My First Birth Center Experience

      I didn't realize that when I posted the last belly pictures that I'd only have two weeks left of pregnancy. Just for fun here's the last two.

      The last two weeks I started to get more uncomfortable, but even more so in the last few days before birth. 

Sunday 1/31

      We went to church and I think everyone asked how I was doing and how much longer I had. I told them that was tired/exhausted/ready to not be pregnant and that I had about a week left. Ha! (This is why due dates are silly and I don't like telling mine until after. This pregnancy, I was due February 7th.)

Monday 2/1 Wee hours of the morning 

      I woke up several times to go to the the bathroom and once was almost soaked in sweat. I had a hard time getting back to sleep after the last potty break and when I finally did it was around 6:30AM. I was pretty groggy around 8:00 when I woke up for the day. 

9:00 AM

      Ty had just left for work and I was busy getting Anna's breakfast, cleaning up the kitchen, and starting laundry. My mother-in-law was coming that day to stay to help with baby and ironically, I thought it would be too early, but glad she was coming. I went to move a chair into the table and the leg came off. (It's an old set so that happens.) I went down to put it back on and felt a little leak. I went to the bathroom to find there was a bit of mucus. My body was definitely getting ready to have this baby. 

10:00 AM

    I started feeling some contractions and felt like I needed to go to the bathroom again, but this time there was bright red blood. My mind went immediately to panicked and nervous. I texted Ty to let him know and then called the birth center. I was able to talk to the midwife on call, Hannah, and described what was going on. I had a prenatal appointment scheduled for that afternoon so she said I could come in now since we would know more after being checked. 

10:30 AM 

      Ty arrived home and we decided to pack everything as if we were going to stay for labor. I was glad, but felt silly because I thought we'd end up coming back anyway. There was a crazy snowstorm that day and the wind was blowing the snow everywhere across the roads. It almost made it look like fog. The whole while I was still having intermittent contractions that seemed to get closer together and longer when I was sitting in the car. I could tell that I was at least in early labor. By now, I could also tell that I was going to have back labor. Apparently, I'm just one of those lucky people who gets that. 

11:15 AM

      We made it to the birth center and contractions calmed down during my appointment. From what Hannah could tell, since the bleeding seemed to be slowing down a bit, I was losing my bloody show. It wasn't like this with Anna so I wasn't sure that was the case, but I'm glad I went in. She checked me and she and I were both surprised to find I was 5 centimeters dilated and 80-90% effaced. I figured I was a bit dilated, but not that much already. Hannah was convinced that our baby would be coming soon. We decided to wait to schedule a 40 week appointment because we both figured Baby Girl would here in the next few days. We decided to call our sister-in-law, Celia, and have her meet us there to pick up Anna. The snowstorm was still going and we wanted to make sure Anna was taken care of just in case labor picked up. 

12:00 PM

We went downstairs to wait for Celia and her friend, Becca, who was driving her to us. Contractions started picking up, getting closer together. They have a room with a couple of couches that I was able to use and laid down while timing contractions on my phone. A little after noon, Celia got there and we said goodbye to Anna. I told her next time we saw her that her baby sister would be here. When they left, Ty asked how I was feeling and if we should go or stay since my contractions were getting closer together. I already had forgotten what Hannah said about how far apart we should wait for contractions so I asked him to go upstairs and ask again. When he came back down, he relayed the message that I could come upstairs and might as well stay if contractions were already that consistent. 

12:30 PM

      We got upstairs and I realized I hadn't eaten anything at all that day and that in grabbing Anna's things, Celia accidentally grabbed my purse. While we waited for her to bring it back, we decided on a sandwich place close so I could try to eat a turkey sandwich and get some protein. They offered me some juice they keep stocked in the fridge and I chose peach. It was so good and nice to have something other than water. While Ty went to grab lunch, I got situated in the birthing room. They took my vitals, checked baby's position, and heartbeat and started getting everything ready and set up. While we waited for Ty, I sat on a birthing ball and breathed through each contraction with the intern midwife, Roaya there to help me. I remembered Anna labor and birth and tried to avoid tensing and made a conscious effort to be loose and relaxed. Not easy, but I think I did okay. 

1:30 PM

      Ty came back and I started to eat my sandwich in between contractions. I really only got a few bites in before I felt a little sick to my stomach. Contractions were steadily progressing now and getting stronger. I knew if I wanted to keep down the little bit I had already eaten, I would need to stop or it would be wasted. They did another check of my vitals and baby's heartbeat. At that point, Hannah had started filling the tub and I couldn't wait to get in there. Ty was also very happy to not carry heavy pots of hot water up the stairs to fill it. Haha. 

2:00 PM

      I got into the tub and loved feeling the warm water. I stopped timing my contractions at this point since I didn't want my phone in the water. And really they were close enough now that it didn't seem to matter. I had planned to watch a movie during labor to help past the time and relax me. Ty set up the portable DVD player and put in "Willow". Hannah thought it was great and said it was definitely a first for a mom to watch a movie during labor. 

2:30ish

      I'm not exactly sure when I fit started feeling the need to push, but I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. I had prepared myself for a good few hours yet of labor. Hannah went to grab Roaya from a prenatal appointment and both were surprised that it was already time. I'm not sure when my water broke (think during one of the few pushes), but things were certainly progressing quickly. I didn't count pushes, but with each one I could feel our baby moving down. Before I knew it, I felt the ring of fire and the pressure of her head crowning. Hannah and Roaya were coaching me to go deeper with my moans and yells, and I tried, but I think there's only a certain amount of control I could have. With one final push, Adalind Louise Robbins was born in the water at 2:45 PM. 

      I immediately picked her up and held her, leaned back in the water and just stared at this beautiful new person. Her head was so round and hadn't coned at all. She came so quickly that I don't think she had the time. They put warm towels on us and checked both of us while I held her there on me. Adalind latched really quickly and she ate while we waited for the placenta to deliver. It seemed to take forever and we all jokes that it took longer for the placenta to deliver than the baby. 

      After I delivered the placenta, I gave Adalind to Ty, while the midwives helped me over to the bed. Just as I was getting out, Adalind peed on Ty. I'm pretty sure Anna did that after she was born. It seems to be a right of passage for our kids. Haha. When I got to the bed, and after putting a diaper on baby girl, I continued to nurse Adalind while they checked on my tearing and stitched me up. I tore the same as I did with Anna, but I don't know how many stitches I got this time. 

      In total, we stayed about four hours after Adalind was born. This included getting stitched up and watched for hemorrhaging, being able to stand and go to the bathroom, continued nursing, getting the baby checked and weighed, finish eating my sandwich (so glad I still had that), getting dressed and ready to go. It was around 7 o'clock when we left and we couldn't believe how early it still was. Overall, we really loved our experience, but I'm still hoping that if there's a next time, we can have a homebirth, mostly so we don't have to go anywhere after it's all over. For this experience, I couldn't have imagined it going any better. When Hannah and Roaya came over the next day for the day after visit, they were thanking us for letting them be apart of such a great birth. Apparently, they had had several births in a row that were pretty tiresome and long and it was so nice to have a quick and easy one. We feel pretty blessed as well. 

My First Homebirth Experience

      I was pretty sneaky posting those two pregnancy posts when I did. :) What can I say? Chronological order is important to me. Now that everything has happened, and I've finally been able to get on my computer, it's definitely time to document and share what I experienced and went through. The word surreal has been used by both Ty and myself, several times, to describe it all. I still feel as though I just woke up and all of a sudden there's a beautiful child in my responsibility.

      February 11th was my Estimated Due Date and when it came and went without any sign of labor I'll admit I was a little sad. At the beginning of the week I had felt and predicted she would come that week. However, we were very prepared for the unexpected.

Monday 2/13 3:00PM
      During my 40 week appointment, I had a cervical exam and found that I was 3cm dilated and 80-90% effaced. I knew all that uncomfortableness I had been "enjoying" wasn't just typical pregnancy discomfort.  We went home and I texted two of my sisters-in-law and my mom and all three were sure this baby would be coming very soon.  This had me excited, but I still didn't want to keep my hopes up for the possibility that things could still move slowly.

Tuesday 2/14 3:00AM
      At my 3 AM potty break, I lost my bloody show, but still knew that things could still take awhile to progress so I didn't get myself worked up.  This being Valentine's Day I really wasn't keen on having my baby born on a holiday, though everyone else seemed to think it a cute idea.  I'm really not sure that Valentine's Day would be that big of a deal, but I just wanted to avoid it if I could.  Fortunately for me, I went throughout the day without much happening.

6:00PM
      Ty and I went to Safeway before dinner to gather a few things and luckily it was a fairly short visit, but it felt like hours.  My feet hurt, my legs hurt and I simply felt like standing was a burden.  I couldn't wait to get back into the car so I could sit down.  We got back home and had our dinner and spent the rest of the night watching TV while I tried timing the few irregular contractions I had, but faded away.

Wednesday 2/15 3:30AM
      Once again I woke up to go to the bathroom at 3:30 AM and was unable to fall back asleep.  This wasn't unusual, but then I started feeling contractions again at about 5:30 AM, which can be best described as menstrual like cramps (this description is mostly for women as men will know nothing about this kind of pain).

7:00AM
      Contractions started to become more regular lasting for about one minute with roughly a 10 minute break in between.  Rest was now impossible to find.  As much as I had heard that I should try to rest because "you won't get any later", I couldn't.

12:00PM
Something I wanted to make sure of was that I was still getting enough protein and ate lunch.  Another thing that I wanted to do if this was the real deal was to take a shower.  Who knew when I'd be able to next?  About 1:00PM I talked with Ginger on the phone and let her know what had been going on within the last 24 (or more) hours.  I let her know what was happening with my contractions and from my description she derived that I was not yet in Active Labor since they changed with my activity.  For instance, I always felt a contraction when I got up from bed.  She said that she would be in my area later that day and if things drastically changed to give her a call.

2:00PM
      My contractions had become closer together and regular despite my changing positions.  Again, though I tried to relax and rest, I simply couldn't sleep.  I laid down and closed my eyes and despite my sleepiness, it never came.  Back labor had already started and at some point that was how I knew a contraction was beginning.  Starting in my back and then wrapping around to the front where I would start to feel the menstrual-like cramps.

4:15PM
      Up until this point, I had been upstairs, in our bedroom riding out each contraction trying to distract myself.  I finally decided I needed my husband with me and was ready to be comforted through the pain I was feeling.  Since he works in the basement and I had resigned myself to our bedroom two floors up, I gave him a quick call hoping he would be done soon.  Unfortunately, he still had some work to finish and then had his chiropractic appointment to get to after.  (Before you go judging, I absolutely wanted him to go to that appointment because he needs it and we really didn't know where I was at with labor.)  So, I continued to bear through the pain on my own and hoped the time would pass quickly so that I could have my companion

6:00PM
      Ty had come back home and though I was worried about jumping the gun, having just experienced a nine minute period of several waves of contractions on top of each other, I decided we should call Ginger and give her an update.  I had no desire to be on the phone so Ty did the calling for me while I went through another contraction.  Ginger made the decision to come since things were obviously progressing right along and instructed Ty to start filling the birth tub with hot water.  Oh my goodness!  This was getting serious.  :)  I remember Ty asking me if I was hungry and wanted any dinner, but a meal didn't sound great and I decided against it.  Looking back, I should have tried to nibble on some protein.

6:45PM
      Ginger had arrived!  I was surprised at her energy considering she had two births in a row in the two days previous.  When she got here she asked if I wanted a cervical check and I did.  I was about 8 cm dilated!  Um, holy cow.  What this meant to me was that I definitely knew my body and could trust my instincts.  Also, that in a short time, I would be holding my baby.  After the exam, I stopped keeping track of my contractions since I didn't see the point.  Now, I knew it was time to call my mom and let her know she needed to come.  I called her cellphone...no answer.  Gah!  Of all the times to not answer your phone, this was not a good one.  I called my parents house and my youngest brother answered and I asked where my parents were.  My mom was babysitting my brother's kids while my sister-in-law came to Tri-cities to pick up my brother from the airport and my dad was at work.  GAAAAHHH!!  Would my mom be able to make it in time?  Didn't they all know we were on Baby Watch 2012 here?!  Next, I called my dad and he answered.  Yes!  He asked what I was doing and as nonchalantly as possible, while enduring another contraction, I said, "Oh nothin'.  Just in labor and having a baby soon."  Just as calm he said that he guessed that meant that they needed to head our way.  My parents were able to leave my brother's kids with my grandma next door and were on their way.

7:30PM
      The tub had been filled, but the water was just a bit cold, though it still felt good to be in.  Ty spent a good amount of time emptying out water while we let the water heat back up and let a pot of water boil downstairs.  Once the hot water was put in and the temperature started to rise, it felt sooooo divine.  Then, a contraction came and I would assume position to let someone put pressure on my low back.  Being that I've had issues with my hips and alignment, I knew it was a strong possibility that I would have back labor, but that doesn't make it any less painful.  At some point Ty asked me if I wanted to watch a movie and I was all for any kind of distraction.  I decided on Get Smart and Ty set up the laptop so that I could watch it from the tub with everyone sitting around me.

 8:15PM
      Mom and Dad had arrived!  I was so glad to finally see my mommy.  I knew neither one of us wanted her to miss this and I wanted her support.  She laughed at us as she came in to see that we were watching a movie.  :) If anything it was keeping my spirits up.

8:30PM
      Even though my dad had brought my mom, I didn't want him upstairs since I wasn't very modest at the time.  However, one thing that was really important to me was that my dad would be there to assist Ty in giving me a Priesthood blessing.  I put on my robe and sat on the yoga ball while my mom and Ginger held my hands and braced my legs in case a contraction came and I could have something to resist against.  By now, I had started making noises to help me release tension during each contraction and was worried that I would ruin the spirit of it.  However, I felt so calm during the blessing and knew that I had my Heavenly Father with me and that everything would be fine.  I also had the love and support of family and my midwife and her assistant.  Knowing this helped to carry me through each contraction.  Though, I will fully admit that I understand the appeal of an epidural.

10:00PM?
      I'm kind of guessing on time a little bit here because I'm having trouble remembering.  After the blessing, I got back in the tub and I remember everyone finding things for me to snack on.  First, it was an Otter Pops (Ty asked me what kind I wanted and I really could have cared less.  Haha.  I just wanted it cold.), Applesauce (really glad I bought that the day before), and Vanilla Greek Yogurt for some protein.  During the process of my labor, every so often, Ginger or Marcile (the birth assistant) would use the doppler to read and monitor the baby's heartbeat.  She was doing so good.  I can't remember when (I think between 10:30 and 11:00), but Ginger asked me if I would like another exam to see how I was doing.  I said, yes and we moved to the bed.  I had now progressed to 9.5 cm and was fully effaced.  However, my water had yet to break and Ginger asked if I wanted her to try and do that.  I gave my consent, but my cervix was still posterior and the sac was so tough she was unable to do so.  So back in the lovely warm water I went.

      My contractions were increasingly more painful and the groans I had initially used had grown into yelling.  I was also growing more exhausted.  Remember, I had been awake since 3:30 AM with no sleep in between then and this point.  Though I wanted so badly to rest and sleep, the contractions prohibited me from either.  I remember saying that if I wasn't about to have a baby, I'd be getting the best sleep ever after such an intense workout. 

Thursday 2/16 12:15AM
      By now, through intermittent watching, the movie was over.  I was still in the tub, now really letting loose through the contractions.  I kept thinking my neighbors were going to call the police on us for domestic violence.  We hadn't told them our birth plans after all.  My midwife had finally made the brilliant decision to turn the light off in the room and letting the light from the other rooms give the little illumination we needed.  It was as if it changed my entire labor.  Suddenly, I felt like I could rest in between contractions.  And then, finally, I felt that sensation to push, which is similar to feeling like you are having a bowel movement.  I continued in the tub and during one of my breaks, Ty looked at his phone and showed me the time and announced that our baby would definitely be born on the 16th, the day before my birthday.  This is quite funny considering anyone who talked to me about her due date knew that I didn't want her to be born on my birthday.  It just figures that she wanted to be born the day before.  :)  Of course, I wasn't really laughing right then.

12:45AM?
      After pushing for awhile, I could tell that something was keeping me from progressing.  Not that anything was wrong, I just wasn't getting anywhere.  Ginger suggested trying to push while on the toilet because then that pushing feeling is more natural.  I figured it couldn't hurt and was worth a try, so I left the blissful warm water, though it had started getting cool, and headed into the bathroom.  In case you are wondering, I forgot about keeping up my dignity and pride long before and wasn't too concerned with "what it looked like".  Still, I must admit that because I was screaming my lungs out during each contraction I was still a little worried about what my neighbors would think of me.  Not enough, to keep me from belting it out though.

      This position of pushing while on the toilet seat was definitely making a difference.  I could feel my baby girl moving down into the birth canal.  Ginger said that if I wanted I could reach down and feel the head, since she thought that my water had broken while I had been in the tub.  I reached down and felt something, but it didn't feel like the head.  I described it to Ginger and my water had in fact NOT broken.  Once again, Ginger tried to break it and this time succeeded.  Now we were back in business.  I felt for her head again and then felt something quite different than before and knew it was her little head.  Ginger asked if I wanted to deliver in the bathroom or if I wanted to go back to the tub and I really wasn't sure.  In the end, I decided to stay in the bathroom since I couldn't imagine moving and so awkwardly.

1:15AM
      Pushing was really progressing and everyone (except Ty, who stood in front of me while I clutched his hands during the contractions for support) was getting things together in preparation.  Suddenly, I felt the Ring of Fire, though I don't know that I would have called it a ring, but there was definite burning.  Ginger came into our small, narrow bathroom and instructed me to get off of the toilet and go down to the ground on all fours and asked Ty if he wanted to catch the baby.  He said sure, but I don't think he knew what he was getting himself into.  :)  I love hearing his perspective, so I'm going to let him share what he got to experience first.

Ty's Version:
      It's a difficult thing to see someone you love in pain and not be able to do anything about it.  I did my best to stay by Jenny's side, to try to comfort her as best i could, and to meet her needs in any way possible.  Mostly that meant applying pressure to her back during contractions and hauling boiling water up the stairs to keep the tub warm.  When the tub got too full I would scoop the water into a mop bucket with a pot and then empty it in the tub.  It was a long, slow process and my back and legs paid the price, but it felt good to be able to contribute in some way.

      Once we moved to the bathroom, I could tell things were getting close.  I tried to stay close to Jenny to support her any way I could while still staying out of Ginger's way.  Jenny would have preferred to return to the tub for the actual birth, but things were happening to fast and I think she just wanted to get it over so she delivered on the floor in the bathroom.  There isn't a lot of room in there.  Ginger and I were behind her while her mom and Marcile were in front.  Now that things were really getting down to business, I was ready to just get out of the way and let Ginger do her thing.  She had a different idea.  While helping Jenny to get situated she asks me, quite casually like it was no big deal, if I wanted to catch the baby.  I wasn't expecting this and didn't really understand what all that implied, but I said, "Sure".

      I could see Anna's head just starting to emerge.  It didn't look like I expected, though Ginger had explained how it all worked.  It was small and wrinkly and, it may sound insensitive, but I remember thinking that it didn't look human at all.  As the head came out a little bit further, Ginger told me to put my hand under her head and to put a little pressure downward on the back.  On the next push, her chin and mouth popped out.  It was beautiful and a little unsettling at the same time.  She still looked doll-like, not really alive.  With the next push, her arm came out with the rest of her head.  I was able to grab her by the body now and Ginger said to go ahead and pull her the rest of the way out.  What had been a strange, foreign thing was now a beautiful, screaming baby girl.  I was surprised at how strong she was as I held her there on the bathroom floor.  I had been expecting a small, fragile baby but she was big!  and strong!  Then Ginger had me slide her forward to her mother, leaving me quite dazed and overwhelmed.  It had been a long, stressful night, but it had been worth it!

My Version:
      The burning was intense and was more so when I pushed.  I had no desire to  continue with that feeling, but knew that this baby was only coming out one way.  Through the encouragement of my midwife, her birth assistant, my husband, and my mom I pushed past the pain and felt her little head emerge.  The hardest part was over, at least that's what it felt like to me.  With another push, the rest of her body seemed to just slide out.  Anna (pronounced Aw-nah) Renee was born at 1:29AM on February the 16th of 2012.  Immense relief overwhelmed me and I hung on my mom while I cried with joy that it was over and also at the sound of my baby's cry.  Ty slid her underneath me and I picked up my brand new daughter and held her against me.  I couldn't believe it.  I had just given birth.  She was beautiful and complete.  Four years of waiting for this little person and she was finally here.  The word "surreal" was used multiple times following her birth.

      Once I had her in my arms, it was time to move to the bed where an older sheet and a cover where put to protect it from getting anything on it.  The chux pad that was underneath me during her birth was folded up and held by Ginger and Marcile and we somewhat awkwardly made our way to the bed.  I continued to hold my little sweetheart while I delivered the placenta.  At 1:35AM I was technically, now, considered not pregnant.  Ty then cut the umbilical chord and the placenta was examined where all was found to be normal.  During the delivery, I sustained a minor 2nd degree tear.  Mostly it was just skin, but there was a small amount of muscle that tore.  I also managed to have some swelling.  Ginger numbed me and stitched me up.  I believe that she said I had 11 stitches total.  Four for the muscle and seven for the skin.

      After I was cleaned and stitched up, I was able to feed Anna. My dad had been downstairs the whole time, though I think he might have fallen asleep.  I finished feeding her and my dad came upstairs and helped measure her and then she was weighed.  She was 8lbs. 15oz. and 21.5 inches long.  Her head circumference was 35cm.  I knew she was a big baby!  Dad got to hold her before he had to leave for home.  Finally, everything was taken care of and cleaned up, I laid down with my baby Anna next to me and slept.  FINALLY!

 

Birth Plans

      Yup.  You read that right.  I have birth planS.  Three in fact.  I'm still surprised at how many women don't know about putting together a birth plan.  I think most people just assume that the doctors and nurses know what they're doing and there's no reason to assume that you would do things differently.  While I understand that mindset, I also believe that doctors and nurses are doing things for their benefit and time.  I also think that they can get so used to doing things a certain way that they don't give much thought to other ways of thinking.  Please don't think I'm trying to put any of these professionals down, I just like being able to do things the way I believe is necessary.  At any rate, I have three birth plans to accommodate the different scenarios in which I may end up delivering my baby girl.  You can read each of them by clicking on the link attached to each. 

Home Birth Plan

Non-Emergency Hospital Plan

Cesarean Section Plan

      Something that's important to remember is that I'm not expecting things to exactly according to plan.  That should be obvious considering how many plans I have.  Haha.  Mostly, I want to atmosphere to comfortable and relaxing.  Considering how uncomfortable I will be, shouldn't I try to make the environment one that puts me at ease? 

      I'm curious, has anyone else made a birth plan for any of their deliveries?  I was talking to a friend of mine who hadn't heard of them before her pregnancy and she said something about it made sense that doctors and nurses not liking them because they get in the way of their job.  I don't think I can say that that's a good reason to keep from making one.  Again, I know that things don't always go according to plan, but should I have to give up my opinions and beliefs because it's inconvenient?    I don't think so Tim.  You probably have, indeed, made a birth plan, but just didn't put it in writing.  As long as you are getting the birth experience you are striving for, I'd say you're doing pretty dang good.  

Why I'm Choosing a Natural Home Birth

 I want this shirt!

Source

      Since announcing my pregnancy and my decision to have a midwife assisted at-home water birth , I've gotten a lot of "You're braver than me" type comments.  The truth is that is so not even a little bit the case.  What's true is that I've figured out what I want from my laboring and birthing experience and it's not something I'm guaranteed to get by going to a hospital where they try to control the situation.  Truth be told I never grew up thinking I would have my babies at home.  The idea seemed archaic and out of practice.  I remember once in Elementary School a friend of mine, Courtney, mentioned that she wanted to have her babies underwater and I was shocked and thought she was crazy.  (I think her mom is a Labor and Delivery Nurse so that's probably what prompted the thought.  Or maybe it was TV.)  In High School, my best friend, Megan, said that she was going to go without drugs and again I thought she was nuts.  Didn't she watch TV?!  Hadn't she heard the horror birth stories of the women who had gone before us?  Her own mother gave birth to a plethora of children so she must have known that it was a horrific and extremely painful process.  Hadn't anyone explained that you start saying "No Drugs" and then the pain kicks in full-force and you're begging for an epidural?  That's what I knew, so it made sense that someday when I was pregnant I would go to a hospital and they would drug me up and I'd pop out a baby.  Done deal.  (I realize it takes a great deal more than that, I'm just generalizing and summing it up.)

      Now, however, my opinions and outlook have changed almost completely.  While I still believe in the power of modern technology, medicine, doctors, and hospitals doing some amazing things to save lives, I also believe that a woman's body was made with the specific ability to bear children.  It wasn't an idea that I came up with all of a sudden though.  I feel like certain things in my life helped me get to a point where I could accept Natural Home Birth as an alternative to a multiple-intervention hospital birth.  Despite how I had felt about birth before, I never liked going to the doctor.  In fact, I haven't been to a doctor for something since High School.  My Mom being from Europe, a continent that embraces natural and holistic healing, was always there telling us that there were natural remedies we could use that would be much safer than your typical off-the-shelves drugs.  (That's not to say there isn't a time and place for certain medications and that I don't use some of them.) My Dad was a RN and so I always had taken on his stance and thought she was silly and all this natural stuff was for the birds.

      When I was going to school for massage it further enforced my burgeoning belief that the body had ways of healing itself.  A whole world of healing and holistic thinking was opened to me and I really started seeing things from a different perspective.  One of my brother-in-law's introduced us to The Body Code and muscle testing and it didn't take long for our family to jump right in.  Now, what really turned me around and got me thinking more about Natural Home Birth was when my friend Jenna of That Wife became pregnant and would post about her journey and experience with a midwife and her choice for a home birth.  I was impressed with the research she showed and information she shared comparing the risks and benefits.  But what really got to me was the type of experience she said she would be having at home compared to what it would be like in a hospital.  I knew right away that that was how I wanted it to be for me.  Also, I watched The Business of Being Born and that really got me going.  Great documentary!

      Since taking more of an interest in this view, I've found out a few things about the ladies I'm related to.  Both my Mom and Ty's Mom gave birth to ALL of their children naturally, though in hospitals.  I think I was even more impressed by Ty's Mom because those are some big headed boys.  :)  Then, come to find out my Mom was born at home, as well as two of her siblings!  (One was not able to be due to complications.)  How I never knew any of this before blows my mind.  I'm hoping I'll be able to get some of these birth stories from my Omi because I would love to hear what her experiences were like.  To get even crazier, my Aunt is a midwife!!!  It's like the universe is shouting at me to have this baby naturally.

      I found a blog that listed 10 reasons why she chose an unmedicated birth.  To read it go to this link.  Seriously, go to the link.  I'll wait here....................................................You're back!  Hooray!  Though, I haven't yet experienced it, I agree with everything she wrote*.

Here are some of my own reasons and benefits of giving birth at home:

1. I want to avoid interventions.  I always believed they were necessary, but have come to find that's not always true.  I would rather not be induced, particularly, because these drugs are not the same as my own body's hormones doing their job and working at a natural and normal rate.  I also want to be able to do this without nurses and doctors giving me weird looks and feeling like the place where I'm having my child doesn't support my decision.
2. My home is the most comfortable place I can be.  All my stuff is here and I know where it is.  I can roam around in my own area and not feel awkward that I can't go somewhere.  There won't be nurses coming in and out of the room.  The atmosphere and mood will be what I set it as. Also, I won't have to wait for a room to be available.  The room where I will have my baby will be available until the baby starts living in there.
3. Immediate contact with my baby.  No rushing her off for tests.  This baby and I are already forming a very special bond and I'm so anxious and ready to pull her up onto my chest and hold her and start that physical touch bond as soon as she is on the outside of my body.
4. Breastfeeding as soon as possible.  I'm still not sure if I'll do this immediately after birth or when they have been checked out and I'm "comfortably" sitting up in my bed once again holding my newborn, but hooray for having the choice!  Again, I want to begin that special bond with my baby very soon.  (Can you tell I'm a super big Feeler personality?!)
5. During labor, I can eat and drink.  I would like to stick to healthy choices of course and things that help keep my energy up.  Hospitals, generally speaking, don't allow that.  I have read that you can do it as long as they aren't in the room, but I don't want to have to be sneaky and stressed.  I want to be able to go into my kitchen, grab an apple or a sandwich from my fridge and munch on it if I feel the desire.
6. It might sound silly, but I really want to have that "I am WOMAN and I did this.  BOOYAH!" moment.  It may not be said aloud, but the thought will be there.  Believe it or not, I'm really insecure and I know that I will have moments of doubt.  However, one of the things my midwife said to me in the initial consult that made me feel like she was right for us was, "The body can do it, it's just convincing the mind that you can."  SO TRUE!
7. Laboring and birthing in water is believed, and proven for many women, to relieve to some degree the pain you experience during this time.  Make no mistake, I'm expecting pain and discomfort, but when I learned about this method, I knew this was something I wanted to at least try.  Who wouldn't want to utilize a way of easing their pain?  There are some hospitals that let you labor in water, but when it comes time to push, you have to get out.  Sad day.
8. Like birthing in water, why wouldn't I want to give birthing at home a try, if I have no complications?  Low-risk mothers giving birth at home have the same risks that low-risk mothers do who go to the hospital.  If any complications arise, we are literally a 3 minute drive from the hospital.  However, I'm fully confident in my abilities as well as the skills and knowledge of my midwife. 

*  Keep in mind when she says there are no risks with an unmedicated birth, she's not talking about the risks and ranging possibilities that can come along with most births.  When you receive meds during labor there are risks to each of them.  It's that way with any medication you take.