#inamay

The last months of my pregnancy were such a delight. Trevor and I kicked it into gear as we both started to “nest.” I was deep cleaning and organizing while Trevor designed & decorated Mazelle’s room. I always felt peaceful in there. Sometimes I would sit in there and read my Bible, read books on breastfeeding or just sit & pray.  Around this time I had finished a book called “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth.” I was in awe of all the birth stories and how women would go through such a wondrous act of love & physical labor. The stories in that book stirred my heart about the big unknown I was about to experience for myself. I was about to find out the wonderful mystery of laboring in love.

Trevor and I started attending group sessions with other women & families who were as far along in their pregnancy as me, which I totally enjoyed! Some of them shared their labor stories and encouraged us newbie moms. We would learn so much from the midwife facilitating the meeting and from each other. I always left encouraged. Trevor and I also started private birth classes. Because Trevor’s schedule can be a bit crazy each week, flexible private lessons worked great for us and it was fun having our teacher come to our home. It was such an intimate time of learning about labor, drawing pictures of how we felt labor would go, sharing our worries & desires for labor and practicing pain coping techniques by holding ice in our hands. Our last session with our teacher was most touching. She ended with some last words and then left it to Trevor to end the session by washing my feet and speaking words of love over me. In these last few months I really got to see how Trevor was my protector and defender and a wonderful father to our child already.

I cannot help but believe that a child in the womb is a precious life from conception to birth. Most of my time spent with our baby girl was while she lived safely in my womb. Feeling her move, hearing her heart beat, knowing she could hear my voice and making sure I ate right because she was eating too gave me such a sense of being with her and going through this with her. We went on a lot of quiet walks on the beach together and even had some awesome dancing sessions with friends. My pregnancy check-ups were always filled with good news…Mazelle was growing perfectly and she always had a strong heart. One the biggest things that Mazelle made me see was that a child in the womb can give you gifts. My baby girl gave me JOY even from the moment I knew I was pregnant with her. Man she could make her mother laugh. My sister was in town one week and that is when the laughing sessions truly began. Trevor started to tape them making it a tradition to try and capture each laughing moment. When I started laughing I could not stop. Giggles filled my belly! One night I was laying in bed with Trevor and I was thinking about all the joy Mazelle brought me and I said, “Her middle name is JOY!” Trevor thought it was perfect.

I thought I would finish off this blog with a fun video of some the laughing sessions I had with my baby girl (Be aware: It is literally 4 minutes of laughing. We probably have almost an hour worth of footage!) I remember all the joy we shared with our friends and family from all over in the anticipation of her coming. It was a JOY to carry Mazelle in my womb and spend so much time with her and her daddy.