When I had my first baby (Devon James) I was walked all over by this feminist doctor out of St. Mary's Ozaukee. From the moment she walked in the room she was clearly frustrated that I had inconvenienced her by going into labor. Every time she came in the room she would make noises of disgust and tell me that I wasn't doing it right. She mentioned doing a C-section many times in my 2 1/2 hours of pushing but by the grace of God Devon came into this world without one. I knew that I didn't want to experience this again. Jack was a completely different story! I had an epidural that allowed me to sleep through most of my labor and I was woken up when it was time to push him out. I was well rested and he flew out in 2 pushes! While I was thankful for how this labor went I also had some side affects from the epidural (I believe). I lost a lot of hair, I would find fist fulls in Jack's hand as well as I broke out in awful hives for almost a week. Two very different experiences. Then our family changed... John came home from a work conference where a speaker spoke about the hidden things in our foods and how they affect us. John immediately went through our cupboards and fridge showing me everything that we ate that was questionable. Even choices like yogurt he showed me that there was about 5 different versions of sugar in it. At this point I was struggling with my weight after having the two boys and wondered how much of it was this "fake food" we were eating. So I started incorporating more natural things, using as many fresh fruits and vegetables as I could when making a meal. I started cutting up fruit onto a plate for us to eat for dessert. The weight came off, I became healthier and I began to LOVE food in a way that I never had before.
After making all these changes to the way we ate it carried over into this pregnancy. I didn't gain very much weight this pregnancy (the picture is of me at 38 weeks) but ate as much as I wanted because the choices I made were better. Instead of having ice cream each day as I craved with Devon and Jack I chose to have grapefruit and sometimes multiple grapefruits! Noticing the different this all made I began to wonder the effects of an epidural on me... on my baby... and then wondering what else may have affected us as well. A friend of mine introduced me to a midwife and before I knew it at 30 weeks we decided we were going to have a home birth. John was skeptical at first, afraid of what could go wrong but before long was excited to tell others about our choice. I knew that if I was in a hospital I would be so tempted to opt out of the pain with an epidural and so of course I went towards the extreme of a home birth. Both my other boys were almost 2 weeks early so when I made it to week 39 I was feeling SO overdue! It was Thursday morning at 4am I began having uncomfortable contractions, the ones you can't sleep through and hurt. By noon my midwife came over to see how I was doing and told me that I wasn't progressing because our baby's head was too low, blocking my cervix from moving forward. She showed me some positions to do in order to move our baby. I did this the rest of the day. By late afternoon my father in law came and took the boys for us as we hoped that we would have this baby soon. We ate pizza, drank a beer (which I had permission from my midwife) and made cookies from scratch. I was told to try and relax, try to sleep. John and I went to bed and an hour later I got up because I couldn't sleep and began cleaning my house. I eventually called my midwife and she came over to see how things were progressing and to my utter disappointment I had made little progress. I cried. She told me that my body was too exhausted from contracting all day that I couldn't progress and she prescribed me a sleeping pill. She said I needed to completely relax so that my uterus could "reset itself" and move forward. By this point I was willing to try anything. I took the pill, slept 2 hours and woke up at 3:30am and my water had broken! Hallelujah! Because of the pill I was a little groggy, I couldn't figure out how to work my phone to call my midwife! John took over though and really stepped it up. I get emotional even now thinking about how my husband took care of me that night/morning. Our midwives had gotten there around 4am and the rest is a blur for me. While I was having contractions I would just think of John's name and all of a sudden he was there for me to wrap my arms around his neck and breathe through the contraction. I felt grounded, supported in his arms. He filled our birthing pool in between contractions and I was able to get in. The warmth of the water instantly soothed me and I was amazed by how calming it was. I remember being left alone in the room a lot with just John. His presence and arms around me. I remember being in a lot of pain and all of a sudden knowing I needed to get into a certain position to relieve it. John later told me I was swimming all over the place! I had no idea how much time had gone by, it was such a blur in my mind. I was so focused on me breathing and getting into positions. Very calmly my midwife entered the room and told me that I could push out the baby, that it was time if I was ready. I couldn't believe that I was ready for that?! She hadn't checked me the entire time she had been there but I didn't hesitate and began pushing. Fifteen minutes later I felt a head pop out.
They helped me out of the pool and into the living room to lie down. John held Oliver while they took care of stitching me (Oliver came out with one arm up, causing a tear). It was all a blur again and I could feel that the sleeping pill was still in my system and I needed rest. The midwives weighed my sweet boy, 7 lb. 2 oz. and measured him (21 1/4 in.). John made me a bagel that I took a few bites of (the midwives won't leave until you eat something). Soon I was all tucked in. I felt nurtured, cared for and so comfortable in my own house. I couldn't believe that in just over 3 hours since my water had broken I was holding a sweet baby boy, born at 6:44am.
John and I spent the day laying around the house together, staring at this little miracle in our arms. John's dad brought our boys to visit their new baby brother for a short time and then we were content to sleep and rest after they left. Our midwife came back to check on us the following 3 days and was so encouraging as to how well I was healing and how fantastic Oliver was doing. 
Oliver is our healthiest baby, gaining weight far better than his brothers. I have also had my best recovery yet and hardly lost any hair, yay! Five weeks after Oliver was born I taught my first yoga class and it went wonderfully! There are so many benefits to going more natural that it is hard to cover them all. There are so many interventions that are unnecessary. By working with a midwife I was given every option and explanation. I was able to make the choices on what I wanted to have done instead of being told what was done to my baby. 
My midwife smiled at me before she left the house and called Oliver's birth a "pure birth". I loved the term and stared at my little one knowing I wanted to give him the very best I could and then wishing I would have known what I do now to do things differently with my older boys. Instead of regret I am choosing to focus on who God is refining me to be.
"Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31. I know that the Lord has been preparing me for this by changing the way that we eat and the way we live. He is the potter, we are the clay.
Every birth is unique, no story is better than another but I can tell you the difference I experienced with Oliver was that I felt empowered through his birth instead of discouraged. I was told that I could do it instead of being told that I needed an intervention to accomplish this. I relied on my husband in ways I wasn't able to with my older boys, I needed him. The days following Oliver's birth I would come to tears over how much I love my husband (John would joke about my rushes of hormones) but I know that a big part of it was the bonding that we were able to experience through this birth. I praise the Lord for providing for us. Isaiah 58:11 says, "The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs and will strengthen your frame." My prayer for other mothers out there is that they not fear childbirth but experience God's design of it, whatever that might be for them. Home birth isn't for everyone, I am not sure I would have been ready for it with my first baby but I am so blessed by this experience... I want others to be blessed as well.
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