getting excited

Up until this point, I've been a little apprehensive about giving birth at the Naval Hospital, because I didn't really know what kind of procedures the doctors there favor or how much they're going to let me call the shots. The best conception I could gather was mostly from probing the midwife that I go to for my regular check-ups at the OB clinic in town, Cdr. Sirois. Unfortunately, there's only a small chance that she will actually be the one delivering me, given that there are about six other midwives and a few doctors that rotate shifts in the birthing unit, and I have no idea how the rest of them will respond to my wishes for a completely natural birth.

However, yesterday I got to take a tour of the hospital and the birthing rooms they have there, and I must say, they are amazing! Lots of room, a nice big bed, rocking chair, and a small hide-away lounger in case Michael gets tired. There's a private bathroom attached and a shower inside, and let's not mention the TV and DVD player to get us through the long hours of those first couple stages. The woman that showed us around even explained how things work with the whole process, and it sounds like I have nothing to worry about. They're not going to force too many medical opinions on me or take my baby away two minutes after he's born. I might have to make a stand against having an IV, fetal moitoring, and the Vitamin K shot, but I've had a couple people assure me that they try to respect the wishes of the parents, so I feel relieved that there won't be a ton of pressure. I might get the birth I want.

One more thing that makes me incredibly hopeful for the big day is that there is another midwife I've seen a couple times, once at about 26 weeks and again just today, that I am completely in love with. Her name is Ms. LaMaire, and I'm practically planning my delivery around her schedule at the hospital, which means I'm shooting for sometime between 8pm on the 23rd and 8am on the 24th. I just know that I'd have the best experience if she was the one attending. While getting to know each other a little bit, we discussed my beliefs about pre- and post-natal care, how I'd like the delivery to go, and agreed with each other about everything. Like she really seems to be one of those midwives that favors natural or even home births, but just happens to work in a medical facility. I really appreciated her feedback and advice for how to manuever around the system, her referral to a pediatrician that won't mind so much when i opt out of vaccinations, along with a few suggestions for books and documentaries I should look into.

I went straight home and watched The Business of Being Born, which was pretty awesome I must day. Not only the light that they were shining on the subject, but the rawness in the footage, was very inspiring. Every time one of those babies came out and was placed in the arms of his or her mother, I broke down into tears. They were happy tears, mind you. I can't wait for that moment, to look into his eyes and say "Hey there, I'm your momma."

Just one more week...