Crunchy.  Yep, that's me.  I breastfeed, cloth diaper, eat whole grains, buy organic, drink raw milk, use herbs, and generally stay far, far away from medical intervention.  In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times our family has been to a doctor (outside of the OB's office) this year and last year combined.  Not that I hate doctors--some of my favorite people just happen to be doctors by trade, but b/c I prefer to treat as best I can at home b/f running to the dr's office for an antibiotic or some such thing.

So, WHY would I choose to go to an OB to have my babies when I could homebirth w/ a midwife--or at the very least, birth in a free-standing clinic w/ a midwife?

It all comes down to a simple phrase a dear La Leche League leader said to me as she helped me work through the trauma of my c-section:

Have the best birth YOU can have.

(For more information on C-section trauma and what you can do to avoid another c-section, click on the link below:

ICAN : International Cesarean Awareness Network)

You see, I sought out this doctor specifically b/c I had heard she had a fantastic VBAC rate.  I dearly wanted a VBAC and she was confidant I could do it.  Sure enough, 2.5 yrs after my first child was born via emergency c-section, we welcomed baby #2 via VBAC.  It was a beautiful experience--and a healing one.

Shortly after her birth, we felt convicted to leave our family planning up to the Lord.  Now, at this point I considered a midwife, but I had 2 things standing in my way.

1.  I was a VBAC and now carried the risk of a uterine rupture.

2.  I had not yet labored w/o the help of an epidural.

Honestly, #2 worried me WAY more than #1.  I had always wanted to go naturally and med-free, but w/ a c-section that is impossible, and w/ the VBAC, when I wasn't dilating, the epidural was a last-ditch effort to avoid a c-section (and it worked).  Besides all of this, I was attached to my doctor.  Here was someone who had helped me get what I had wanted.  When M was born, she was right there cheering me on.  But would I ever be able to have the med-free birth in a hospital setting?

I had a rather long break between baby #2 and baby #3--back to back deployments and a miscarriage that resulted in a D&C.  I had plenty of time to think about exactly what I wanted and how to get there.  A friend of mine was preparing for a Bradley birth, but I was skeptical.  I had taken Lamaze twice and it had done nothing for me, so what would yet another method do?  She shared her book w/ me and tried to explain many of the concepts, but I only absorbed it in cynical bits and pieces.

I went into labor w/ baby #3 determined to do my best to get a med-free birth.  However, the ONLY thing I did to help my cause was to get a hep lock instead of a full-blown IV.  This was b/c I really knew nothing about laboring positions and I was "worried" about what the hospital staff would think of me getting out of bed. *gasp*

Well, it became apparent rather quickly that this labor was going to be rough.  Later I found out that baby was posterior and that is what caused the incredibly excruciating pain that had me begging for an epidural 12 hrs into it.  It was then I figured I would NEVER have a med-free birth.  I just couldn't seem to pull it off.

7 months later I found I was pg again.  Even though I had lost hope of a med-free birth, my husband and I still took a tour of a local midwifery clinic.  We were impressed, but we could see the trepidation on the assistant's face when we told her I had never not had an epidural.  In the end, I went to my OB b/c by this point she had seen me through 2 miscarraiges and 2 VBACs and she was more than willing to accomodate whatever hair-brained idea I came up with (which included not inducing against hospital's advisement.)  I had a hard time imagining not having her delivering children.

As I began to labor w/ baby #4, the same friend who had now had 2 successful Bradley births (both in hospitals) came by to take me to her house and give me a massage while I waited for my husband to arrive to take me to the hospital.  While we there, she talked me through a lot of the breathing/relaxation techniques she had learned.  She massaged my belly hard w/ each contraction and told me over and over how I could do this.  I was amazed at the difference.  When my husband picked me up, I gave him a crash course on my crash course, but on the way to hospital, I lost my resolve.  Was there any way this really could work?

To make an incredibly long story shorter, I labored for a mere 3 hrs at the hospital w/ my doctor and my husband by my side.  I was up, down, and all around in that L&D room.  The end result was a 10 pound, 22" boy born completely med-free!!!  Both my doctor and my husband played such a huge role in this birth that I can no longer imagine going to anyone else.  I AM having the best birth I can have!