I found out I was pregnant the end of May 2010. I knew exactly when I got pregnant, but since the plans had been to stop after number three, I didn't want to push my luck in thinking I was really pregnant if I wasn't. (Since I wasn't at all against having another baby, my husband just thought it good to stop at three.) Anyway, a pregnancy test confirmed the suspicion. My husband came home from work and I told him, only to get a "you've got to be kidding" response. Not exactly what a newly pregnant woman wants to hear. After a few minutes of it settling in, we were both excited about the prospect of a new little baby!
Things started out like they did with my other pregnancies. I immediately started feeling sick and tired. Nothing out of the ordinary, just nauseous and extra tired. Lots of naps were in the agenda. I made my appointment at the ob/gyn I had seen with my first two children. (I had to switch doctors with baby number three, but was able to switch back for number four.) I went to the first two appointments before I decided that this wasn't for me. I had been reading as much as I could about natural birth and how much better it is for both the mother and baby. After going to the ob/gyn, I just couldn't bring myself to continue seeing him and have yet another typical medicated delivery. I talked to several people including the doula I had met through some friends at church, and decided I wanted to switch to a midwife instead. Margaret Strickhouser is one of the best known in the Atlanta area, and since I could see her on my insurance, I went ahead and switched over to her practice. This changed everything about my upcoming delivery. I went from having prenatal visits close to my house to driving down to Atlanta for every appointment (a more than 60 mile round trip - after dropping my kids off at my mom's house). I would also be delivering at Atlanta Medical Center instead of the MUCH closer Gwinnett Medical Center. Atlanta Medical was the only choice if I wanted to see Margaret Strickhouser, but I chose that too with the thought I would be able to do a water birth. Everything I had read about natural delivery made me want to try for a water birth or at least some laboring in the water because of the soothing abilities of being in the water during contractions. I kept reading everything I could on natural birth including Ina May's Guide to Natural Childbirth and The Joy of Natural Childbirth, as well as any blogs and other posts I could find on the subject. I also decided that I wanted to hire a doula to help me during labor. I met a doula at a friend's baby shower and was impressed with her knowledge and understanding of laboring women. I met her once to see what we wanted to do and then again to actually sign a contract. I was quite excited by the prospect of doing things differently. I went to a meet and greet with the Georgia Birth Network and got some more information natural birth and how having a doula during labor could be such a great benefit. I definitely agreed and had my mind made up that I was going to deliver this baby without any medication. I kept this idea in my head the entire pregnancy and did what I could to prepare for it. The hospital required me to take a water birth class in order to be able to use the water pool at the hospital, so I did that as well. It was just a basics of what to expect or not expect in the water and what things might disqualify someone from getting in during labor (including having meconium in the water when your water breaks).
I was quite impressed with the difference of care between seeing an ob/gyn and seeing a midwife. The ob/gyn I saw with my first two pregnancies was very nice and I liked him well enough, but appointments were quick and really not informative at all. My first appointment with the midwife lasted well over an hour (that was in the actual room with the midwife in there as well). She talked and talked and talked to me about birth and what I wanted and what I could expect and what she would do to help, etc. There was no rushing or quickness about any of it, and I was definitely informed about everything that was going on. That's how the whole pregnancy went. All appointments were as long as I wanted them to be. Any questions were answered thoroughly and accurately. It was exciting, anticipating just how different this delivery would be compared to the others.
