely, I have a 10 month old and had a positive birth experience. You are so far doing all my preparation tips! 1 suggestion for while in labour is the essential oil clary sage, if your contractions slow, which mine did after arriving at hospital and getting too comfortable in the bath, just put some clary sage on a flannel and smell it. For me, it brought my contractions back in full force and help progress my labour x
Best of luck for the birth of your Bub. Both my boys were that easy. 2.5 hour births each from start to finish. You are doing all the prep. You are positive and ready.
Do you have a few frozen meals prepped for after bubs is born. They are a godsend as you'll both be tired.
Sending positive vibes from Auckland.
Best wishes for the perfect birth for you. I had three children 30+ years ago. I LOVE giving birth and found it to be the true essence of life, bringing wee babies into the world. I was lucky to have a 6 hr birth, 2 hr birth then 45 min birth. So all pretty quick, from first twinge to baby in my arms. Thinking of you both as you begin a new chapter in life. Enjoy these last few weeks as a couple because that ceases to be when you become a "family" and have a wee bubba to think about and plan around. Good luck Carrie and Alex 💕💕
My two children are in their 50s now and were born before the Internet. I only had a book to read 📚 I like the idea that you have a designated midwife in New Zealand as that did not happen in 1970! No Ultrasound either so had no idea of sex etc., My husband was not allowed in the birthing room, which I know would have been so helpful for me. I ended up with forceps and an episiotomy for my first baby, but fortunately for me my second baby arrived when epidurals had become available on the NHS. Carrie I wish you a calm, happy and positive birth and look forward to following your journey. ❤❤
love the babyroom!you also look beautiful!
I love listening to all of the things that you are doing to prepare! It sounds like your midwife has you doing all of the things that my Midwife had me do, and let me tell you, I had the most amazing birth experience! Who really knows how much of that Was due to the primrose oil, tea, dates, etc., but I have to think that they played a role! I started doing them all when I was given the greenlight and by the time I got to the nipple stimulation stage (in case you’re told to try this too!), about 10 seconds in, my water broke! I was able to labor at home until nearly 8 cm before going to meet our Midwife at the birthing suite. I was too nervous to do a homebirth with my first one, but it was just the most amazing, incredible, empowering experience! Baby boy was born after about six pushes in a Jacuzzi tub! I can’t wait to hear about how magical your birth experience is too! You’re going to be an incredible mom!
I love how out of breath you are. It reminds me of when i was pregnant 😭🥰 its so hard to talk! You did well recording this video talking. All the best mama, not long now x
Best of Luck Carrie for the Birth of your Baby Girl You will be great Bless you
I love watching this video because you remind me just a few weeks ago ❤ I don’t know if your midwife told you but it is also recommend to do perineal massages everyday, it could prevent you tears during childbirth 😊 I really hope everything will go well and I wish you an easy and healthy labor just like mine ❤
Best hack is to have a salt lamp in the nursery or wherever you’ll change baby at night. It gives off just enough light but doesn’t startle everyone fully awake
Dear Carrie I liked your video and your self care.All the best.Stay fit and have a wonderful 👶baby
My advice is to get the epidural lol. Unfortunately, my epidural didn't last long (I had a fast labour), but when it did work... it was glorious!! GLORIOUS. You can still feel your legs (for some reason I thought I wouldn't be able to haha). If you want to go natural, that's obviously fine. Your body will do what it needs to do, and it will all be worth it, I promise.
But if you want to take drugs, don't let anyone make you feel bad about it. People take drugs for everything. When was the last time you heard of someone getting a wisdom tooth pulled without drugs? Or trying hypnotherapy for an unmedicated medical procedure? It's ridiculous that society pressures women to suffer when they don't have to suffer. Just my two cents!
oh how I wish the epi worked well for me but glad to hear others had good experiences
Congratulations from Sri Lanka
Wow you guys are ready thanks for sharing with us so exciting best wishes
What camera do you use for filming?? I used a squishy bball when I was due
Your doing great Carrie I have 4 children Olivia who is now 52 Sean 51 Maeve 44 and Michael 40,Now I am Granny to 3 beautiful boys Charlie 14 Henry 12 and Daniel who was 1 year old on Christmas day and I'm loving minding them when there parents like to take a little break So Carrie I will think of you in my prayers and of course the new Daddy who will be encouraging you a long Best wishes from me in Ireland
Happy baby month! ❤
You’re so cute and are complete pregnancy goals 😍❤️
Do you have a birth plan yet?.. wondering about natural ways to do.. thanks for the videos
Love this video.
I nearly had a heart attack (kidding) as I overlooked that one important word: preparing and thought -labor-.
When the time comes, you’ll do fine as you both eat healthy and live a healthy lifestyle! I just had TCBY (w/ pickles;) in honor of the baby. Of course I’m kidding, again.
So if you and Alex are American, but raising your kid in New Zealand, is she going to have a Kiwi accent?? Congrats on your growing family!!
Probably! My mom was born in the UK to two British parents, but has an American accent because she grew up here
I have had 4 babies all were so different but I think staying home as long as you can is a good idea and the best way to get baby going is to walk a lot and ummmmmmmmmm do the jiggy hahaha also breathing and moving right up until birth sitting lying down isn't always good so don't be afraid to get comfortable for you
Another thing I learned for our babies is to leave the umbilical cord uncut for as long as possible so bub gets enough blood flow but we do tend to sway toward more natural living due to our genetics all my babies are very healthy though
also wish you a smooth sailing birth and a welcome to mini Carrie and Alex when the day comes
Girl you cannot tone your uterus 😅