Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A Birthy Thanksgiving

I found out that Preparing for Birth is doing a blog carnival for Thanksgiving on being grateful for our birth experiences, so I'm joining in. I have so much to be thankful for with my births, both good and bad.

In my First Pregnancy and Birth:
  • I'm grateful that I found information about natural childbirth. The paradigm shift I experienced changed me forever, and having had both a pro-epidural and low intervention attitude, I understand better where people are coming from.
  • I'm grateful that I asked questions of the OB I had been seeing and realized his policies were not good obstetric medicine so that I didn't end up giving birth with him as my provider.
  • I'm grateful that I found a wonderful midwife group who took me at 34 weeks and were very supportive and made me feel comfortable.
  • I'm grateful that I learned how harmful going to the hospital too early can be.
  • I'm grateful that I experienced pitocin induction, so I can sympathize with other women who have had it.
  • I'm grateful that I had an epidural, both because it was what I needed at the time and because it taught me to be able to tell other women that sometimes the epidural is the best choice for that particular birth.
  • I'm grateful that my epidural worked as it should, not too numb and not ineffective, and my baby was born without needing any further intervention.
  • I'm grateful that I tore so I can empathize with women recovering with perineal stitches.
  • I'm grateful that my husband was exactly what I needed him to be through the whole experience.
  • I'm grateful that my birth experience was not exactly what I wanted because it inspired me to prepare more for my second birth and was part of what inspired me to pursue a career as a birth professional.
  • I'm grateful for my beautiful, healthy little girl, who is now almost three.
For My Second Pregnancy and Birth:
  • I'm grateful that I ended up with an amazing OB, who restored my faith in the profession.
  • I'm grateful that I experienced the benefits of using Hypnobabies during my pregnancy
  • I'm grateful that I can compare pitocin induction to spontaneous labor.
  • I'm grateful that I got to labor as long as I did in the comfort of my own home.
  • I'm grateful that I learned that I had the power to make my birth much more comfortable with focus and relaxation.
  • I'm grateful that I progressed smoothly and arrived at the hospital at 8 cm, which further removed the temptation of pain relief.
  • I'm grateful that I didn't know I was GBS positive so I didn't go to the hospital earlier, and that my baby was still healthy.
  • I'm grateful that I learned how hard it can be to maintain focus with hospital distractions.
  • I'm grateful that I wasn't able to keep using my Hypnobabies during second stage so I can understand how intense natural childbirth can be.
  • I'm grateful that I did not tear and got to experience how much smoother recovery goes with an intact perineum.
  • I'm grateful that my nurse carefully read my birth plan.
  • I'm grateful that my husband exceeded my expectations as a birth partner.
  • I'm grateful that my mother-in-law did not circumcise my husband, so my husband and I easily agreed to leave our son intact.
  • I'm grateful that my experience with this birth reinforced my interest in becoming a Hypnobabies Instructor.
  • I'm grateful for my beautiful, healthy 8 month old boy, who thinks he is a toddler already.
My babies have truly brought me a cornucopia of blessings :)

Kessel- Der Erdteil Europa - Rome - Detail Füllhorn
painting by Jan van Kessel the Elder [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

2 comments:

  1. I loved reading this! I especially like how you take instances that some would look at as hurdles and turn them into positives and things to be grateful for. You are going to be an amazing doula.

    I learned about this blog carnival after the fact; I would've loved to participate.

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  2. Thank you so much for honoring your children and the blog carnival. I would love to attach your post to it..

    Desirre

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