Why one should (not?) read birthing books before bed.

I've been reading through my Hypnobirthing book (this is the method we also used when Owen was born, more on Hypnobirthing in a later post) before I go to bed each night. Along with the reading comes a lot of practice with different types of breathing and a lot of visualization and relaxation exercises. Which, obviously, really gets you thinking about the actual event of giving birth.

So I guess I shouldn't be surprised when last night I had a very vivid dream about the birthing of this baby. On the one hand, this is a great thing, as it was a really good dream, and hopefully a sign that some of what I'm reading and practicing is coming back to me and will really help me out on the birth day. On the other hand, I woke up this morning feeling... like I'd just had a baby. I was exhausted. And emotional.

But I also woke up with a new excitement that I haven't felt just yet in this pregnancy. Eric and I were talking yesterday about the fact that this is actually going to happen. It's no longer just about getting the house in order, and getting the baby's room ready and getting through these last 2 months of bed rest. The past months have been so full of thoughts of keeping this baby IN, that it's seriously a major switch to start thinking of her actually coming out in less than 8 weeks.

Good thing Eric and Owen are out of town all weekend so I can spend all this free time painting and doing laundry and shopping for the baby. Just kidding. Although mom and I may make a trip to Babies R Us tomorrow (more electric scooter shopping!) to pick up a few key essentials (like a mattress for the crib) that we have yet to get. I think I'll feel much more relaxed once I know I have everything I need in the house. Actually, I probably won't feel relaxed until the baby is in the house, safe and sound.

Ooh, I also wanted to share that as of this week there have been more than 5,000 pageviews of this little blog of mine. Given that this is the 59th post, I'm happy to know that people are actually reading about this crazy summer we've had. I know many blogs get twice that many hits in a single day, but that wasn't ever really my goal. Even if all of my readers are my family and friends just wanting to catch up on how we're doing, I'm glad that it has served that purpose!