Preparing for birth: When Nothing Goes as Planned Part Two

This is part two of my journey to prepare for the birth of baby number 2 - for part one click here!


I was left with two rather unappealing options in my decision on where to have baby #2... at the hospital, or with a team of midwives two hours from my house. I had visions of the midwives not making it to the birth because of Atlanta rush hour traffic, or my labor progressing extremely fast. I dreaded the idea of driving 4 hours to every appointment, especially at 37+ weeks when they are weekly! Reaching the half-way point in my pregnancy left me with a sense of desperation, and the need to "just make a decision".

I decided to continue to look for any other midwives that were located in Atlanta. I received a few recommendations and references. So, I got in touch with the first one, who was located 1 1/2 hours from my house. She said that she wouldn't do a birth outside of an hour from her. [This made me even more anxious about the midwives who were 2 hours away!] I had one final option. I emailed the third midwife in Atlanta, and found out that she was only an hour away! An hour seemed so manageable compared to my other options.

I called her on the phone and we talked for over half an hour. That conversation took away all my worries, apprehensions, stress, and fears, brought on by the uncertainty of unsuccessfully looking for a midwife for five weeks. I was able to tell her my story, and she was able to tell me hers. I got off the phone, nearly in tears at the amount of peace that I received in talking to her. I knew that she was perfect.

I scheduled a consultation with her at her home a few days later. David and Dmitri came with me (one of my favorite parts of homebirth midwifery is the focus on the family having the baby, not just the mom!) We talked for an hour and half in her rustic log cabin about everything from breech births to meconium, vaginal checks to delayed cord cutting, water births, placentas, and birth philosophy.

I left her house feeling confident, refreshed, and for one of the first times, truly excited about the birth of baby # 2!

So here we go...we have surmounted a major obstacle to a home birth, and we are on our way! I will continue to write about our birth plans and journey as we prepare for the birth of baby # 2 at home.