Mindful Mamma day course

Well - last saturday hub and I took ourselves off to a very special day on the Mindful Mamma one day course  in nottingham with Sophie.
I was pretty looking forward to it, having been using the cd regularly for the last 15 weeks -but for Hub the whole concept of it being a small group, and not really having experienced meditation, it was a more daunting prospect.
It was at a lovely house in the very smart park area of nottingham, very close to town yet apparently in a lovely leafy suberb. oh to afford to live there..
Usually there are 4 couples but on this occasion because it was an extra course, there were just three - oddly I had a strange feeling before that i would know someone - and it turned out i did - a reflexologist i keep meeting through the fertility and yoga networks locally. So that was an added bonus but made me realise there are so many things that pull you towards something and when your intuition is saying go for it - which it certainly has been telling me!
Without hugely going into details, it really is the best thing we could have done.
We discussed so many different options for how we can use the hypnobirthing cd, tips to help in the labour - we watched a hypnobirth which was amazing and backs up all the things I have been reading.
Hypno birthing is less about turning you into an out of control zombie - but more about helping you get into a place where you are calm and physically so relaxed that your body can do what it needs to, -it allows you to trust yourself and listen to your body.
It also had lots of preparation for daddy. Lots of questions for him to ask-  and guidance for him to be able to become your advocate as needed - allowing you to be able to be as undisturbed as possible to concentrate and stay in the zone.
We did some amazing relaxations and i could really feel the difference. it was quite amazing the difference. There are tips for us to write our own visualisation together and how we can work together - how he can support me - and anchors he can use such as head stroking - and back rubbing.
WHat i really liked was the idea that labour isn't actually painful. Pain is usually to tell you there is something wrong - but when you are in labour it is a fully natural process that our bodies are made to do. We experience sensations of labour - but because of what we are told by other people and see on tv - we believe it to be pain - they are unfamiliar sensations so we interrpret them on the set of guidelines we have been given. I love that idea - the thought that it isn't going to be painful.
And if I do experience pain, for example as last time, in my lower back because she was back to back - I need to get off my back and on to all fours- again what I wanted to do last time but didn't know how - I have much better ideas of how to work with everything I am given and how to work out getting what I would like. More importantly- Hub also has great ideas on how to get what I need and how to support me. The entire process looks like it is designed for the couples to work together an support each other - for the partner to feel empowered in supporting the mummy to be, and not only will that create a good environment for birthing but also for the future as parents and a couple. I can't wait to go through labour this time - it starts here as we write the visualisation and practise with the cd - which i cannot wait for - I can already tell how my mindset has changed since starting the cd - and since the course I have really gathered new ideas.
We have been gathering endorphine boosting photos - one of the most important things of all is to get that level of endorphine high - and the adrenaline level low as it is the adrenaline that slows everything up.
We chose 5 photos that always make my heart go ping - one of Hannah  a few minutes old, one of her being breastfed, one of her with the scan photos of this baby, one of our wedding day and one of Hannah and my god daughter together on the beach - which is also the same beach i have found myself in for my visualisations.....
Also remembering to take a pillow that smells of home and is a a great idea for comfort - and i also have a fleece blanket that i took with me when I had hannah and I always use it for yoga too.
I figure this time I will do whatever I can - as well as the Active vision, Active birth course at city which is aimed for VBAC births and sounds like it will be great  not least for becoming familiar with the environment again and knowing what equipment is available to use.

I definately feel that we are on the road to an active, calm and mindful birth and the Hypnobirthing - where ever you do it - is really worth the time and input and rehearsals to familarise yourself with it.