Why I'm looking forward to my homebirth

Amber at Listening to Myself just had a little boy at home, and her description of the birth sounds like ease itself:

At about 1:30 or 2 they (the contractions) got a lot stronger and I couldn't stay in bed anymore, so we called my Mom to pick up Emma and called the midwife so she could come over. She checked me at about 2:30 and I was at about 4 cm, then again in about another 30 min and I was at 5 cm, so things were moving right along. It was so wonderfully peaceful - we all chatted between contractions, Matt helped me by giving me pressure on my back during contractions, then we would chat a bit more and rest. My water broke (with a little pop sound, which I thought was funny) and things got a bit more intense at that point, but still everything was so much easier and more manageable than last time. Not being stuck in bed with IVs and a catheter (not to mention w/o the pitocin!) makes everything so much better!!! The pushing even was very peaceful - we had a fire in the fireplace, the Christmas lights turned on the tree, and my midwife was knitting away (I love the sound of knitting needles clacking together!) while her assistant kept an eye out for the baby's head. Matt was absolutely wonderful through everything - a firm, steady hand and a loving presence. I couldn't have asked for more! With my last birth, I felt like I had been hit by a truck afterwards, but this time I just feel like I was out running for a long time... muscles sore and tired, but nothing that won't be back to normal within a day or two.

That's what I'm talking about -- no IV, no hassled nurses, no stinkin' hospital bed, no one not believing you're in labor when you're dilated five centimeters simply because you're not yelling or screaming -- sounds like the way to go. 2 1/2 more months...