Getting learned

Here's me, with 3 weeks left to go before my due date and somewhere up to 5 weeks left to go before I have a little baby in my arms.

The belly is pretty dominant at this point, although strangely it's not getting in my way as much as it was a few weeks ago. I have rediscovered the ability to sleep...but maybe I speak too soon.

I was watching a DVD that came with a book I got out of the library - Happy Birth Day. It's very British, but has some interesting information and ideas about natural birth. The narrator pointed out that a lot of people don't put as much time into preparing for childbirth as they do into organising their weddings. She said this is due to the commonly held belief that childbirth can be taken care of by medical staff, whereas it will likely be a much more positive experience if you are well versed on what is going on inside you.

I thought about this...Our wedding was fun to organise and I know I bored a lot of people discussing the details of our plans (as perhaps I am doing in this blog right now?), but did I put more time into it than I am putting into birth planning?

As much as I experienced some emotional changes when I got married, the wedding itself didn't teach me much. It was pretty much just a party and celebration (although an awesome one at that!). Pregnancy and childbirth, on the other hand, is an educational experience. Unless you are studying to be a doctor or a midwife, it is unlikely you will read up on what goes on during this time, so when you are expecting your first child, there is a lot to learn.

It can be daunting, and I could see why some women, especially ones with busier lifestyles than mine, could be tempted to just let it slide and leave it to the professionals. I'm trying to take the advice, which I have heard time and time again during this pregnancy, that the more you know about what's going on, the more you see it as a physiological occurrence rather than a medical one, the better you will feel about it when it happens. I can't be sure that my mind will be in a logical enough place to say "oh, this contraction is just widening my cervix, not to worry" when I am in tremendous pain, but I guess it's worth having that knowledge in the back of my head.

I read a quote on the weekend which I thought was worth remembering. It was in a list of positive birth affirmations (a bit like looking up love poems and quotes for your wedding invitations!). It said something along the lines of: This isn't more than I can cope with, because it is my body that is doing it. I'm going to try to remember that one when the time comes.