Our Journey Begins...

    My husband Aaron and I decided when we got pregnant that we wanted to have our baby naturally, with no medication of any kind.  We also wanted to have our baby in a caring, comfortable environment, that would allow me to labor and deliver the way women were made to.  I didn't want to be hooked up to machines in a hospital where I would be restricted to a bed and not allowed to move around.  We chose to have our little one at The Greenhouse Birth Center in Okemos, Michigan.  We are so glad that we did.  Here is our story...

     We began visiting the Midwives at the birth center in September.  From our very first appointment, I knew that we were going to get the best care possible.  We were 12 weeks along and due April 9th 2011.  We saw them every 4 weeks until we were 32 weeks along.  Then we went every 2 weeks and finally every week until our due date.  We had a wonderful experience with all 3 of the midwives and I really feel like they became part of our family.  We found out the week of Thanksgiving that we were having a boy and immediately began tossing around names.  With the help of our niece Madison, we decided on Evan. 

     In February we began going to birthing classes.  My sister Andrea went with us in hopes of assisting us in the birth.  She was so supportive of our decisions.  We had a blast at each of the classes and really learned a lot.  Andrea took notes like crazy and I think at the end, she was more prepared for our labor and delivery than we were. :)

     We found out at our 32 week appointment that Evan was breech.  Since we really wanted to have him at the birth center, we talked about options to fix the situation.  I went to a chiropractor to assist in Evan turning around.  Aaron and I also went swimming to help.  We had another ultrasound at 35 weeks and found out that our efforts paid off.  Evan was in the right position! Yay!

     I LOVED being pregnant.  Aaron read to my belly from the beginning and still reads to Evan when he can.  I only gained 20 pounds and felt great the whole time.  I had no nausea, vomiting, cravings, swelling, aches or pains.  I had a bit of heartburn, but was able to make it go away with the help of some papaya enzymes. :)    All in all, I would say that I had an almost perfect pregnancy. 

          As we anticipated the birth of our son, we decided that I would stay at home with Evan and not go back to work unless I absolutely had to.  I was bringing stuff home from work almost every day and organizing like crazy.  We also ended up moving at the beginning of March which was not so much fun.  But, in the end, Evan had his own room, and we had a nice new space to bring him home to.  The rest of my pregnancy went by quick and was really uneventful.