The beginning
( I started this before the munchkin arrived and finished a month later. )
Gender - We decided not to find out the gender of the baby since the beginning. Since baby clothes are so split by gender and colors it can be a bit annoying to find uni-sex stuff that isn't grey but overall I'm glad we didn't find out. It's totally your choice. Many people have told me what they think we're having which when it's a random stranger on the street can be a bit weird but otherwise we're just excited to meet the little baby.
Books about pregnancy:
Expecting Better: This is the first book I read and I'm so grateful it was recommended. A PHD Economist decided to take the list of pregnancy "don'ts" and actually look at the research behind all the "no"s (Like alcohol consumption, sushi, soft cheese etc). Her findings from the actual research was quite astonishing - well astonishing in the fact that the amount of alcohol you have to drink for there to be major issues for the baby is a lot. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a drink every day or drinking at all, but I think it's important to be aware of the actual research and the "why" behind these rules to make your own decisions. This book made me feel more in charge of the decisions of what I was eating and knowing what, if any, risks there might be. This book gave me the freedom to choose and I didn't get stressed out if I ate some cheese or salami or had a drink before I knew I was pregnant, and instead, after knowing, made my own decision about what to eat or drink. Of course, after week 5 until about 20, I felt pretty sick so eating anything besides crackers, carbs or apples didn't happen. But after I started to feel better, I enjoyed lots of things!
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth - this book changed my entire attitude about birth and being a woman. It is a great, encouraging book about how incredible a women's body is and how to create a positive birth experience that supports you and your partner in a medical system that can sometimes view pregnancy as a disease. It definitely questions many of the current medical practices in the US around birth but you can take what you need and create the space you want for your birth.
Birth Prep Reading:
Along with the above information I found these resources really helpful:
The Positive Birth Book - I read this book in the last month and really enjoyed the quick read and positivity. It was very encouraging as well and goes through all the scenarios allowing you to prepare for all outcomes and think about your desires. We decided to use the birth plan icons to create our birth plan wishes which I think are pretty cool.
www.evidencebasedbirth.com - Another great resource for looking at the research and information behind of the common practices. A good way to get a base to make your own decisions!
https://www.mamanatural.com/ - Someone gave me her incredible motivational cards for birth and I loved them.
Podcasts:
The Birth Hour - I listened to a lot of these which gave me an appreciation for all of the different ways birth can happen and how things can change. It also helped me to understand all of the different things that can happen. It was so educational and very moving to hear all the stories. Highly recommend. Also, I noticed I only listened to the natural birth stories at first, but later forced myself to listen to the stories of c-sections/forceps etc to be ready for anything!
Also, the Birth Hour website has a great page of resources of recommended items for all stages: https://thebirthhour.com/resources/birth/
Pillow:
Having a pillow really helped me get more comfortable but I tried not to have it in between my knees with my knees sitting on top of each other as it made my knees really sore! I liked this one we found on amazon: Pillow (UK amazon)
Also if you get leg cramps, I bought Magnesium as a spray and that worked really well to get rid of them for weeks at a time.
Items we bought:
We had these spreadsheets to help us organize what we wanted to buy for both baby and my own preparations. Here are links to a public version of what I bought:
Baby Prep
Momma Prep
