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When did you realize you were really in labor?
Prelabor started on Saturday at 10pm until 5:30 am then again Sunday midday all the way through until at 1am I could no longer lay silently in bed next to my husband and 5 year old son. Since I felt the strong urge to start moaning and breathing through contractions that's when I knew it was time to call the midwives who showed up half an hour later. So having two full nights of restless sleep underway I headed into real labor!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
I again had lower back labor as I did with my son 5 years prior despite having gotten adjusted this time around with a chiropractor trained in Webster technique. The excruciating pain in my sacrum made moving freely through contractions more and more impossible. I tried to dip and sway and keep loose only I tensed in agony due to the back pain so I really felt down on myself for not being "open" enough.
As night became day and morning into the afternoon I worried I wouldn't be able to endure the pain and questioned whether it was too late to get pain medication and even doubted my ability to continue considering the possibility of just going in for a c-section. The pain was overwhelming and kept me out of my primal brain where I needed to be to find the confidence to persevere and not think too much. Ultimately thank goodness my midwives and doula and husband kept me grounded and guided me along as I figured out how to endure the pain as I got closer to meeting my baby.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I had intended on having a birth photographer present because I wished with my first that I had pictures only once I was in labor I didn't want to call her. There was a part of me that didn't want to be on display and so vulnerable. Of course now I wish I had pictures however I'm glad I honored that private part of myself that needed a camera less labor. I spent loads of time throughout my pregnancy looking at birthing photos on Instagram and Facebook. I truly think that that was helpful in preparing me for childbirth because I would think of the look on the Mama's face when she first was meeting her baby and I kept telling myself during labor and especially to get through the pushing that I would have that same relief, elation and joy soon.
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What surprised you about your birth?
My baby's size! I distinctly remember once I pushed her head out thinking, "That doesn't burn, oh thank goddess she's a small baby!" At a whooping 4lbs and 14oz and full term 38 weeks + 4 days I was so grateful for her small size and ease in the last push since I did have multiple days of labor essentially and that felt like a gift to my vagina after all I had endured ;-)
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I felt so proud of myself and also of her since she never had any heart fluctuations during contractions; she was just a happy little camper. I felt such immense relief that her and I were safe and so so very grateful to be together.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
I opted not to do a birth pool this time around since I couldn't get comfortable in it with my first. I did however enjoy taking baths. And showers.
Cold washcloths on my face, eating frozen raspberries, being massaged on my upper back was nice however I found any counter pressure on my lower back to be too much. It only exacerbated the pain which already felt like my sacrum was being wrung out with giant hands.
I swayed a lot, ever so slight movements back and forth keeping my hips open. Sitting backwards on the toilet leaning into a pillow was great as well as resting on the bed and falling asleep between contractions. Being able to grab hold of my doula and husband in a rhythmic fashion almost as though I was massaging them was comforting to me actually.
Then once it came down to the final pushing stage opening up to natures pain relief hormones was truly effective. I trusted they would carry me through and they surely did, it even felt good, ecstatic once I made it to the other side.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
My knees were on the ground and I was leaning over my bed in between mine and my husband's bed and the mattress on the floor for my son. My husband was at my side, midwife right behind me and doula was on the bed in front of me. I grabbed on to her arm, I grabbed on to the bedding; I even bit the comforter through the pushing grunts. I was so so hot I had my doula patting me down with a cold wash cloth and serving me sips of ice water in between pushes. My husband caught our daughter and then brought her under my legs to me. I fell backwards onto the midwife and she supported me while all her blood pulsed through her cord. Once my husband cut it they traded places and I leaned back on him a bit as I brought her up on to my chest since before she was down lower on my belly due to her cord being rather small.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
When my husband brought her between my legs for me I was surprised at her tiny size even though I could feel she was small when I pushed her through. I knew that she was perfectly healthy however with a certainty. I wanted to pull her up to my face and smell her but I had to hold her low due to her small cord size. I was in utter awe that this little creature was really here and that she really lived inside me all these months. I felt so proud of myself and also of her since she never had any heart fluctuations during contractions; she was just a happy little camper. I felt such immense relief that her and I were safe and so so very grateful to be together.
I also felt a wholeness, that our family was complete now with her in my arms.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
-You are absolutely capable.
-Your body and mind are designed to conquer this epic heroine's journey.
-Be gentle on yourself, you're doing it right because you're doing it.
-Make sure you have plans for lots of help and support and nurturing once baby arrives. Your 4th trimester healing and recovery is vital to carry you into many many years of motherhood.
