Thank you PRR very much! I really appreciated the personalized answers. I grew up on alot of prepared foods and think often that it led to my often unhealthy state today! I look forward to the "greener" or actually original foods we had for generations... I think havign a baby will actually make us healthier because caring for another makes you realise how much more you need to care for yourself... and by that I mean taking the TIME to MAKE good food and squish it up for them and consume some yourself instead of the easy and sometimes "cheap" foods.

I've been interested in "herbal teas" but worry about the word of wisdom... I suppose caffeine free designates that it is ok? My aunt has a very pro-natural store in Brooklin, Ontario which has some teas and I am slowly collecting things from the store (natural mascara, scent absorbers like volacano ash in a special pouch as opposed to aersols that aggravate my asthma) and I'm looking forward to investing in cloth diapers (though not to paying soo much in laundry fees in the apartment, even though that will still be cheaper than plastic diapers!)

I especially appreciate your story about your poor mother's experience... I just have a feeling that taking any drugs would be the worst possible thing to experience! Right now (although we are still at teh trying to conceive stage) I am even worried about taking advil or my asthma medication (as on lds,org it advises against medication during pregnancy and there have been many websites warning NO drugs have been approved for the fetus). I know that there must be some leeway because the mother needs to maintain her health, but I am worried about those first days in the womb, before one even knows they are pregnant, that could affect the baby's development in some way...

We don't even have a microwave, and my mother's side of the family has gotten rid of theirs for fear of the airwaves/brainwaves and such being affected by the technology.

Thank you for the advice about breastfeeding, I've read about the medical packs even midwives will bring bearing drugs like pitocin and such to help things contract... I think God designed us to give birth and recover all on our own! I do appreciate reading the sites Honor sent regarding the Bradley Method and remember reading some birth stories in which the mother was able to handle the pain and I'd like to believe that I will get through the experience in a similar manner.

     I agree with Honor.  A natural childbirth seems to me to be far superior to having some drug-induced type of labor.  My first experience with drug-assisted birth was when my mother was giving birth to a younger brother.  She was very sensative to the drugs they were giving her.  They ended up rendering her unconscious.  How dumb.  Why would any doctor want the mother unconscious during the birth process?  It was a good thing she got a blessing before going into the hospital.  She was blessed that the drugs would have no lasting harmful effects.  Thank goodness for that.  The doctors just about killed her, and because she was unconscious during the actual birth process, they had to force my brother out of her.  It was awful!

     The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is a very good book - highly recommended.  A lot of women don't realize it, but breastfeeding actually helps the mother to heal after the birth.  It helps muscles to re-firm, etc.

     You may also wish to get some Red Raspberry Leaf herb tea.  This is wonderful for helping to heal things also and will completely stop any hemorrhaging that may occur.  Boil the water first (do not make it in the microwave and do not add sugar).  Turn off the heat, mix the herbs into the hot water, cover and let stand for a while.  It won't take but about 5-10 minutes.

     Something else I've noticed is that you may wish to stay away from the jarred baby food from the store.  We didn't use any such thing years ago.  When we fixed food for the baby, we just mashed the peas with a fork (or the banana, or whatever...).  It's so much more healthy for the child than that jarred stuff.  Have you ever taken  a few minutes to read any of the labels on those things.  The vegetables aren't so bad, but the baby fruits are terrible.  They're all nothing but strained juices thickened with modified food starch.  Some of my nieces and nephews have suffered terribly due to being fed that stuff all the time when they were infants.  Since modified food starch is a thickener, it would thicken their stools as well.  The poor kids were always constipated.

     I hope you won't think it intrusive of me to be sharing another experience we had.  When my brother and sister-in-law took their two older children to Disney World for a week, they left the 6-month old with us.  Kristen was a beautiful child, but always crying (poor thing).  She was teething at the time and going through a totally miserable experience.

     My sister-in-law is a real believer in using the store bought food items.  She made certain she left us plenty of baby formula.  Needless to say, we didn't touch the baby formula all week long. 

     It was a real test of our patience to endure the first evening with Kristen.  She screamed bloody murder the whole evening long.  I don't think I ever prayed so hard in all my life - partly for her, but mostly for myself because my nerves were on the verge of breaking.  But I knew that the child was only going through a cleansing process.  The baby formula she'd been drinking was full of sugar and that sugar needed to be cleansed from her system.  Seriously, that's all it was - powdered milk and sugar with a few token nutrients thrown in for good measure (I suppose).  The sugar was aggravating her gums so badly she couldn't help but cry for the pain.

     We fixed her up a bottle of an herbal mixture we like to use.  (Don't worry, I'm not trying to sell anything - just saying that's what we did.)  When she was calmed down enough to finally eat something, we gave her that.  Again, it contained no sugar. 

     I was so happy to see Kristen sleep peacefully through the night, which helped us sleep, too.  LOL  In the morning, I remember her waking up.  She turned to me and shared the most precious smile.  It was more than a smile...It was like she was saying 'thank you'.  Thank you for the patience, thank you for helping me through that awful evening. 

     We kept her on real food and the herbal drink mixture for the rest of the week.  During that time she rarely cried.  She smiled all the time.  Her runny nose cleared up.  She played cheerfully and even entertained herself well when I was busy fixing dinner or doing some other chore (like laundry).  It was so amazing to see the beauty of her personality shine through like we'd never seen it before.

     I must say I was more than reluctant to give her back to her mother at the end of the week because I knew that my sister-in-law would once again be feeding her all the jarred or canned stuff.  It broke my heart even more to see Kristen again about a week after her parents returned home.  They came over to visit one afternoon.  Kristen was cranky again, crying, nose running, teeth aching - the bright and smiling child we'd seen for a weeks time had vanished.

     I offer this only for your consideration.  I think it makes a tremendous difference as to the Spirit of ones home to be sure that the physical things are in good order and that we are following correct principles the way the Word of Wisdom encourages us to do.  Whatever you decide to do, I hope you will seek the Lord's guidance.  The scriptures offer so much more than just a boost to our spiritual well being for the day.  They can offer assistance to us in our temporal needs as well.

     Well, I didn't mean to go on and on like this.  We hope all goes well for you and that you will find the answers you're seeking. 

PRR

Thanks for your advice!

This will be our first "human" child (as opposed to fur child :] )
and I wanted an LDS perspective. I support the idea of a natural childbirth and
feeding a child naturally as opposed to using a formula. We tried before and nothing
happened, we are hoping that by being a part of the church and trying to get
closer to an eternal temple wedding and eventual sealing (past regular civil
marriage) will help us. My husband has been working for a few months, although
I am still in school. It would be nice to think that things could move smoothly
and the following ideal situation would occur:

Now that Kevin is working we can start to plan for a baby, and hopefully as
we slowly stock up on necessities, one will decide that they would like to
depart from Heavenly Father's realm and choose to be our child, and arrive
sometime between June and July of next year, giving me August to
"recover" before going back to school on a full or part time basis if
I am up to it and able to manage, and take it slow before entering the
workforce part time to help pay back my debts (although I'd love to just stay
at home full time, I don't think my student loan officers would sympathize!).

We are both over 26 now, and don't want to wait too long before starting a
family. Although we slip in tidbits here and there to our families about the
church, they are steadfast in their own faith. We hope to raise our
daughter/son in the Church... we look forward to the “three white dresses” or
being able to help him receive the Aaronic/ Melchezideck Priesthood, and all of
life’s moments from diapering them to diapering the grandchildren!

I have read “What to Expect When Expecting” and agree that it has a more
medical base. I am interested in a “midwife” experience, longing more for what
may have been the case during the days of Nephi than the modern “chic” caesarean
experience. I also worry about experiencing a “plus size pregnancy” and have
only read scary stories on the internet. Go figure that I’ve also seen episodes
on television where women had no idea they were pregnant, had certainly never
followed the Word of Wisdom, and had “perfectly healthy” babies.

My goal here is to have the opportunity to hear from those here who are
planning on their first child too to those who have had theirs and experienced
an empty nest, and am grateful to any advice from books to “product reviews”
and to general advice you wish your parents had told you when you were
expecting. Thanks!

I'm not sure there is an "LDS" way to approach the
pregnancy/birth experience.  I grew up in a home that approached most
things (especially childbirth) from a more natural standpoint and I actually
expected to find more women who had that view in the LDS culture..... not
exactly.  I found that I usually had more in common in my views of childbirth
with people who had drastically different views on religion and found myself
being "strange" in LDS crowds.  I'm a big believer that women
need to make decisions for their birth experience based on what makes them feel
comfortable, and that it will probably be a unique view from even people that
she's close to.  If you'd like the resources that I found most helpful,
I'd recommend:

Bradley Method of Natural Child Birth - Natural Childbirth Classes

Husband Coached Childbirth - The Bradley Method Book

Hypnobirthing - Natural Childbirth Method

La Leche League International - Breastfeeding support and information

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding - La Leche League's guide to breastfeeding (AMAZING resource - you can find it at any Boarders or Barnes & Nobel)

Those might not quite be your style, but I hope they might be of help.
 Everyone seems to recommend the "What to expect when you're
expecting" books, and while they seemed good for general information on
pregnancy, I found myself reading things that contradicted what they'd seemed
to be saying just pages before.  It's pretty much a compilation of
different advice from medical professionals, but a bit more like random answers
to different questions rather than approaching birth from a particular
standpoint.  These are some of the first direct choices you will make
regarding your children.  Trust your instinct above the opinion of others
(you will get SO MANY differing opinions).  I was always a little wary of
people who used fear as a motivator instead of faith.  Learning as much as
you can is the best way to dispel fear and make the best decisions.  Good
luck in your childbirth education experience!

     Exactly what stage of building your family are you at?  Are we to assume you are at the "I'm expecting my first child" stage?  LOL  Or perhaps you know someone who is going through this.

     LDS Family Services may have certain information you're looking for if you'd care to try them.  As for having a child in general, it changes your whole life.  Your whole purpose and perspective on living changes. 

     You may find yourself at times asking not only "What would Jesus do?", but "What would Heavenly Mother do?" as well.  LOL

     Good luck! 

PRR