expecting

Congratulations! This is an exciting time. You have created a life inside you!

Having books to read will fill you in on most everything you need to know. Getting proper pre-natal care, taking a pre-natal vitamin, and consulting your practitioner are essential. Your biggest decision at this point will be making sure you like your practitioner and his or her theories and practices surrounding birth. You have choices: OB or Certified Nurse Midwife? Hospital, birthing center or homebirth?

Make sure you are taking an FDA approved prenatal vitamin with folic acid and look over a list of foods to avoid while pregnant—your body is more susceptible to food-borne risks. Women all over the world avoid certain foods that may put their baby at risk. You might know or meet people who pride themselves on not avoiding foods, drinking a glass of wine here or there—that is their choice. If you ask me, taking care of yourself and your baby when you are pregnant is a privilege. Avoiding certain foods gives you something to work around—you aren’t depriving yourself, you are limiting exposure to some known risks.

People will start talking to you about stuff— in truth, we don’t really need anything—you can keep the baby warm being skin to skin and lightly covered with a blanket, water and a washcloth can wipe up any mess and a piece of cloth could serve as a diaper. The reason you have all this STUFF is that eventually you need it- it makes your life easier, and you don’t want to shop for it once the baby is born.

Now’s the time to start thinking in WEEKS! A pregnancy is defined as 40 weeks (you get the first two as a bonus, since we start counting 14 days before ovulation as the start of pregnancy). People who aren’t so familiar will ask you how many months you are along, but it’s more accurate to go by the week.

But most important, and I’ll say it again, later, is to be informed so you can make intelligent choices that you will honestly look back on with comfort and pride.