Today I am 34 weeks pregnant! I'm pretty damn tired, Baby Popso is kicking up a storm and all in all, I'm just really surprised about the last almost 8 months of my life. When I found out I was pregnant, initially I was terrified of the unknown. There was so much in question since this it's my first time and there are so many what-if's! As the pregnancy progressed, I gave myself permission to learn and grow from the experience and my perspective began to change. I've learned so much about my body, about my brain, about love and selflessness and she's not even here yet! Today I'm just skimming the top. I'll give you a couple tidbits about each trimester & my experience so far. After reading, let me know what you are curious about & I will talk about it in my next post. Thanks fo reading!
FIRST TRIMESTER
The first trimester went as most do. Nausea (no vomiting), tiredness, hormonal highs and lows. I craved carbs (pizza minus the cheese, pasta, sourdough bread) and at times looking at the fresh, organic produce I usually crave, made me ill. I trusted the process and tried to crowd in as many of the foods that I would eat normally. And although it is not in my personality, I napped when needed, scheduled in downtime & was usually in bed by 9pm. Although uncomfortable at times, it was tolerable & exciting. Thinking about the miracle that was happening inside of me made what I was feeling worth it.
Mike & I started seeing an obstetrician & going to regular appointments to make sure everything was going the way it was supposed to. About 2 months in, my dear friend Kirsten gave me 2 items that immediately changed the course of my pregnancy & empowered Mike and I with information that dramatically helped how we felt about pregnancy & childbirth. One was Ina May's Guide To Childbirth; a book by the nation's leading midwife. The other was The Business of Being Born; a documentary exploring the maternity care system in America. I can not explain how important and crucial these 2 items were in giving us the knowledge & confidence to take next steps & decide how we wanted to bring a new life into this world. I would recommend them to any woman in any stage of life.
SECOND TRIMESTER
By the time the 2nd trimester hit, I was getting used to this pregnancy thing. Down dog didn't make me want to barf, so I was back to yoga. Thank goodness dark leafy greens sounded and tasted good again! I started using belly butter before bed to ease my growing belly. We started sharing with people that we were having a baby! The tiredness subsided and I got used to this little baby bump I was carrying around with me. Clothing started to get annoying. My lovely cousin gave me a bag of maternity clothes but I didn't feel like myself wearing them, so I stuck with low-slung yoga pants and stretch pants, my go-to H&M dress, which I have in 2 colors and wore almost every day. This dress made it easy to build an outfit & it made me feel comfortable with my changing body.
After reading Ina May's book and watching the business of being born, we started seeing the midwives at our doctor's office, just to see what the experience would be like. We liked the midwives. Around this this time, we started to explore the idea of home birth. We asked around, got some recommendations, made some calls and did some interviewing. A home birth was starting to sound like the right choice for us. It was a hard decision to make because we liked the midwives at the doctor's office so much, but bringing this new life into the world in our very own sacred space felt right for us. Mike and I really didn't know many people who had home births and I was worried what people would think and what their reactions would be, but it felt right, so we found 2 wonderful midwives. It felt nice to know Mike & I were on the same page when it came to how we wanted to bring our LITTLE GIRL into this world!
THIRD TRIMESTER
The third trimester has been pretty great so far. I'm feeling a bit more tired, but I heard & read this would happen :) I'm trying to move my body everyday, whether it be a walk around the neighborhood or a yoga class. The midwives stressed the importance of this and compared childbirth to combing Mt. Everest :) I'm drinking my third trimester tea to help tone my uterus for childbirth.
Girlfriend is kicking up a storm in my belly! She is constantly on the move and it's still an amazing and crazy feeling every time I feel her! It's really getting cramped for her in there. Her house is getting smaller and smaller by the day and she still has some growing to do! I'm finally wearing maternity tights and yoga pants that support my belly. For the most part that feels nice. Still wearing my dresses! Baby Popso's sweet little room is almost ready for her and we're mentally getting there. I was texting with my friend Suzanne today, who is also pregnant and we were sharing that this time is a mixture of overwhelming and exciting, happy and stressful. I'm just trying to take it moment by moment, breath by breath & be present with the miracle that is happening. In between working & nesting, Mike and I are just having fun! He took this picture 2 nights ago when we were making sushi. I'm really excited to see him with our little girl.
We have a regular appointment with the midwives next week. And we've hired a doula! I feel really taken care of. Our main midwife has been in the biz since the 70's and has delivered over 3,000 babies. Our assistant midwife was recently certified as a Birthwise midwife & and is also a paramedic. Our doula witnessed her first birth at age 4. We really don't know where the next 6 weeks (give or take) will lead us, and we have no rigid plans. We hope that Baby Popso wants to be born at home, but if she doesn't we have backup plans :) We're just really excited to meet her and for our hearts to explode!
I have so much love and respect for all pregnancies, choices and stories. This is just ours. My hope is that it inspires or helps at least one person navigate their path. I'd love to know your thoughts on everything. What is your story? What would you like to know? What are you most curious about?
Thanks for reading, friends. And please share with friends, especially ones that are expecting! I appreciate you!