Scheduled

Guess what? We already know when our baby's birthday will be--July 13th, 2009 most likely. Are you jealous? Yep, all you regular-type birthing moms it's scheduled, and I even get to go in a whole week early.

Don't take me too seriously, but I do think it's a little funny that some moms tend to get jealous of c-section moms for having their deliveries scheduled. Guess what? It's the only perk to having surgery in order to get that little person out.

It does seem though that as a group, moms tend to get quite jealous and judgmental of eachother. Why do we do this? Why do we compare ourselves? I remember after someone saw Dallin for the first time and she commented on how nice and round his head was and that must have been because he was born cesarean. This is one of those comments that inferred to me that this woman had had children with mishapen heads when they were born. I don't remember if I said anything to her about his head being squooshed inside my birth canal for three hours before the doctor shoved him back up and did an emergency c-section. And maybe she didn't notice that he still had a hicky on his scalp from the vacuum that didn't work. Apparently he recovered nicely.

Not that I'm any better, I get jealous too. Especially when I hear Moms talk about their easy birthing stories. Or the ones that are worried that they won't even make it to the hospital when they start feeling contractions. If only.

With Adam I really wanted to not have to have a c-section. In the end, after a lot of prayers we realized we needed to have another c-section to be safe. This decision was made about a week before my due date. When I told the doctor what we'd decided he was ready to schedule my c-section for the next day. But I was nervous of another c-section and not ready so we waited until my due date. Fortunately we didn't wait longer because once I was being monitored I started having contractions.

So this, my third cesarean, is the one that will the least stressful of them all. For one, I've learned that recovery from a planned c-section is night and day different than recovering from 18-hours of labor and an emergency c-section. I realize looking back at Dallin's delivery that I was kind of a wreck after all was said and done. Definitely physically, but emotionally too. My doctor was concerned about me and strongly encouraged me to stay in the hospital an extra day. Through tears I agreed and when I was discharged he--in a very nice way--told me what to watch for in regards to post-pardum depression and to call him if I needed help.

It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I had to have a cesarean. I felt like a failure in some respects. But then I realized two important things: My little boy was alive and healthy. I was alive too. We made it through. I am grateful for modern medicine that saves babies' and moms' lives. Many women before me weren't so lucky to have a c-section as a backup.

So yeah, I think this one will be easier. But don't be jealous, okay? :)