Home Birth Vs. Hospital Birth

Well, my first four (yes, I know that sounds crazy) were born in hospitals. One Virginia boy. Two Jersey girls. One Florida girl.  I have had positive experiences. No hospital horror stories, though I do hear a lot of those.  With all my girls, I had an epidural.  I have concluded that it definitely slows things down and birthing a child is nothing to slow down. I have also concluded that it is not as necessary as you might think.  I didn't miss a nurse waiting on me.  I didn't even miss getting served my meals.  I didn't miss waiting to leave the hospital...for some reason that takes forever.  I didn't miss sitting in that bed. Just sitting. Watching TV in that bed was always so boring.  Number five came along and I decided to change it up this time.

Liam's story:  Contractions started ten minutes apart while driving Eric to football practice.  Really not that bad. I actually welcomed them.  Having something, anything...get started was long awaited.  My due date from my ultrasound said that I was due Aug. 26th. SEVENTEEN DAYS LATER...contractions on the way to football practice.  (My LPM date was Sept 8th...he was really just four days late.)  Sadly the contractions stopped but I did put my midwife on alert.  1:51 am come along.  WHOA! It became apparent that Liam finally wanted out. But I had no idea when to call Misti, my midwife, after all she is a mama to six so I really didn't want to wake her.  Like I said, Liam really wanted OUT, so just thirty minutes went by and I called.  Since we live in the middle of nowhere, I knew it would take her a while to get out here.  I walked around my bedroom. Slipped into the tub for a bit.  Held on to Misti.  She had magical fingers on my back with each contraction.  It was time to push. I was on the floor on all fours.  Then I ended up on the bed in the same position. Liam was born just after 5am and he greeted by his brother and sisters when they woke up for school.  It was so weird to be able to move around.  In a hospital I was always hooked up to monitors and unable to do anything but shift from one side to another.

This is where I sound like a hippie:  This all happened the way is was supposed to happen.  God gave women this gift.  And he equipped us to know how to do it.  We just don't know that.  We think we need to read more, study more, and talk about horror stories and medicate the pain.  I kept asking Misti, "What do I do next?"  My mind wanted info...I have always listened to the nurses tell me shift...shift...shift.... I didn't know how to give birth.  I didn't know what to do next.  Misti told me to do whatever I felt like.  I found myself moving from each stage of labor to the next and my body adjusted. It knew what position to be in. It knew how to bring forth life.  Liam came out. Life happened.

Family helped. With food. With laundry. With the kids.  I was so thankful to bring Liam into our family in our own home.

It's My Birthday, I'll Blog If I Want To

So it's been long over due. (Much like most of my library books).  Time to blog.  Here are the ideas that I've wanted to write about for so long now.

-Home birth vs. hospital birth
-Liam Jude: blessings and challenges
-Kid updates-new school year...
-I completely skipped over Halloween pictures. But I do have Thanksgiving ones.

I am wondering how long this will take me.  Everything takes longer when you have an infant.  Hours and hours longer.  But it won't get done if I don't start.

But first...someone's crying in his crib.  Off I go...