We were so blessed to welcome James David into our home 1 week ago. No he wasn't born in the van but we decided that we would just have him at home with a midwife and then we wouldn't have to worry about making it to the hospital. Turns out the joke was on us and James was in no hurry to get here. There were lots of perks with our homebirth. Dave didn't have to make multiple trips back and forth to the hospital and the kids got to see their brother right after he was born.
All those of you who have given birth will wonder, I am sure, how everything works out with home birth-the mess, the other kids, etc. Without going into details, it all worked out fine and luckily I had the baby when all the kids were asleep so no one was traumatized by the noise. We had some neat experiences-Dave was very involved with the birth, I felt totally in control through labor until it came to pushing, and I love being at home (though that first night I would have loved a hospital nursery to help with the baby). But it still hurt, in fact it hurt a lot. I don't know if we would do it again at home or that I would say it is the best way to have a baby. I liked the experience but ultimately for me the pinnacle of the labor/birthing experience is the miracle of birth and how a baby that big can come out of me and be a living being that is both part of me and my husband. That miracle has nothing to do with natural, epidural, hospital or anything else. I am always amazed that I have given birth and that even though I feel that it is a great sacrifice of my body, I still don't think my efforts are worthy of the beautiful baby that I now hold in my arms.
All those of you who have given birth will wonder, I am sure, how everything works out with home birth-the mess, the other kids, etc. Without going into details, it all worked out fine and luckily I had the baby when all the kids were asleep so no one was traumatized by the noise. We had some neat experiences-Dave was very involved with the birth, I felt totally in control through labor until it came to pushing, and I love being at home (though that first night I would have loved a hospital nursery to help with the baby). But it still hurt, in fact it hurt a lot. I don't know if we would do it again at home or that I would say it is the best way to have a baby. I liked the experience but ultimately for me the pinnacle of the labor/birthing experience is the miracle of birth and how a baby that big can come out of me and be a living being that is both part of me and my husband. That miracle has nothing to do with natural, epidural, hospital or anything else. I am always amazed that I have given birth and that even though I feel that it is a great sacrifice of my body, I still don't think my efforts are worthy of the beautiful baby that I now hold in my arms.
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