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When did you realize you were really in labor?
One day after my due date. My OB had attempted to manipulate my tightly closed cervix the day before to sweep my membranes but was unable to do so. However, all of her attempts certainly got things moving. I started to lose chunks of my mucus plug after going on a long 3.5 mile walk. I was determined to get my labor started so I visited my local herbalist and got some great red raspberry leaf tea as well as some Mother's Choice tinctures to help things move along. The next day after another long walk, I started having erratic contractions. I was so excited to finally have gotten things going!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The length of my labor. When all was said and done, I was in labor for almost 40 hours. It was hard at times to keep my its about me and keep breathing through those tough contractions. My progress was slow which was also challenging - I felt like I was working so hard and it was rough to hear my cervix was not budging during the first 20 hours.
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Birth-2
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Educating myself and having open conversations with my husband and my doula (my doula was also my aunt). It was so reassuring and comforting to know we were all on the same page about what to expect and all of our back-up plans. I also would take time each day to imagine myself in labor and give myself some quiet "You can do this" affirmations.
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What surprised you about your birth?
My body's strength, and my emotional strength to handle such a long labor and all of its discomforts and my incredible divine ability to bring life into this world. There are no words adequate enough to express my awe and wonder at the trials and beauty of birth. My husbands steadfastness was also a pleasant surprise. He was and is the best friend and partner I could ask for throughout the entire ordeal.
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Commit to yourself. By that I mean make a plan within yourself and visualize that plan coming to fruition. Share it with your most trusted people and those who you choose to help you through your labor. Don't listen to all of the naysayers who tell you that you can't or will regret it. You CAN do this!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Positioning and breathing. When my contractions would test the limits of my strength, my aunt would move me around and put pressure on my lower back and hips to alleviate some of the internal pressure. And learning how to breath through each rush and ride it like a surfer rides a wave. That mental imagery helped immensely for me - find your own analogy and keep visualizing each rush as a wave or something and once you're over it, that one's behind you. I loved ice chips to crunch down on and distract myself between rushes. Keep your blood sugar up! That was key in helping me maintain enough energy to labor.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I had envisioned laboring upright or squatting and delivering that way too. But because I had been in back labor with a sunny side up baby that I only managed to rotate within the last 2 hours or so of labor, my delivery team had me on my back with my hips tilted up and my legs cradled or having me hold them against my chest during each push. This ensured that he would not rotate back into that sunny side up position. They had me picture him sliding off of the end of a ski shoot an to push him "up" rather than down and out. It took about an hour of pushing with each contraction. Those last contractions were just as painful as his exit was, just in different ways. It feels like you're going to split in half from your nose to your toes, and when that baby comes out...they don' call it the ring of fire for nothing. It really does burn. BUT, that said, that intense discomfort is SO temporary. I had very minor tears - no perineal tearing at all - one periurethral tear and a couple of very small mild horizontal tears on my labia. My OB is really good at what she does, and took great care of me during those final pushes and carefully stitching me afterwards.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Surreal. It felt like I was watching a movie of my own birth story. I had just delivered him and after clearing his mouth, my amazing nurse Traci plopped him right on my warm chest. He was wonderfully warm and slippery, and looked right into my eyes. It was the biggest moment of my life, but also one of the calmest and most holy. Unfortunately, he hadn't spent long enough in the birth canal to properly press on his lungs to get them cleared of all the amniotic fluid and mucus and he wasn't breathing which terrified us. So, that surreal feeling was quickly replaced with more adrenaline and worry. I had to help the nurses slap his back and when that didn't work they whisked him up to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for oxygen. He spent 4 days in the hospital! Everything ended up fine, but I feel like we were baptized with fire on our first foray into parenthood!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Commit to yourself. By that I mean make a plan within yourself and visualize that plan coming to fruition. Share it with your most trusted people and those who you choose to help you through your labor. Don't listen to all of the naysayers who tell you that you can't or will regret it. You CAN do this! And if your birth experience strays a little or a lot from your internal plan, don't beat yourself up - these things are in God's hands and we are just here to live it. Don't try to control things too much. Hope and pray for the best possible outcome, but let it happen the way it needs to to allow both of you to come through the experience safely. And if your doctor or midwife is not supportive of you going natural, dump them and find a practitioner who will support you! They need to listen to your wishes and do their best to help you meet your goal. But again, be gentle with yourself if things don't go as planned. Whatever comes your way, know that you and your team can handle it.
