So between starting school, and having Jed move back it seems like life has gotten really busy, so I haven't had time to post anything. However, there is really not much to post. I have been really busy, it seems like every night this week I haven't gotten home until almost 8pm or later. Between class, doctor's appointments, yoga and Young Women's I am feeling exhausted.
The only thing I can really update you with is that the baby is growing everyday and getting very strong. Sometimes it is very agitating to have him rolling around and kicking...it can drive me crazy, especially when Jed starts teasing me and poking at me also, they are already teaming up on me and sometimes it pushes me over the edge.
My chiropractor is into the whole natural birthing process and gave me some interesting information about all of it. Between her and my yoga class, which has many "natural women" who are all planning natural births has sparked my interest so Jed and I watched the movie "The Business of Being Born" a documentary about natural home births with midwives. It was.....interesting, they made some very interesting points about natural births. Don't worry, I am not planning on getting a kiddie pool and delivering the baby in my front room. But as far as epidural or no epidural...as natural as you can get in a hospital... I don't know yet how I feel, but it gives me a lot to think about, and makes me wonder if I could or even want to.
I would just say keep your options open. Don't feel like you have to prove anything by going natural or that you are weak by having an epidural. All deliveries are different. I was scared to death of an epidural until those contractions started coming hard and fast. And as soon as my delivery was over and they unhooked me I immediately started getting feelings back in my legs and was fine. I know people who were able to do natrural with one child, but not the other. All labors are different and for some the contractions weren't that bad, or they were more manageable, for others, like me, I felt like my insides were being ripped to shreds...so it just depends!
ReplyDeleteI am all about the epidural. In fact I do not start really dilating until after i get one and can relax. Both Ethan and Olivia were born 45 minutes after getting my epidural. I was 5 cm dilated with each of them at the time of the epidural, and very shortly I made it to a 10. A couple of pushes and out they came. Now Carter was a whole different story, but he was 9 pounds and 9 days late. But the 2 and half hours of pushing would have been unbearable (and almost was as the epidural wore off before I was done getting him here, but that was the "old" way they administered them, the new ones with the pump work so much better).
ReplyDeleteI also like the fact that I am in the hospital if anything goes wrong. And the doctors don't hurt to have around either. With Carter, he got stuck because he was so big and he turned halfway down the birth canal. It is nothing short of a miracle that we are both alive as the doctor reached up in and had to turn him back face down. Olivia also started experiencing heart stress when I was almost to a 10. They caught it on the heart monitors and as she came out the doctor had me stop pushing (which would have been impossible if not for the epidural) so he could unwrap the knotted umbilical chord from around her fist. Again, miracle, since the lack of oxygen during delivery would have caused some permanent problems.
Dearest Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI echo the above sentiments. My biggest priorities during birth were the health of my baby and my own.
I'm scared to death of needles and also wondered what an epidural could do to my baby, but after 12 hours of contractions, the sweet relief of suddenly feeling *no pain* and being able to take a nap while I continued to dilate was heaven-sent. In addition, our daughter was 1) turned around as she came through the birth canal (and the doctor turned her around as well) and 2) pooped inside me about 30 - 60 minutes before I began pushing, which led to both of us having a fever when she was born. It was a blessing to have the NICU on hand to double check her a minute after she was born.
No matter what you decide, just make sure you get a lot of information from a lot of different sources. Talk to Jed and talk to the Lord. You definitely still have time to sort things out. And feel free to bring up any specific-to-you questions with your doctor. That's why you're paying him/her the big bucks. ;)
"The Business of Being Born" sounds like an interesting documentary. Some of my sisters have had home births, and I want to learn more about natural births before I make the decision. So I think I'll check it out!
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