Now that our belated wedding has come and gone, our surprise pregnancy has been announced, our wonderful photographer’s photos have been shared and we’ve survived Adalyn’s 2nd birthday, I can tell you more about the specifics of this upcoming birth… It’s true, we are on track for a hospital birth here in Evansvile this time around. Lots of people have asked us…
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If you watched Adalyn’s arrival live here on the blog two years ago or if you read my birth story on Everly’s arrival then you know birthing at The Farm Midwifery Center was a great experience for us, both times. I’d gladly birth there again if circumstances allowed. Unfortunately, they don’t.
One of the factors contributing to not returning The Farm is the waiting and what that means for my family. When I went to await Everly’s arrival, waiting there until labor began was only difficult because I was alone until labor began and I was offline due to unavailability of internet/ cell phone connection.
When we went to await Adalyn’s arrival things were much different. We did have cell phone and internet connectivity but I also had an antsy 2 year old to occupy and the antsy husband. LOL.
Considering we now have two kids that will be antsy… and the husband… It’s not a promising prospect for us.
The main deciding factor was the costs. The Farm Midwifery Center has been featured in lots of stuff these last few years. Ina May is still spreading her message actively and many documentaries have also featured The Farm recently. So, The Farm is a popular place… as it only makes sense, The Farm Midwifery Center has raised it’s prices.
The price increase combined with the fact that we just paid cash for our wedding this summer means we are pretty much financially tapped out for the year. Given more time we’d find a way to budget the expense of delivering our third baby at The Farm, but since we only have a few months left before baby arrives the reality is we just need to spend less out of pocket and use our insurance in the hospital birth setting.
Why not hire a local midwife? Believe me, that was the first thought I had and I reached out to my midwife contacts here. My first choice wasn’t taking on clients and thinks she might even be done with the practice.
My second choice midwife had some recent legal troubles relating to the legalities of midwife licensing. So basically, I could find someone to deliver out of the hospital but not someone I’d feel totally comfortable with, which isn’t all that appealing. Financially speaking, our budget and ease of living would benefit from NOT having another several thousand dollar out of pocket expense…
So the decision is made. I’ll make this hospital birth happen. It’s not like I don’t know what I’m doing at this point right? Ha, ha. Assuming I can avoid all the intervention traps along the way, the hospital birth will be a breeze once I get in there in second stage labor.
I’m seeing a highly recommended (and highly coveted) OB/ Family Practice Doctor here in town and so far things have gone remarkably well.
He knows of my past two home births and isn’t giving me trouble about them. He knows we don’t vaccinate right now and I’ve already refused the Gestational Diabetes (Glucola!) testing and the routine RhoGam shots during pregnancy without having him make much of a stink about things.
I’ve hired a trusted friend, fellow budding farmer and Evansville Doula to support me in the hospital setting and I’m working on my birth plan right now (the birth plan my OB is happy to see and work with me to make happen).
Since we live so far from our family and friends back in Arizona… and we don’t expect anyone to make the trip out here for our little one’s arrival this December, I’ve lined up an Evansville Postpartum Doula to help us out at home in the days following the birth. Wondering what a Postpartum Doula does?
“Postpartum doulas work with new families to keep the household running after the birth of a baby. I provide support with infant care, mama care, breastfeeding support, laundry, meal preparation, home organization, and housekeeping.”
We are telling our friends and family (or blog readers!), they may contribute to our “Hire a Doula” fund if they wish to help us out.
Wondering the gender of the baby? We are due around the first week of December. Here is a look at my pre-wedding baby bump from back in early July:
… and here is my 27 week baby bump:
