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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I realized I was really in labor when my water broke in the shower and my baby's feet were hanging out of my body.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
There wasn't really a challenging part of going natural this time. My whole labor was pretty easy & painless. The actual birth was challenging, but only because the baby was footling breech and we did not have a trained professional with us to help safely deliver the baby.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
The most helpful thing I did to prepare for childbirth was learn as much about the process as I could. I read several helpful books, & I watched documentaries about childbirth and videos of other people's natural childbirth experiences. I practiced staying really calm and unafraid.
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What surprised you about your birth?
There were so many surprises about my birth! I was surprised that my baby was 3 weeks early and footling breech. She had been head down for over 2 months at all of my appointments and ultrasounds. I was surprised that my labor and birth were so quick, easy, & painless. The whole labor from first contraction to birth was about 6.5 hours, & I honestly didn't realize it was real labor until less than 5 minutes before she was fully born. I was surprised my husband made it home from work in time to deliver the baby. I was surprised we had a footling breech home birth and we were all ok. We did not plan to have a home birth. I was surprised that the contractions never got longer than 45 seconds, and most stayed around 30 seconds long. I was surprised that the contractions never got strong enough that I couldn't talk through them, & they never even got into a consistent pattern. Even 15 minutes before birth, the contractions varied from 2-7 minutes apart with no pattern.
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Learn as much as you can about the process of labor and childbirth and what actually happens inside of your body. Work through any fears you have so that you can go into your birth experience as calm and confident as possible. Trust that your body was made for this.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
I didn't need or use any pain relief strategies. I did get in the shower intending to tale a shower, & the hot water felt very calming as it hit my back.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I delivered on hands and knees on my shower floor.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Holding my baby for the first time felt wonderful but also very scary initially. When my husband first handed her to me, she was kind of purple and barely crying. I felt so relieved when she turned pink & started really crying a lot after a minute or two.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Learn as much as you can about the process of labor and childbirth and what actually happens inside of your body. Work through any fears you have so that you can go into your birth experience as calm and confident as possible. Trust that your body was made for this.
