Shared by Oh Baby graduate, Corina

I wanted to talk about my experience during last year’s April Cesarean month, but it was too soon after birth and I didn’t feel ready. I am happy to Oh Baby Nutrition has invited me to share my experience and I’m grateful for all the empowering content they convey. Because one thing’s for sure: all mothers need support, regardless of how they choose or have to give birth.

You have the baby clothes washed and folded, the car seat ready to go, and the nursery set up… but have you prepped your birth canal?? (And I don’t mean Kegels or a pre-birth bikini wax!) An important transfer takes place during a vaginal birth as healthy bacteria from the mother’s birth canal helps colonize the baby as it passes through.

Completely in awe of birth, I've spent countless hours immersed in the beautiful videos that women have graciously shared online. Getting a glimpse into these empowering births has been such a gift, and I'm so honored to have the opportunity to pay it forward. Stevie was born peacefully and powerfully into the water on August 20, 2016.

The thing about a second birth is that I had already experienced a birth before, so I somewhat knew what to expect. The other thing about a second birth is that you have expectations of what that birth will look like. But as we all know, no two births are alike, and the birth of a baby is a mysterious process, not to be interrupted with any of our own plans.

Featured on Ergobaby. Pregnancy is such an exciting time, but it can also be a time full of uncertainty. Proper prenatal nutrition is essential for both you and your baby, but figuring out what to eat can be very confusing. There are so many decisions to make when you’re pregnant, but while you’re picking out baby names and decorating the nursery, it's important to make nutrition a priority as well.

It was August 19th, 2016, 2 days from the estimated due date of our baby. We were just leaving the house to meet friends at the beach when the first sensation hit me. It shocked me with its intensity and I told my husband, Jeremy, that I thought it felt like a real contraction and not primordial labor. He asked if I still wanted to go out and meet our friends. Our shoes were on and bags were packed, so I suggested we continue on with our plans and see what happens. It took us about an hour to pick up takeout for dinner and get to the beach.

The third trimester was undeniably my favorite with my first pregnancy, and it's proven to be very true with this pregnancy as well. I feel so much gratitude for my body... for making me my babies, for making me a mother. Even though this pregnancy has brought more challenges than my first, I’m sad to see it come to an end. Although I’m also getting pretty desperate to meet this little creature!

The memories and emotions a woman associates with her birth experience can profoundly affect her for the rest of her life. I’ve decided to share the details of my ‘unofficial birth plan' (or more appropriately, my intentions). I’m certainly not promoting these as my ideals of a “better way to birth”, and these are not the birth practices that I think every woman should choose for herself. These are just the personal choices I feel are right for my body, my baby and my family. I advocate for informed choice in hopes of empowering women and helping them better understand their own rights in birth.

I had a hard time starting this second trimester review. I feel like I remember being newly pregnant… and then all of the sudden I was in the third trimester. What happened to the middle?! Unfortunately, I was still plagued with nausea and vomiting that I experienced in the first trimester. For “most people” this subsides in the second trimester, and I kept expecting it to…. waiting for it to... so badly wanting it to, needing it to.

My first trimester was humbling, to say the least.

I actually won’t refer to my experience as having “morning sickness” because as many women can attest, the feelings of nausea are rarely confined to the morning hours. I could sometimes make it through the morning without getting sick but it always worsened around 6 pm, then I’d spend most evenings confined to the bathroom… miserable.

Featured on The Tot.

Eating and drinking during labor, especially in the early stages, can provide you with the necessary energy and help you remain more comfortable. Labor is very aptly named because it is a physical task that requires both strength and stamina. Restricting your food intake during labor cause stress, nausea, vomiting, and headaches. Being properly nourished and hydrated can prevent you from becoming exhausted, which can prolong labor and lead to fewer contractions that are less effective.

To call the changes and adjustments a woman’s body goes through during pregnancy "miraculous" would be a bit of an understatement. Although a miracle, the reality is that carrying a child through those 40 weeks does take a toll on your body in many ways. Not all pregnancies are planned, but having time to prepare yourself physically definitely provides many benefits to you and your baby, even long after birth.

The best things a woman could do to prep her body really varies for each person, depending on her starting point. Some important things to consider addressing would be….