Heard the Heart Beat

Today we heard the heart beat at my check-up appointment. There it was, whooshing along at 160 beats per minute. We think ultrasounds are much cooler, but it was still nice to hear.

I also registered for all of our childbirth and newborn classes. We are taking a seven-week Preparation for Childbirth, Breastfeeding, and Infant CPR and Safety. After the baby arrives, we’re also signed up for You and Your New Baby and Infant Massage (which was free with my package deal… and I’ve heard it’s pretty interesting). I pre-registered at the hospital, too. For those of you who are thinking, “Becky is so type-A,” both the nurse and my midwife told me to do those things today!

My midwife recommended two books: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn, and The BirthPartner, both by Penny Simkin. She’s a renowned birth doula from the Seattle area. Since I’m committed to natural child birth (yes, that’s right!), I’m interested in getting lots of strategies to help that goal. I put them on hold at the library to check them out before I buy them.