Gustav

Well, the last and most important lesson I took away from our last childbirth class on Wednesday was simple, "Be flexible." Our childbirth educator passed on that advice from a friend of hers who had her baby in a hotel during her Katrina evacuation. We had learned that day that Gustav might be headed to New Orleans and that we might have to evacuate. As we now know, and as I sit in my mom's kitchen in Arkansas, those are both truths.

Gustav has thrown a nasty wrench into my birth planning. I am nine hours away from my home, my doctor, and my friends. We have spent the past nine months or so building a wonderful relationship with our doctor and discussing how we would like to birth our baby. Now, there is a possibility that I could have our baby away from home, and that is hard to accept. I like to be in control of the situation, and although birth is an unpredictable event, I could never have imagined these circumstances. Sure, I knew it could happen when I found out we were pregnant back in January, but I could never really visualize it. But now I'm living it. One of my biggest fears about the birth is for doctors/nurses to promote interventions that I don't need. I trust that my doctor would not do that - I don't know what kinds of doctors I will encounter if I give birth elsewhere, and that scares me.

Sounds like a sob story so far - but there are many positives. I was able to leave early to avoid traffic, and I have a place to stay with family during this evacuation. My family is together - Travis, Same and me - and that is amazing. One friend of mine had to leave her husband behind because he is essential medical personnel. I cannot imagine being away from Travis during this time. So far, I have had a very healthy pregnancy, and hopefully the birth will be healthy as well - leaving little need for intervention. And I just found out today that my friend who lives near here works at a hospital - labor and delivery is right down the hall from her office. It always helps to know someone on the inside.

Last but not least, whereever it happens, our little girl will be born soon! YAY!

For the time being, we are trying to relax. We know the next days will bring mountains of anxiety and stress. We only hope that the damage from Gustav is minimal and that we can go home...and soon.