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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I was almost a week past my due date, and decided to give castor oil a try. I took 1 tablespoon at 1 pm on a rainy Sunday afternoon - took a nap, woke up at 4 pm and took another tablespoon. I was sitting on the bed eating a snack, and when I got up to take my plate to the kitchen - my water broke. It didn't gush,leak or even trickle as I had read, instead it was just a warm stream. Within 10 minutes, I had my first contraction. They didn't stop and quickly went from 10 minutes apart to 2-3 minutes apart. I was so excited that the castor oil had worked and things seemed to be speeding along quite nicely. We called the midwife.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The most challenging thing about natural birth for me was remaining centered during transition. Everything up to transition was totally bearable (cramping, and general discomfort) but I hit transition so quickly (from 5 cm - 10 cm in 1 hour) it totally caught me off guard. I was super uncomfortable and had trouble breathing deeply. As soon as I felt like I wasn't able to cope much longer, I was ready to push and that was a huge relief.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Aside from reading all things written by Ina May Gaskin and anything related to natural, un-medicated childbirth, watching videos of positive natural birth experiences on youtube, and interrogating my close friends who had natural child birth experiences at home and in the hospital- I drew close to God. During my entire pregnancy I felt closer to God than I had my entire life. Psalm 103 was the passage I lived in all nine months. I also read supernatural childbirth by Jackie Mize which helped strengthen my faith in God's promises. I listened to Mama Natural's Scripture birth Affirmations, Supernatural Childbirth in the Glory by Janet Angela Mills, and everything by Kierra Blaser at A Heavenly Welcome.
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What surprised you about your birth?
I was surprised at how quickly labor and birth came and went. I was told repeatedly that I would likely have a hard and long labor since this was my first. From my water breaking to birth, it was almost 12 hours. (I did eat 6 dates a day from 38 weeks on, and took evening primrose and drank red raspberry leaf tea infusions.)
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Stay the course and don't let fear get to you. Fear is the thief of Joy! Keeping a positive mindset about natural childbirth and constantly reinforcing your mind with knowledge about how your body works is key.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
From the beginning - I told my husband that we couldn't use the word pain. I wanted it to be called pressure waves/contractions (since that's what is happening in there - the uterus flexing it's muscles and squeezing my baby out.) Changing the word and thus the association or sensation of pain - made it more bearable. My husband was constantly reminding me while I was in labor and transition (when my brain was disconnected temporary) that my body is doing exactly what it's supposed to do, and it wouldn't be long now before we met our little one. He helped me keep my eye on the prize. (He was such a great encourager the entire time!)
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I ended up giving birth squatting using a squat bar.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
When they put my baby on my chest, I was stunned. I just remember how warm he was and him instantly squeezing his dad's hand while he cried on my chest. It was unreal and perfect.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Stay the course and don't let fear get to you. Fear is the thief of Joy! Keeping a positive mindset about natural childbirth and constantly reinforcing your mind with knowledge about how your body works is key. Knowledge is power. (Stay away from the satires and negative articles/blog posts about childbirth as well as bad advise. Their experiences do not need to be your experience. We are all different.) Also, don't forget to be thankful (daily) and take nothing for granted. During pregnancy, birth and after birth - continue to be thankful. When you are focused on all the wonderful things in your life, there is no room for doubt or negativity and if something keeps picking at you, keeping on throwing out thankfulness. I kept a journal during my pregnancy and jotted down a line or two for the days I remembered to write. Your baby and motherhood is a wonderful gift. Cherish it. Believe it. You got this!
