Baby Paul Born: March 5, 1997
Weighing in at 8 lbs 4 oz
21 inches long
Sue 8.5 months pregnantMy wife Sue and I prepared ourselves for Paul's birth by attending the Bradley Method natural childbirth classes in our area. The Bradley Method boasts over 85% unmedicated births and we wanted the best for our son or daughter. For a more detailed look, visit the Bradely Method website. Since we did not want to introduce radiowaves into our developing child's sensitive and possibly vulnerable organs, we chose not to undergo elective sonography. Thus, we saved our discovery of the gender of the baby until birth.
Sue started having tingling contractions at 2 PM on March 4th. We went out to dinner with Sue's mom. Sue timed her contractions at about 8-10 minutes apart but very light. By 10 PM her contractions were more intense. Although Sue's contractions were influencable, we called Jean the midwife at 2 AM on March 5th with the thought that we should leave to go to the birthing center. Jean had had two deliveries that day already and talked to Sue for 5 minutes without Sue having a contraction. She instructed us to call her later when we were near transition stage.
Sue's labor got more serious and hard about 4 AM. We moved her to the bathtub in order to comfort her during hard contractions but the water did not help. Instead it sped her labor up and at 4:30 her water broke and she got the "urge to push." We thought we were going to have Paul right there in our own home bathtub!
Our friend Karen, who was with us to video tape labor and birth called Jean and told her that we were in trouble. Jean said to go to the birthing center and wait for her. She lived 30 minutes from the birthing center. We coaxed Sue out of the bathtub and put her birthing dress (sorry Mary, we dissed your nice threads) on her and got her into the car. She knelt on the passenger seat as we drove five minutes to the birthing center in Denton.
We got to the birthing center and waited 15 more minutes for Jean to arrive. A cold wind was blowing while Sue resisted the urge to push still kneeling in the car. When Jean got there at 5 AM (she sped there in 20 minutes) Sue was helped into the birthing center while the baby was crowning to get out. It was a very painful and uncomfortable walk to the back of the birthing center for Sue. (Guys, put a softball up there between your legs, take a few steps and see how you like it.)
After determining no distress on the baby's part, Sue pushed for 15 minutes and little Paul slipped out. Sue was drained by then but we were all very happy for Paul's arrival. Since we had been calling him Ryc (pronounced "Rick") during the pregnancy, it was nice to have a gender match.
 Dr. Tom giving Paul a placentectomy |
 Newborn Paul |
 Midwife Jean with little Paul |
 A little rest for Mama with the bundle of joy.
|
 Doula Grandma Finn showing off the new grandson |
 Uncle Kevin with little Paul |
The next decision...To Immunize or Not
I knew that there was some sort of controversy regarding vaccinations by those who seemed to be informed on fine details but I had no reason to investigate it until I had my first child. Near the end of the pregnancy, I started looking into this topic for myself. Fortunately the internet makes information access much less of an obstacle than previous generations. What I found was extraordinary.
I read about the myths of this mandatory program that has the confidence of so many Americans. The question that this controversy boils down to is: Does immunization prevent more harm than it causes? There is a powerful medical lobby of pediatricians and drug companies that keeps the issue in the dark and so it is hard to get unbiased information.
Authors are usually advocates of either mandatory immunization or freedom of choice. Few states have philosophical exemptions that allow parents to protect their children from these toxins. Unless a family is planning to homeschool, they are usually going to be forced to consent to this "treatment" for their child.
Don't be a lemming when it comes to your child's health. For whole articles and indexes on this immunization struggle, look at:
Make an informed choice!!
National Vaccine Information Center
