Hypnobabies Review - Week 4 and Time Management
I'm 33 weeks pregnant now, and I've got half of the Hypnobabies materials behind me. Ideally, you do the 6 weeks of course materials and then a few more weeks of maintenance, listening to all the tracks again on a specific schedule. I'll finish the course's 6 weeks at 36.5 weeks pregnant, so chances are, I'll get a few turns through the maintenance, although in my midwife's experience, second babies *usually* come within a week of first babies, so it's reasonable to think he might be here as soon as 37.5 weeks. Obviously I'm not counting on that, but I'm also not counting on getting more time, so I'm trying to stick closely to the Hypnobabies curriculum.
The best thing about Hypnobabies so far has been something I've actually seen others complain about--the time commitment. Here's the thing. I'm going to obsess about something during this pregnancy, whether it's something good or bad.
Here are some examples of other things I could be obsessing about (and I'll be real, I know this because they're all in my google search history or my journal): my weight (I'm up about 32 pounds, so not something worth obsessing over), preterm birth survival rates (at 33 weeks he has a 98%+ chance at survival), how badly my back hurts (a lot), whether or not I'm establishing diet and exercise patterns that will let me shed the weight I gained in a reasonable amount of time (no... well, kind of).
Instead, while it's true I'm thinking about these things, I don't have time to really obsess because I'm busy trying to schedule in my affirmations, my hypnosis track, my finger-drop practice, some kind of movement exercise, the Hypnobabies strength and flexibility exercises, and keeping rough track of whether I am eating enough protein (I decided not to chart this because my diet is still pretty specialized). Plus I'm trying to do a Qi Gong routine (a practice similar to Tai Chi) every day before bed because it helps my back, gut, and sleep. All in all, that totals about 3 hours and 10 minutes of work, and I'm not even charting kick counts (this kid is so active it would be pointless).
I have realized that to fit this all in, my affirmations usually have to happen while I'm doing something else, and often get broken into 2 sections. I don't think this is ideal, but it's the only track without a hypnotic induction, and I feel like I can get pretty into it as long as my task doesn't involve words (like cooking, driving, knitting, etc). I also am doing my hypnosis track at bedtime almost every night, though I do make an effort to hear the tracks while I'm awake, too, either by skipping the hypnotic induction and listening twice for that day (time consuming) or finding a time to listen to the track sitting up comfortably (but not too comfortably, because I seriously fall asleep the second I close my eyes these days).
But the major upshot to all this careful planning and scheduling is that it doesn't leave me time to waste during the day. I'm not rushing around all day, but I have to be careful with my time. I can't spend hours flipping through cloth diaper websites when I'm not ready to buy, or search through complicated recipes I don't have time to cook. I have to figure out what I'm cooking for dinner in the morning and get the prep started (roasted vegetable soup with ham, at Kevi's request), and I carefully set aside time to play with him with nothing else going on.
I never feel good when I get to the end of the day and it doesn't feel like I was productive, especially if tasks are left undone. Hypnobabies has really forced me to get my priorities in order and focus on them throughout the day. If, when I go to bed, Kevi's room is a mess, or the kitchen table isn't clear, I know I worked hard on a lot of important things today, which feels immensely better than if those things weren't done and I'd frittered away my time.
The best thing about Hypnobabies so far has been something I've actually seen others complain about--the time commitment. Here's the thing. I'm going to obsess about something during this pregnancy, whether it's something good or bad.
Here are some examples of other things I could be obsessing about (and I'll be real, I know this because they're all in my google search history or my journal): my weight (I'm up about 32 pounds, so not something worth obsessing over), preterm birth survival rates (at 33 weeks he has a 98%+ chance at survival), how badly my back hurts (a lot), whether or not I'm establishing diet and exercise patterns that will let me shed the weight I gained in a reasonable amount of time (no... well, kind of).
Instead, while it's true I'm thinking about these things, I don't have time to really obsess because I'm busy trying to schedule in my affirmations, my hypnosis track, my finger-drop practice, some kind of movement exercise, the Hypnobabies strength and flexibility exercises, and keeping rough track of whether I am eating enough protein (I decided not to chart this because my diet is still pretty specialized). Plus I'm trying to do a Qi Gong routine (a practice similar to Tai Chi) every day before bed because it helps my back, gut, and sleep. All in all, that totals about 3 hours and 10 minutes of work, and I'm not even charting kick counts (this kid is so active it would be pointless).
I have realized that to fit this all in, my affirmations usually have to happen while I'm doing something else, and often get broken into 2 sections. I don't think this is ideal, but it's the only track without a hypnotic induction, and I feel like I can get pretty into it as long as my task doesn't involve words (like cooking, driving, knitting, etc). I also am doing my hypnosis track at bedtime almost every night, though I do make an effort to hear the tracks while I'm awake, too, either by skipping the hypnotic induction and listening twice for that day (time consuming) or finding a time to listen to the track sitting up comfortably (but not too comfortably, because I seriously fall asleep the second I close my eyes these days).
But the major upshot to all this careful planning and scheduling is that it doesn't leave me time to waste during the day. I'm not rushing around all day, but I have to be careful with my time. I can't spend hours flipping through cloth diaper websites when I'm not ready to buy, or search through complicated recipes I don't have time to cook. I have to figure out what I'm cooking for dinner in the morning and get the prep started (roasted vegetable soup with ham, at Kevi's request), and I carefully set aside time to play with him with nothing else going on.
I never feel good when I get to the end of the day and it doesn't feel like I was productive, especially if tasks are left undone. Hypnobabies has really forced me to get my priorities in order and focus on them throughout the day. If, when I go to bed, Kevi's room is a mess, or the kitchen table isn't clear, I know I worked hard on a lot of important things today, which feels immensely better than if those things weren't done and I'd frittered away my time.
And now 2 months later...you have a beautiful baby boy...a happy 5 year old......yummy healthy meals on the table....and already fitting into nonmaternity jeans. You are doing awesome! So proud of you!
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