I have a few questions maybe some of you (esp the nurses) can help me with....I'm also going to talk to my doc about it also.

I found a website that gives all storts of birthrates for NJ hospitals http://www.icanofnj.com/

first I just wanted to see the c-section rates in the hospitals I can deliver at but it also has epidural, induction, episiotomy and midwife attended birth rates. For most of the numbers I prefer Hospital #1, but their midwife rate is 10.9 as opposed to 23.1 (only reason I would care is if I can't have MY doctor i'd like a midwife) and the episiotomy rate is 22.2 as opposed to 4.1....that seems like such a BIG difference.

So for hospital #1 the worst number is the episiotomy (which scares the crap out of me) but it's also great to see that they have a 41.2% epidural rate as opposed to hospital #2 which is 64.3 and I really don't want to deal with them pushing meds on me.

So here's the question. I really want a natural birth. Period. I know there could be extenuating circumstances but if i need epidural, induction, episiotomy, or c-section i want it to be my choice not because they pushed it on me. So do I pay attention to the numbers or do I just talk to my doctor and know that I trust him so as long as he is there i'm good? Also, while hospital #1 has better numbers (aside from episiotomy) their rooms aren't as nice and, having been there, I can say that their nurses are kinda rude. I wish I could go to a birthing center!!

decisions decisions!

Okay. You need to be honest and blunt with your doc. Tell him what you want, and don't bend on it during your birth. Many women think that their docs are on board only to be talked into unnecessary interventions later. You need to see who your doc is covered by, and if your hospital has residents that cover him. (Residents are rarely natural birth friendly and frequently push interventions like pitocin and pain management). You need to be strong, well -educated and stubborn to get the birth that you want. Just remember, as a patient, you have the right to REFUSE anything. You should be able to eat during labor, not have an IV, and not be limited in your mobility. Make a birth plan and go over it with your doc and also bring a copy in your hospital bag. I have kicked nurses out of my room and refused to follow many hospital "procedures", and really it is all your choice! Just stick to your guns!

So true. I am NOT in my right mind when giving birth, so I have to be very straight-forward with what I want this time around. This is why a birth plan is a must. Make sure your OB office has a copy, you have a copy, and the hospital or birth center has a copy. If you don't want meds, put in there not to even offer them. This is YOUR birth, YOUR family's special moment. Be courteous but let it be known exactly what you want.

Hi! A pal of mine directed me here, and I had to chuckle. I have never heard the term "Crunchy Mama", but I guess I would kinda qualify? I have two children- the first was a hospital birth with drugs, and my second was hospital natural birth. I am pregnant again (24 weeks), and I will be having a natural birth, and though I really wanted a midwife-assisted home birth, I had to go with a hospital birth due to some medical issues. But I will be opting for natural birth, and I will be sure most of my laboring is done at home so I can avoid a lot of the medical interventions that I don't like. I have breastfed both of my kids, each for a year, and I will breastfeed again, but I am aiming for 18 months this time. I am doing cloth diapers this time- for those with husbands that are scared of this, even if you cloth diaper and he uses disposables, you will be saving a ton! And if you get the little flushable inserts, it makes the men-folk a lot less scared. It's cool to see so many like-minded Moms on here! Love it Can someone explain why its called a "Crunchy" mama??? lol!

Lol the term "Crunchy" is referring to granola. (Like kind of hippyish)

Ok, I guess that would be me. My husband's friend refers to me as a "bark eater" (I'm vegetarian and I like very clean, healthy foods). And my sister has often called me a "granola" because of my lifestyle. Never been called crunchy though!

You are a little to far south of where my list goes to (mine goes from warren county down to Ocean Grove, NJ. But there is a great site called doulamatch.net that finds you a doula based on your location and due date!

tried that site, unless my computer was just being wacked I clicked on "find a birth doula" and didn't let me enter any info, maybe I'll try again today and see if I get any further....how it was behaving it seemed like I had to pay just to do the search

Hi! A pal of mine directed me here, and I had to chuckle. I have never heard the term "Crunchy Mama", but I guess I would kinda qualify? I have two children- the first was a hospital birth with drugs, and my second was hospital natural birth. I am pregnant again (24 weeks), and I will be having a natural birth, and though I really wanted a midwife-assisted home birth, I had to go with a hospital birth due to some medical issues. But I will be opting for natural birth, and I will be sure most of my laboring is done at home so I can avoid a lot of the medical interventions that I don't like. I have breastfed both of my kids, each for a year, and I will breastfeed again, but I am aiming for 18 months this time. I am doing cloth diapers this time- for those with husbands that are scared of this, even if you cloth diaper and he uses disposables, you will be saving a ton! And if you get the little flushable inserts, it makes the men-folk a lot less scared. It's cool to see so many like-minded Moms on here! Love it Can someone explain why its called a "Crunchy" mama??? lol!

This made me laugh! I was the one that wasn't thrilled about using cloth nappies but my husband really wanted to. He did all the soaking, rinsing, and washing. I just had to change them while he was at work. I've never seen someone so obssessed with getting nappies white. He did such a good job they still look brand new going into a second use. And yes we saved a bundle and will save even more using them on a second child!

Hi! A pal of mine directed me here, and I had to chuckle. I have never heard the term "Crunchy Mama", but I guess I would kinda qualify? I have two children- the first was a hospital birth with drugs, and my second was hospital natural birth. I am pregnant again (24 weeks), and I will be having a natural birth, and though I really wanted a midwife-assisted home birth, I had to go with a hospital birth due to some medical issues. But I will be opting for natural birth, and I will be sure most of my laboring is done at home so I can avoid a lot of the medical interventions that I don't like. I have breastfed both of my kids, each for a year, and I will breastfeed again, but I am aiming for 18 months this time. I am doing cloth diapers this time- for those with husbands that are scared of this, even if you cloth diaper and he uses disposables, you will be saving a ton! And if you get the little flushable inserts, it makes the men-folk a lot less scared. It's cool to see so many like-minded Moms on here! Love it Can someone explain why its called a "Crunchy" mama??? lol!

This made me laugh! I was the one that wasn't thrilled about using cloth nappies but my husband really wanted to. He did all the soaking, rinsing, and washing. I just had to change them while he was at work. I've never seen someone so obssessed with getting nappies white. He did such a good job they still look brand new going into a second use. And yes we saved a bundle and will save even more using them on a second child!

Ha ha, your husband rocks! Can he teach my husband a thing or two about cloth diapering? I just think that is SO cool when husband's are involved like that. I am really encouraging my husband to be more involved in the whole "baby thing", but its so against how he was raised. But he's a good sport.

Thank you all for weighing in on the hospital situation (and those that sent me PMs) After talking to the doc I'm going with Hospital #1, he said that if I want a natural birth I should go there because the other one really pushes meds and this one is better about getting out the birthing ball and stuff. He also recommended I stay home and birth at home as long as possible. Since this is my first and the hospital is almost an hour away I'm going to try but I imagine I'll find myself at the hospital sooner rather than later....If I go too long at least my husband went through EMT training so he could always deliver her Is it weird that the prospect of my husband delivering my baby doesn't really bother me? He's never done it before but he went through the training and I feel like "in the olden days" it's not like women had special training or anything, our bodies are made to do this! *sigh* no wonder my friend's husband calls me a "crazy hippy freak" lol

I guess I'm semi-crunchy. I'm American but live in the UK where un-medicated midwife-led births are the norm. I had a drug free hospital birth with my first and it's given me the confidence to go for a homebirth this time. I'm so excited about it! I have to inject with blood thinners unti 34 weeks but have been told it's fine to give birth at home as they will be out of my system by labour time. I'm going to have a birthing pool in our conservatory. I exclusively breastfed my daughter and fed her to 18 months and did baby led weaning with her and used cloth nappies, and also co-slept the first 3 months. Planning to keep things the same this time. Hope everyone gets the birthing experience they want and deserve!

Yay, a new topic for discussion: co-sleeping.

How did co-sleeping work out for you? Was she just in the bed with you or did you have something else? I feel like I remember my SIL mentioning something that clips onto the bed so that the kid is RIGHT THERE without being in the bed.

I feel like I would get nervous having a newborn in our bed but we definitely plan to have her very close by

Firstly: Here is a link to some guidelines on safe co-sleeping. It is stated here and agreed by our health visitor that infant co-sleeping is considered safest where there is a breatfeeding relationship between the mother and baby.

http://cosleeping.nd.edu/safe-co-sleeping-guidelines/

I never intended to co-sleep. But we lived in a very drafty 17th century cottage in England and out daughter was born December 21. We tried really hard to get her warm in the Moses basket but it was freezing! Also my daughter fed every 45 minutes for a half an hour for about the first 3 months (I'm not even exaggerating!) and it became the only way I could sleep. I didn't have a nest or anything like that because the whole point was that my daughter could latch on and off without waking me so she slept with my arm wrapped around her. This also stopped any risk that my husband or myself could roll onto her. It did make my husband nervous, so I slept in the middle with her on the side, but with my arm around her so that she couldn't fall out. I do think co-sleeping was one of the reasons I was successful breastfeeding, It keep supply up and I was never exhausted or felt resentful that I had to sit awake half the night feeding while my husband could sleep. I also worried she wouldn't ever be able to fall asleep on her own but by the time she was a year old she was in a cot and could independently fall asleep. She has never been much of a sleeper and that would have been the same regardless of where she slept as a baby. At 4, she is a very independent and happy girl who rarely ends up in bed with us in the middle of the night. We really value our time together as a couple at night but giving that up for 3 months was something we were willing to do to make sure breastfeeding worked out well and that I got enough rest.

If you are interested in co-sleeping look up all the safety guidelines and be sure you are happy with them all. I never drink or take medications that might make me sleep deeply and I never co-sleep on a sofa or in a bed against a wall. I guess one has to keep in mind that for most of human history babies slept with mum and were perfectly safe, babies alone in a crib on their own is a fairly modern invention. That said with this baby due in July, (when it is warmer) I am hoping he/she won't feed as much as my daughter and that they will be happy in a moses basket for the first three months. Mostly because it would make my husband less nervous. But if we do end up co-sleeping again, that's okay with me too.,

Baby #2 coming soon. Currently 35 weeks. My DS is 21 months. Had a hospital birth but had an epidural. Having a hospital birth this time (regretting not getting a midwife this time though...) and going to try and avoid any drugs if possible. I breastfed DS until he was about 16ish months as my milk started to dry up and pregnacy hormones were just not making me happy to BF any longer. Hoping to make it to 2yrs with 2nd baby as i dont plan on getting pregnant again We did baby-led weaning/baby led solids and skipped puree food all together (highly recommend)!, cosleeping, babywearing. I'd like to say im in the middle somewhat crunchy lol

For those of you that select/delay vaccination

Can anyone give me some advice on which vaccinations you went with? How old your babies were? Etc.

My doctor wants to start shots at 2months, I don't feel comfortable.

I have no experience as I'm pregnant with my first, but I've checked out several different vaccination schedules and still am not sure what I am going to go with. I'm leaning toward Dr. Sears' with maybe some modifications of my own. I'm definitely not giving my son the Hep B vaccine in the hospital.