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When did you realize you were really in labor?
My husband and I were in a hardware store on Saturday when I thought my water might be leaking. I felt some trickles so I went to the bathroom to check, but being a first time mom I was very unsure. My husband thought I had peed my pants without knowing! I continued to feel more trickles here and there so I texted our midwife. She said she didn't think my water was leaking so we went on about our day as normal. That night before when I went to bed, I put a towel down just to be safe. Sure enough, my water broke within 15 minutes of lying down!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
How long my labor was! My water broke late Saturday night and we didn't have our son until early Monday morning. I was in labor 28 hours. My labor also got stalled around 6 cm. Every time the doctor came in to check me I felt disappointed. I was making progress, just very slowly. We were both so glad when I finally reached a 10 and was ready to push!
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Truman
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Taking the Mama Natural birth course! The information we learned from the course was so valuable for us! It helped to educate and prepare us and gave us lots of different things to try. My husband used the labor playbook every step of the way during our labor!
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What surprised you about your birth?
Three things really surprised me during our labor/birth experience:
1. I ended up having family in the labor/delivery room
Going into labor I thought the only people I wanted in the labor and delivery room were my husband, our midwife, and the nurses. We told our families that they could come but they would have to sit in the waiting room. We let them know when my water broke and they drove 4 hours to get to the hospital. When they got there they just popped in to say hello, but I wanted them to stay. It was nice to have people outside of just me and my husband to talk to and take our minds off everything a bit. They were really supportive getting us food and drinks.
2. My husband was a rock star!
During pregnancy I would pray that God would prepare my husband to be my support person (We couldn't afford a doula so other than the nurses, he was it). I would also pray that this experience would bring us closer together. God definitely answered that prayer! My husband was my biggest support! He kept looking at the labor play book and getting ideas of things to try! He took a lot of initiative to try different things to help me manage the pain. He was with me every step of the way! It was fun to see him shine in a new way and a new experience!
3. How respectful the hospital staff was of our birth plan
Our midwife was out of town when we went into labor because her dad was ill. My husband and I were very nervous about getting random doctors without knowing them! We had been building a relationship with our midwife for the past nine months and she was the person we trusted so not having her there was a bit scary initially. I can't boast enough about how everyone in the hospital was very kind and respected our wishes laid out in our birth plan. The nurses were angels! One in particular was helping us try lots of different things when labor was stalled. You can have a natural birth in a hospital and people will respect your birth plan!
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It was surreal! Nearing the end of labor, my husband and I were exhausted and discouraged. He even expressed to me feeling like the baby was never going to come! We waited so long for him to make his arrival and when he finally did it was like a sigh or relief!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
I spent a lot of time on the birthing ball, rolling and moving. We also used heat and counter pressure for my back pain. My husband would use a sheet as a Rebozo to pull tightly and put pressure on my back while I rolled on the ball.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I delivered sitting on a birthing stool.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
It was surreal! Nearing the end of labor, my husband and I were exhausted and discouraged. He even expressed to me feeling like the baby was never going to come! We waited so long for him to make his arrival and when he finally did it was like a sigh or relief!
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How did the Mama Natural Birth Class help you in your childbirth?
Educate yourself - read, research, watch videos! There's a lot out there and just taking in any information about natural childbirth can help! I honestly don't know how our labor would have went if my husband and I had not taken the Mama Natural Birth Course! Being well-educated allowed us to make informed decisions about what we wanted in our birth plan and feel confident in our abilities to manage the pain and have our baby naturally.
