What made me jump out of the box?

My story begins shortly after I became pregnant with our firstborn son. In my mind, I was going to enjoy my pregnancy and go to the hospital when the time came for him to enter this world. That was my plan and I was very naive. It is what everyone seemed to do.  As the weeks passed and I entered my second trimester I would go onto the websites that would tell me what to expect in my pregnancy and what developments my baby was undergoing that week as well as what I ought to be thinking about. One day, I saw this funny word. Episiotomy. I thought to myself...what is that? It doesn't sound very good. So, I looked it up. No WAY in the world did I want that to be a part of the delivery of my son! So began my jump out of the box! I began to research and find a way to AVOID this awful thing called an episiotomy. Through this I learned about The Bradley Method of child birth. I read and studied and dragged my hubby to Bradley Birth classes. I was determined not to have an episiotomy! Well, as one would have it, I learned so much more about labor and delivery. I began to learn about what was necessary and what was not. I learned that I do have a say in what I want and do not want when it comes to the world of medicine and doctors. I began to ask the questions: how will this effect me and my baby? Is it the best option? Is there a better way? What are the ingredients? What are the risks involved? What are the benefits? And with those questions came answers that I did not expect. I began to ask these same questions for everything! No I am not paranoid and no I do not fear doctors and hospitals and the medical system. I am, however, proactive when it comes to the medical systems influence in our lives. I believe we have a right to know the answers to these questions. I will dive into individual topics later! So, what did this little decision to avoid an episiotomy do for my labor and delivery and my life almost 2 years later? Well, I gave birth to my son in the hospital naturally. He was 9lbs 8oz at birth. We said no to many standard procedures for me and for my son while in the hospital. We chose other procedures that are less routine and that helped me to not tear or require an episiotomy and were better for both me and my son. We have decided to decline the regular vaccine schedule given to children. I gave birth to my daughter through a home birth with a midwife (wonderful experience!) because we have realized our rights to refuse certain things in the hospital have been/are being taken away. I have come to discover the benefit of using essential oils everyday in place of OTC medicines. I will share how I implement those into our lives through this blog. I also take my family to an alternative medicine family practice instead of a regular family doctor or pediatrician. And I still am learning and I am still researching. I will be the first to admit that I do not have all the answers. But through this I hope to be able to inspire someone else to begin to ask the questions that I have and to maybe also "jump" out of the box!