Pregnancy 11 Weeks

Being pregnant has it's ups and downs. I am excited to start on this adventure, but a little nervous too. I haven't felt very sick only from week 8 to 10, which was unpleasant, but ended quickly. This week I have been feeling great! I even had enough energy to go on a bike ride in the canyon yesterday and we are planning to go swimming today. I am eleven weeks as of Monday and will have my first appointment with my midwife next Wednesday. I don't really "feel" pregnant yet. I thought I would have this like amazing bond with my unborn baby, but that is not the case. Some days I even wonder if he or she really exists. I think I will feel better once I hear the little heart beat. That will really solidify this pregnancy and make me feel like I am not crazy!! I am excited to become a mommy. Kirk and I are a little different than most couples, I think that the baby is a boy and he thinks that it is a girl. We won't find out until the beginning of August. I am excited to know so we can start shopping around for cute clothes. 

So as I mentioned before I am having a midwife attend to my prenatal care and birth. I know what you might be thinking, why? I have this intense feeling that I want my baby and I to have the best birth experience possible. I just know that a midwife can give me the birth that I desire. I was born in a birthing center with a midwife. I feel like it is the most natural way that a little person can come into this world. As I have done my research about what kind of birth experience I would want I knew that a hospital with doctors and interventions was not for me. A lot of people support my decision to go ahead with a midwife and a home birth. I am grateful for those people! They really give me strength and  courage in myself and my body. There are also some people who are afraid of what will happen and do not feel like I am making the best decision. I am also grateful for those people, because they really have made me stop and think. Is this really what I want? Is it really the safest way to have my baby? It just really solidified that I know this is what I want. I have watched The Business of Being Born as well as More Business of Being Born. I have also begun reading many books including Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and Birth Without Violence by Frederick Leboyer. I have loved learning about what women are capable of and how their bodies were built to birth babies in a natural loving environment. I am excited to start on this journey and see what my body can do!

Thanks for reading! 

-Lauren