Choices I’ve Made For my Pregnancy
I have debated back and forth whether to share a post on this information.
Seems like a no brainer as a blogger maybe… But here are my thoughts…
Pros: I love to talk about pregnancy and hear what other women have learned and are deciding for their families, based on their own research. I think that the blogging community is especially amazing for this type of information sharing… I have learned so much from reading my friends’ stories over the past few months. I would love to be part of that info swap.
Con: I would never want anyone to think that I think my choices are the only good choices. That is nowhere near the truth. This whole process and journey is so personal, and I think that the most important piece of it is to make sure that you are personally 100% confident and 100% in control of the decisions you make for your baby and for your body.
There is my conundrum.
But I have officially decided that the pros outweigh the cons and so here goes…
If there is anything that I have learned during this process (and trust me… there are… things…) It is that there are 1 million and 1 ways to prepare for having a child: Approx 1.48 billion different types of strollers, 1.5k breast pumps, 18 katrillion diets that are the “right way to eat while developing a baby inside of you,” 23.5 million methods of delivery, 34 right ways to breathe and sleep (not a lie) and the list goes on and on. I would love to hear what the woman in the field delivering her baby between 2 corn stalks and a roaming goat would think of us now…
In the end, after many restless nights and bouts of anxiety, I decided to take the same approach with this baby that I took with my wedding.
Elope.
Just kidding. We didn’t Elope.
I decided that I would learn at my own pace. Trust that people have been doing this for years. Focus on what really matters (healthy baby, healthy baby, healthy baby…). Know that I will know what to do when the time comes, and when it’s all over, I will only have the memory of the good parts, as well as the sweetest man under age 28 in the world in my arms (not to mention the sweetest man over 28 by my side… HIGH FIVE, LIFE!)
All that to say… I have done a good amount of reading, chatting, learning, and more reading to figure out exaclty what pregnancy, labor, delivery, and taking care of an infant will look like for me. Not that I can even remotely control what happens, but I can control how I take care of heart, mind and body… And that has been my philosophy.
Here are a few of the resources that Burley and I have used to form our opinions, take care of ourselves, and give ourselves a base knowledge of what the hell we are getting into.
SCRIPTURE
Though I haven’t leaned on reading scripture enough (is that even possible?) I have taken the time to follow the verses in the daily lectionary app on my phone. I follow along with the common book of prayer daily as a source for guided reading… Which is great because I can pick it up anywhere/anytime to have a few moments of peace and connection with God. I have found myself needing to lean on his strength and power and peace more than ever during this time… Kind of a beautiful thing.
INA MAY’S GUIDE TO CHILDBIRTH & BREASTFEEDING
Burley and I read the entire book on childbirth aloud during our holiday driving escapades. It was not only really amazing for visualizing a healthy, natural birth experience, but also really great for us to do together in order to ease the “unkown” factor. We got to talk about the scary parts and the parts we didn’t know about… And the gross parts that make me want to squeal like a middle schooler and pretend that those things don’t exist. Ugh. In the end, I feel like we will be better partners as this thing moves forward. Or at least Burley will just know things about me that Lord knows I never would have offered up voluntarily. I am just now starting the breastfeeding edition. If you are curious about natural birth methods, and the reasons behind why anyone in their right mind would choose that… This book is super informative and an easy read.
This is where I will be giving birth and where I have attended all of my appointments during this pregnancy. I have had some good interactions and some not-so-good interactions at this center, but overall I am way more at peace knowing that the women who will be helping me deliver my baby are on the same page as me, and have the same goals in mind. They have been really helpful in letting me know what I can do personally to get my vitamin count to the healthiest levels, what homeopathic things I can do at home to prepare for labor, and most of all being a strong dose of feminine encouragement that I was made for this and that I have nothing to worry about.
I have followed Bluebird’s blog for years, so when she joined this project, I was not far behind. This site gives me hope that mothers can be people too. I mean, I know that, but it helps me KNOW that. I really like that I can read content in the format and an environment that I know and love. I am all about visual appeal online, so if I can get that WHILE I am reading about mom things? Tell me more… This site has mostly just helped me prepare for the changes that are going to happen to me socially, lifestyle wise… You know.. The things I probably won’t care about once my world changes but my 28-year old self now can’t really wrap my mind around…
WOMEN
The women in my life have been by far, the greatest asset to me during this pregnancy. What better source than people you know, love, trust. Even if their experiences or desires for pregnancy, labor, delivery, vary from yous… There is always something to learn from a mother who has been through it all before. My neighbor was there to help in a “HOW THE HELL DO YOU CREATE A REGISTRY IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU EVEN NEED?!” moment. My sister was there in a “But… how do I love my husband, and my baby, and Jesus, and myself… Really well… Every day…?! Is that even possible?!” moment. My mother-in-law was there in a “HOW DO YOU PICK A FREAKIN CLOTH DIAPER?!?!?!” moment and a “This is what babies like to sleep in” moment. And my mom is my natural birth expert and mecca… Keeping me calm and confident in my abilities to carry this thing through simply because I am who I am and because God made me the way that I am. God bless my village.
So this, my friends, is my unconventional route of planning for parenthood. After doing all of my research, my goals are to have a natural water birth, with as few medical interventions as necessary. If you are a mother-to-be, a mother-wanna-be, or someone who is simply curious and interested in how this all works… welcome to the club.. and I hope that this post was semi-informative for you. From one newb to another… I’ll let you know how it goes.
