This expecting mom was afraid that a labor induction would lead her away from the natural birth she wanted.  

But in fact, despite the cervadil, pitocin, and epidural, she was able to stay calm and peacefully push out her baby boy in 30 minutes!  Her family and friends were nearby to welcome him to the world and all was fine in the end.  This reminds us to expect the unexpected, and that we can still embrace our own story, even if it happened differently from the first draft. 

This VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) Podcast gives us multiple birth stories filled with hope!  

theVbaclink.com  is worth following to hear stories from real moms who have triumphed beyond previous C-sections to then get the VBAC they always wanted.  

Episode 6 features Karina, who gave birth with Type 1 Diabetes.  Her labor and sweet baby images are captured by Julie Marks of Picture Your Birth

Take it from Jennifer Ashley at Pretty Little Details ... Keep the Labour Gown in your Hospital Bag.

A lot of the other stuff, you can omit from the checklist.  But a gown to birth in AND to wear afterwards for nursing at the hospital...those are essential!  

   Check out prettylittledetails.com for pointers on why or why not to bring your whole list to the hospital for labour and delivery.  We can't forget about those couple of days postpartum, too.  Think about being in the hospital, having visitors, and having a newborn...

Don't forget the Mom-to-Be on Mother's Day!  

Leave the baby gear to the baby shower and treat her to something special for herself...a Labor Gown from Pretty Pushers!  There's a special discount code at this link:  http://parentinginprogress.net/mdfashion/9/

Note to women preparing for birth:

The Unisex hospital gown has no opening for the fetal monitor so they will be pulling up your gown an awful lot :(  The pretty Pushers labor gown, however, provides easy access for the fetal monitor so you can keep your skirt on during labor :)  Get comfortable.  Get mobile.  It's your choice!