New Year, New Baby

This week marks the first week in the new year, 2011. For many of you, this will be the year that you welcome a new baby into your family. Whether it's your first, second or fifth, preparing for a new baby is an exciting and special time... and it can also be a time of stress and anxiety. Enjoying your pregnancy depends so much on the care, information and support you receive during the 40+ weeks (especially during the + time!).

If you're expecting a baby this year, instead of making New Year's resolutions (or in addition to), take some time to think about how best to spend the next days and months leading up to birth and baby. Sit down with pen and paper and brainstorm around a few questions:

• How am I enjoying my care provider? Is she meeting my needs, answering my questions, respecting my wishes and providing sound guidance?
• From which sources am I obtaining my pregnancy and birth information (Internet, books, doctor, friends)? Are they credible? Do I spend too much time obsessing about and analyzing every little question/symptom/ache?
• Who is supporting me on this journey? How do their words and actions help me? Where else can I seek positive support? What kind of support will I need once the baby is here?

Depending on your answers, you may have some work to do--but for good reason! If you're unhappy, changing your care provider (even in your 3rd trimester) can go a long way to improving your experience during pregnancy and birth. Seeking credible and positive resources for information on pregnancy, birth and parenting, can help ease anxiety and reduce the amount of time you spend surfing endlessly on the 'net. (If you're reading this post, congratulations--you've located an excellent Internet resource!) And if you don't yet have a good network of friends or family to support you during this time, get to it! Good support, even if it's one close friend, is worth its weight in back rubs during pregnancy.

As much as you look forward to enjoying time with your new baby, focus too on enjoying the time before your baby is born. Each pregnancy you have is an experience you will remember (and tell stories from) for years to come.