The Benefits of my Hometown

Well, in my last post I mentioned that I am seriously thinking that I would prefer to have a home birth. I feel very fortunate to live in a town that not only is progressive in it's thinking and ideas, but is also very suppostive of a person's right to choose what they want. There are a number of families in town that have chosen to have home births and rather than the people in town being dismissive or negative, they have been quite supportive. I am lucky because I now know of at least three families who have very recently had a home birth, and I am so grateful to all of them for being so open with me about their experiences. Because my husband, M is not fully sold on the idea (he is concerned with safety and he's not quite sure about the strangeness of having a baby outside of a hospital) I am relying on the stories of these other families to help show him how awesome it can be. I have done such a large amount of research regarding my birth options and I know what I want, but I understand why he may be a little apprehensive about having our experience be outside of a hospital. When I have mentioned to some people that I am seriously thinking home birth is the way I want to go, a majority of them seem confused that I have made this decision despite not actually being pregnant. However, I have always been a planner. It makes me feel more comfortable and it helps me feel ok with decisions I am making. I am scared beyond belief about having a baby, but only because I can't really plan it. I have no control over what happens and that is scary at best. I think females in general would understand my sometimes overwhelming fear that I may not be able to get pregnant at all. I am young(ish) and I have no serious health problems, but there is still the fear that something will happen that will prevent me from becoming a mother.

Too Early For A Birth Plan?

As I mentioned before, I have been reading like crazy about getting pregnant, being pregnant and giving birth. For most of my life, I assumed that I would give birth in a hospital, probably with drugs. Until a few years ago, I didn't even realize that there were other options. And now, having so many resources with so much information, I have come to the conclusion that I will either have an midwife and doula assisted home birth, or try for a natural doula assisted birth in a hospital. Because I will be a first time mother, the thought of not being in a controlled setting with easy access to medical interventions if needed kind of scares me. Plus, my current insurance doesn't really allow for anything other than a hospital birth. However, my gut and my head and my heart for that matter, really would just prefer to give birth in my home. I feel safe in my home, comfortable and at ease. I want to be able to walk around and smell the smells that are familiar and comforting to me, rather then be in a hospital with so much noise. Quite honestly, the idea of how a hospital smells is somethng that fully turns me off from hospitals. I also can't bear the thought of not being able to move around the way I want. I have had a chronic illness for most of my life that has a high level of pain associated with it and the way I have dealt with that is by moving around and being able to be in a cool dark room. It is so important for me to really give myself an opportunity to labor naturally and to give birth naturally. I feel confident in my decision right now, but I can imagine as my life progresses and I actually (hopefully) get pregnant, I will change my mind in some way or another. But for now, home birth is seeming like the best option for me.

New Year, New Plan

Well, it's finally here... When M, my wonderful husband, and I got married, we decided that we would start trying to get pregnant in June of 2012. I started taking pre-natal vitamins in January (Nature Made Pre Natals) and I've been getting myself ready by reading everything I can possibly get my hands on. I am meeting with my obgyn next week to have my pre conception appointment, and I have so many questions and things I want to know. I'm nervous and excited and so many other things. Most of all, I can't wait to get the green light to start trying. My friends aren't at the same stage as me in life, so I'm taking it to the airwaves. I hope to be able to have an account of our trials and successes of trying to get pregnant. So, here we go I guess... Hang on for the ride!