30 Weeks Pregnant
Monday, May 9
In a way it is good that I know what labor will be like. In some ways that makes it less scary and gives me courage. I think, "if I made it through once, I can do it again." But on the other hand, it wasn't as though labor was this easy thing. The innocence is lost as I remember why it is called labor.
So, I have ordered another copy of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. I don't know if I've lost it in packing for the move, or if I gave it to someone...but I really need to read this book again. It is full of stories of people who made it through natural labor, or some part of it, and the ways they coped and the joy they had through the process. I read it twice before I gave birth to Dexter and it gave me so much courage to embrace the way I am made and to believe it is possible for a baby to be born naturally. I think most women would agree that it is hard, especially with the first baby, to comprehend that a baby THIS big can make it out in a natural way. Yes, complications come up and interventions are needed (why I am giving birth with the midwives at Texas Childrens' Hospital), but to think these are exceptions and that babies are able to come without a whole lot of assistance in the majority of cases seems hard to grasp.
That is why I need to re-read Ina May's book again. I need to remember all the women who have gone before me. I need to get out my workbook from First Birth Ministries and re-read those passages that meant so much to me as I prayed through my last pregnancy and fears I had about birth. And I need to remember those labor techniques that I have forgotten. My labor may have been shorter than some, but that doesn't mean that I didn't need the preparation. Natural labor isn't something you just show up and do one day...well, not without a lot of pain. For me it was a mind game. More on that later.
As I re-read my books and think back over the process I will probably blog a few more entries just in case any of you moms/moms-to-be are interested.
Don't worry...I'll keep the gory bits to myself. ; )
3 comments:
Yea! You're going to do great! I've heard rumors that Ina May came out with a new book? Have you heard about it? I'll probably reread that book the second time around too - it's one of my favorites!
I just picked up this book again to read with this new pregnancy. This is one of my favorite birth preparation books, too. So excited for you guys!
30 weeks already? Time has flown by so fast! =)
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