Bradley had a baby…

First of all, I’d like to let you in on an interesting experience we had this morning that is less unusual these days than is easy to believe.

Let me set the scene: I was reclining in bed with my head on a pillow, wearing my new birthday flannel pajamas with the shirt so I could see my belly. Brian was drying his hair and getting ready for the day as I stared at my stomache.

Anna kicked (or rolled or punched or flipped or did a handspring, I can’t tell!) like she often does throughout the day. This time, instead of being busy or feeling her with my hand, I was watching my tummy… as you all know by now. It looked like… like… it looked unreal! But she didn’t stop there! She gets very active frequently where she isn’t just wiggling around and snuggling herself down for another nap, but is exercising and preparing herself for walking immediately upon birth. What a strange, amazing, incredible thing to watch my belly changing shape and moving around! Yes, Anna is only 21 weeks old and not even a pound yet… but she is definitely thriving! If you’d like to see this phenomenon, we can try soemtime… but she usually avoids moving when anybody is trying to watch, simply to teach us patience and how to handle disappointment. I am quite certain she is a very wise, pious, and intelligent little girl. 🙂

We went to a Bradley childbirth class today! Yes, ALREADY! The class will run 10 weeks… which will have me at 31 weeks. But the next class nearby doesn’t start soon enough to end before the due date! There were a couple classes that start next month, but they were more expensive, so we opted to jump on the bandwagon early. It’s our teacher’s first class, so we will get to give her the joy of her first classes (along with two other couples) and benefit from her cheap “new-teacher” fees. ($50 for 10 weeks)

You might be curious to learn about the “Bradley method” because it is fairly new. Dr. Bradley was around in the 60’s and 70’s and still lectures. In other words, his stuff was brand new when we were being born. (www.bradleybirth.com) The classes are nice and broad, focusing on exercise, nutrition, nursing AND techniques for childbirth. I think I’ll benefit especially from the nutrition and childbirth part… the one because I need some accountability and the second because… well, I haven’t done this before!

The two biggest reasons I picked this kind of class are: It focuses on non-medicated, natural childbirth (barring complications) and it strongly supports husbands as coaches. Since Brian is going to be my main support during this time, it is the education he needs to be prepared also. From what I’ve heard, the experience of childbirth has gone through some dramatic swings in the U.S. over the last century. From no medication (and probably not a hospital experience) to completely medicated births to now with epidurals or “natural” births – from fathers having no part in the delivery to fathers being the main support for the mother – from parents having few resources or understanding about the process to parents to being informed and with a voice. I am GLAD to be giving birth this decade!

Bringing Anna into the world is going to be a great challenge. And no, I don’t think I underestimate it. It is going to be a defining moment in my life… that I will look back on with pride. Holding Anna is going to be… unspeakably wonderful.

Now, I realize that already-mothers may want to caution me and worry about everything and that is fine. Just know that we realize we’re only at the beginning of a journey…

We love you!

Hooray for Anna!