It's Official...I'm a Certified Bradley Instructor!

Well, it's official! I am now a certified Bradley instructor! We are back from the training. The training was long, but we learned a lot. We stayed at a really nice hotel in Danvers, Massachusetts where the training was held. The hotel even had its own Starbucks in the lobby and its very own indoor waterpark! (pictured below)  Ben was really helpful when it came to watching Leo, and my mother came out and even spent the night at the hotel to help out. 

The sessions were long. My daily schedule for 4 DAYS IN A ROW was as follows:

• Session 1: 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
  
• Lunch 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
• Session 2: 1:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
• Dinner: 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
• Session 3: 7:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

I learned a ton at the training, and now that I'm gone, I really miss being there. It was really fun being around so many like-minded women and learning from the best obstetricians, midwives, and other birthing professionals. Out of 14 couples, only 3 of us left as birthing instructors (the other couples didn't hand in their work at the training, and will be given three more months to complete it). At the end of the training, those of us who had handed in the academic portion of our work were given a written exam. If we scored a 90 or above, we were able to leave as provisionally certified birthing instructors :-)  

One of the days we were there, Ben took Leo to a family gathering in South Boston. Ben's cousin Sadie took a really nice pictures of them:

One night when I came back from the evening session, there was a large bag of GORGEOUS maternity clothes from Mimi Maternity on my bed. My mother and Ben had spent the day shopping for maternity clothes for me, which I thought was so sweet. The clothes they picked out were so elegant. The colors were just beautiful - cranberry, brown, and black (which just so happen to be my favorite clothing colors for those of you who didn't already know that)! I promised my mother that I'd have Ben take a picture of me in one of the new maternity sweaters they picked out, so here you go...me at 13 weeks pregnant...and please don't flatter me by saying you can't see the bump. It's very apparent, and I'll think you're lying to me if you deny it ;-)  Plus, I'm one of those women who actually likes showing, because I enjoy the perks that go along with being visibly pregnant.

So there's the update! I'm very much looking forward to teaching my first class, and I'm very grateful to my husband for being so helpful and supportive. There was a reason why I was one of the few candidates who was able to hand in her academic package at the training...it's because I have a husband who supported my spending 3 hours per/night 4 nights per/week studying and writing essays. And I can't forget to thank little Leo who also allowed his mommy to spend so much time finishing her academic work by sleeping soundly! Many thanks to all of you who supported me through this!  :-)