Here We Go...

We had our first OBGYN appointment today for Little Human #2, and I loved finally seeing him (yes, I said "him"; I just can't say "it") in there. Pictures make it seem so much more real. I don't know if it's been because I am more sick this time around, but it's been harder to feel like there is really a human growing inside of me. It was fun to his little arms and legs and hear a heart beating.

The Little Human's Official Debut

We spent some time in the doctor's office today, talking with her about our options. I am really interested in doing a waterbirth at home. A waterbirth is when you labor and deliver in a tub or birthing pool (which looks just like a kiddie pool). The main reasons that I'm interested in for doing a waterbirth is that I'd like to try to have Bella naturally and water is used as a great pain reliever. It may be all in the mother's head, but I'm up for whatever works.

My motivation for a homebirth is simply that the options for a waterbirth in a hospital are very limited. From what I've seen so far, a lot of the hospitals provide birthing tubs that are like jacuzzis. This may seem really weird, but those tubs seem so hard and uncomfortable to me. I like the idea of using a soft-sided tub in our own environment.

I've read a lot of articles and watched a lot of home videos, and from what I've read and the research done, there is no danger of the baby breathing in water when it first comes out. The umbilical cord is still attached and the baby gets oxygen that way. Plus, the baby is quickly pulled out of the water and onto the mother's chest; the baby isn't left with their head underwater.

We talked to the doctor today about potential warning signs that would lead us to change the plan and head to a hospital. She was very informative and gave us sound advice. She also gave us some medical centers in the city that deal with homebirths, so that was a good lead. At the end of the day, I'm not making this decision because I don't like doctors or hospitals or medical intervention. I love the way Bella was born and the hospital and doctors rocked my world.

This is just an "I'd like to see if I can do it" moment. I don't know if that sounds selfish; I hope not. As we move forward, if it seems like this option is simply not a safe or good idea, I have absolutely no qualms about changing the plan. And honestly, Steve's only about 70% on board at this moment. I'm not willing to do anything that he's not 100% with. He's agreed to do his own research and keep an open mind. We're moving forward to finding a few different midwives that we can interview.

So there it is! Our "baby story" so far...