Monday, August 25, 2008

Shopping in Portland, hurray!

Last week I flew to Portland, Oregon to visit my Mom for some quality time and shopping. My flight was uneventful, the little one didn't seem to notice, and I didn't feel different than I normally do. It was HOT in Portland, 104 one of the days (yes, you read that right, 104!), but my Mom and I survived by staying mostly indoors.
The shopping was a huge success, thank heaven for Mimi Maternity and Bella Bellies...I now have some super cute maternity clothes that don't make me feel like a little girl or a whale in a muu muu. I found some Lucky Brand maternity jeans that are like a dream, and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Hooray!
Shopping for the baby was also a treat, although not as immediately gratifying. Our little girl will now sleep and dream in the cutest sleepers and has a few dresses for hitting the town. Not to mention one super cool pink cowboy hat courtesy of my friend Jeanne...thanks again!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Deciding on Home Birth

Ok, so as soon as I found out I was expecting, I started to panic about how this baby was going to make it out. As a lifelong avoider of pain, I have been pretty set on a planned c-section to be my choice when and if I ever decided (was lucky enough) to have a child. My boyfriend, Patrick, although not thrilled with this idea, was supportive of my choice.
I was between jobs when we got the good news about the baby, so I found myself browsing Netflix one day between surfing LinkedIn and Monster.com. I found the documentary "The Business of Being Born", and watched it.

You can check it out here: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

Lets just say it changed my whole perspective on how to give birth to my child and propelled me into a research frenzy. I had let fear of the unknown and an aversion to pain lead me to choose a major surgical procedure to give birth. Popular culture and the medical community says this is safe...but my research contradicted this.

Check out this movie, do some research, and make a birth plan that is right for you. Patrick and I chose to find a Certified Nurse Midwife and plan for a home birth. My fear hasn't gone away...but I am excited and optimisitic that I"ll have a great birth experience. I encourage you to watch this movie, then read everything you can get your hands on before you let a doctor or a insurance company tell you what is right for you.