Heard a funny comment today

I had some family around today for my son's birthday and was chatting about my upcoming birth. Someone asked if I was scared. I answered honestly that I'm actually really looking forward to it and truly can't wait :D Their answer was "Are you just telling yourself that to talk yourself into not being scared?"

That answer is no but I guess it just took me by surprise. I know not everyone feels as positive about birth, I know myself when I was pregnant with Moo I was absolutely terrified of this great unknown! My labour turned out to be very long, his head was in the wrong position, so it was extremely exhausting but I'm still really excited.

Anyway, am I the only one who is looking forward to going through it again?

no Im looking forward to it too, and thats even after I get over my fear of birthing in a hostpital I really dont want to go to! :lol:

Must admit Ive had a few comments along those lines too when I tell people Im looking forward to it, and not fearing it

LOL I was looking forward to it until I reached my due dates then I crapped my pants until I went into labour...lol

I think its awesome you have that attitude!!

I can relate to your feelings about this.
I will be giving birth for the fourth time soon- and I look forward to it.
I look forward to the challenge, the feeling of unshakeable empowerment and the deep, blissful love that follows. I choose to focus on those positive aspects rather than any fears or insecurities that I could conjure up.
I have always been supported and loved in labour, and I expect that it will be the same next time.
And I can't wait to meet my precious bub, and introduce him/her to my other children. :)

Beans - nice to hear you're also looking forward to it :D

Mrs Nerd Burger - LOL thanks, maybe I'll be eating my words in December too :lol:

Ash - that's gorgeous!

I don't share your feelings at all, based on my own experiences, but I do not think you're alone, and I do not think you're delusional.

I think plenty of women would feel as you do, and I hope that the person who raised it will see that your perspective is honest, transparent and valid. And to be commended!

Peanutter - thanks hun :hug: Don't blame you one bit for not feeling the same.

Hmmm... now having a newborn again, that's scary!

No. I actually don't mind the labour and birth bit. To me, that's actually the easy part. Crazy, maybe, but at least I know I'm at the end of it all and I will meet my baby soon. I don't really like the whole pregnancy thing!

I am really looking forward to giving birth in a few years' time. I love pregnancy and was looking forward ot birthing Liebling. Can't wait to actually give birth my way, I really didn't find it scary or painful when I was with supportive people.

Now that I have already experienced my VBAC I am really excited to see how this next birth will pan out. Although still not sure if I am all that excited about the pushing!

LOL. I have the same positive thoughts about Birth. I would much rather give birth again then be pregnant :D I actually LOVED that part !

3littlemonkeys - makes sense, kinda how I feel about having a newborn in the house again!

FB - hope you get the birth you want :hug:

zap - good luck!

MN - :lol:

Good to hear I'm not alone, was starting to doubt myself after thinking about the whole conversation later!

I still look forward to giving birth. I hope that I will get to :)

Honestly when i found out i was expecting number 2 i was more scared of going through morning sickness again than labour. I would happily go through all that pain again than deal with 12+ weeks of feeling crappy.

I think because we know what its like we will know how to fully prepare ourselves and we know how awesome that feeling is of seeing your baby for the first time. I wish they could bottle that feeling.

I was so fortunate to have an awesome birth with DD, but in the lead up I did have a lot of fear. I can't wait to birth again as it's less of an unknown and I don't feel the fear (or as much of it) will be there. The intensity will still be full on, but I really aim to embrace it more next time, if that makes sense?

MadB - :hug:

LMS - you know I was so exhausted with Moo that I didn't bond with him for days, hope I get that feeling this time though! Sounds wonderful!

humanbean - that's probably a good way to describe it actually. Although my birth was a big shock, I feel similar to you.

As soon as DD was born I wanted to do it again lol!! And the feeling only increases the more time goes on. I got the same comments..."omg aren't you scared, will you be having the needle straight away (meaning epidural)" etc etc. Older women (mums age) would laugh in a condescending way when I was pregnant and said I couldn't wait to go through labour, told me I would be begging for a section and all the rest...well I showed all of them, because as huge and painful as it was, looking back I loved labour and ESPECIALLY giving birth and I truly cannot wait to do it again.

I would say I have some feelings of looking forward to it, but no, I'm not totally 100% with you!
I think human bean described it really well, so much is the great unknown first time around and just knowing what to expect puts a very different perspective on things. I had a quick birth first time around and my head just didn't move at the same pace as my body (body was on the 2 hour schedule, head was still thinking it was in for the 24 hour deal!) so there was definitely some shock involved. I think just knowing that sub 2 hours is a very real possibility will help me immensely - and some parts of me are looking forward to finding out if that is true.

Hon, I can't wait!! People think I'm nuts when I say that too. Some friends have just gawked at me like I've lost my mind then comment that I can't be serious :rolleyes: Sure, it's painful but hey it's one hell of an awesome experience and I can't wait to embrace that feeling again!!

I was like you - sooo nervous about the unknown! I think the lead up and all the thinking and dwelling and the "what if" was 100000 times worse then the actual birth lol. I actually enjoyed giving birth to my boy and was fortunate enough to have a beautiful, natural birth. When I think of a next time (although I don't feel ready to fall pregnant again for a while yet) I think that if I was guaranteed this birth that I would be feeling so excited and absolutely fearless, but even though I wouldn't freak out like the first time, I would still feel nervous about the fact it is still unknown and every birth is a whole new story and anything is possible iykwim. Oh boy, I think i am just one big worrier lol :) and becoming a Mum sure didn't help that hehe. All the best to you anyhow!


---
- Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

With DD1 I was looking forward to it but was nervous about the 'unknown' but never really SCARED (until on the phone to 000 :rofl:)

With DD2 I was actually kind of excited, I had a trust in myself and my body and couldn't wait to meet her, the only thing that got at me was worry that things went so well with DD1 when they prob shouldn't have that this time things would stuff up.


---
- Sent from my iPhone, more than likely while I should be doing something else!

I think it's great that you feel that way. Especially seeing as the first time was difficult. And i think it's important to share it too. Not everyone is terrified of it all and it helps to have a really positive headspace about the birth. Too many people get talked into feeling scared, i think.

No way! I would give birth everyday if I could! My labours and births were awesome, Im very lucky, I never once felt any fear about the whole process. But Im a rare minority I think.

Stick with being positive and excited! Second time round is a little more relaxed because you know whats coming, you know you can do it.

I'm the same. I cannot wait to give birth again!

Sent from my GT-S5570 using Tapatalk

:

---

Honestly when i found out i was expecting number 2 i was more scared of going through morning sickness again than labour. I would happily go through all that pain again than deal with 12+ weeks of feeling crappy.

---

Oh yeah, I'm with you!!

Before DD1's birth I was nervous but looking forward to it. After that experience I was pretty scared about DD2's birth and the pain. But after DD2 was born I wanted to do it again! As long as I have another normal birth I am not afraid of it at all!! The contractions were full on and took a lot of concentration but they weren't unbearably painful for me. And the feeling after I did it!!! Well that makes it all worth it.

I'm looking forward to giving birth again too. With DD I was still enjoying being pregnant when she decided she was ready. Then she came so quickly there was no time to think about it too much. Plus I had awesome support. Then the feeling of pride, empowerment and love when she was put into my arms....there aren't really words to describe it.

On the other hand, I am scared of coping with a newborn AND a toddler this time. DD's first 12 months were pretty rough. I really hope I can enjoy it more this time.

oh man i was just so simply EXCITED when i was pg with DD2! with DD1 i wasnt scared at all, but wasnt excited as i simply saw it (the process of birth) as a means to an end (ie getting my baby). so it was a big shock when i realised that birth encompasses so much more than having a baby placed on your chest ITMS. it is a passage that you go through that at the end you will be different...and that was a bit of a shock to me when i had DD1. but this second time around i was much better prepared for all the changes that come with a birth journey...and it was simply JOYOUS!

i remember as i lifted DD2 out of the water and cradled her in my arms that i declared to the room that i was going to have a million babies lol.

I can relate to your excitement. I'd love to give birth again, so much so that I volunteered the other day to labour for a friend of mine who was very scared and due any day and I was serious. I really would have done it for her if it had been an option!! It's all relative I guess and it does depend on your experiences and how you resolve them. I had a pretty rough birth with DS but for ages I've been looking forward to doing it again (and differently). Now that we look like not being able to have more kids I'd give nearly anything to be pg and give birth again. I wouldn't even care if it ended in another emergency c-sect.

So you're not alone, but that fear your friend/family member was projecting is really common too.

I was really looking forward to my second birth too. I had a quite positive experience for my first & was hoping to do it better. It didn't quite go as planned in the end but I was definately not scared about what was coming. I also got heaps of comments about having drugs too even though I'd already had one drug free birth. That surprised me.

I am not pregnant now, but i would SO do pregnancy and birth over and over if i could. I loved it! I just don't want anymore babies/children!
I had people say the same thing to me when i said i was looking forward to the births. For me, the rush afterwards and the knowledge of just how much i had achieved (even if it only effected me) was huge :D

I'm pg with my first baby and can't WAIT for labour and birth! I'm not scared at all and really honestly am just looking forward to the experience. I've felt this way for almost 2 years! The only problem I have now is that I'm enjoying pregnancy so much I'll be kind of sad when that's over :) Good on you for responding positively to the comments!

Self confessed birth junkie here!!! I am so excited to labour and give birth again - I LOVE IT!!! Come on December, LOL!!

Birth junkie here too, I am soooo excited! Sure I'm scared too but looking forward to the exhilaration of the experience!

i know i am, im going for my 2nd VBAC so yes well looking forward to it, i wanna met my lil girl.

oh my, am i the only one who is terrified!!??

this is my first - i think its just the fear of the unknown - but i dunno! ;)
or its because everyone tells me the horror stories (why do they do that???)

eeek!

:

---

oh my, am i the only one who is terrified!!??

this is my first - i think its just the fear of the unknown - but i dunno! ;)
or its because everyone tells me the horror stories (why do they do that???)

eeek!

---

No not at all! I was very terrified before my DD arrived, I was being induced and spent a lot of the days leading up to it in tears. I don't think it was the pain as such that scared me, just the unknown, the enormity of the situation, how well I would respond to it, lots of little things. On an intellectual level I knew that getting a baby out was the purpose of these fat ol' hips I've been 'blessed' with and that millions of women do it and survive, but on an emotional level I was crapping myself. I could rationalise all I liked and people could say what ever they could to reassure me but at the heart of it, it wasn't cracking that emotional response.

I think this thread shows that if people can do it once and be very keen to do it again - it must be not only achievable but also rewarding! Also I think that my fear was all happening on an emotional level and once labour kicked in my head went into a different zone (the knuckle down and JUST DO IT zone) so I wasn't really focusing on that emotional part of my brain any more so it kind of dulled the fear down to a much better level.

:

---

oh my, am i the only one who is terrified!!??

this is my first - i think its just the fear of the unknown - but i dunno! ;)
or its because everyone tells me the horror stories (why do they do that???)

eeek!

---

Just replace DD with DS in Sagres's post & it's exactly what I felt. It's hard not to be scared in the face of the unknown when all you hear is horror stories. I think people like to tell you their horror stories because the normal births are just too everyday & therefore not dramatic enough to warrant telling the story IYKWIM.

Wow thanks everyone for your perspectives :D

Alish - No you're not the only one sweetie! I was so terrified of birth when I was pregnant with my first, I couldn't even think about it. Everyone thought I was so calm as I'd just say to people 'the baby has to come out' etc but inside I was beside myself. And yes all those stories you hear just make it so much more daunting. I truly thought something terrible was going to happen, there was no way I'd be able to survive childbirth. People laugh when I tell them that now but I was completely serious!

I was excited about the birth all the way through my pregnancy, even though it was my first. I read so many beautiful birth stories, I knew what I wanted and couldn't wait for it! DH thought I was a little delusional at first, but he researched with me and that got me even more excited :)

DD's birth didn't go exactly to plan but it was still wonderful and I still loved it. I really can't wait to do it again one day. After doing it once and now knowing what to expect, I think next time will be even better.

My view is that it's such a powerful, personal thing and it happens so few times in our lives (I plan on only doing it once more). So next time I get the opportunity I'm going to make the most of it and embrace it, I really can't wait :)

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk