Happy dispatch

My cousin(-in-law) has two adorable boys. She had hoped to give birth unmedicated with both of them, but pitocin threw a huge wrench in things and necessitated pain relief, so she's extremely determined to avoid induction/Pitocin with the birth of her current baby-in-utero. So I was positively giddy with excitement when I got this email from her this morning:

I had my first prenatal appointment today. Long story short, everything is great. She had no trouble finding the heartbeat - about 165 bpm, loud and strong. I love that noise. :)

And the practice I'm going to? GOLD MINE. Seriously, I could not be more impressed. They will let me go two weeks overdue without inducing, and when they do induce, pitocin is sort of a last resort. They had a sign up boasting their statistics (and I would too if I had their numbers):

* 7% cesarean rate
* 32% epidural rate
* 11% induction rate
* less than 1% of newborns are admitted to the NICU
* 6% vacuum delivery (no forceps)
* 72% intact perineum rate (no tears or cuts)
* jacuzzi tubs are encouraged for use during labor and delivery
* eat and drink whatever you want during labor
* no IVs unless medically necessary
* no routine episiotomies
* no continuous fetal monitoring unless medically necessary
* birth in any position you would like
* have as many family members and/or support people at your birth as you would like, including baby's siblings

I mean, seriously!? Are you kidding?! And this is at a HOSPITAL. I could not believe it. I actually asked if they do VBA2Cs, and while they don't advertise it, they will definitely sit down with women, look at why they had two previous cesareans, and the practice has attended successful VBA2Cs in the past. I think I might email [my 2-cesareans friend] about it, just in case she wants to have another kid and wants a hospital option - we're only like 1.5 hours away.

Anyways, I was there for over an hour and a half, explaining my past experiences and what I'm hoping for this time. I met with the NP who does most of the prenatal visits (since the CNM is often busy doing deliveries), and she's great. I'll meet with the CNM (who does all of the deliveries) at least 2-3 times before I go in.

Oh, and the walls were covered with birth announcements (as you often see at OB/CNM clinics), and what struck me was how big these babies were - most were over 8 pounds, and there were quite a few that were over 10. I was so impressed to see these big babies next to this poster of amazing birth statistics and such a low cesarean rate. Seriously, can we never move?! If we lived [here] forever, I think I would end up having 15 babies with these people.

Anyways, all is well. I'm getting so excited about this little one. :)