Whether you’re four weeks, three months, or eight months into your first pregnancy, here’s my letter to you. I’m not gonna sugar coat it, but let me start off by saying how amazing it is that you’re going to be a mama soon!
*This letter is written for mother’s with non-complicated pregnancies that are not high-risk. I am not a medical professional, nor is this medical advice.
So first thing’s first. Do the research. Educate yourself on child birthing and different options you have for yourself and your baby. Did you even know that was a thing?! I sure didn’t. Not until my husband, Gennadiy, kind of assumed I was going to have a natural birth for our child. Hold on, natural birth…what do you mean? The thought just wasn’t on my radar. That didn’t mean that I planned on getting an epidural or a c-section, but I just genuinely didn’t picture what my birth was going to look like.
So that’s what I want you to ask yourself: What do you want your birth to look like and why?
If you don’t have a strong ‘why’ and aren’t sure of your reasons, then I encourage you to jump into this awesome book: Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth. Even if you aren’t convinced of having a natural birth, there’s some great information in there pertaining to prenatal topics and laboring in general. If you’re going to have a baby, you should kind of learn about the process of what’s actually happening to your body while you’re experiencing it, right?! Again, something I just didn’t think of as an expecting mom right away. There’s just not that much talk about it unless you go looking for it.
The second thing I want to write to you is: What’s your birth plan? Do you have one?
Have you researched the different options you have for you and your baby? Did you know that you can tell the hospital to postpone wiping your newborn clean or giving her a bath? That white, creamy coating called vernix on their skin is better to be left on. Personally, we didn’t bathe our babies until after a week old! Or what about the eye ointment that most healthcare providers just goop on the baby’s eyes right after your birth. Or the Vitamin K shot? Or having your baby circumcised? Like I said, there is so much you can research and learn about birth when you have the right resources. So that’s my encouragement to you. Genevieve Howland also has an excellent book titled, The Mama Natural Week by Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Purchase this book and be enlightened with all the information you will gain from it–whether you plan to have a natural or medicated birth. She also has a free birth plan you can download, which is what I actually printed off and used for our first baby’s birth.
The next thing I want to share is what a monumental life change you are about to experience, and I don’t mean to exaggerate that.
Get it locked in your mind right now how much of a blessing this child is to you! Because there will be highs and lows to what’s to come. Hey, that’s why you made it to my blog about Making Motherhood. We’re on a journey, mama, and going through your very first pregnancy is just the beginning! Relish in the fact that you get to be the person to bring life into this world, aside from the laboring itself. It’s called labor for a reason! It won’t be easy, but it will be one of the most rewarding things you do. The bible even tells us that in John 16:21, “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (NKJV). Seek the Lord through your journey of motherhood. Instead of going through the hills and valleys alone, you’ll have the Lord right there with you as your life changes and unfolds as a mother.
The last thing I want to share with you is: Do what feels right to you.
You don’t have to get jumbled up in all the latest newborn/baby trends, because then caring for your little one can become even more stressful by worrying about those things. Use your mother instinct. I remember I was so concerned about having a schedule and wanting to follow a certain baby blogger’s sleep schedule for our first baby. I was actually making it worse on my daughter, instead of watching for her cues. And if you want to snuggle your baby and have contact naps because that’s what makes your baby calm, then do it. He won’t get “used” to it–don’t have that perspective. A baby is meant to be with its mother! Take all the newborn snuggles you can get because before you know it a year will have gone by. Looking back on it, it is definitely harder with your first baby though because you literally haven’t done it before. So that’s why I write to tell you to do what feels right to you. After I had my second child, I was much more relaxed and wasn’t as adamant about certain things being as rigid. With your second baby it may come more naturally, such as breastfeeding, reading their baby cues for sleep and hunger, and also when they seem gassy. When you’re going through it for the first time, it’s hard to tell what’s what and that’s why looking to Google (or your mom, grandma, or friend) for answers is what usually happens. But at the end of the day, you’re your baby’s mother and will know what’s best!
Take care mama, and be sure to check out My Unmedicated Natural Hospital Birth vs. Home Birth Experience! Leave a comment if you’re expecting your first and this helped you out, or you have any questions.
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