Vagina Stretching: It's a TMI Topic

So, as most of you are aware, I will have to push a baby out of my vagina, now in just THREE (yes THREE) short months. Some of you might have observed that the average vagina has a much smaller circumference than the average baby head. Therefore, to celebrate and prepare for this awesome (and quickly approaching) occasion, James and I began stretching my vagina today (I told you this was TMI).

Actually, it's called perineal stretching (does that make this a less weird topic if I call it that?). I just googled it so I could post an "explanation link", but honestly, I think that would be even weirder. To make a long story short, it helps the pregnant and birthing woman if she is used to the feeling of her vagina and perineum being stretched. Also, it can help increase the flexibility of the vagina and perineum. It can help prevent tearing and help avoid an episotomy (which no one really does now-a-days anyway).

It is helpful for the partner to do it because it becomes harder and harder as the belly gets bigger for the Mom to even reach down there, let alone providing any organized stretching exercises. So James assisted me today with this interesting exercise for the first time, and we plan on keeping it up throughout the final trimester, hopefully increasing in how much we are able to stretch it out as time goes on.

Honestly, it hurt a lot more than I was thinking it would. In reading about it, it mentioned that your partner's wrist could start to hurt from the applied pressure. It never mentioned that the Mom would also be hurting. But my reaction was both "Ouch" and "Wow, thank God we are doing this now, how the HELL will a baby FIT through here, talk about ring of fire, geez."

Just sayin.