The bump is growing fantastically - 33weeks now. I regularly have all this movement where my tummy takes on a life of its own and there's all this squirming going on just under the surface. It's just the most amazing thing! An absolute miracle that's going on inside - I'm looking forward to when I can grab a foot or an elbow sometime in the last few weeks!
Anyway, the midwife was over the other day and we've been talking waterbirth/homebirth etc and going through all the information and options. Of course, when you mention this to others (after the silences or the gasps!), you get every horror story around - when you go on your own hunt for reliable information, stats and personal experience, the idea is not so scary, precautions and all!
Because of the different reactions I've had (which I haved weighed up with everything else!), in passing I asked the midwife why so few people outside of birthing/pregnancy circles were confident in natural birth and her response was, "You're a Christian right?" (to which I answered yes!) ...she then went on to say, "Well, that belief in God gives you and other Christians a confidence that your body can do what it was designed to do. It's like with everything you have to think about, you have one less worry because of your faith in God."
I was pretty impressed with that answer but I have to confess to a bit of a struggle as I've thought more about it all, for a slightly odd reason...most of the people who have reservedly tried to convince me that 'hospital is best' are Christians!
Now don't panic if you're one of them because I wouldn't have talked so much about it if I wasn't prepared to hear the good, the bad and the ugly - that's real life with friends and family! If you're also one of those women who went to hospital and cried, "Give me the drugs now!" or had some type of intervention through circumstances that were out of your control, you are still up there in my books - hey, you've actually had a child!! I'm still just planning to have one...although the reality is creeping closer by the day!
The real challenge for me in all of this was the perception of my midwife that there's a link between Christianity and confidence. I think that the confidence she was talking about is not just in support of labouring as naturally as possible but that she is also alluding to the ability to be able to make a decision confidently as a Christian and then relax, knowing/having a peace that God is ultimately in control.
The decisions there are to make around having a child seem to be endless as the time draws closer - there's always some new research to consider and a few more 'dos and don'ts' added to the invisible 'Responsible Parenting of a Newborn Baby' list but the challenge for me is clear - I have to do my part to make an informed decision and then confidently rest in the knowledge that God is in that decision and ultimately in control of the whole situation.
I hope that I'm one of those Christians that carries a Godly confidence in all that I do to the point where people wonder where it comes from and I get the chance to share.
...and until the due date, enough talk about how this baby is going to arrive!! I'm going to continue to wash all the little gifts of clothing and nest to my hearts content! I never thought I'd bake so much in my life...not that that alone is nesting but it is great to be able to be home and to have the time to do it all the same! If you happen to be around, drop in and enjoy the latest treat sitting in the pantry but be warned, Shaun may just beat you to it! :-)
