My favorite book this pregnancy was Ina May's Guide to Childbirth which speaks to the very natural process of childbirth. This hippy book is about a midwife who lives on a farm in Tennessee. Women would come from all over the nation to have Ina May and her team guide them in natural childbirth. Each woman becomes a part of the farm during their time before and after their childbirth. They clean their own cabin rooms, help with farming and even walk the woods during their beginning contractions.
I heard about this book on a blog and I'm so glad I did! The beginning of this book contains stories of women who had natural births on 'The Farm'. The second half of the book, written by Ina May, speaks to the process of natural birth and explains terms and medications your doctor will mention. I will say this book is very biased. Ina May is completely against a medicated and hospital birth (she HAS had to take a high risk mother to a hospital for a birth - she's not cruel). But the 1960's hippy girl in her never died as she fights for women's rights and sticks it to "the man".
When I heard about two friends from my Catholic elementary school becoming pregnant around the same time (1 year before I became pregnant) I was so happy for them! I wanted to send them a congratulations gift. I looked and looked for what I thought would be best and I came across this book. Unfortunately by the time I found this book I thought it was too late to send a congratulatory gift. But let's face it, it's never too late to send a gift!
This book is a week by week journey through your pregnancy. Each week is about 2-4 pages beginning with what's medically going on in your pregnancy, followed by real life stories and advice from the author and finished with a prayer. The prayers were short and always had a challenge for the week: Dear Jesus, walk with me in these final weeks of pregnancy, and hold me close to your Sacred Heart. I am looking forward to meeting this baby, but I'm not necessarily looking forward to the process that gets me there. Keep me wise as I prioritize and focus always on God's will for my every day. Amen. See? I loved this book because it was a light read before bed. Nothing too scary or too heavy.
I just realized this book also has a chapter on baptism. I guess I need to read that (we haven't baptized Marshall yet).
This novena is pretty intense. You really need to set aside time to pray this. Not only are you praying a rosary (which takes about 30 minutes) there are other prayers and meditations that go with each month. While this was the most challenging book to read/pray. It was also the most rewarding. If you're up for it, I say give this a try!
Funny story. One day I was in a Salvation Army store because they were having a sale. $5 for as many books you can fit in a box. I found a What to Expect When You're Expecting and put it in the box. I figured "Hey, I'll be pregnant someday and these books are expensive!" What do you know, it came in handy!
As soon as I found out I was pregnant I read this book cover to cover. Seriously. And it was an AWFUL idea! While they guide you through month by month, there are many tangents you can take when you find a symptom throughout your pregnancy. Q: "I have gas, what does this mean?" A: "Gas is very common for pregnant women, it is due to the change in hormones. However, if you have severe gas it could be a sign that this pregnancy will be horrible and you will have a severely painful birth!" I would proceed with caution with this book. It give a LOT of information, most of which I found unnecessary during my pregnancy. Just keep it by your side as a reference but definitely take your doctor's word over anything.
When I wasn't reading I was visiting blogs, pinterest and the WhatToExpect website. One day on this website I found a message board for mothers due in March. I joined and someone shared that there was a Facebook group for mothers due in March that would work better than the message board. So I joined the March Mom facebook group. This community was a godsend. No really, God sent me this community. Without them I would have been a nervous wreck throughout the pregnancy. We were all going through similar symptoms at the same time. "Anyone buying new bras? Where are you getting yours?" "My body is doing this funny thing, anyone else?" "Is my baby bump supposed to look like this?" etc.
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| We turned Wednesday's Hump Day into Bump Day and would share our belly bumps! Faces distorted to protect privacy. It was a secret group on Facebook. |
My sister-in-law was the only person in my life who was pregnant around the time I was. This was her second baby and so she had her hands full with a toddler. With over 200 women in this Facebook group there was always someone to encourage you, comfort you and suggest medical attention. This group is still going strong today as we share milestones our babies are reaching. I've learned I'm already a competitive mom. I said to J the other day: "A baby in my mommy group is already rolling over. Should Marshall be rolling over? I'm going to see if he can roll over." yikes! It has begun!
High Heels!
