Friday, April 18, 2008

Another Beginning in an Already Lengthy Journey

Summer of 2003 was one of the hottest summers on record in Provo. "You picked a great summer to be pregnant" said my doctor while we baked in our swamp-coolered house. I was puffy and wide but very happy to be having my first baby boy in September. We also attended two hours of birthing classes every Saturday morning in anticipation of a drug-free labor. Our instructor, Melissa Chapell, inspired me to be an educated birthing woman, in-tune with my body, and my baby's needs. We learned about coping techniques, birth plans, doulas and ourselves. At the end of the 8 weeks I expressed interest in certifying as a Birth Educator and she encouraged me pursue it. Mr. Baseball was born soon after, and then came more classes for my degree, then graduation, and teaching in Japan for a year. While in Japan I visited the idea again and even had my in-laws drag two 25lb maternity and birth books with them when they came to visit. I read and read and planned and prepared but when the waves of nausea hit when I found out the Monkey was on his way, reading about birthing was the last thing I wanted to do. So I brought the books home with me to Utah, and along with the other birthing books I had acquired, shifted them from shelves to stacks and back to the shelves and only opened them when I had a question about my own pregnancy or our newborn. After hauling the books here to Ohio I shared them with a pregnant friend and then tried to find them a home in our dorm... er apartment.

Now, I know all this talk about birth and pregnancy is going to make you think I have an announcement to make. And I do, but it's not what you might be expecting.
I started my Childbirth Educator certification and registered for a training conference the first weekend in May! Nearly 5 years later I've finally made a decision about it and it feels great. It's a good thing other big decisions in my life haven't taken this long. Last night when The Writer walked in the door I was feeling stressed and this decision topped the list. After some Divine assistance I felt completely peaceful and ready to move forward. Today when BirthWorks returned my call I happily gave them my information and payed the bill (thank you IRS!). I'm looking forward to attending the training conference in Cincinnati in a few weeks.

And one last note: the ironic part about all this is that the gargantuan books aren't even on the list of required reading at BirthWorks. At least they'll fit in when I make room for a Childbirth Educator Shelf.

P.S. The answer is no, if after all this you're still wondering about the expecting part.

5 comments:

Alyssa said...

Yea for you! That is so excellent. So, after you certify, what exactly will you be teaching? Is it just a general childbirth stuff awareness class? Will you be a doula? Maybe you answered that in your post and I just missed it. Anyway, I wish you the best!

Queen Bee said...

I'll be teaching 10 weeks courses designed for couples to take in early pregnancy or before pregnancy to explore their beliefs about birth. On their website, Birthworks says "this is an optimal time for identifying and exploring beliefs about birth, interviewing caregivers, and choosing a birth place that feels safe."
Thanks for asking Alyssa, good question!

Sarah said...

Congrats! So exciting to have something you're working on. If you are ever in Utah and need someone to "practice" on I'll be a good listener! :) Of course, I was hoping we could have our 3rds together like we (sort of) did our 2nds - but this will be almost as fun. :)

Emily said...

Queen Bee--this is way cool. I'm VERY excited for you. I have about a billion things I keep on thinking I want to talk to you about. Last night was great and I'm SO glad you came and brought L with you!

I think I need to jot down all the topics of conversation I keep on wanting to have with you before I forget--then I will vomit them all over you all at once.

Let's do Donkey soon!

Shalae said...

This is awesome Melissa! Good for you for doing it. You'll have to tell us how the certification goes, and how everything turns out with all!