Making a deposit in the birth account

"Preparing for childbirth seems sort of similar to training for a marathon."



I first wrote these words precisely one month ago today. It feels even more accurate now - literally days away from my due date (Friday July 11th for anyone keeping track). For the last 9 months I've been working out consistently - weight training, walking, running or practicing yoga. At first I did so because I didn't feel any different and thankfully I didn't have morning sickness to contend with. As the weeks passed, my motivation became more about keeping my energy levels up. And to be completely honest, I was increasingly wary of my changing shape. But somewhere at around the six month mark, working out became akin to training - training for the marathon that is birth. Whether you have a two hour delivery or a 24 hour labor, it is still a distance (mental and physical) that women travel.

I decided several months ago I wanted to have as natural a birth as possible. I have managed expectations that everything will go exactly as I've envisioned it, but nevertheless this is my training goal (my marathon goal is 4:15 and I've got managed expectations about that too!). I need my body to be in optimal condition to get me through. Each visit to the gym feels like a deposit into an account that I will draw from later. As I look back on the last few months, I also have pretty awesome memories of the activities the Babe and I have done together. We have:

1. completed the 4-mile Midnight Run on New Years Eve in Central Park
2. logged over 60 visits to my local New York Sports Club, where I...
3. must have clocked at least 40 hours on the eliptical machine
4. lapped the reservoir in Central Park more times than I can fathom
5. made lots of new mommy friends at YogaWorks in some of the most challenging and rewarding yoga classes I've ever taken

So, with that, I'm off to the gym ...