And the Kick OFF...

Well, I started feeling the baby kick a week or so ago. But today, I am starting to feel it quite a bit more. I was looking through Munckin's Baby book and saw that I had recorded her first kick around 15 weeks, with this one, I was 14 weeks. It makes me so excited to feel what I'm going to feel over the next few months. As I've been reminiscing about Munckin's birth, I have been thinking quite a bit about the actual birth, and what I want with the delivery of my next child. I delivered my daughter after 4 days of labor, 18 hours of which was in hard active labor at the hospital. I was given pitocin after 8 hours, and declined ALL pain medication during labor. Why is it that we live in a society where birth is a "medical condition." I've given thought to the idea of birthing at home, even. However, not only is my Hikari not comfortable with the idea, but I have serious anxiety issues about it, and for me, a hospital birth gives me the peace of mind that I need in order to relax. When I was in labor with Munckin, the nurse I had kept offering "other forms of pain relief." Did she not get the memo? I politely declined, but was quite frustrated that she wanted to sabbatoge any efforts that I had made to experience this without any medication. In the morning when the shift changed, not only did I have a nurse who had actually HAD children, I had a nurse that gave me support for my decision and even had suggestions on breathing and labor positions. My doctor was on board with me from the beginning and understood my desires, of which I am grateful.
I guess these past few weeks, I have been thinking about what I enjoyed about Munchkin's birth, and what I want different. I think that a better education on my part would have led to a more successful birth experience. We went to one birthing class while I was pregnant, and the nurse was certainly not "pro-epidural" but she wasn't openly against it either. She let all the women know that whatever their choice, they will probably have to get through a few hours of contractions on thier own, and it would be helpful to know some breathing and position techniques. But she also explained each of the different procedures that may or may not happen. Not once did she discuss the pros and cons to each procedure, but what it was and how they did it. What they never said was that every single one of them was in interference with the natural process that our bodies are made to do. I think there is certainly a place and a need for some of those procdures, but all too often, women go in expecting to have an IV put in, a pitocin drip started, an epidural placed, and episiotomy performed, and foreceps used. That when one says, I'm going to have a baby, that's what they have to look forward to. Women have been birthing children since the beginning of time. And I know that until the last century or less, they were born without those procedures.
When we first were married, I had told Hikari that I think I want to have a natural child birth when we have children. I did a little research and decided to move forward with it, against the advice from many women who had recently had children, all with epidurals. But I have a craving to go into this one armed with as much information as I can get my hands on, so that every decision I make and every nod of my head is an educated decision and not just because "the nurse/doctor told me that's what I should do."
If I have my appendix rupture I would more than likely nod my head and say, "because the doctor said I should probably have it out before I die." But when it comes to my own child...to doing something that my body was made to do, to doing something that is not a medical emergency, please let me have a baby in a hospital, but let me have my baby, not "perform a medical procedure."