Pioneer women squatting behind a tree giving birth would scream "Give me that epidural, NOW!"

So, birth classes have been interesting...the perk of them is that they are the one thing Daddy really gets to do that includes him in the experience of being pregnant! 2 hours a week for six weeks, and whammo! You know everything there is to know about the birthing process. OK, so not really, but you really do learn so much that you have to decipher which stuff you want to use and which info you want to let slip right on out the other ear. The thing that got me most was that we finished watching an epidural movie, and it listed the pros and cons of having an epidural. I have absolutely nothing against women who get epidurals...God gave us the intelligence to be able to create them, and I know many women love them, and if a woman has been in labor for hours upon days, why not give her body the rest?! I also know I could totally change my mind when the time comes, but I, for one, am NOT enticed by the idea of:

having possible fever, sweats and chills
possible vomiting and diarrhea
a possible migraine for 2-3 days after
a needle being stuck in my back (YUCK!)
not being able to walk and move around as much as I would like to (I want to be in the BATHTUB, for Pete's sake!)
and, worst of all...
my baby's heartrate and breathing possibly slowing down

I know all of these are only possibilities, but I would definitely rather endure labor for 12 hours and get it over with than have a migraine for 3 days following. There isn't much worse than a migraine, in my opinion, and 1 day of pain is way better than 3! So I was talking to our prenatal teacher about this, and she is PRO-EPIDURAL (even though she's never given birth) and she said that giving birth is not something for which you get a medal of honor for enduring the pain. I wanted to reassure her that it was not a medal of honor I was seeking, but a lack of all the other crap that goes along with getting one. She told me that a pioneer woman squatting behind a tree giving birth would scream, "Give me that epidural now," so why not take full advantage!?

I had to laugh. Those poor pioneer women. They were so strong they could probably survive a lot more than the rest of us. I wonder, actually, how many of them didn't find birth to be THAT bad because they didn't have epidurals as a way out so they just braced themselves for what was to come and knew they HAD to get through. I say that only because I have read or heard somewhere that our perception of labor has changed because women tell horror stories about it as if it's not something that thousands upon millions of women have survived for millenium. I am practicing the self-talk that tells me "I can survive...my mom didn't even have epidurals back when she had me and she survived, my grandma didn't have them either and she survived," and I hope to be able to go without as well. I just want to live every moment of the short experience, the painful and the not-so-painful. I am not telling any other woman that this is the right thing for her, only that it feels like what I want to be the right thing for me!

The other things we learned in our birth class...they either do an episiotomy on first time moms or they tear, in 99% of cases. Yeah, took this one to OB/GYN and he said it is NOT true. He said they have ways of helping the head to come out without cutting or tearing and that they will only do it in emergency situations. We also learned in birth class that they won't let you go over 41 weeks at Valley View Medical Center. Checked this one out with doc, too. He said that it is not uncommon for a first time mom to go over (even by two weeks) and that while he would monitor the baby a lot, they will NOT make you give birth just because you hit week 41. That was also reassuring, since I have heard that being induced makes labor even more painful. My mom was overdue with me (due on the 4th and I was born on the 20th) so I am not in any rush to give birth just because I hit 40 weeks. After all, I am still normal (at least I think so!) and I was born when I was good and ready! But, my favorite part about prenatal classes was learning all the possible things I can do during labor...take a bath, walk, dance with my husband, listen to music, roll on the ball, and lots of other things I totally want to try! And I can't try them if I'm flat in bed without the use of my legs!

So, adventures in birthing have been quite like following the election that just took place. You have to hear it all and then research for yourself what is true and what works for you. That's what I've been doing. Oh, and at my last appointment I asked my OB/GYN which pediatrician he recommended. He said he likes them all, but it's a matter of getting the right personalities together. I asked him again who he would recommend. He said he would recommend Dr. So and So because he is soft-spoken and we'd get along really well. I had to look at him to make sure he was talking to the right person, because a doctor soft-spoken enough might run the other direction if I dished out a little of my teasing. The ladies at the front desk of the OB's office said that they go to the "soft spoken pediatrician" who IS NOT soft-spoken at all and that they LOVE HIM! So, who knows what to expect going in...but at least he comes highly recommended!

Oh...how could I post a blog about my OB/GYN and not mention my weight!? Last time I went in, he said to me, "I won't mention the 48 pounds you've gained since it seems to be a sensitive subject, but you were really small to begin with." I laughed right out loud. I mean, besides Corban hearing the doc comment about my weight and being the literal person he is and taking it very seriously, and telling my mom on the phone that I have gained too much weight, I am really not worried about it! It's all in my stomach. Have you seen the rest of me lately...I mean, yeah, my feet get fat some days, but other than that, I look just like I always did. So, anyone who's concerned about my weight...suck it up and don't worry! There is one HEALTHY chubby little baby in there! And, for the record, the doc's records are wrong...I have only gained 40!

Oh...and when the doctor learned I hiked to Upper Emerald Falls, he didn't have a word to say! He isn't even SURPRISED by what I get up to anymore ;) Okay, so he did say one thing..."It's a good thing you are in shape!" he said!