Go Straight to the Chase

I am officially fourteen weeks pregnant and soon-to-be 15 weeks. Yes, I am one of those women who look ahead to see what to expect. I usually look to probably two weeks later, but I did something I usually don't do, I went straight to the end. Labor! Birthcenter.com has a host of videos that show childbirth, I watched two of them tonight, when I should have already been in bed. I watched a lady who was having a water birth and I witnessed how relaxing it can be. Different from what I'm used to, but very relaxing. Rather than the baby coming out screaming his head off, he calmly entered the world with a smooth transiton. Because babies have been in water for these nine months, it's a lot easier for them to adjust in their new environment. There's really no hospital close to me that has that option, so I didn't want to dwell on it for too long.

The other video showed a lady in a long labor process at home before she went to the hospital. The father of the baby was no where in sight, but boy did she have support. She had a doula, her mother and her sister. She went from calmly feeling the contractions to being completely irritable. I tried to imagine what this pain would feel like. I tried to liken it to menstrual cramps, but I think it's that to the 100th degree.

They showed the young lady assuming different positions in hope of getting the baby out. She took no medication and gave birth to the baby au natural. She stressed the importance of having support. I secretly wished my mom would fly down for the birth of the baby. I honestly believe if women had a more supportive team, many could do it without meds. I pray that I'll have atribe to help.

Labor isdefinitely serious business. I tip my hat off to every mother out there.

Was Sade Onto Something?

Sade once sung, "Never as good as the first time." I noticed that with each conversation about the pregnancy, when other mothers see my bubbling excitement, they ask, "Is this your first?" I would nod my head gleefully the way only a nine-year old could. Doctors ask this question at your first visit, "Is this your first pregnancy?" If it is, your automatically considered a newbie, a novice, a neophyte...someone who usually brims with questions and concerns. A new pregnancy can be similar to any other event or situation. First kiss. First crush. First dance. First blush. First job. First date. First love.

"Firsts" should have a separate section in everyone's life, because isn't that what we remember most, because our senses are so heightened during that phase? I'll never forget the first time I really noticed Garfield. I remembered the suit that he wore with a smile. I'll never forget my first real apartment after graduation. I'll never forget my first official job at J.P. Morgan. I'll never forget the first time my parents came to visit me in New York and how excited I was to introduce them to my new world. I'll never forget the joy I felt when I walked down the aisle with my daddy; so that he could hive me away to my husband, and the faces that lined the aisle. I'll never forget the first time I saw the positive sign on the E-P-T and Garfield's expression when he looked at it.

Sometimes I wish I could bottle up first experiences, or should I say first experiences that end happily. Here's to all the first experiences in life and here's to embracing all the new ones that awaits us.