I'm completely with you. I'm 33 weeks with my first and starting to get nervous. I just want to have a normal delivery, but you hear of everything that can go wrong till the last moment. I just stay positive and happy and try to not really worry about it. You dont want to be freaked out for 11 weeks silly...

I am 16 weeks with my second (My son is 13) I remember being very scared with my first one too! I am scared now because it's been so long but everything will go ok and once you are holding your little one all that fear goes away. Hope that helps some. Best of luck You'll be just fine. :)

Hey Lucy, this is perfectly normal. I'll tell you something that might help you, though. Once you have gone through birth, you will know what it's like to be Superwoman! Honestly, I found giving birth to be such an empowering experience. Yes, it was painful, and it was hard work, and the first few weeks of motherhood are exhausting. But when you are in labor you will find reserves of strength and determination that you did not know you are capable of! No lie - with the strength I felt when pushing my girls out, I could have lifted a car!

Things that might help you prepare:
1. Get educated. Go to childbirth classes with your hubby/partner. Enlist him to be your supporter - your knight in shining armor - your advocate. It will help him feel involved, and help to spread the fear out a little.
2. Go and tour the place you will give birth. Let them show you around and talk you through what will happen there. It's hard enough knowing that you have hard work and pain coming, without entering an alien and often scary-looking environment. Don't worry, the equipment only LOOKS scary.
3. This may sound trite, but try to have faith in your body and yourself. Remember that women were giving birth for millenia, under much worse conditions than we have to face, and the human race is still here.
4. ASK ASK ASK questions of your doctors/nurses. Don't be afraid that they'll think you are dumb or a chicken. They have heard it ALL, and they want you to feel secure and informed.
5. By the same token, if there's something that really concerns you, do some research with some trusted sources. That way you'll at least know what to ask when you see your doc.
6. Talk to older women in your life who have been through it. They can all tell you, they made it through, and you can do it also.

Hope this is helpful to you. I'll keep you in my prayers as you get closer to delivery.

Thank you all so much for your words.
I am having antenatal classes in January so hopefully I will be less anxious after that.

I forgot to mention I have rheumatoid arthritis which mainly effects my hips which is one of the main reasons why I'm worried so much. Luckily I have an appointment with my Rheumatoid Doctor tomorrow so I can ask him then for any info on women with RA giving birth.

Also I think because we don't have any nursery stuff or any baby equipment yet (we are doing a major shop right after xmas to get absolutely everything) I think this is adding to my worry and once we are physically prepared maybe I will me more emotionally prepared.

Thanks Girls :)

I am 29 weeks, and I just started feeling the same way. I am in the same boat as you with not having anything ready. My husband is in school and we plan on getting things ready as soon as his finals are over next week. Hopefully being prepared will help!!!

I'm 26 weeks and I also don't have anything ready for baby yet! Hopefully, I get most of what I need at my shower which isn't until mid-February.
As for being nervous about the birth---at this moment I feel like I can't wait for the day to come! lol, ask me again when I'm further along....it will probably be a different story!

Hi hun, you are right totally normal! :) I got more and more scared the bigger I got before birthing my daughter....

Two things really helped me, one was the birth class at the hospital called pain relief and the unexpected during labour. I was planning (and had!!) a totally natural, drug free birth. But I figured that if we were to have any interventions, I would be better off knowing before the day. It turned out we were being prepped for a caesarean ( I needed repeated manual dilation, my daughter was coming face first and then born face up [or spine to spine] and she went into severe distress). So really, it was nice to know beforehand what would of been involved in the c-section and I knew at the time why I was being prepped. Made it much easier for me to think I may have to birth her that way. So very useful :)

The second thing I found absolutely wonderful was a class the midwives put together called hypnobirthing (NOT the hypnosis garbage you see on tv!!) They gave lots of tips and personal stories - yep, they birthed naturally too!! Tips included ways to distract yourself in labour, how to focus your mind, and best of all breathing techniques to practise and use to relax as much as possible when in labour (or for that matter at any time of pregnancy stress!!). This class was brilliant! It really reminded me that we were designed to birth babies! They also explained things far better than I have ever heard at birth classes. For example, that dilation checks and what the scary sounding '10cm dilation" means and how they know (not that I had checks in labour, just one that I requested to find I was 5cm on arriving at the hospital!) The also explain just how short the birth canal is ('canal' really conjures up the wrong image doesn't it!) and positions to use that best help the body deliver the baby - taking into account the babies position and the woman's wishes. I cannot recommend this class highly enough, we all walked away feeling very confident of a natural birth (and they also went over briefly things that can cause intervention, and why women should not feel bad with any change in their birth plan, especially requesting pain meds). The class does not presume to be the best method for every woman, but will help women -even those planning a medicated birth- to learn in very simple terms about the birthing process and know how we can help our muscles work together for the easiest labour possible.

I did not actually make a "normal" birth class (my husband conveniently got out of it, she was born the morning before I had him booked in with me!!) but have been to many with friends. To be honest, they don't help me. They scared me!! As every woman's exerience is different, and every woman handles herself differently with varying pain levels, I was actually terrified of the birth from watching these labours! It may help you to do a quick search and look for some women experiencing pain free labours (yes, it DOES happen for some lucky ones!!!!) so you can see the process of birth without the reaction of the women to the labour.

Another thing I personally found very useful was the chiro - partly because I have SPD and need it to put my pelvis back! But, it also helped to relieve many of the pregnancy discomforts. Which was great prior to labour! I got to start my labour days after my last appointment, with nice relaxed muscles and my bones where they should be :)

Hope this helps you a little hun...... On the upside, this will be my second birth and I am thoroughly looking forwards to enjoying the experience again!! But I was so scared the whole pregnancy with my daughter... It is just partly that feeling of knowing you have to do it now. Just keep remembering we ARE designed to do it, and take with you anything that may make you more comfortable in a strange surrounding (music, cushions, pictures etc) xx

I thnk Bevyjo gave you some wonderful advice!

The more you KNOW the better you will feel... Learn about the labor and delivery process. What is your body going through? What are the different stages and what things can you expect to feel? What can you do to ease the discomfort and manage your pain? What medications would you consider? Do you want a med free delivery or do you want to ease the discomfort?
Even knowing about the things that can go wrong will bring you some peace of mind because you can learn about low the probability is and how these problems can be resolved.

When I had my first son I did a lot of reading, but didn't take the classes. I really wish I had taken the childbirth classes because it helped me to feel at ease with my second son.
I am going to take a refresher course with this one because my last delivery was almost 7yrs ago. I want to remind myself of what my body is designed to do and remind my husband how to be a good coach!

Something I am doing for this birth is using a birthplan. There is a post on the board right now about using a birthplan and I put the link I used for an online tool.
I think there are a lot of little details a woman doesn't think about and this list is detailed. It is also a great way to give you an idea of things that may happen during labor and delivery and a great way to open up converstion with your OB.... don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions and let yur OB know your fears. If you have a good OB he/she will take the time to talk with you, answer your questions, and reassure you.
First time mom's are scared, it's normal. You don't know what to expect the pain to feel like, you don't have confidence in yourself.

I think having the baby stuff will help you emotionally because you can start to really picture yurself as a mom. Once you imagine yourself delivering you will start to feel better.

I have had two children already- one without meds and one with meds. I will be honest with you- labor is not comfortable and can be painful and even with the epidural delivery is real work, but we are designed to do this and the minute the baby is on your belly you know you would walk across hot coals if you had to!

I really think Bevyjo gave you a great list of things to help!

Just stay positive! This is my second pregnancy, and my first was very scary, not knowing what to expect. I have to say that it wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be. Just as long as you stay healthly and follow your ob/gyns advice, you will be great! Hang in there and good luck!