speaking from experience

If I read every book ever written on pregnancy and parenting, it wouldn't come close to providing the education I received spending time with two friends - new parents of twins - who know what the hell they are talking about. To this point, my thinking on the whole birthing thing was that when the pain started or the due date arrived, I would promptly go to the hospital and cajole my way into a C-section or an epidural. I have no desire to experience childbirth; in fact, the whole thought to me is gruesome, painful, brutish, and frankly embarassing. Laying on my back, spread eagle and grunting, is not something I relish. But, I have started reading every book ever written on parenting, and even before last night, I was beginning to suspect my thinking was flawed. My friend's delivery was evil, no other way to say it. She went in and was induced, "to speed things along." Sounds like a great idea, except that it speeded nothing along! She labored, unproductively, for 24 hours. She couldn't drink or eat, she couldn't sleep, and her husband was in the same boat. Finally, her caregivers offered her the C-sec, which of course she took, given the circumstances. The procedure was probably typical, but she lost way too much blood, and her cervix wouldn't contract because of the 24-hours of Pitocin coursing through her tiny body.
So. There's one story. I talked with two other friends last week, and their stories were also illuminating. One actually knew her labor was starting, but rather than go into the hospital, she went to work, said she needed something to distract her mind from the discomfort. She worked all day, went in, and delivered a healthy baby without much drama. The second chose home birth for two of her three, saying the first delivery (a C-section) was so bad she didn't want to chance repeating the ordeal. she also said sleep deprivation was worse than labor. She also said that while labor is bad, it is not more than one can handle.
Given all this, I'm thinking it is time to change my game plan. As always, my first reactions are informed by fear. On second blush, I'm pretty tough, and I'm still in great shape (this, assuming I don't completely pork out/veg out during the next six months), and I should be able to get myself through the initial throws of labor at home. It's going to take a fair amount of training on my part - mentally and physically. I need to look at new excercises, possibly yoga, and I need to get Mr. R on board with the plan because it would be immensely easier on him if I just let the hospital deal with my labor. And, I'm not even trying it without him (hell, the man runs marathons; he should be able to talk me through the bad spots, share some coping techniques). I think I need to be more "natural" about this. Just getting and being pregnant are things the doctors told me I couldn't do without medical intervention, so why not prove them wrong again? I'm so fortunate to have great friends, smart friends, trustworthy friends who do not have agendas, they just have experiences to share, and I'm (thankfully) smart enough to listen, even when I am hearing what I don't want ot hear. Lets hope they keep talking.