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When did you realize you were really in labor?
Almost too late to get to the hospital! I had false labor about two weeks before, so I was ignoring the Braxton Hicks contractions that evening. By the time I had my first "You're having this baby tonight" contraction, the second one came just two minutes later. I told my husband we had to go now. He drove me to the hospital, and I had my son just under 30 minutes of arriving. My entire labor of Braxton Hicks to birth was under 2 hours. I've now had two precipitous births. With my first son the labor was just under 3 hours.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Realizing that I was going to feel pain, and embracing it.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Getting a team of people to help when the time arrived. We wanted to make sure that our 3 year old would not see me during active labor. We had several family members on standby for several different senerios. I even sent out practice texts to see how quick the response would be. Luckily we were at the mall with most all of our family, at the time I needed to go to the hospital.
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What surprised you about your birth?
The speed of this birth. I expected to have another fast birth, but I didn't expect it to be almost half the time of my first one. I thought I was going to deliver my son on the way to the hospital.
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Your body was created to do this. You can do this! But you must work through your fears of a natural delivery during the process. There's no practicing!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Holding onto my husband's arm, and breathing long deep breaths through the contractions.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
Laying on the bed
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Amazing! I remember the smell, and was surprised by how sweet it was. He smelled like a flower to me.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Your body was created to do this. You can do this! But you must work through your fears of a natural delivery during the process. There's no practicing!
