18 weeks and counting

This week the baby is pepper-sized - about 5 1/2 inches long and 7 ounces in weight. They are busy moving their arms and legs and soon kicking might be noticeable. I can't wait! Amazingly, if we're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are developed and in place already. If we're having a boy, their genitals are now noticeable. We're going to wait until the birth to find out if it's a boy or a girl. If there's one thing I've realized while being pregnant it is that advice and opinions are everywhere. Women should encourage each other's individual plans instead of label them as right or wrong. There are definitely women who think the natural birth plan, sans drugs, is best. There is also a rise in the number of women requesting c-sections. Some women choose to have their babies in hospitals with their OB/GYN while some opt to have their babies at home under the care of a midwife. I think if a woman has done the research, worked with her chosen professional, and put together a plan that best suits her body, who can say otherwise? That being said, we always have to keep in mind that the baby can have a plan of their own. Birth plans can change on THE DAY and you have to be flexible to what the baby needs.  I love talking to the women in my prenatal yoga class and hearing their plans and different birth stories. Tonight my yoga instructor told us the story of her third child's birth. At first she thought she was experiencing false labour at 3a.m. Apparently women who are giving birth to their third child are known to experience a lot of false labour.  She poured herself a cup of tea, made a sandwich and started to do her yoga breathing. She called her mom, who lives in Virginia, and chatted until she realized the pain was too intense to talk anymore. She woke her husband up and he could tell from the groans she was making that the baby was well on her way. Her little boy peed in his bed, so her hubby had to contend with that while she was lying on the living room floor going through her yoga movements. Her water broke and her husband put plastic sheets beneath her and called the midwife. She did some more deep yoga breathing and then told her husband the baby was coming. She wrestled off her yoga pants quickly and felt the baby's head.  By 4:30, their sweet new baby daughter arrived. Her husband rested the baby gently on her belly. They rubbed the baby's back and she started to cry, reassuring them all that her lungs were working well. All of this happened so quickly, that the midwife hadn't even arrived yet. She said it was the most bonding moment she has ever shared with her husband. I love how she said she just surrendered to the moment and used all of her strength instead of fearing the unknown. I was very moved and inspired by her story.