Last year, before I got pregnant, I took a Doula workshop. It was the first step I took toward what I felt drawn to- pregnancy and birth. One of our "homework" assignments was to draw our ideal birth or what we wanted our birth to be like. It was very open ended and the variety of what everyone came up with was amazing. Every woman is different, every experience, every birth. This was mine. When I closed my eyes and imagined what my first birth would be like this is what I saw. I wrote a bit about what I wanted, but it was all about feeling, not about what would actually happen. Natural vs pain meds, vaginally vs cesarean. Of course I have my preferences and am preparing for a natural birth but what truly matters to me is my sacred space, the energy around me and that precious moment he enters this world. My bond with him is beyond words, my heart aches and swells thinking about seeing his face for the first time. I've cried thinking about the moment I've waited 4 long years for. "What matters to me is to be enveloped in love."