Water Baby

With T minus 11 days until my due date, my mind is naturally gravitating toward labor and delivery.

These thoughts abounded the other day while I was swimming laps in the pool, dreaming about the upcoming event and wondering how it was going to all play out.  Swimming this pregnancy has been a godsend in so many ways.  My end-of-pregnancy back pain is at an all-time low, my muscles feel more agile and relaxed, I have less pelvic floor discomfort–much of this I am crediting to swimming.  It is such great exercise!!

It’s not surprising that my body has taken to it so naturally.  As a baby, myself, my mom would have to “rescue” me as I jumped, fearless, into the pool without knowing how to swim.  This later translated into lap upon lap of winter and summer swim seasons, USS meets, and eventually high school swimming.  The water is a safe haven for me.  I feel very much at ease.  My body glides to the rhythm of the strokes and floats with ease almost like an acrobat doing a high-wire routine, but in the water.

I shouldn’t be so surprised that adding water to a pregnancy makes all things better.  But what about delivery?  A water birth?  Hmm…  I can’t imagine a better scenario for me personally, getting to relax in a tub and feel the weightlessness of the water while focusing through the contractions.  Part of me is so tantalized by thoughts of a water birth that I’m a little annoyed I haven’t looked into it sooner.  There’s the other part of me, though, the cautious side, that knows you have to do a home birth if you want to birth in the water.  And I’m not using a midwife, either.  Hospitals are also safety nets in my mind that I’m not willing to be without.

My solution?  I’m planning to crank up our jacuzzi tub during the at-home stages of labor.   Can’t believe it’s taken me five babies to come to this solution.  I will love the chance to birth our baby my way and pass those early, grueling, and oft-annoying hours in the water.  My only fear is that I’ll love it too much, not feel as much pain (who am I kidding?), and head to the hospital too late!!  I can just see the look of panic on my husband’s face as we feverishly drive to get to the hospital…

Oh well.  It will make for a great story, right?!