Why I want a natural delivery / Working on Week 42

Well, of course because my aunt, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were in town my baby girl decided to stay cooped up in the womb for another weekend (as of 1am Sat. night/Sun. morning).  It was just too convenient for everyone for her to come out.

I was super excited about 5 minutes ago because I was feeling LOTS of tightness.  However...brace yourselves...it was just a system-cleansing moment.  I was excited about that too thinking that maybe my body was prepping for labor and it was just one step in the right direction.  Nah--I'm feeling back to normal now.  Maybe I'll wake up later and feel some more tightness.  One can hope!!

I was super down this morning when I woke up and realized it was about 8:30 and nothing had happened and I didn't feel anything different.  I definitely feel frustrated.  I don't know why it's such a big deal since I know by the end of this coming week she'll be here because medically they will want her out by 42 weeks.  I don't know if I'm disappointed because I have to keep going to work (this makes little sense because I love my job, and I can take Monday off if I need/want to) or because I'm sick of waiting or--and I think this is the winner--because I'm afraid the delay is ruining our chances of having the delivery totally naturally.

I think if we have to induce it'll reduce my chances of being able to go without any kind of medication whatsoever.  Here's why:

Option 1--Break My Water

This is the most natural way to induce labor.  However...there's no guarantee at all that this will actually start contractions.  If it doesn't, then I'm out of luck because we have to deliver within 24 hours of them breaking it, so I'll have to get pitocin to get things rolling.  

Option 2--Small Dose Pitocin

I'm not a fan of this because I have to use pitocin in general.  However, the idea is that we'll just do a small dose to get things started, then take me off.  I'm so upset that this would be my only other option to get things rolling.  :(  I'm afraid that if we use it to get things started the contractions will be too strong to handle because they'll start strong and sudden--not build up.  It's harder to manage the pain naturally with little warning.  Also, it's a fake hormone, so I'm afraid it will block my natural oxytocin levels and keep me from feeling the energy surges with different stages of labor and the high afterwards.  I think this is the thing I am the most afraid of having to deal with (this option).  It will totally throw off our plan, which I know can happen--and I thought I was prepared for that, but I am not.  I want to go naturally--or at least have the chance to.

Why go naturally??  

Man, people think we are crazy for trying this, but luckily I have a lot of really good friends and family that are supportive and have done it themselves!

1. It's the best thing for the baby.  It decreases the risk of stress on the baby (unless there are other risks in the pregnancy possibly) and there are no drugs in baby's system--an obvious benefit.  Baby comes out more alert too--which should help with breastfeeding!  Why make that more challenging than it has to be?

2.  Natural high afterwards unlike anything you've ever experienced from a flood of oxytocin (pleasure hormone) to the system.  Selfish--but good motivation!

3.  Epidurals slow pregnancy down and drag it out; plus you can't feel where the baby is heading or how hard you are pushing.  Why drag this out more than necessary?  

4. Pitocin makes contractions longer and stronger, which can stress the baby out--without needing to do this!  I watched a documentary that also said that the use of this with an epidural can lead to a higher risk of c-section--it's a cycle.  Epidural slows things down, get more pit to speed things up, need more epidural to soften the pain, more pit--lots and lots of stress on baby--c-section to remedy it.  I don't know the scientific accuracy of this--but why risk it?

5.  C-sections are major surgery--I'm not interested in getting one unless necessary for the baby's health.  I'm shocked that people opt for this because it's "convenient".  

6.  In the past doctors have used medication for pregnancy without knowing the full extent of the effects and bad things have happened.  How do we know that pitocin doesn't have some negative impacts that we haven't figured out yet?  With all of the disorders and allergies there are--natural is a good option just incase some of these drugs contribute to those issues.

7. I like a challenge?  Some part of me is really excited to see how we do in there--me and Brian working together and focusing on our little girl instead of me.  I'm excited to see Brian coaching me and keeping me focused and to see how I can handle pain--and how committed I can be to this even though it's going to be super tough.

8. Bragging rights...sure--why not?  That isn't my motivation to do it, but if I can make it I think I'll be pretty proud of myself and Brian for doing it this way.  I am SUPER proud of my friends and family who have been able to do it or have made it as far as medically possible for them to do it!  This includes two of my sisters-in-law, one of my good friends from high school, and a great girl in Ohio who went to a summer camp I worked at (these are the only people that I'm totally aware of doing it).  I think they are amazing for doing such an awesome job with labor and for pushing through obstacles and going for it!  Like I said, some went through all the way, but some weren't able to because of medical reasons.  I think that's what I'm afraid of--is not having the chance to finish.  Imagine going through 9 cm's of dilation and about 24 hours of labor only to have to have a c-section because of something you can't control.  To me, that's even harder--you did all of that work just for them to take it all away.  So props to you sis-in-law!  

Props...yes...I said that.

So....we're still sitting at home with our bags all packed and our timer ready along with a sheet outlining how to measure the contractions....just waiting like little puppies.

Better get some rest incase she decides to come later.  I keep saying this...so I'm very well rested.  

Thanks for all of your thoughts/prayers/hopes for us to have her soon!  I appreciate it!


**EDIT**
I forgot to mention, we tried something new to induce labor.  I'm not proud of this one, but my brother insisted that it worked for some people he knew (more than one person, too).  I had a half of a shot of tequila today to induce labor.  We've had two possible contractions as of 1:30 am...so...maybe it worked?  Or at least helped?  I did also do a ridiculous amount of squats today.  I'm not getting too excited yet though...we'll see.