Today I am 27 weeks pregnant, which means I am exactly 3 months away from my due date. It is mind blowing to think that in just three months our little man will be here. I feel as though I just found out I was pregnant! Where has time gone? The word “pregnant” that came visible on the pregnancy test filled me with such excitement, nervousness, and joy all at once. Now that I am 3 months away, I feel anxious, nervous, scared, and happy. I question how I will do as a parent. What will we teach him to do and not to do? Will my husband and I have the same parenting styles? How will I know the difference of him being okay or not? There is a lot of scary thoughts that go through your head as the due date approaches. Then there is the fear of labor itself. I’ve decided I want to do a water birth without any medications. How will I do? Can I even do it? How intense will my pain be? Will my husband be supportive enough and remind me that I can do it naturally? If I can’t do it naturally, how disappointed will I be in myself? Will I feel shame and embarrassment to tell others I wasn’t strong enough to do it naturally? Being a new parent is terrifying once all the excitement has worn off and reality begins to set in. I’m fearful of raising a boy since I don’t know much about them. I’m worried I will teach him the wrong things or do the wrong things because I don’t know how. Or if my husband is deployed, how do I potty train our son when I’ve never had to before? Being 27 weeks pregnant is a blessing from God and I thank Him every day for our active, healthy baby boy. But it means I am only 13 weeks away from him being here and I feel like I’m unprepared for what’s to come. I understand being scared is a natural process of being a new parent and that it will all come naturally once he is here. But it doesn’t take away the fact that becoming a new parent is a challenging new step.

I made a twitter tonight:). So you are all more than welcome to follow me! Username is @nicolebushnell. Reblog with your username and I’ll follow you!

I never got to blog about this since life has been super busy! I had a baby appointment on Wednesday and we discussed my swollen feet, doing the glucose test, and my birthing plan. When she asked me what my plan was, my first response was “you’re not going to like what I’m about to say.” I explained to her that I wanted to just listen to my body once I go into labor since women did that for centuries. I don’t want to jump to needing pain medicine if I don’t need to. I would really like to try natural, however, I may not be able to handle the intense pain. What I ultimately wanted was a water birth, but I was always under the assumption I couldn’t do it. Turns out I can! As long as I remain low-risk and everything with our son is okay, I can do a water birth. In order to get approved I have to take an unmedicated birthing class as well as do my research to learn the risks and benefits of having one. The downfall is that only two people in the entire hospital do water births: the Major of the department and my midwife. They try to do the best they can to do a water birth for those of us who choose to, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I will if they are both unavailable. She informed me they only do a couple of water births a month since a lot of the girls she sees up here are very young and uneducated about different child bearing ways. She said a lot of women chose to get an epidural without first trying to do it naturally or don’t even want natural as an option. I may be one of those who may need an epidural to handle the pain, but my hope is that I can overcome the fear and pain of labor and continue with a water birth. I am grateful that my husband is supportive of this decision as well as my midwife. It makes it even more wonderful is that my midwife is one who doesn’t push medications and is more natural. I am very glad I have her as my midwife because she is making this pregnancy a beautiful experience! Has anyone had a water birth or know of anyone who has?