I'll start at the beginning I suppose :)

Hello, my name is Andrea Felsinger, I am wife to my great husband Ray, and have 4 kids. Derek is 9, little Ray is 7, Kassidy is 3, and Kayla is currently 18 months. I am a childbirth doula, and still trying to get my business off the ground. Seems every time i start getting really good business, I get pregnant again. I have a hard time staying up 24 hours at a time attending births as a preggo mama, so I refer out any potential clients during that time and about the first 6 months or so breastfeeding.

I have recently found myself expecting again. I am due officially July 11th, 2011. I had made the decision well before we even thought we would have any more kids, that I would give birth at home this time. My previous 4 have been in the hospital, but we'll get to those experiences at another time. I will say that my last hospital experience was the most horrible thing I have experienced, and from that moment on, I knew I would never do THAT again, I would never birth in a hospital again no matter what it took.

So I'll say it again. My name is Andrea, and I'm having a home birth. Sounds a bit heavy, huh? I'm having my baby at home. Wow.

Now i am not from a natural minded family. My whole family has been born at hospitals, no one knew what a doula was until I wanted to become one, and I found out what it was by accident. I grew up hearing horror stories of how I was born with the cord around my neck (something I now know to be very common) and the doctors saved my life by making me cry when I was born because I did not want to cry on my own. When questioned further, my mom admits that I was breathing and alert, but babies are suppose to cry at birth, Right? So when I announced that my baby was to be born at home, there were more than a few people who thought I was joking at first. That was the preferable response, the others all expressed concern, fear, and some outright rage. I was harming my baby, and endangering my other kids of possibly losing their mother by being so careless as giving birth at home with a midwife.

To say I was shocked at this response may have been going a bit far, I knew they did not believe in home birth, or rather that they were ignorant to it, and feared what they didn't know. But I thought they all knew me well enough to understand that I would not make a decision that included my baby's health, my health, or depriving my other kids of a mom, without much consideration, thought, and research. To realize they didn't trust my judgement, threw me for a loop, so to say.

But I figured I had a few months still to either change their minds, in the cases of the people I respected, and needed their support (like my mom), or convince them to butt out, in the cases of the other informed bunch. So the plan stays the same, baby is coming at home.

And I couldn't be more excited!!!

My husband is completely on board, I have a great midwife who I trust, plans are on their way to becoming a home birth mommy :) For the first time, I am anticipating labor and birth instead of dreading it, I can't wait.