The Third Time is Always a Charm

I have just started my official maternity leave 3 weeks before my due date. Since my job as a chiropractor is physically, mentally, and at times emotionally demanding I do feel ready to stop working as well as start focussing on the baby, all the preparations for the birth and the wole "newborn thing". Being my third delivery, I am not sure how its going to go. My midwife as well as a labour and delivery nurse I know have told me that the third time is quite unpredictable. Infact the pregnancy overall has been very different from my last two. It will be very interesting to see how this will all pan out.

The third time around I have also been getting more Braxton-Hicks contractions which started much earlier in the pregnancy. I am assured that this is very common with subsequent pregnancies.

People have been asking me if I am excited and ofcourse I am excited to meet the baby, but not as excited to deal with the after-math of delivery, nightly feedings, sore nipples, poopy diapers (again), shall I go on? When its the first child one is expecting, naivity is bliss but third time round one is quite realistic about the whole post partum thing, in my opinion.

Whether its your first or fifth child ( God help you), I believe if you can remain focussed and realistic about the whole process of labour without trying to "control' it, maybe it will be easier to deal with true outcome. As the lawyer said who taught my 4rth year jurisprudence class in chiropractic school " Hope for the best, plan for the worst and expect the unexpected and you will be fine."