Home Birth

I was just talking to my sister, and was surprised that she didn't know we were planning on a home birth. So, for anyone else out there who hasn't been told, WE ARE PLANNING ON A HOME BIRTH!!

I am excited about the actual birthing process of my baby for the first time. There will be no uncomfortable drive to a hospital. No intrusive nurses trying to follow standard procedures. No machines or tests to refuse. No midnight wake-ups just to have my blood pressure checked. No waiting around until someone else decides I am ready to go home.

Instead, we will all get to stay home where we are comfortable. We can eat our own food, sleep where and when we want, listen to music, watch t.v., whatever... There will be no strangers here with us. We will be surrounded only by people we know and trust.

I have two great midwives, Marlene and Kaleem, of One Heart Midwifery. They are kind, caring ladies with many years experience helping babies into this world. When the time comes for Desmond to be born, they will come to our house and support us in any way we need.

During our first visit, while talking about a water birth Marlene said, "Our goal is to keep our gloves dry." I love the idea of getting to have this baby without being poked and prodded. Of being able to look down and see my baby instead of an assortment of strange faces. I will get to catch my own baby and be the first one to touch him.

So far, my care has been extremely pleasant and noninvasive as well. Right now, my appointments take place at the home Marlene and Kaleem work out of. There has never been anyone else there while we were. The exam room is comfortable with big chairs and lots of toys. There is even a playhouse the kids can climb up into and play in. We usually spend about an hour talking and checking on Desmond. Best of all, I haven't had to get naked yet! According to my midwives, there is no reason for them to do an internal exam until they need to determine that Desmond is in a head-down position and can't do so from an external exam. Phew!

As I mentioned before, I am planning on a water birth. I love my bathtub! I spend many hours there a week. It is my favorite spot in the house. Rowan says she is going to get in with me for Desmond's birth. I love that she will be able to do that!

To prepare for the birth, the girls and I have been watching lots of home birth videos on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/results?orig_query=water+birth&search_query=home+birth&orig_query_src=2 Some videos are not for the squeamish, so beware!

Here's a link to the Wikipedia entry about home birth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_birth

This site talks about home births in general. http://www.pregnancy-info.net/homebirths.html