Watch Countless Vlogs and Videos of Other Women's Births Helped Emily During Her Hospital Birth

When did you realize you were really in labor?

I had to be induced due to hypertension. I knew there was no going back once contractions immediately started with a folley bulb placed.

What was the most challenging thing about going natural?

I wish I was able to :/

What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?

Watch countless vlogs and videos of other women's births

What surprised you about your birth?

Literally nothing went as planned whatsoever. So every single aspect surprised me. It was nothing like I wanted or planned but we are both healthy and that's what matters

Understand that things don't always go as planned. People told me that and I have heard it 100 times over but literally every single thing in my birth plan did not happen, and you know what that's ok.

What pain relief strategies worked best?

I had to get an epidural, which to be honest I really didn't like, because pitocin contractions are no fun whatsoever. Your body is heaved into labor and once they broke my water it was immediate extremely active and intense labor that I could not handle. It was nice to not feel my contractions but it kept wearing off constantly, my legs were so totally numb I couldn't even turn over on my own, I was physically sick and throwing up for hours, I was so doped up that I don't remember almost a whole day, and fast forward 5 weeks I'm still having epidural headaches. It worked to save me from the pain but... :/

What position did you end up delivering in?

On my back unfortunately because of my epidural. I pushed on my side for a while though

How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?

Beautiful but kind of sad. She was rushed to the NICU as she was code blue at birth so I delivered her at 10:53 and didn't hold her until around 1:30. Being afraid your baby is ok is terrifying but thankfully she is a healthy girl now.

What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?

I feel like I dont have any advice since I didn't go natural. But I think it's important that mamas really understand that things don't always go as planned. People told me that and I have heard it 100 times over but literally every single thing in my birth plan did not happen, and you know what that's ok. Sometimes I feel sad about it but what's most important is I'm here typing this with my sleeping healthy baby in my arms. Sure I would have liked it to go differently, but it didnt, and that's totally ok.