Best. Book. Ever.

My doula (okay, I am not even pregnant yet, but she will be my doula, so I am just going to call her that) recommended a book to me when I was talking to her about TTC. I've raved about this book before, but I must again highlight something of brilliance from Sheila Kitzinger's The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth.

About labor pain: "The important thing to understand is that for most women the pain of labor is different from the pain of injury. Some women describe it as "positive pain" or "pain with a purpose".

I admit, like any normal woman who has not experienced childbirth or labor before, I am scared. I want to have an unmedicated delivery. It's just the better option for mother and child, if it's possible. But I am scared I can't do it. Terrified may be a better word.

I don't really trust myself to handle the pain, to deliver my child. I'm working on that. I know that believing in myself and believing in the capability of my body is one of the most important components of achieving the delivery I want, so I am trying to get to that place. Reading that quote, however, has done a lot to settle me and make me think that I really can do this.

I am stronger than I give myself credit for.

Why do I feel the sudden urge to start chanting "Girl Power!"?

Five days, people. Let the insanity begin.