Taking Responsibility

So I'm sitting here on the couch watching Harlee squirm and stretch from the inside, daydreaming about the day he'll be doing that on the outside, wondering what he'll look like and sound like and feel like in my arms...  I can't believe the due date is only 7 weeks away!!  And he could even arrive sooner than that!  I've read statistics that pregnant women who take Juice Plus throughout their pregnancy as their prenatal "vitamins" usually always carry their babies to term, meaning 37-40 weeks, and usually not any later.  I've been taking it regularly, and loving it too I must say - I really believe I owe my easy, healthy pregnancy to it!  I'm considering getting into selling it too, but that'll come later on... I've got way too many other things to think about!  Like the arrival of this child and the fact that 7 weeks is not a lot of time, especially considering that it could be less than that.  I also read that women who get regular chiropractic adjustments throughout pregnancy usually don't wind up carrying late either.  Well I've been going weekly since January, and I really think that's contributing to how good I feel too!  Harlee's head down and ready to go, so my fears of him being breech are at ease.  I'm also excited because I've learned that the spinal nerves that feed the uterus have the chance to be much more open and functioning at their best when the vertebrae surrounding them are in proper alignment, resulting in quicker, easier labors.  Horray!  I really hope that holds true!

I read an awesome line from Painless Childbirth by Guiditta Tornetta that I want to share:

     God would not have made you capable of bringing into this world a child if the only way to do it was through excruciating pain.  Birth is our Divine right; it is the one moment when every woman becomes one with the Creator.  Focusing on this oneness with God in any occasion will allow the sensation of pain to dissipate because there can't be pain where God is.

How beautiful is that?  It just gave me that much more confidence that yes, of course I can do this!  Anyone can do this!  We were created to do this!  And I'm honored to have the opportunity to experience it in its fullest.

Last night Justin and I did our homework for our childbirth class, Naturally Prepared, which is a class designed for parents planning an out-of-hospital birth.  I love this class because we don't focus on what drugs are available or talk about any hospital procedures, instead we get an education on the hormones that are at work in a laboring body and the muscles responding to them and different ways to work together as partners to birth our baby easily and smoothly.  I'm so blessed to have found this class.  And as I was saying, we have homework each week, which has become an excellent bonding experience for Justin and I, giving us the chance to talk about our expectations and desires and even fears (sure beats sitting in front of the TV watching the Outdoor Channel!!).  This week our homework was to watch Orgasmic Birth, a documentary on women who have transcended the element of pain in their birthing experience, and why that's possible.  You probably just read that title and said, "Oh my, what a bold title for a documentary..." or something to that effect.  Or at least that's how I responded when I first heard about it!  "Orgasmic" birth?  That might be a bit over the top!  But no, it was actually very beautifully put together, and talked about how your baby should be birthed into the world the same way he or she was created - in privacy, quiet, dimmed lights, an intimate and loving setting with just you and your partner, and only accompanied by people you feel comfortable with and trust to assist you in this journey, with no interruptions.  While watching this Justin and I felt, once again, so grateful to know that this is the exact setting we're going to be able to have for the birth of Harlee.  Specialists were interviewed and talked about how important it is to NOT have interruptions, and they shared their knowledge about the human body, and how a laboring woman needs to be left to be in her "zone" so that her body can do the work it needs to do.  She needs to be allowed to take her time, and reach her destination at her own pace.  At a hospital, you have constant interruptions, fetal monitoring, questions being asked, your cervix being checked, your vitals being monitored, and for some reason a time limit on everything - some hospitals are a little more lenient with how long a woman is in labor, but some are ready to administer drugs to speed things up after only ten hours!  That seems a bit hasty...  The movie then showed a few hospital births, one that resulted in an epidural and the other resulted in a c-section.  It was so frustrating watching these women just surrender to the doctors.  "Well, the doctor says this is what's best for my baby, and I want to do what's best for my baby."  Did she not once stop to think, wait a minute, I've carried this baby in me for nine months, certainly I'M the only who knows what's best for my baby?  Women aren't given the chance to allow their intuition to do the job it was meant to do, and by God we most certainly have an intuition!  I can't imagine where I'd be if I hadn't been tuned into mine all along...  And we ALL have it!  It's a powerful tool that's going to assist us through the rest of this child's life, why not use it from the very beginning?  That's another thing that frustrated me - we are responsible for the children we carry and raise.  I am responsible for Harlee, as he is my son.  I will see to it that he is fed healthy meals, that he gets proper exercise, that he has clothes on his back and a roof over his head, a tub to bathe in and good role models to learn from.  He is my responsibility from now until the next eighteen years of his life.  Shouldn't I take full responsibility for him in these nine months?  Of course!  I chose not to drink alcohol, I don't mess with drugs anyway but I also avoided any pharmaceutical drugs, I did my best to eat healthy and exercise, and like I said I've been seeing a chiropractor and also getting regular prenatal massages.  Everything I do reflects on him, everything I consume he consumes.  I am directly responsible for his well-being right now as he is growing inside me.  So when he is born, am I not responsible for that critical moment of his life too?  Shouldn't I continue to avoid drugs?  Shouldn't I be completely and totally tuned into my body to know what's best for him and his safe arrival?  This is not the time to relinquish my control of the situation to any "medical professionals" that think they know what's best for me or my child!  Certainly they are good to have there if a complication arises, and I hope to have someone I can trust make the right decisions if I am faced with a complication, but while everything is flowing smoothly, I will labor as long as Harlee needs to make his entrance, I will continue to choose not to put drugs in my body as I did throughout these 9 months with him because he is still part of me and will also feel the effects of those drugs, contrary to most beliefs., and I will make sure he enters into a joyful environment and remains in the safety of his parents' arms immediately after his birth and for as long as he needs to be there afterwards.  I apologize for getting on my soap box about the drug thing, that's probably a controversial subject, but from what I learned I just can't imagine numbing myself at a time when I need these sensory nerves to be functioning at their best!  It's like the doctor on Orgasmic Birth said - if you numbed your feet, and then were expected to walk, it's going to become a very difficult journey for you!  That's exactly what's going on here - you're on a journey, how are you going to reach your destination smoothly if you're numb to the experience?

One last thing.  Now that word is getting out about our decision to have an out-of-hospital birth, a lot of people are asking me and Justin the same questions - "What if something goes wrong?"  Well, if that happens, we'll be transferred to a hospital.  But odds are for us that nothing will go wrong.  Statistics show that when left to have a completely natural birth, only 10% of women have any sort of complications during it that would require a hospital's attention.  But unfortunately those other 90% of women are birthing in hospitals to begin with, where they are constantly being checked, interrupted, asked questions, and due to all of that their labor is slowed down, which then results in doctors wanting to administer drugs to speed things up, and then a vicious cycle has begun, because the drugs to speed things up make everything more painful, and therefore mom wants an epidural, and after so many drugs and so much time, the baby goes into fetal distress and then it's time for an emergency c-section.  Sadly, then, mom and dad say "Oh thank God we were at the hospital, our baby would have died if we hadn't been!" when in fact it was the hospital that created the problem in the first place.  So that being said, I firmly believe we won't have any trouble.  And if I happen to be one of the 10% of women who do wind up with some sort of complication, I will still take full responsibility for the decisions that are made for me and my baby's well-being at the hospital.  As well any mother should.

Alright, I feel good having gotten that out!  I know I can get very opinionated so hopefully nobody takes anything personally - I'm just trying to provide a bit of an education to anyone who is embarking on the beautiful journey of bringing another human life into the world.  And hopefully inspire people to embrace what their bodies are designed to do, and to do it beautifully! :)