Pregnancy..the second time around.

Yesterday I let my obstetrician know that I wished to have a natural birth, out of the hospital, with a midwife whom I had already hired. This was very difficult for me. You see, I love my OB. She is great. She was wonderful when I birthed Joey. But, she's an obstetrician. I am not having a C-section, nor is my pregnancy one of high-risk, so I feel that I have no need to see her or visit her in the hospital on delivery day. My birth-experience with Joey, as I have always said, was not a negative one. However, why I needed to be in the hospital and hooked-up to all that machinery is beyond me and I am not making that mistake a second time around.
As most of you know, I have fallen in love with Midwifery. My path to midwifery is such an obvious one. When I was 36 weeks pregnant with Joey I up and left Charlotte OB/GYN. Something in my heart told me that this was not a practice I should have ever visited for my pregnancy. When I had a doctor who I had never even met before (there were soo many in the practice!) tell me at 35 weeks that I may need a c-section because my baby was so large, I was stunned and knew he was wrong. My body was made to deliver the baby inside me! Of course you want to cut me open...you can schedule the surgery and then go home for dinner. Sorry buster, but NO WAY.
I made the switch to woman owned and operated, Arboretum OB/GYN...making closer strides toward the birth experience I felt pulling my heart strings. Still scared and lacking information, I went forward and delivered vaginally after 10 hours of laboring and 13 minutes of pushing...with an epidural. The experience was powerful, but still lacking.
So now here I am, pregnant with (bio) baby #2 and ready to embark on one of the greatest adventures on my life...the birth experience I always wanted but never knew it until after Joey was born. A natural birth-experience. No hospitals, no machinery, no flourescent lights, no one telling ME what I need to do for ME and MY baby, and no whisking my little girl away after birth to suction, weigh, and scrub her down...these things can wait until after she has met me. I want to be her first experience. Not cold scales, bright lights, and rough towels.
When I was pregnant with Joey, my pregnancy was my main focus during those 9 months. This time, all I can do is fantasize about labor and delivery and the joy of birthing my daughter in the comfort and privacy of my own home. As I wait for that day to come I am loving studying to become a midwife myself. I feel becoming a midwife is so important to keeping the beautiful practice of midwifery alive. While more and more women are having their eyes opened to natural birth and it's benefits, there are still great strides to be made in the area of birthing. I want to be a part of those strides. I want to make a difference and empower and educate Mommies and Mommy-to-be's everywhere.
Want more information on Midwifery? Try out some of my inspirations:
Video: Ricki Lake's, "The Business of Being Born" and Book: "Your Best Birth", also by Ricki. She has become a great advocate for midwifery!