I loved the entire process from pregnancy to birthing to the first blissful weeks after the birth (and beyond, though some days these past years I've had to convince myself of this!), to the point, like murrelet, that I wanted to be a surrogate. As a single mother, on food stamps and housing assistance this wasn't entirely possible (I wouldn't have been doing it for the money, but also wouldn't have denied a financial exchange for the process!!)
(as a side note, an ad just played while I was typing this? Scared me just a bit!! I didn't realize mothering had video ads... )
With my first born, at 18 years old, I was surrounded by many people (mostly all!) with a very negative and scary attitude about labor and delivery. The stories and warnings of "get the epidural!" were very scary to me, and my/his birth was less than ideal. Fortunately there were no complications from all that medical intervention, but there was a lack of self empowerment for my ability to birth a child. I woke up with my 2nd, and the high I experienced from having an unmedicated birth was like no other. Not sure if there is a connection, but I'm much closer to this child. He's my best buddy, and I actively seek him out to spend time with when I've had a really rough day.
I'm so glad for all you first timers to not only have your own inclinations to the beauty of birth, but also to have a resource to come to where people are optimistic and empowering about the birthing experience. It truly is magically wonderfully difficult. For me, the difficulty was only minutes long, at the very end when he was about to emerge. Once he was here, I was so content with the bliss and euphoria that I held no memory of the pain.
Jodie, thank you for your words. Embracing every possible outcome. And trusting the process wholeheartedly. I shared my fear with my husband, and felt quite shut down by him. "Why would you worry about that? It's not a big deal, you just (motioning unwrapping the cord) and move on. Get over it." Yes. Get over it. For me, in the end, I get over EVERYTHING. But not so instantaneously sometimes. Sometimes I need to hold that fear, to "and then what?" it, to analyze it, embrace it, and release it. I'm there on this issue.
Who on here has the signature, (something along the lines of) "Will one minute of worrying change the outcome, or be positive for you" or something along those lines? I love it. As my favorite line in a Tom Petty song goes, "Most things I worry about never happen anyway." Perhaps our worrying about them is our way of experiencing them on a different level, so that when we get there, we can respond. But perhaps that's just a lot of wasted energy. Moving forward. Always moving forward. :stillheart