An easy decision.

Well, we loved the Birth by Design group. Loved. Loved them so much in fact that I signed up for my first prenatal visit with them on the spot. And they were so excited for us to join their practice. They made us feel so welcome and spoke with us as though we were embarking on an amazing journey together. Which we are. The vibe was totally different atmosphere than the GW group. Where the GW group was strident, these ladies were gentle. Where the GW group was defensive, these ladies were open. They have a lot of the same philosophies - I think all midwives share much of that in common - but the difference is in the delivery. (Ha - no pun intended.)

The GW group seemed more transactional in comparison to the Chantilly group. The Chantilly group seemed more like they were interested in you as a person and in building a personal relationship with you. They have a lot of the same nutrition and exercise guidelines, but they are much more gentle about the whole thing. I keep using that word, but I think it's an easy way to sum up how I think my experience is going to be with them: gentle. Which is exactly what I was looking for.

Now: the birthing center. These midwives will do home deliveries, but they also just opened a brand new birthing center last month. We originally thought we wanted to do a home birth, but after much consideration, we decided that there was really just too many cats and too much clutter in too small a space for a home birth to be practical. Not to mention all the freaking stairs in our house. We'll probably invest in the home birth kit just in case there is another snowmaggedon, but after seeing the birthing center, there is no question that we are going there to have our baby. Let me tell you, this place is deluxe. I forgot to bring the camera, so I don't have any photos to share, but when I go back in two weeks for my first prenatal exam, I am definitely going to snap a few shots of each birthing suite. Yes. Suite.

Each room looks like it belongs in a posh resort hotel. I don't just want to have my baby there, I want to live there. Each room had a different decoration scheme, but all had the same basic elements - a sitting area with couches and/or armchairs, a huge, plush, queen sized bed, a huge, deep birthing pool that could easily fit both a laboring woman and her partner if need be, a large bathroom with walk-in shower, and lots of little touches like ceiling fans, soft lighting, and iPod docks so you can play music. The birthing pools are actually deep, luxurious bath tubs rather than the Aqua Doula tubs that most birthing centers use. I really loved that aspect. They went out of their way to make it a pleasurable experience in terms of sensory input, and I really think that's going to make a big difference when the time comes. When I go into labor, they'll let me have my choice of available rooms, so I'll be spending the next few months trying to decide which is my favorite. It's going to be a tough choice.

But the easiest choice of all has been to join their practice. I'm really excited to have found midwives that I have such a rapport with already. And to know that they are going to fully support me in having a normal, natural childbirth with no unnecessary interventions is such a huge relief. I can't wait for my first prenatal visit!