the pupa

To the right is a recent photo of the pupa!

Tomorrow, I will be 26 weeks pregnant, which marks the beginning of the third trimester! Thus far, I have really enjoyed this experience and the transition into motherhood feels very natural and, surprisingly, already rewarding.

Sam and I feel very confident in our decisions about how to proceed with our birthing and parenthood plans. We are nearing the end of our 6-week "Birthing from Within" childbirth class, which is being taught by a local doula who also happens to be our midwife's assistant. During the class we have learned a great deal about labor (including the importance of all those amazing hormones), facing your inner fears, emptying your mind, childbirth as a rite of passage, pain-coping practices, how to care for your newborn and what to expect postpartum.

Recently, we have been reading a couple incredible books, including Natural Family Living that are very much aligned with our child-raising philosophy and have started making all sorts of decisions about everything from sleeping with the baby to choosing from the incredible myriad of slings on the market. Luckily, so far we agree on everything when it comes to our ideas on raising our child--really!

As far as all that baby gear, we are lucky to be receiving all sorts of items from Sam's siblings (including car seat, bathtub, tons of clothes!). It seems a baby really does not need much more than a few basics (skin-to-skin contact, warmth, breast milk, loving parents), so we are not planning on buying much.