Part One

PREPARING FOR THE FOURTH TRIMESTER

Don’t forget love; it will bring all the madness you need to unfurl yourself across the universe.

—MIRABAI

While there’s a good chance you’ve been preparing for your baby’s birth by reading books, taking birthing classes, and preparing your home, you may not be preparing yourself for the changes that you will be experiencing. You have probably carefully chosen who you want at your birth to support you, what you want the birth environment to feel like, and how you will be able to get what you need so you can have the birth you want. But if you are anything like me, you probably haven’t thought much about what it will be like when the birth is over.

Sure, you might have considered how you want to care for your baby. Many women have considered what kind of nourishment they want to give their babies (breastfeeding, formula, bottle feeding, and so on), investigated sleep philosophies, or even taken an infant-care class. We make room in our lives for our babies—in our homes, in our daily routines, in regard to our work lives—but somehow we forget just how much and how rapidly our own bodies and identities are going to change.

If you’re approaching giving birth, this section will help you prepare, not for the birth itself—I’m sure you have plenty of resources and support for that—but for what will come directly after. This journey is an invitation to discover deeper levels of your inner world—your strengths, your vulnerabilities, your beliefs. Welcome to this sacred journey of motherhood.