1. Why did you want a natural birth? (usually it comes out sounding like WHY in the WORLD would you even WANT a natural birth, accompained by an
2. What did you think when you first saw Georgia? (that one always makes us laugh, sheepishly)
3. How did she get her name?
4. What's her room look like?
We'll endeavor to answer the first three today.
Natural birth...was decided upon by process of elimination. There are basically three ways to give birth: narcotics via shot or IV, epidural via cathetar into the spine, and naturally with intention and plenty of support. I didn't like the first two options (for reasons I'll get to) and so I figured I'd better figure out how to birth without them.
Natural birth was more importantly an act of my paradigm shift about medicine. Almost two years ago I was rear-ended and the healing process was difficult. I tried the "usual" route of drugs and PT for months and was only getting worse. It got to the point I was taking "helper" drugs in order to be able to tolerate the "fix it" drugs. It wasn't working for me. Long story short, I realized I wasn't listening to my body and if I didn't start, I would never get better.
In the months that followed, I started yoga, worked with a naturopath, did acupuncture, and found a chiropractor who specialized in rehabilitation. I had a new understanding of the benefits and limitations of all aspects of medicine as well as a new appreciation for my body. I firmly understood it truly takes a team of professionals treating in their area of expertise to restore a hurt body.
When I found out Georgia was coming I, like every first time parent, wanted nothing less than a guarantee of a perfect outcome. But the more I read, listened and pondered, I grew less content with how birth in America is done right now. I say "right now" because although birth in an enduring event done over and over in the history of the world, how it is recognized and treated is a social construct that changes. For me, I had to let go of wanting a guaranteed outcome and work to get my desired outcome.
To better understand the social construct as of now, I'd recommend starting with Tina Cassidy's Birth: The Surprising Story of How We Are Born and Ricki Lake's documentary The Business of Being Born. Even if you are beyond your baby days, it is worth checking out.
There are many more resources for educating yourself, but for the sake of brevity I'll summarize my personal findings...giving birth in America is currently diminished to a series of medical procedures performed largely out of fear of being sued for mal-practice. Women are not encouraged or supported in believing they can give birth, but are led into believing they need to be delivered from the experience. The statistics are staggering and scary...the rates of epidurals, Pitocin, and C-sections during birth warrant attention as these tools are being used to levels that could be referred to as industry standards or SOPs. Please hear me when I say that there are reasons and situations for using these tools, but we need to evaluate if they are being used with appropriate discretion or out of fear.
Like most, I had heard women over my lifetime talking about giving birth without drugs, and believe you me, I thought they were nuts. Birth to me was what I saw on TV and in the movies...lying in bed on my back, IV in arm, sweating, eating ice chips, and screaming at my husband. But the more I read and listened, I realized it didn't have to be. The more I read and listened, the more I didn't want it to be. The more I listened to other women talk about their births, giving birth naturally began to seem like a true option.
So we kept my healing team and added a few new members beyond our OB to bring our team into a nice round mix of a doula (birth coach), two midwives, and a Birthing From Within teacher. We prepared mightily: created a toolbox with pain coping techniques, evaluated our options, made plans with our caregivers, and discussed between ourselves regularly about our intentions. (I am purposefully using "we" because it was absolutely a Team Gusy decision to birth naturally.)
I don't have a high pain tolerance, I am the kind of person who reaches for Tylenol when I have a headache, and there are things (namely dental work) that would make me reach for any type of drug available, but I believed in my body and my ability to heed to what it would try to do during birth. I agreed to let things happen, instead of making them happen. I agreed to let the baby's body and my body work together.
That is...until I hit transition. I didn't understand I was in transition and when I heard 7 centimeters when I wanted to hear 10, I gave up. I was fearful and exhausted and discouraged. I was begging, coaxing, and trying desperately to swindle drugs. But my team held to the plan and talked me through my struggle every 2 minutes, knowing that nothing could take effect in time anyway. Noah describes this as the longest stretch of time in his life and cried in relief when twenty minutes later I was at 10 centimeters.
It was mostly mental. But still hugely physical. It was incredibly emotional. And I want every woman to have access to the information, resources, and support to make the birthing decisions that suit her, too.
Team Gusy conference during labor
And to answer the second question...what did we think when we first saw her? Me: "Whose baby is that?" Noah: "Is that my baby?" She was not what we were expecting...almost black hair, almost ten pounds, and not particuarly reflective of either of our decents. But I heard the hiccups and saw the long feet and smiled. She was ours!
Georgia just 2 hours after being born.
And how did Georgia get her name?
I've always wanted a Georgia. But oddly, when we found out she was a girl, I didn't want to use the name and didn't even bring it up to Noah. I think I was in such disbelief that she was the little girl I'd dreamed about for so long! A few weeks after we knew she was a she, I had a dream that Noah told me he wanted to name her Georgia Kate. I told him this (during a commercial break, obviously not a real intense baby naming situation) and he said, "Hmmm. I like Georgia. Let's go with that." It was a done deal!
Her middle name is Elyse. My friend Mary suggested it when we were having a hard time pairing with Georgia. It was a perfect combination of several family elements: El (reminiscent of family names Noelle, Michelle, and Noah's mom's maiden name Ellston) with a little bit of Lee sound (as in my grandmother's middle name) and of course a y instead of an i (so she's have a ly for my middle name Lynn).
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