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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I thought for sure I was in labor when I woke up at 4:30 in the morning to very consistent contractions coming at 8 minutes apart. I lost that confidence as the day wore on and the contractions all but disappeared! It wasn't until around 8:00 that night when I was sure things were actually, probably, going somewhere for real.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Getting through the last fifteen minutes before pushing - it's always tough to hurdle that last little bit when the contractions get so intense but it's not quite time to start pushing. I'm grateful that by that point I'm so close that I don't have any choice but to keep going on the natural path!
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
By far the most helpful thing I did was to read the entire manual that my midwives prepared and sent home with me after my first appointment! There was a lot of great information in it, including what to do if the baby comes before the midwives do, which was something I ended up needing! Reminding myself to think of the contractions as waves and "leaning into" them rather than trying to fight them or run away from them was also super helpful to me during childbirth.
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What surprised you about your birth?
How irregular the contractions were - I have a contraction timer on my phone, and the last few contractions I timed were still eight minutes apart, but our son was born 25 minutes after I stopped timing contractions! We had planned for a home birth, and our midwives ended up not making it to the birth in time because I didn't realize THIS WAS IT until 15 minutes before he was born due to the irregularity of my contractions. He was born with just my husband and me present, in the four or five inches of water we had managed to get into the birthing pool before he arrived. My husband was still at the sink filling buckets of water to deliver to the tub when I told him that our son's head was out!
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Commit to it and go into your birth with the confidence that you really can do it. As the saying goes, it's always darkest before the dawn - the hardest part is when you're almost there! The rush afterward is incredible.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Water was definitely helpful - I took a shower about two hours before delivery, and that helped a lot. I would have liked to have spent more time in the birthing pool but we didn't get it filled in time. Again, thinking of the contractions as waves was helpful to me in moving through the pain. Pressure on my lower back was also helpful, and I didn't get nearly enough of that due to how quickly everything happened and my husband not realizing how quickly everything was happening.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I delivered on my hands and knees, as that was the only position that seemed to work in the limited water we had in the birthing pool. I was low enough that I birthed our son's head into the water, but moved up to deliver the rest of him in order to make it a little easier on my husband to catch him!
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
There was a tense moment or two as we made sure he was okay - since the midwives weren't there, we were on our own to ensure he was healthy and breathing - followed by elation. The endorphin rush is really spectacular after a natural birth! I remember in the hour that followed his birth just laughing in joy and amazement at what we had accomplished.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Commit to it and go into your birth with the confidence that you really can do it. As the saying goes, it's always darkest before the dawn - the hardest part is when you're almost there! The rush afterward is incredible. And don't let yourself feel like a failure if things don't go according to plan, but do try to keep your plan at the forefront of your thoughts. Don't let fear alone keep you from following through. It's so worth it!
