As I've been reading my book and completing my hospital L&D rotation, I've been thinking a lot about our next child.  I was first heartened when I looked under our insurance coverage and it said something about coverage for "Alternative Birthing Centers."  However, then I started researching in Arizona and found that there no longer exist in Arizona Alternative Birthing Centers.  I hoped maybe I was wrong, so when I went for my yearly GYN checkup today, I asked and found out that Arizona midwives have been "pushed out" of alternative practice and into the "underground."  So, unless I want to deliver at a hospital (which I really don't want to do - not to mention that if I decided to choose a "natural friendly" hospital, it would be out of network, requiring us to pay 40%!!!), I have to go the route of home birth.  Kind of one extreme or another, not really reassuring.  The NP who I had the discussion with told me that if I were in her home state of Texas it would be very different - something the book I'm reading reinfocrces - just last night I read that "there are just 175 independent birthing centers nationwide; 25 of them are in Texas..."  Hmm.  What's up with Arizona.  Too conservative, I guess.  So, now I have to convince Josh (and myself) that home birth is reasonable (well, we do only live 4 miles from the hospital  something were to go wrong), and find someone I would want to deliver the baby.  Guess modern society isn't making it easy for women to have babies like they're meant to be had.  That really seems too bad.

As I've posted before, being in nursing school has really changed my perspective on a lot of things, and currently my focus is on Labor and Delivery, being as that's the rotation I'm currently in, and also being as that's the age I am, the popping-out-child-after-child age.  So, I've gotten some good involvement in the actual hospital child birthing process, and also having been in said hospital (the same one in which I'm currently doing my rotation) having Brie just over 2 years ago, it's an interesting experience.  "Where is this going?" you might be asking yourself.  Well, I've changed my mind about having my second child and have decided I don't want to go the hospital route.  I have not been happy at all with what I've seen of hospital childbirthing.  So, I recently found an amazing book about childbirth in modern society and would recommend it to anyone planning a baby or even if you're just curious about what childbirth is like nowadays.  When you have a baby, I don't think you really get a full insight into the runnings of the hospital or what is happening to you - it all happens so fast and you are just kind of along for the ride (irregardless of the fact that the baby is in fact coming out of YOUR vagina).  Being on the other end of things, while a nursing student, has been an eye-opener, as I have time to really see what's going on and what it means for the moms and the babies.  I will tell you that if you read this book, believe it, it's really what is happening to us in the hospitals nowadays.  Protect yourself and your childbirthing wishes... and read the book.  Drumroll, it's "Pushed: The Painful Truth about Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care" by Jennifer Block.  I checked it out from my local library, I suggest you do the same...

Well, it's spring break, and even though that doesn't really mean much for Brie, it's been good fun for her so far!  Instead of spending the week partying on the beach somewhere like those crazy college kids, we're hanging around enjoying the nice weather in Arizona.  Why not?  :)  Brie got to spend Monday and Tuesday with Grandma Anita, Grandpa John, and Great Grandpa Sam, who is visiting from Ohio (avoiding winter blizzards, very smart!).  She got to do all sorts of fun things with them while mommy and daddy were toiling away at work.  :)  Then today we went shopping at Target (an all-time favorite pasttime), where we bought her a tee-ball set.  She had played a few weeks ago with a little boy at the park and really seemed to enjoy it.  He had a proper metal bat and solid ball - we went a step back and got a foam bat and foam as well as some plastic balls.  That way she won't kill Butch in the process.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying that out - it's great to be outdoors with the weather being so wonderful lately!  We spent the morning at the zoo, which was PACKED, but did some different things we hadn't done before - saw the babboons being fed, and then went to see all the birds, which was different.  Brie also really enjoyed playing in the treehouse/stream area with tons of other kids.  She got nice and wet.  We also saw the snakes and pet the stingrays.  Brianna is a bit skittish about actually touching them - she will wave her hand about in the water, call out to them, but then when they actally come by, she pulls her arm out.  I didn't actually see her touch one.  She liked to see me do so, though!  She must be pooped after three days of fun, tho, as she's been napping for over 2 hours now!!!  Tomorrow we head to Tucson for a couple of days to see my dad (more grandparents!!!) and then Josh and I are spending the weekend in Bisbee together to celebrate our 4th anniversary.  Hopefully the weather holds and it's a fun long weekend...

Today I finished my first OB rotation day of three for this semester, between Tele/ICU and Pediatrics.  I spent the day in L&D (Labor & Delivery, where the babies are actually born) and it was slow, but also fun because I actually got to see one baby be born.  I have loved every vaginal birth I have seen (OR/C-Section is not really for me - yuck!)... it's such a miracle to watch a baby be born.  I wish I could watch my own birth or watch the birth of someone I know - it's kind of strange tearing up when you don't know the person at all, but you just can't help it, it's so amazing.  I'm hoping that someday I will have a friend get pregnant who will let me be at the birth.  And then I can look at it just for fun instead of for school.  It was cool today being there for the whole 3-hour pushing process, the baby coming out, seeing the baby and mom recovering, the placenta being delivered, etc, etc.  I even got to give the baby her first bath, which was really fun.  She had a great head of hair which I even got to shampoo.  It was a fun day.  L&D is really not for me - I have a hard time sending people home with a new, completely impressionable baby when you know they may not be good parents, and I also have a hard time with moms who are clueless or not into the whole process at all.  I enjoy old people and find myself much more tolerant of the elderly and their faults - I'm not very tolerant of young people for some reason. So, those talented L&D nurses can bring life into the world and I will see people out at end of life and Hospice Care.  Anyway, if you've never seen a baby be born, do it.  Its awesome.