Four years ago, I was sitting at home patiently waiting to go into labor with my first child. I was very young and naive, but extremely excited for the future. I had it in my mind that I would be the perfect mom. I planned to have a natural unmedicated childbirth, I would cloth diaper, exclusively breastfeed, make babyfood, and never turn on the TV.
And so it all began. With little knowledge but the love and support of my entire birthing team (including...gasp...my OB) I was able to check the first off my list, I had a natural childbirth. Once home from hospital I was welcomed with a big stack of diapers from (gasp again) our local diaper service. Check two. Breastfeeding came easy and since I stayed at home, I had no real obstacles. Check three. Baby food made. Check four. TV was never on while baby was awake. Check five.
When Bubba Love was 9 months old we found out we were pregnant again. I was ecstatic! I was doing such a "great" job as a mom and couldn't wait for double duty. Welcome morning sickness... TV came on. Oops, that wasn't in my plan! Oh well:) For the most part, TV was the only thing I gave into.
With the foundation I had from my first experience (which worked out more from luck then knowledge) I was able to nurture my goals into passions. I began to read ALOT, mainly on childbirth. I realized how fortunate I was to have a supportive OB, who in the end wanted to see me succeed. I knew that my chances of having another birth like my first was unlikely at a hospital, so we went with a birth center this time. Check Plus. I also began reading about cloth diapering and was opened into a wonderful world of "real" cloth diapering. I couldn't believe that I was so out of the loop. I felt guilty for using a diaper service that I thought was doing better for the environment then disposables, but come to find out... not so much! So I bought my first set of prefolds and began. Once I was comfortable, I bought my first set of AIO and have been with those ever since. Check Plus.
Since the birth of Buddy Boy, natural childbirth has become more of my lifestyle then goal to check off my list. I have since had another baby at home, which is what I should have done in the first place:) And I have become a doula, with the ultimate goal becoming a midwife.
I haven't decided quite yet, but I think my vision for this blog is childbirth related. Maybe not 100%, but mostly. With cloth diapering, green living, healthy eating and peaceful parenting thrown in.
