Natural Childbirth or Epidural: Writing My Birth Plan.

(all natural photo…this is what 9 month pregnant and loving it really looks like folks!)

This week I’m working on my “Birth Plan”.

Oh yes, I guess you need one of those now. Its funny how we think we can control the whole labor and delivery thing. Yeah, like I’ve been able to control anything about this pregnancy. My body has been pretty much possessed by pregnant. It takes over. Its a beautiful ride.

So, I’m just going to say it, when people ask about your birth plan, what they really want to know is if you are going to get an epidural. Are you having a “natural” delivery or not?

This whole natural thing is about as much as a fad as hippy flare jeans coming back in style ever 10 years or so. I mean really. A fad in NYC right now is c-sections. I watched a recent documentary talking about the c-section rate being over 50% in NYC. ( national average 20%, Amarillo average 18%) Why so high? Control. Women would rather have the convience of planning and adding on a tummy tuck with their c-section than having a normallabor and delivery.

So back to the big question I keep getting asked, natural or epidural. Which fad will i subscribe to? Which method of control?

Let me respond by making one comment, “Ladies, stop it!”

We really need to end this battle with being in control and comparing ourselves to one another!

Kate rant coming……

I’d like to punch the doctor who degrades the woman who has a natural birth by calling it “Macho Feminism.” (That doctor was a man. Ha!) Likewise, I was deck the chick who thinks everyone’s birth experience was just like her’s and able to be natural. Here’s the deal, pain, experiences, and bodies are different for everyone. Get. Over. It. Making someone feel like they are weak because they got an epidural is like telling someone getting a c-section is wrong because it’s not natural. Hello! There’s a reason our infant mortality rate doesn’t suck anymore, it’s called modern medicine. Epidurals are another means of modern medicine.

When I first got pregnant, all these competing voices where pushing me back and forth. Then I finally realized that no voice other than my own was going to make this decision for me, and I certainly wasn’t going to let fear, pressure, or comparison decide how I wanted to spend one of the most important moments of my life.

I’ve weighed my own pros and cons. If I do this thing naturally it will be because the benefits are worth it to me, and because I’ve given up control of the pain that will take over my body to God. If I get an epidural, it will be because the benefits are worth it to me, and because I’ve given up the control of being in charge of my own pain to God.

As for what is written in my birth plan, that’s between me and David. When your time comes, I hope you can decide what’s best for you, and let that be that.

(over 9 months with baby boy)

What’s Next For Us: A Post By David Ritchie

Many of you have been wondering what is next for me and David. We have been in the process of praying and discerning what exactly this new work God was calling us to was supposed to look like. We finally feel like we have clarity on what that next thing is!

The story is on my husband’s new blog! Please check it out by clicking the link below!

www.davidritchieamarillo.wordpress.com

Thank you for all the prayers and support!!

-KR

Secret Confessions: Things I Do When My Husband Is Gone.

Things I Do When David Is Gone:

* Watch documentaries. Usually ones that make me cry.

* Sleep with the dog. And with the lights on.

* Clean. I mean, the OCD kind of cleaning.

* Wear his clothes. Shhhhh, it’s only because they smell like him…and they are comfy.

* Eat weird food.
Dinner #1 Subway and chocolate chip cookies.
Dinner #2 a scone and a chicken sandwich from Chicfila
Dinner #3 a peanut butter and honey sandwich
Enough said…..

* Break something at the house. This time it was my phone.

* Stay in and pretend I’m not home too.

* Tweet sad, romantic tweets.

* Listen to rap music that makes my corgi hide.

* Start projects that are way too big and ridiculous.

* Play Words With Friends with my dad.

* Nest. Oh yes, I am N.E.S.T.I.NG.

Hey, North Carolina if you see my hubs, please tell him to come home before this prego self-destructs.

*Did I mention go a little crazy?

My 5 Favorite Things About Being Pregnant.

5 Favorite Things About Being Pregnant:

5. The Pregnant Treatment.

Oh, the pregnant treatment! While this independent woman could certainly take or leave, ok, leave, people doing things for me. There is something both humbling and good about a little dependency on others. A older lady at a deli this week actually got angry and offended at me this week for opening the door for her! No matter how hard it is for me to accept, there’s something pretty nice about people noticing one another. It makes this world feel a little smaller, and a little more like we are in this together. Oh, and we are! This is something I probably need to realize and accept more.

4. Changing Body.

Surprised this is on my “favorite” list? Me too. Honestly though, it’s been wonderful and healthy, and eye-opening to see my body change drastically. It has radically changed my perspective on the value and worth and beauty of my body. I mean, we are practically drilled since infancy on the definition of womanly beauty in this culture. A culture, mind you, that equates female beauty with female beauty.

Pregnancy, however, has radically opened my eyes. I have never felt more beautiful. Sure, I still have my moments, but overall seeing my body transform completely out of my control into this vessel of life hasn’t taken from me a feeling of independence and personal value. Instead I feel more valuable than ever before, more like a woman, more like me.

This may or may not be because I’m pregnant. Maybe pregnancy eradicated a misperception about beauty and freed me to think more accurately about what beauty is. At any rate, I love it. And I’ll be honest, so does my hubby. He honestly thinks I’ve never been more beautiful.

3. My Brain Is Expanding Too.

Research says that when you move, your brain actually grows. It forms new neurological pathways, broadens understanding, and relates things to new things to help process information. I totally experienced this when I moved, and I would argue that it feels the same way to enter such a drastic change such as motherhood. I’m starting to learn so much, and I’m reading so many new things. I’m learning about random things like breastfeeding and fetal development and breathing techniques during labor, but ultimately I’m integrating a whole new category into my world. It’s so exciting, especially for a nerd like me.

2. Strengthened Marriage.

Another unexpected “favorite” right? Most people assume that marriage would become harder with the addition of another being into the circle of your life. Roles and tasks begin to separate and define even more in the marriage relationship, and one might assume that this division would fracture a sense of closeness. And I guess it probably could, but it can do quite the opposite! We have seen this change challenge us, give us a sense of mission together, and we even need each other so much more already. With every fear, concern, or challenge we’ve have a commitment to get through it together. It takes a complete commitment, self-less humility, and oneness to achieve, but it sets us up for a marriage that is actually strengthened during adversity. It’s been great.

1. Being So Close To One That I Already Love.

It’s amazing how much you can fall in love with a little person you’ve never seen, but as this sweet boys grows so does my love for him. It’s wonderful that he’s growing and breathing inside of me, because I’m learning him. I’m realizing he already has a personality. He already loves and knows his daddy (every time David talks to me or preaches, or prays, or even does a wedding he wakes up and starts kicking…and yes, he really can hear and recognize voices already.). It’s great to have him so close to me. He feels safe and close, and I’m reminded of what a blessing from God each time I feel him kick and squirm!

Our Big Change: A Wife’s Perspective

Our Big Change: A Wife’s Perspective

David and I have been maneuvering through what is, quite frankly, the biggest transition of our lives up to this point. I’m well acquainted with change. We are practically on a first name basis. David and I had been sensing a season of change on our horizon for some time, and honestly until a month ago we didn’t know what that change would look like or when it would happen. Change is here, and everything about our lives will be different from now on.

I’ve wanted to write about it, talk it out, and share my heart. But things have been moving quicker than I could even process. I’m sure this won’t be the last blog about this massive transition for us, but I would like to say that it is the first.

Our Transition…

Something happened when “the two became one” in our world. With the collision of our lives that happened with marriage, came the collision of our callings in this life. We knew before we were married that we were called to be in ministry. And it wasn’t long after we were married that we both felt deep in our hearts that we would be a part of starting a new church one day.

It took a while to come up in conversation, but when it did it was awesome. At that time we decided to put our feelings and future to prayer and rest. We’ve earnestly prayed, but we also felt the need to rest in the present. We love our church of over 20 years, and we love the young adult’s ministry of North. We didn’t feel a need to press the future until God opened that door in our hearts.

David has been faithfully serving as the minister of North for four years and has been on staff at our church for the last seven years. We love everything about what we do and where we are. This was why, when our hearts began to sense change early in 2011, we were surprised.

The Process…

When David and I began the process of starting a family, we truly believed that our vision for our future was….well, in the distant, distant future. But almost simultaneous to the time we found out we were pregnant, we felt from God that change would be birthed around the same time as our child. Strange, yes. Not really ideal, I must admit, but we began to be convinced of this.

Doing what God asks you to do always costs something. Let’s face it, the things that matter in life always cost the most. Moving forward with what God had put in our hearts cost us the comfort and security of our church and job and financial provision. We had to be honest about what we were feeling and even the motives of our hearts.

As we moved into spring and summer, we took a step of faith and shared with our leadership at the church the direction God was leading our future. They were so gracious to lead us and pray for us. And in August, they decided to release us to do the work that God was asking of us in October.

Change Isn’t Always Bad…

I can’t tell you how unbelievably relieved I was to have the blessing of those in authority in our life. I had never prayed so much about something in my life. I feel privileged to have been led by such amazing leaders and been a part of such an amazing church, and my heart is always to honor them in every way.

This change is a wonderful (Scary, yes. Faith-filled, yes.), but change almost always hurts. It hurts to leave, and it hurts to let go. It’s hard to say goodbye to a wonderful ministry and church, even if its not to physically move away. There is always the opportunity for misinterpretation and misunderstanding during change, and I am so thankful for a church that has been so supportive. Our church has even given us provision through the end of this year.

Our Hearts…

So, as we begin this new adventure, we offer our lives to God. We want to see him glorified through how we live, our marriage, our family, and our future. We want to be a part of His mission on this earth. We want to preach and display the Gospel with our words, actions, and thankfulness.

We want to see families and churches be born, raised up, and called to that same mission, in the same way that our church has been a place to be raised and called. We feel a call to “go” into our city and be a part of founding a church that will found new churches and revitalize old ones.

We want to build up and strengthen the body of Christ. We want to take what God has formed in our hearts in the last season of our lives outside of our current four walls. We want to bring a passion for Jesus and the Gospel to a city saturated with religious knowledge. This is our heart.

What’s Next For Us…

Last night our last night at North. Yesterday was David’s last day on staff at Trinity Fellowship Church.The ministry will continue, but not with us. We will move forward with the vision that God has put in our hearts for a new thing in the city of Amarillo.

Stay tuned for more updates as we know more about what is coming.

Thank you for the outpouring of prayer and support!

KR

The Video From North Explaining Our Transition.

As most of you know from a few weeks ago at North, David and I are moving on to the next thing God has for us. Our last North and David’s last day on staff at Trinity Fellowship Church is this Tuesday, October 11,2011.

Change is always difficult, but we are so excited for this new season in our lives and to fulfill this call that we have from the Lord.

I realize for many of you, your weekly contact with us may be this blog or maybe you missed North a few weeks ago. Below is a link to a video from the night. Please take the time to hear our hearts!

I love you guys and appreciate your prayers so much!
KR

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God’s Guide To Being Single.

Hey ladies!

I get lots of questions from all the single ladies out there about how to be single.I love answering questions and talking about the topics of femininity, gender, singleness, romance, and marriage. And I specifically have a heart for women who are in the single season. I just wanted to post a podcast teaching that I did back in 2009 called “God’s Guide to Singleness.” I still get lots of feedback from this teaching, and if you have any questions or comments on it please leave them in the comments below.

I hope you are encouraged today.
KR

God’s Guide To Singleness by Kate Ritchie
(If you would like to download this it’s available on Itunes. Search “North Podcast” and scroll all the way down to this teaching, which is a part of “The Hook Up”)

Also, here is me and David answering questions that were texted in during our talks on singleness.

Q & A: Singleness by David and Kate Ritchie

Ok, guys, I don’t want to leave you out! Here’s the guys’ session on singleness too!

God’s Guide To Singleness for the Men by David Ritchie