38 weeks and counting

Here is a picture of me from tonight, I just wanted to share with all the distant family and friends the massiveness of my belly!

I have hit the point that all women that have children say "Oh, you poor thing, it will be over with soon." When I started to get that response I really wasn't "there" yet. However, let me just say... I get it, I really get it! I'm not sleeping, I can't breath and getting up to get a glass of water (ok, actually just ice :)) makes me completely winded and ready to pass out.

As I reflect back on my pregnancy I feel really blessed. Every midwife appointment I had I was reassured with great news of, "everything is perfect, she's doing great, and you are doing great." For a first time mom it is just the start of the fear that you have of whether or not you are doing everything right, whether or not you are a good mom. Other then the 6 months of nausea (which was so horrible, and I hope to forget that time so I am not afraid to have any more children), my pregnancy has been healthy and blessed.

I had the honor of being present at my sister's two oldest sons birth. One was in a hospital, and one was at home in a tub. After seeing the difference between the two, I knew that I wanted to give birth at home. THEN, I got pregnant on my honeymoon unexpectedly and was thrown into a massive amount of self-doubt. (Wait! Am I crazy? Do I really want to do this?) I went through a bunch of emotions but after meeting with a midwife Wade and I knew where God was leading us, and that was a homebirth.

Even after making the decision I had some doubts, and honestly had SO much to learn. Today, I am confident, and excited and I could not imagine my birth in any other place but my home, and in water!

The reality is that the standard for birth should be that all women give birth at home, and then the small amount of high-risk pregnancies, or the little ones that decide to come early-should be born in a hospital. The hospital is designed for people with medical conditions. Giving birth is the most natural thing for a woman. The miracle of it all is amazing as you learn what a woman's body was created to do.
The truth is, more women would be giving birth at home if our society didn't create such a fear mentality for women. It makes sense... women have a fear of being "bad mothers" and so people play into that fear with things like "I'm worried about this, so you need a c-section", "The baby is a little big, so just to be safe I would feel much better if we induced labor." The reason why so many women think that they NEED to be in a hospital is because of all the people that tell them "just in case". However, when you actually do your research you discover that there are very few emergencies that you would have to go to the hospital, and all can be detected at prenatal visits BEFORE your due date.

If there is anything wrong, then of course you go to the hospital. The problem is, that if you start there it is like they find ways to intervene. You are breach you need a c-section. Your labor is not progressing fast enough, you need to be induced and then you will need a c-section. All of these things they consider "emergencies" are not emergencies at all! Every woman is different, every labor and birth is different.

My husband and I are excited to be able to make our own informed decisions during labor. I am excited to welcome our baby girl into the most peaceful environment without people grabbing at her, taking her away from me, or rubbing painful things in her eyes! We can recover as a family together in our own bed and not have to deal with doctors telling me "what worries them" just for their own convenience (long labor? What? I want to go home! You want me to catch the baby while you squat? But then where will I sit?).

I encourage everyone out there to take a look, do some research so that the next time you, or someone you know gets pregnant, you are informed.

One of the best resources out there right now, that is turning into a movement is a movie called The Business of Being Born. It is a movie produced by Ricki Lake. She had a bad experience at a hospital and was interested in doing a documentary on the state of birth in the U.S. She discovered some crazy statistics (Did you know that the U.S. spends twice as much on births then anyone else in the world, but yet we have the second highest mortality rate in the developed world?)
Go to the website: www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com You can find information on release dates, viewings in your area and watch the trailor here
You can also check out this other bloggers review with a more in depth description here

Thanks for listening to my rants, and I hope that it will challenge the ideas you have about birth. I can't wait to see this beautiful baby, and I can't wait to post and tell you about my "birth story".

Lots of love to you all.