Preparing myself.

I'm quickly approaching 33 weeks now and I'm getting excited as well as nesting and desperately trying to prepare myself for our upcoming birth. I've been reading and re-reading many inspiring birth stories as well as trying to remember what I learned from my birth center birth classes before I had Claire.

I remember that in my class (which was based on the book Birthing from Within), it was the first time I had heard of preparing more emotionally than mentally. I think that helped a lot, but it's a bit of a hard concept to grasp!

One of my ways of preparing myself is to read all the positive birth stories I can in these last few weeks.

In particular, I find this birth story to be incredibly inspiring and something like what I hope to have myself. It is the story of the birth of "little" 9.9 pound Killian. I've read it several times and every time I get a little more excited that I'll be privileged to experience the full wonder of birth once again in just a few weeks.

I've been very lucky to also have a few friends going through this just before me! I enjoyed Kelley's birth story and I was so excited she got to have such a great birth experience in a birth center with her first baby!

Steven and I were able to make plans to see that movie I mentioned in my previous post (The Business of Being Born) in Marietta next week! I wanted to see it before the birth if possible so I'm extremely glad that we can go! I have high expectations of it and hope not to be disappointed.

I've been trying to prepare the girls as well- particularly Emily- as much as I can. My midwife recommended doing a little role playing with her so that she would know not to be scared when the time comes. We are hoping to be together as a family when the baby is born and my midwife said that even very young children usually respond extremely well to birth in the home and that Emily will probably do great- especially if she is prepared a little ahead of time.

We also have been watching videos of births attended by my midwives which Emily loves. Claire just keeps saying, "Baby! Baby! Baby!" over and over again which is so cute!

However, it was just a little embarrassing one Sunday when we went to pick Emily up from her Sunday School class and the very amused SS teacher informed us that Emily did a dramatic demonstration of what it will be like when Mommy has the baby...

Well at least her Sunday School class has had a little birth education now.