Fated Friendship – My Centering Pregnancy Story

The boy who made me a mama turns five today. I’m blown away by how quickly time has gone. When everyone tells you not to blink because it goes by fast… they aren’t lying.

Our first born has grown into the sweetest, most handsome little man. He brings a smile to everyone’s face and we are just so incredibly proud to be his parents.

In celebration of his fifth birthday, I’ve decided to share a piece I wrote back in October of 2014 where I shared our personal experience with Centering Pregnancy. It gives you a little glimpse into what Centering Pregnancy is about, and why it was, and still is, so special for our family.

“If you’re a mom in Sioux Falls and had a baby at Sanford Hospital, you’ve likely heard of the Centering Pregnancy program. If you haven’t, simply put – it’s group prenatal care. The group meets monthly and is made up of expectant parents all due in the same month.

When my husband and I were making decisions throughout the early stages of my pregnancy back in 2012, our OB-GYN asked us if we would be interested in joining a centering group. At first we were a little apprehensive. Prenatal care, and just your pregnancy in general, is such a personal thing. We didn’t know if we would want to share our journey with a group of people that we had never met. But after some discussion, we decided to give it a shot.

We took the decision very seriously and it took us several weeks to decide that we were, in fact, joining the November centering group. Once we finally said ‘we’re doing this!’ the group was already several weeks into their meetings. It didn’t matter and it was clear early on that we had made the right decision.

We were with five other pregnant women (and their significant others) that were all due in November and early December, as well as two nurses and our physician. Each month we had our ‘normal’ checks (blood pressure, weight, belly measurements etc.) at the beginning of class and then moved into a group discussion where we would talk about a different topic pertaining to how far along we all were in our pregnancy.

Skip ahead to November 2014: our son, Carsten William, was born on November 9th at 10:37 pm. By some miracle, our centering physician was on call and helped bring our little man into the world. After we had settled in, our doctor filled us in on the status of the rest of our centering group. All of us (except for the only baby girl in our group) had delivered within 48 hours of each other. Our doctor literally had to leave the one centering mom’s delivery to go deliver the twins of another mom in our group! According to the centering doctors, no other centering group has ever even come close to delivering this close together.

Skip ahead to October 2014*: Five of the six from our centering group still meet (at least) once a month to catch up on how everyone is doing. It is something we all look forward to doing each month. Each monthly meeting is a little different. Sometimes we meet with moms and babies (who are now almost two), sometimes with both parents and kids, and sometimes the meeting is just the ladies. We catch up on how our babes are doing during that particular month of development and discuss how we are working to overcome the challenges that come with that stage. We gush about the exciting milestones that our kiddos are reaching and how much fun we are all having as new parents.

One of the best parts about meeting with this group is the reality that we all have very different families. We have different jobs and different lives. We do not judge. We do not question. Instead we encourage and uplift one another. We understand each child, family and situation is different; not inferior. Regardless of what parenting choices we make for our individual families, we all know that the goal is the same. What we have in common is that we all want to do what is best for our kids.

My relationship with this group of mommas, and their families, it is the most unique and one of the most beneficial and rewarding friendships I have ever had. We consistenly share things about our lives and about who we are as individuals. We have formed a true friendship that goes beyond having children born in the same month.

When my husband and I chose to be part of centering, I thought about how fun, and almost relieving, it would be to have other women that I could relate to at each stage of, not just my pregnancy, but what would follow after our child was born. I wanted to be able to talk to other new parents that were learning and experiencing the joys, struggles, heartache and triumphs that come with bringing new life into the world. I joined centering hoping to walk away with not just knowledge, but also friendships.

What I got was much more.

I am still amazed at the bond that we have created. The connection that our families, children, and we, as moms, now share. We have something that is so incredibly special. We were meant to be friends. We were meant to be part of each others lives. Our friendship was created by something greater than ourselves: it was in His plan. We were meant to grow as moms together.

To my centering mommas: I love each of you and I can’t wait to see where we go from here.

Want to learn more about how you can be part of a centering group? Click here for more information! I would also be happy to answer any questions you might have about my personal experience with centering prenatal care and why I recommend being part of a centering group.”

*November 2018: One of the five centering mamas has moved out of state, but we all stay in touch and the remaining four of us in South Dakota still get together. We got together for ice cream to celebrate their fifth birthdays just last week and although it was short and sweet, it was so fun to see them play together. We are planning another get-together for the group (and their siblings!) for December. Happy Birthday to our Centering babies that made us moms!

Group photo of the Centering mamas from Fall 2014

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