Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Au naturale...

I am 6 weeks away from my due date. I said to George, not too long ago, "Honey, I really want to go all natural with this one." He looked VERY surprised and said something like, " But that last one was really nice, right? With the planned induction and the epidural?" And I am sure he was thinking, "The one I got to sleep through a lot of?" Well, I was induced for reasons that don't apply to this baby, so I really want to go natural. I have done it one time out of 3 and am scared to death. Plus, the epidural is given between the L4 and L5 vertebrae and that's where my herniated disk was this past summer. I would like to avoid that again at ALL COSTS! I know I could do it if this birth is just like Natalie's. That was fabulous! But I am older, fatter, and much more "broken" than I was then. 4 pregnancies in 5 years will do that to you!

So I guess what I want to know is what worked for any of you? Did you have natural births and how did you do it? I know a few of your stories ( because I got to be the doula:) but does anybody else have one? Can you do it with just your hubby as your coach? George is a great coach I must add:)

Please, send me your birth stories! I want to hear them all!

6 comments:

Deb said...

Well I think you might remember Racheles birth story but I'll recap it a bit... I was induced and had no drugs. Kenny I said that drugs would be nice after I got into my room and the nurse said honey your to late and he was born with no drugs within a half hour of being in my room. So I am a big fan of no drugs, I guess it really depends on if you can handle the labor and how the baby does. At the last minute both Kenny and Rachele had heart decelerations and it became very ergent to get them out but it all worked out they are perfectly healthy. Lee was awesome as a coach. He really helped me keep focused when it was so important to be focused. Keep in mind every baby is different and may have different plans and you can testify to that. If it was me I would try natural and go from there. My biggest issue was not having enough time to adjust to the changes my body was going through during labor exspecially with Kenny.

joanna said...

Granted, I have only had one, and had to go natural NOT BY MY OWN CHOICE. Anna, DON'T DO IT. Please, save yourself. There is technology for a reason. Not every natural birth is easy like it was with Natalie. You're taking a risk...but you may have a high pain tolerance.

Shanna said...

Anna you are my inspiration to have a baby with no drugs. While every birth is diffrent, only your own body will know what it can and cant handle at the moment. But my plan for our next child is to go natural. I just hope to find as good of friend as you to help me. (seeing as how Im not there.) I would never have concidered going with no drugs if it wasnt for you to tell me what a great experiance it was. But in the end you will know what is best. Good luck with your decision.

Abbey said...

Hi Anna! See, I'm glad you are going through this before me. :) I can't have an epidural because of my crooked back, so maybe that makes my decision easier. Since I can't have the good stuff, I'm going to go for the gold and go natural. The way I look at it...there have been millions of women who have done it, why not me? The good news is that you can have a plan and then change it once you are in there. Good luck!

Sariah said...

Well, I'm not much of a help here since all three of mine were born by c-section. Aiden's was an emergency (but I had an epideral first, and I can tell you I would NEVER try birthing without it. If you want the full birth story, I'll email you or something), Dallin was a required repeat (hospital rules), and Parker was a repeat because everything was going exactly as Aiden's birth had, so we decided to save ourselves some time and just go for the c-section. No, they didn't put a zipper in me, but my doctor did say I'm good for another baby or two.

I went into labor with each kid, and I firmly believe we are here at this time to use the medical advances we have. :) However... if you can go natural... more power to ya! It's good for some, not for others. :)

emily said...

You obviously know my story, so if you can coach me as well, you can do it. Now, if only I could coach YOU! You can so do it!