I need suggestions on what books to read about pregnancy and what I should be doing and help deciding what is the best birthing plan and all that jazz... Anyone... I have What to Expect when You're Expecting and I really dislike it... it doesn't address any of my worries... aargh... I just want to sleep and not have to pee every five seconds and more than that I just want to hear the heartbeat of this child... I had a difficult time adjusting to the idea of being pregnant and some of you know that I was upset... but now I am doing better... I am happy just trying to have faith that everything will work out and now I just want peace that everything will be fine...
Shawn and I call this baby Gummi Bear right now and I look forward to knowing it's gender so I can call it by it's name. It's weird that you can love something so much that you haven't met or anything... I think of Heavenly Father though... I haven't "met" him but I feel that spirit and in turn feel his love... it is really neat how this is kind of full circle... but that's the plan right... ok well I am tired... even though I slept 9 hours last night.... bring on the 2nd trimester I say.
3 years ago
7 comments:
Hey Ashley,
I don't like What to Expect either... I feel like it dwells on all the negative. I read The Whole Pregnancy Handbook which I liked a lot.
If you are interested in childbirth two really interesting reads are "Pushed" and "Birth". They talk about the history of childbirth in America.
I really believe you should educate yourself as much as possible about your choices and birth methods. Don't just show up at the hospital! Do your homework and know how things work if you want to have a good experience.
I used the Hypnobabies program to have a completely drug-free birth. It was hard work but SO SO wonderful!
I could talk for hours on this subject so if you want to talk more about anything shoot me an email.
love you!
I liked What to expect, but I agree that it does focus too much on the negative. Jenny McCarthy's pregnancy book is hilarious, but not very informative.
As for a childbirth plan, I wouldn't plan anything too detailed. From what I hear, they never go right anyways.
So just have faith, like you said, and educate yourself but be prepared for whatever is thrown at you. I expected a pretty easy birth but ended up with a breech baby and a c section instead.
http://itsababynotbrainsurgery.blogspot.com/
Funny website written by a labor and delivery nurse. It's not g-rated, but it has so many laughs.
I didn't read any pregnancy books, but I did sign up for the emails from whattoexpect.com and babycenter.com. I thought they were informative, although not always applicable, and I liked that there were always a ton of links from each email with questions and answers, ideas on how to get ready (including birthing plans), information to share with your hubby, etc. Anyway, you can definitely read some books on it, but those emails helped me a lot, too.
I would also suggest taking a class on labor and delivery that matches whatever birthplan you come up with. It will help you know what to expect so the whole experience is a little less scary, and it will give you some of the confidence that you need. I wholeheartedly endorse the epidural because I never would have survived without it, but it's up to you! If you can go natural, then I have a lot of respect for you! I am terrified of needles and wanted it before I even got to the hospital. :)
Good luck!
I didn't really read any books either. I had What to Expect, but I would just get too nervous and stressed out. But I liked Kate's idea about taking classes. Adam and I took a birthing class, a breastfeeding class, and a newborn class. All were really informative (except for the newborn class), but all of them were offered through the hospital and taught by nurses. We got info about them around my 5th month, and none of them were too expensive. Def. would recommend finding out what classes your hospital will offer. They all put my mind at ease. Also I checked out "Eating Well When You're Expecting" from the library and I really enjoyed the recipes in that one. Good luck!! You'll be just fine. I always thought to myself, if millions of women can have a baby then surely I can too, and I did, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected (pain, pregnancy, labor, pushing, none was as bad as I thought-your body was made for this). Love you!
Hey there,
So I haven't been reading books, but I did just start an OB/Peds class for nursing, which so far has been scary because we talk about all the things that could go wrong! Yikes! But there is another student in there that is expecting and they told us before they started that it will scare us, but something like 98% of pregnancies go just fine, so that put me at ease. Also, when I went in to have my first ultrasound and hear the baby's heartbeat, my doc couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler thing. But she said don't worry, they say you can hear the heartbeat at 8 weeks, but usually not with that thing, so with my ultrasound she found the babe in the very bottom of my pelvis, everything is really low, which is why I'm having to go to the bathroom so often! Oh well, that just happens. My doc said that the going to the bathroom a lot might ease up a little in the second trimester, but don't expect to be normal until after the delivery. I get emails from pregnancyweekly.com and they have been helpful, and it helps me count down the weeks. I also do the nutrition thing, but I LOVED exercise science, and would love to do a thesis on being fit and pregnant, so I've been learning a lot, even doctor recommended things such as you do not need extra calories until you 2nd trimester, and even then only 100-200 more, so like a granola bar a day! And just eat healthy, take vitamins everyday, and if you throw those up, just make sure you get down a folic acid pill. It has been very interesting. As for the birthing plan, I'm doing it in the hospital. I also want to try hypnobirthing to do it drug free, I don't like not being able to feel a part of my body. If I'm like my sister and mom though it will be so fast that they won't even have time for an epidural, so I hope that my family history helps! I don't know if this has helped, but don't worry, everything will be alright. Hope that you are feeling better morning sickness wise. Love ya~Kendra
Hey girl! WOW! You've got some long comments here!
I had the greatest pregnancy & birth book that I read when pregnant with Brooklyn, but I loaned it to Sarah Epperson, and so I have no idea what the title is! It was something really general, like, "Pregnancy & Birth." HA!
But, what I did like about this book, and what drew me to it in the first place: Emphasis on my developing baby! There were pictures of the fetus for about every 2 weeks, showing me how she was growing, what was still developing, etc. It also told me how I would be developing and changing each couple of weeks as well. VERY informative!
Also what I liked: The book was in 5 main sections.. The developing baby & mom; what to eat/do for a well-rounded pregnancy; labor & delivery; caring for newborns; and THEN what can go wrong. They were all divided, so you wouldn't be looking up, "healthy food choices," and see, "if you eat 10oz. of tuna instead of 9 your baby will have brain damage." (Which I'm neither denying or confirming--AAoP is still deciding about this issue...)
In other words, maybe try looking for any books that have really distinct, easy to look at and read sections. This one even had tons of sketches that illustrated things about me and the baby in a really helpful way.
I have a million more things I want to talk to you about, so maybe I'll just call you!!
Hope everyone's input has helped a bit!
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