Are We Going To Have Another Natural Birth?

I’m almost 36 weeks pregnant with my 4th child. It is possible this baby boy could come soon, however if previous births are any indication we still have about a month left. (My babies are always 1-2 weeks late.)

I have been intentionally ignoring thoughts of the upcoming birth. You see, I’ve had 3 natural births (2 homebirths and 1 hospital birth), all fairly good experiences but I’m not really looking forward to labor and delivery. Yes, the miracle of life is beautiful and the baby that will join our family will be awesome but from my past experiences the whole labor part isn’t all that awesome. I’ve never experienced a orgasmic birth or been able to visualize the opening of a beautiful flower or whatever… it’s usually crushing waves of contractions and burning rings of fire. I’ll be honest and admit I’m not really looking forward to it.

Having 3 births under my belt I know that each experience is different and the key is to listen and respond to what your body and the baby is telling you. I know I’m capable of another natural birth but weather or not I want to do it is another story. The female body is amazing and is able to do some pretty awesome things especially when it comes to birth but birth is also a very intense physical event.

At my last OB appointment the midwife said they were aware of my previous birth choices and would attempt to be as noninvasive as possible. I politely smiled and said OK but I’m really not as gung-ho about the whole thing as I had been. That’s not to say I won’t attempt a natural birth but who knows.

So the answer the questions, “Will we have another natural birth?”
I don’t know.
That’s the best answer I can give. My brain says no thanks but my body has a way of doing whatever it wants. I have quick labor and deliveries so it might be counterproductive to take anything during labor.

For now I’m trying to focus on getting through the holiday season and start preparing for this baby. We haven’t really done too much since our boys have always taken their time, but you never know this guy could be anxious to meet his brothers and throw us all for a loop. Guess I should unpack some baby clothes.