Our Beautiful (and unexpected) Homebirth: Part 1

A bunch of things have happened this week that have brought me down memory lane to reminise and relive one of the most beautiful and intense days of my life....the day Josiah Anthony Teryek was born.

I'd like write it down, before I totally forget...it has already been 8 months after all (wow!) The details are a little fuzzy, but the warm, contented felling still resides deep in my soul.

When I first found out I was having a baby I couldn't wait to make that first exciting Dr's appointment. I could imagine hearing his heartbeat, seeing him on an ultrasound, and having one of the midwives deliver the baby. I pictured it all going down at a hospital (why not..) and I expected that I'd probably get an epideral (again, why not...)

I started off with a midwife group I had worked with before and I got an ultrasound the first  trip in (awesome!) Everything time I would see a new midwife and I wondered who would be the one on call when I went into labor. I saw a poster of laboring positions at their office and was pretty intreaged by all the options. All of them seemed better than laying on your back (going against gravity didn't seem too smart). After this I started researching options like birthing stools, birthing tubs, and all sorts of unconventional options that I didn't see in the movies.

At my next appointment when she asked "Do you have any questions?" I finally had something to say! I asked a dozen questions about tubs, positions, walking around, etc. Every answer, came back a very tactful "Well that would be against hospital policy" or "We aren't allowed to do that" or "We don't use those here." Hmmmm....very disappointing. But what choice did I have? There weren't any birth centers anywhere near me, so this was the it was going to be.
I eventually resigned to the idea that I would be laying in a bed for most of my laboring and certainly all of my delivery.
After 5 months of thinking I had that I had no real options a good friend of mine who is a Doula (birth assistant) and a childbirth educator offered to do a childbirth class for Brian and I and another couple. After weeks of scheduleing conflicts we finally met up.....that night changed the course of the birth of my son and will forever impact how I feel about childbirth and birthing options.To be continued... :)