Then comes a baby in a baby carriage!

It was spring of 2011. I was only 20 and had baby fever. Who wants a baby at that age you ask? Well I did. God had laid it heavy on my heart to start a family. I was a happily married woman, and my husband and I have careers and are financially stable, so my question was why not? So after some thought Pat agreed and we started trying end of May and early June. I had my cycle all charted and had been preparing my body for a change. So my fertile week came around and well, we all know how a baby is made so I won't go into that! So now the dreaded two week wait-which is the two weeks you wait to test or start your cycle, I went on about my life and thought nothing of it. Of course I was excited knowing I could be preggers but I just prayed to God, after all it was in his hands. I had tested June 18th, and 20th and got BFN'S- big fat negatives! With a box of three tests I had one more pee stick! Two days passed and I had no physically signs or sickness that people say you get pregnant.
My cycle was supposed to start that day. I was awoken at 3:30am and had a sudden urge to pee. So I crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom. Something was telling me to take my last test. I opened the drawer, removed the wrapper, and well peed on the stick. I waited two minutes, which seemed the longest of my life, peered over and to my surprise saw two lines! I could not believe that I had a new life growing inside of me! My husband woke for work and I told him the good news and he wore a smile that whole day. I won't get into my pregnancy as I vlogged the whole journey on YouTube. If your curious and want to learn about that, go to YouTube and search for LShumate1010 and you will find me!

In my 9 long months of pregnancy, I researched many topics and made some decisions. I knew I was going to become a natural mama or as some people call it "crunchy"! So what I wanted to cloth diaper, breastfeed, make liam's baby food, baby wear, and co sleep. I wanted the best for my son and I believe those are just a few of the wonderful choices I have made for his well being.
But the most important thing to me was his birth. I wanted a natural birth with a midwife. Did you know more women put more thought and dedication into their wedding then their child's birth? And if something goes wrong in their wedding its the end of the world but when an intervention is performed on a woman in labor she will say "well I got my end result". Well even if your DJ sucked at your wedding, your still a married woman right? Women need to know they have a choice and options when it comes to childbirth. To think that a medical team could take my power and plans away from me, breaks my heart. I had a very positive birth experience-which I will blog about next!- and just want to encourage and share with women that it doesn't have to be what you see on TV or what your friend, friends friend, mom, sister, aunt, grandma, or even in laws had or made it out to be. Every birth story is different and beautiful. I just wish women would make a choice, dare to be different, and educate themselves on birth in the US. I recommend watching the business of being born...that will change your outlook on your childs birth and you will learn so many things you never knew or thought about having a baby.

So for all you ladies trying, pregnant, or who already have little ones, please keep checking my blog. I will put my birth story into words and share with you the most amazing, unforgettable, and empowering experience of my life...the birth of Liam Timothy Shumate.